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Barcelona are keen to bolster their backline this summer and have identified a Dutch international as a potential signing.
Barcelona finished second in La Liga, 13 points behind winners Real Madrid. It has been a largely forgettable campaign for the Catalans. The board is now focused and actively working behind the scenes to deliver a successful summer transfer window.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the top stories involving Barcelona from 2 June 2022.
Francisco Trincao close to securing loan move to Sporting CP
Young Barcelona winger Francisco Trincao is set to return to Barcelona following his season-long loan spell with Wolverhampton Wanderers. The 22-year-old arrived at Barcelona in the summer of 2020 but failed to impress then-manager Ronald Koeman.
He had a bit of an underwhelming loan spell with Wolves in the 2021-22 season. The 22-year-old managed to score just three goals and provide one assist for the Premier League outfit in 30 appearances across all competitions.
According to A Bola, Trincao is close to securing a loan move to Portuguese side Sporting CP. It's going to be a season-long loan with the option of making it permanent for €20 million at the end of the campaign.
Pablo Torre says he rejected lucrative offer from Real Madrid
Pablo Torre will join Barcelona shortly. The Catalans struck a deal with Racing Santander for the player over a summer transfer all the way back in March. Now in an interview with journalist Adri Contreras (via Mundo Deportivo), the 19-year-old has revealed that he rejected a lucrative offer from Real Madrid to join Barcelona.
He said:
“It was quick. My representative told me, because he contacted Mateu Alemany. I was concentrated with the national team in Las Rozas and that’s when they told me that I had a video call with Xavi. He explained the project to me.
“I spoke with Madrid, but in the end my dream was to play and hopefully succeed at Barça."
He added:
“Madrid offered more money, but for me the important thing was to play at Camp Nou and, above all, the sports project that it offered me. It was clear to me since he called me the first time.”
Barcelona monitoring Stefan de Vrij
Barcelona are looking to bring in more reinforcements to their backline and have reportedly identified Inter Milan centre-back Stefan de Vrij as a potential signing. Spanish outlet Fichajes claims that Barcelona have registered an interest in the 30-year-old.
De Vrij's contract with the Nerazzurri expires next summer and as such, the Serie A giants could be open to cashing in on him this summer. They reportedly value him at around €30 million.
Barcelona are also interested in Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly. However, he won't come for cheap and De Vrij is a much more economical option at this point.
