Barcelona to hold off on transfers until new president elected
Barcelona forced to hold off on winter signings.
The transfer strategy planned by Barcelona for the transfer window have hit a snag thanks in large part to the upcoming presidential elections.
In his press conference ahead of the Champions League match against Ferencvaros, Ronald Koeman confirmed that he does not expect any signings until a new president is elected.
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"“It’s not the moment to speak about signings, We have to speak internally first, we have to know who will be the president.” Koeman said.Source: Sport"
The winter transfer window is set to open on January 4th and close on February 1st.
The Barcelona presidential elections are set to take place on January 24th.
If signings are indeed on hold until a new president is elected, this leaves the club, and the new board, only a week to make signings.
The new president will find himself in a time crunch to not only try to improve the team but not get taken advantage of in the market.
The Catalan side are desperate for a center-back and a striker and clubs around Europe know this. Negotiations are going to be difficult with the selling team at an advantage. The new board are also going to need to look at the club’s finances and see what is feasible and what is not.
It has been nearly a month since former president Josep Maria Bartomeu stepped down as president and an interim board took over. Claims were made that elections would take place as soon as possible but that has not been the case.
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As it stands, the club will still need to sell players in order to buy even with a new president. That was the case before the start of the season and it has not changed. The problem areas are evident and Barca will now find themselves in a race against time to get their business done.