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Barcelona join Real Madrid and Manchester United in the race to sign one of La Liga's best defenders.
Barcelona have an important game against Deportivo Alaves tonight and they will be desperate to extend their winning streak in La Liga and go ahead of arch-rivals Real Madrid. They will move to second on the La Liga table with a win tonight.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the top stories involving Barcelona from 13 February 2021.
Ronald Koeman says he was aware of Pedri's reputation before joining as manager
Young Barcelona midfielder Pedri has been excellent for the club this season and has shown maturity way beyond his age. Ronald Koeman has been working on a documentary that records events starting with his appointment as Barcelona manager and it pans over the next six months.
As revealed by Marca, in the documentary, where Ronald Koeman is arriving for training, he dubs Pedri as the new Laudrup or Iniesta. Koeman says:
“There’s one, his name is Pedri, signed from Las Palmas. I don’t know him, but they say he must be the new Laudrup, the new Iniesta, but I don’t know him. We’ll see. He’s the greatest talent in all of Spain.”
Pedri has subsequently become one of Ronald Koeman's most dependable players over the course of the season and has appeared 21 times in the La Liga, scoring two goals and assisting two more.
Barcelona to pass on chance to sign Jose Gaya
According to Sport, Barcelona have decided to pass on signing Valencia left-back Jose Luis Gaya. The Cules have opted against signing him as they want to give La Masia graduate Alejandro Baldo the opportunity to compete for a starting spot with Jordi Alba.
Junior Firpo was brought in as the successor to Jordi Alba. However, he is almost certain to be offloaded in the summer. Firpo has fallen down the pecking order with Ronald Koeman choosing to go with Sergino Dest at left-back in Jordi Alba's absence.
Jose Luis Gaya has always been linked with a move to a bigger club with Barcelona being the latest. However, it looks like the 25-year-old is set to kick on at Valencia.
Barcelona join Real Madrid in race for Jules Kounde
Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde has now entered Barcelona's radar, as per AS. The 22-year-old has an €18 million release clause and is being monitored by Real Madrid and Manchester United.
Kounde has been a great signing for Sevilla and has cemented his place in the starting lineup since joining the Andalusians in the summer of 2019 from Bordeaux. He has grown in reputation into one of the best defenders in La Liga.
