FC Barcelona transfer rumour update – Aleix Vidal and Yerry Mina

Palmeiras delay Yerry Mina transfer by 5 months

Palmeiras have announced that they do not intend of let go of Yerry Mina midway through the season. Barcelona had activated the first option on him and he intended to put pen to paper in January. But Palmeiras sporting director Alexandre Mattos has ruled out a January move.

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This is going to be a huge blow for Ernesto Valverde. Valverde had intended to sell Thomas Vermaelen when Mina arrived in January. But Barcelona are going to have to keep the Belgian till next summer.

By that time, Vermaelen’s stock will rapidly decrease and Barcelona would endure a huge loss. But nonetheless, every cloud has a silver lining. The club sent Marlon out on loan to Nice this summer. The initial deal is for two seasons, but Barcelona reserve the right to call him back after one season.

Next summer, it is expected that both Javier Mascherano and Thomas Vermaelen will leave the club. If the deals for the two ageing defenders go through, Barcelona can have two young, bright future stars in the form of Marlon Santos and Yerry Mina playing backup to Gerard Piqué and Samuel Umtiti.

Valencia made surprise bid for Aleix Vidal on deadline day but could not agree on a fee

Aleix Vidal has had a topsy-turvy season thus far. He has jumped in and out of the first-team in the opening games of the season. Barcelona were trying to get rid of him before Ernesto Valverde’s arrival.

Valencia and Torino were the clubs who had expressed interest in signing him. But they did not make an offer after the arrival of Valverde as the coach favoured Vidal. But Valencia made a last-ditch bid to sign the right-back in the closing hours of deadline day.

Barcelona did not reject the bid outright, but asked for €15 million. Valencia refused to pay that fee and ruled out a move subsequently. It would be outrageous if the club had accepted the offer. In fact, it is surprising that Barcelona even made a counter-offer.

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Aleix Vidal will play an important role in the squad this season. He is the only backup to Nélson Semedo after the shifting of Sergi Roberto to the midfield. He also has a bright future and can infuse some healthy competition into the squad by challenging Semedo for the right-back position.