Memphis Depay no longer a priority for Barcelona
Barcelona’s priorities have shifted following string of injuries.
Barcelona are expected to be busy during the winter transfer window but their main focus will no longer be in finding a striker. This spells bad news for Memphis Depay.
According to Goal, Manchester City’s Eric Garcia, not Depay, will be the player the Catalans will shift their focus to as they look to find a suitable replacement for Gerard Pique.
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When the club sold Luis Suarez, to Atletico Madrid, it left a sizable hole in the striker position. Manager Ronald Koeman made it no secret that he wanted Depay and the player made it clear that he was more than willing to join Barcelona.
Had the club not been hamstrung financially, Depay would have become a Barcelona player. They waited up until the last hours of the summer window to see if they could sell players to finance the move.
In the end it did not happen but the idea was the two sides would be back in contact come January.
The Pique injury, along with Ronald Araujo and the uncertainty with Samuel Umtiti, have forced Barcelona’s hands.
Garcia was another player Barcelona were in but again, the finances simply weren’t there to complete the signing. Manchester City also are not keen to lower their asking price despite the player’s contract running out in June.
Depay is in a similar situation in terms of his contract. On the other hand, there did appear to be room for negotiation with his club, Lyon. Depay himself had tried to persuade his club to come to terms with Barcelona.
Next. Barcelona must sell 4 players to secure January transfer targets. dark
The poor planning ahead of this season is once again coming back to haunt Barcelona. Josep Maria Bartomeu and his board have not given Koeman a complete squad and now they are forced to enter the winter transfer window which is something, historically, they have tried to avoid.