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Barcelona beat Real Sociedad on penalties to progress to the Spanish Supercup final. The Blaugrana will face Athletic Bilbao on Monday for their first trophy of the season.
Barcelona are in the transfer market for reinforcements and have been looking at a few players to bolster their squad this month. On that note, here is the latest Barcelona transfer news on January 15th, 2021
Barcelona make Lionel Messi's contract extension a priority
Barcelona's presidential candidates have all made Lionel Messi their top priority. The Argentine is in the final six months of his contract at the club and is free to negotiate with other clubs over a free transfer in the summer.
Former Barcelona president and current hopeful Joan Laporta told Eurosport Spain in this regard:
"We have to extend Messi; it is non-negotiable. Messi is a priority, and we will try to convince him to continue writing the beautiful history between him and Barcelona."
Laporta's opponent, Victor Font has a different approach in making sure the Argentine stays at Barcelona. He believes the key in making Lionel Messi stay with Barcelona could lie in roping in his former teammate Xavi.
Font told Mundo Deportivo, "Messi has explained it, he ideally wants to stay here and finish his sports career at Barcelona. Before the summer, when there was the great frustration, he had always said that the most important condition for him is to have a winning and competitive project. We have a winning, competitive project, with people like Xavi. This relationship between Xavi and Messi exists, I believe that is one of the main reasons and guarantee that Messi will feel very comfortable with our project, and we will have many options to continue.”
Barcelona eye Angelino as potential Jordi Alba replacement
Full-back Angelino has caught the eye of Barcelona after his performances for RB Leipzig this season. The Spaniard is currently on loan at Leipzig and has been a key player for Julian Nagelsmann's side.
According to Sport, Angelino is part of a long list of full-backs that Barcelona see as a potential replacement for Jordi Alba. The Blaugrana are willing to part ways with Junior Firpo to fund a move for a full-back in the summer.
Barcelona, however, are afraid that Angelino's performances for Leipzig this season may have increased his transfer value, with the Spaniard having had a hand in 16 goal contributions this season already.
Barcelona to unite Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero
Barcelona are looking to bring in Sergio Aguero in the summer in a bid to keep Lionel Messi at the club.
According to The Sun, Barcelona could try to sign Sergio Aguero as a free agent at the end of the ongoing season. The Argentine striker, who is currently stalling on a new Manchester City contract, is free to negotiate with other clubs during this transfer window.
Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi are very close friends and have played together multiple times for Argentina. With both players approaching the end of their illustrious careers, linking them up in Barcelona would be a great way to sign off for both of them.
