FC Barcelona transfer rumour update – Ander Herrera and Andres Iniesta

Juventus seek to follow up on Iniesta interest as he reaffirms his loyalty to Barcelona

Andres Iniesta is one of the most important players in the Barcelona squad. He is a true Blaugrana and has been with the club during its ups and downs. Iniesta is one of the few La Masia graduates who have been able to break into the first-team in recent years. He is also a senior member of the squad and as captain, the manager values his inputs.

But during all these years, Iniesta was never the subject of wide media speculation. He always brushed off rumours and never paid any heed to anything other than his game. But now, a possibility of a Barca without Iniesta is arising.

Iniesta’s contract expires at the end of next season. There haven’t been any talks between the club and his representatives so far about a new deal. And as a result, Juventus are looking to capitalise.

The latest report regarding this issue has come from AS. They believe that Juventus will use Dani Alves to convince Iniesta to join him at the Juventus Stadium. Alves made the same move at a similar point in his career and the Juve management believe Alves can convince Iniesta to do the same.

This rumour has been fueled by certain comments made by Iniesta recently in an interview to Rac-1.

"He said, “My bare minimum intention is to fulfill the contract that I have and that is what I want to do.There are always possibilities. It is a question of valuing everything, I am not saying that I will renew or not.Given how the season has gone, how everything has changed and how I have learned to value certain things, I said weeks ago that when the time comes for me to leave it will not become a confrontation between me and the club.”"

Ernesto Valverde wants to bring in Ander Herrera from Manchester United

Ander Herrera has been having the season of his life for Manchester United this year. Jose Mourinho’s tactics seemed to suit him well and Herrera has flourished. His success this year has only been complemented by United’s Europa League win.

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It is only natural that he has caught the eye of Ernesto Valverde, who Athletic side also played in the Europa League. The future Barcelona coach has asked Robert Fernandez to approach United over a deal for Herrera.

Any suitor for him will have an advantage as his contract is expiring at the end of the 2017-18 season. Jose Mourinho has expressly told Manchester United officials to reject all offers and offer Herrera a new deal.

Therefore, the negotiations will be difficult. Robert has to convince Herrera to reject new contract offers from United. If that happens, Barca can acquire him on a pre-contract for the 2018-19 season. But that’s not what Valverde wants. He wants Herrera now.

Even if Herrera is available for a cut-down price because of the state of his contract, United will drive a hard bargain. And therein lies the problem.

Next: What does Pique think about Ernesto Valverde?

With all the signings required this summer, it is unlikely that the club will have funds for a midfielder. Therefore, the deal is unlikely but possible. Ernesto Valverde will probably be disappointed with the rejection of his first request to the board.