Arsenal sign Man Utd target De Jong as Barcelona stars reassigned for Laporta to balance books
Barcelona are still skint, so many of their players have been linked with a transfer as Joan Laporta attempts to raise the funds to bring in some new signings. He should really be making more of an attempt to clear some of the club’s colossal debt, but shiny new toys are a lot more appealing.
Here are nine Barcelona players we think could be snapped up in the summer transfer window and where they should go, with their values taken from Transfermarkt.
Frenkie de Jong to Arsenal (£60m)
More a pipe dream from this day-dreaming Arsenal fan than anything else, Frenkie de Jong would be ridiculously perfect for this Arsenal side, who are expected to prioritise signing a deep-lying midfielder in the summer.
Manchester United tried and failed to lure the Dutchman to Old Trafford in Erik ten Hag’s first summer at Old Trafford and we just know a transfer to Arsenal would drive him round the bend. De Jong’s alternative, Casemiro, looked like a fine signing in his debut season at the club but the Brazilian’s legs have fully gone. De Jong has lots left in the tank.
With the Red Devils falling out of the Champions League, De Jong is very unlikely to leave Barcelona for United; Arsenal would be a match made in heaven for the player and club.
Pedri to Manchester City (£68.5m)
De Jong is probably the only other Barcelona player equally suited to Pep Guardiola’s tiki-taka style as 21-year-old midfielder Pedri, who would fit like a glove in Manchester City’s system. A central midfielder – just like with Arsenal – is expected to be a top priority this summer for the champions. Interestingly, Barcelona seem hell bent on landing Bernardo Silva, so a swap deal could be a nice shout.
Pep managed Xavi to a few pots and this summer could be the perfect opportunity to guide his regen too.
Ronald Araujo to Bayern Munich (£60m)
The rumour that refuses to go away, Bayern have reportedly been chasing Uruguayan defender Ronald Araujo for some time. His Champions League exploits against Paris Saint-Germain might well have put the Bavarians off, mind.
The sort of rashness we have come accustomed to seeing from Araujo will need to be eradicated from his game if he wants to be regarded as a world-class defender, but a move to Bayern, where there is a lot of pressure yet not as much as in Barcelona, could be ideal.
Reports do suggest that Barcelona president Joan Laporta is more than willing to part ways with the Manchester United target…
Gavi to Liverpool (£77m)
If Arne Slot does not adopt an Erik ten Hag-like transfer policy in exclusively prioritising signings with Eredivisie experience, we would love to see Gavi rock up at Anfield.
The fact Gavi has the highest market value in the Barcelona squad hints that Liverpool are not going to buy him. You never know, though. He would suit them nicely.
Raphinha to Tottenham (£42.8m)
This rumour is hotting up a bit with Raphinha seemingly the first in line to fall victim to Laporta’s plans to make money through player sales.
Tottenham could do with the extra bite in attack that the former Leeds United favourite provides and for somewhere south of £50m, Ange Postecoglou could do a lot worse. Dejan Kulusevski has been unimpressive on the right wing this season and there is no doubt that Raphinha would be an upgrade on the Swede, even if he has shown some great promise during his Spurs career.
Leeds could be in the fold for the Brazilian’s signature, although that feels more of a fairy-tale than anything else and obviously depends on them winning the Championship play-offs, while Newcastle United would be foolish not to try.
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Jules Kounde to Manchester United (£42.8m)
Nothing will strike fear in opponent strikers like a centre-back partnership of Jules Kounde and Lisandro Martinez. Two fine footballers, but neither are a commanding presence. Regardless, Kounde is a fine player and more than capable of playing right-back, a position Manchester United need to improve. As is centre-back.
The Frenchman was strongly linked with Chelsea before joining the Blaugrana from Sevilla in July 2022. Along with Araujo, Kounde is a player Laporta is willing to cash in on.
Vitor Roque to Chelsea (£34.2m)
Brazilian? Check. A teenager? Check. A striker? Check. Need we say any more?
Lamine Yamal to Paris Saint-Germain (£64.2m)
Laporta has claimed to have rejected a €200million offer from an unnamed club for Lamine Yamal. Anyone with their wits about them knows that is complete rubbish. Even if Yamal has the potential to be the best player in the world, Laporta would be all over that like flies on poop if it happened.
PSG are losing Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid and while they are not receiving a transfer fee for the France captain, they will need to spend a huge amount of money to get anywhere close to sufficiently replacing him.
Yamal is only 16 years young and a current superstar, let alone a future one. He would be an ambitious signing and one ready to make Luis Enrique’s team his own – and for the next 15 years, if he so wishes.
📣 STRAIGHT TO THE COMMENTS! Do you agree with our selections? Should Alejandro Balde, Ferran Torres, and/or Ilkay Gundogan been included? What about Newcastle and Aston Villa? Join the discussion.
Robert Lewandowski to Saudi Arabia (£12.8m)
As Robert Lewandowski approaches the twilight of his career, it would shock us not to see him give Saudi Arabia a crack.
The Polish legend turns 36 in August and still has it in him to contribute at the top level. But then so did Neymar, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane. This one feels inevitable.
