FC Barcelona return to action in one week’s time, when they’ll welcome Athletic Club into their (temporary for this season) home for a La Liga fixture. The match will provide a chance to do some more on site scouting on one of their top transfer targets for next summer, Nico Williams. We cover him as well as Joao Felix and Sergi Roberto in this edition of FC Barcelona transfer talk.
Let’s start with Williams, who will be available on a free next summer. According to Sport, Barcelona have contacted his agent already, with competition expected from Real Madrid, Arsenal, Liverpool and others.
Of course, Athletic are not going to just let the 21-year-old go without a fight.
Their hope is that they can get him to agree to a contract extension, with a nice raise of course! Time is ticking on this though. Once we get into the new year, this is going to be very difficult to do.
Next we move on to the latest surrounding Joao Felix, the loan signing acquired from Atletico Madrid on deadline day.
According to widespread reports, Barca have already decided that they want to try and make his loan signing into a permanent deal. Yes, after just eight games with them.
So you can clearly say that this loan spell is going along a lot better than his last one, with Chelsea last season.
Then again Chelsea were such an unmitigated disaster last season that it was hard for a lot of guys, even those with talent on par with Joao Felix to succeed.
They will have to splash the cash though in order to get him, as Atletico are understood to be seeking about €80m for Joao Felix. Football Espana has more.
Finally, Mundo Deportivo reports that club captain Sergi Roberto, 31, is probably leaving the Catalan club when his deal expires at the end of the season. The left back has been relegated to squad player status this season, ever since Joao Cancelo arrived on loan from Manchester City.
His preferred destination is Major League Soccer, with the most likely destination one of the two New York teams. And why not MLS?
There seems to be a Barca pipeline their now with Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. Plus the American top flight is known for being a major destination for players winding down their careers after age 30.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.