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Cash-strapped Barcelona are looking to strike some cut-price deals in the summer transfer window.
Barcelona have renewed hope in the La Liga title race after league leaders Atletico Madrid stumbled and fell to a 2-0 defeat against Levante on Saturday. Barcelona are already preparing ahead of what is expected to be quite a hectic transfer window with the shadow of a Lionel Messi exit looking large over the club.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the top stories involving Barcelona from 21 February 2021.
Victor Font dismisses Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe rumours
Barcelona had for long been one of the most effective forces in the transfer market. However, some extremely poor choices made by the recruitment department in the recent past has seen the club plunge to new depths. They are also in a precarious financial condition.
While Joan Laporta has been vocal about the club's interest in Erling Haaland and even went on to suggest that they would sign him in the summer, another Barcelona presidential candidate, Victor Font, has now revealed that there is no chance of Barcelona making big-money signings in the summer.
Speaking at a press conference, Font said (via Football Espana):
“Here at Barça, we can’t find a million and a half to sign Eric Garcia, to talk about major name acquisitions is just ‘hot air’ and we need to treat our club members as adults.”
“We simply won’t be able to make any big-money signings this summer as the club has approximately between €150-200 of new debt. Personally, I think Haaland is a wonderful talent, and I speak as a fan.”
“I can see things at Barcelona becoming slightly ‘Florentinizando’ as bolstering any team with the likes of Haaland or Mbappe is easy. It’s a trickier task to bring through young and unknown talents such as Pedri and Kounde. That would be our task ahead, creating the future stars at Barcelona."
Barcelona shortlist five strikers for the summer
Barcelona are in desperate need of a striker and will look to sign Manchester City's Sergio Aguero when he becomes a free agent in the summer. It looks like Aguero won't be renewing his contract at Manchester City and he could be tempted to sign for the Catalans and join forces with his close friend, Lionel Messi.
While their primary target is Erling Haaland, the feasibility of that deal is nearly non-existent. Ronald Koeman is interested in signing Memphis Depay who is set to become a free agent in the summer, according to Mundo Deportivo. Koeman has also added Lukaku to his wishlist as the Belgian is a player that he has coached at Everton.
It is further claimed that Barcelona have also registered an interest in Lukaku's strike partner Lautaro Martinez as the Cules' sporting director, Ramon Planes, is a fan of the player.
Barcelona keeping tabs on Juan Bernat's contract situation
Barcelona have been looking to find a successor to Jordi Alba. Junior Firpo doesn't make the cut and is expected to be offloaded in the summer. According to L’Equipe (via Mundo Deportivo), Barcelona are monitoring Paris Saint-Germain left-back Juan Bernat's contract situation.
Bernat has been sidelined for the past six months after suffering an ACL injury in the early part of the season. Following Thomas Tuchel's exit, Bernat will find it difficult to win his place back in the starting XI as Mitchell Bakker has been in great form.
Bernat's current contract will run out in the summer and if that's the case, Barcelona are expected to make a move for him.
