It’s no news that Barcelona are interested in signing Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund. The 20-year-old striker is absolutely tearing the opposition apart, notching 33 goals in 31 games so far.
Haaland’s staggering goalscoring record makes him one of the most wanted youngsters in Europe. However, Barcelona not only will have to fight competition from Europe’s finest but also face an uphill task financially to sanction a transfer.
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Barcelona find themselves in a vulnerable financial position at the moment. Joan Laporta’s biggest task as FC Barcelona President will be to replenish the treasury chests and make the club financially sustainable again. The ramifications of the Corona Virus pandemic, ever growing wage budget, poor transfer planning have all punched massive holes in Barcelona’s financial record books.
Laporta is confident that the club can navigate a way to stabilize the finances and also make room for a mega signing like Erling Haaland. The Norwegian is rated at 110 million euros (Transfermarkt) and Dortmund’s valuation will also be in a similar bracket. Haaland has given Dortmund an ultimatum that if BVB fails to qualify for next year’s Champions League, the striker is ready to leave Signal Iduna Park in the summer.
The Blaugrana will have sell several players to generate enough funds for Haaland’s transfer. Laporta has great relationship with super agent Mino Raiola who manages Haaland’s profile. According to Sport, Barcelona are ready to offload as many as seven players to remodel the squad and facilitate the arrival of Erling Haaland.
Here are the seven players Barcelona could offload in the summer to facilitate Erling Haaland transfer:
Antoine Griezmann has struggled to make a positive impact in Barcelona
1. Antoine Griezmann
Antoine Griezmann was signed in 2019 for €120 million from Atletico Madrid by the Josep Maria Bartomeu administration. The signing was controversial as just a year ago, the Frenchman had publicly made a video where he stated he will stay at Atletico despite being very close to a move to Barcelona.
Moreover, the cules were expecting a transfer for Neymar as the Brazilian was contemplating his future in Paris and wanted to reunite with Lionel Messi. Since joining, Griezmann has struggled to completely settle at Barcelona.
When a club plays 100+ million euros for a striker, the club is bound to expect a certain amount of goals and decisive impact on the team’s results but Griezmann has failed to replicate the performances he had in the Atletico Madrid shirt, playing 88 games for Barca and managing just 29 goals and 15 assists.
Even though he is finding his feet in some games this season, the 30-year-old has underwhelmed when the team needed him the most. The most recent example was the UEFA Champions League tie against PSG where the Griezmann was almost non-existent in the game when Barcelona needed him the most alongside Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele.
PSG have been linked previously to the 30-year-old but at the moment there is no definitive interest from any club for Griezmann. The former Atletico Madrid man earns roughly 30 million a season and if Barcelona wants to sign Erling Haaland, they’ll have to get the likes of Griezmann out of their wage books.
Philippe Coutinho has been termed as a mega million dollar flop at Barcelona
2. Philippe Coutinho
Barcelona’s costliest transfer of all time has been a misfit in the side under every manager he’s played for at Camp Nou. Never fully integrated into the system, Coutinho has toiled hard to inhale the Barcelona setup but without much success.
You don’t need to be a football expert to understand that Barcelona’s 142 million are going down the drain. The Brazilian was loaned out to Bayern Munich last season with an option to buy which the Bavarians didn’t exercise at the end of the season.
Injuries have also played their part in destroying Coutinho’s Barca career. He did well in the Bayern shirt but never reached the heights he was expected to in Catalonia. The Brazilian also takes up a hefty chunk of Barcelona’s wage budget, pocketing around 12 million euros.
His sale will bring Barcelona some much needed money and free up the overloaded wage budget. The 28-year-old has been linked with a return to the Premier League with clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool making regular headlines when it comes to Coutinho’s transfer.
Samuel Umtiti is another player Barcelona want to sell
3. Samuel Umtiti
At one point, Samuel Umtiti was one of the best defenders in the world but recurring knee injuries have frizzled the Frenchman’s Barcelona career. His uncertain fitness have not allowed the Blaugrana to put back trust in him and the club are ready to part ways with the 27 year old.
Umtiti has undergone surgeries and even tried to solve his knee issues holistically but the troubles seem to be endless. Barcelona are now not only looking at the present but laying the foundations for the future.
Ronald Araujo and Oscar Mingueza have provided enough excitement to spring the fans from their seats. The potential summer arrival of former La Masia product Eric Garcia from Manchester City also gives hope to the supporters that this crop of players can be the guardians in the Barcelona rearguard for seasons to come.
Umtiti though on the road to recovery, commands the same support, neither of the fans nor of the board. The Transfermarkt value him at just 10 million euros and there are clubs who will be willing to take the risk of having an injury prone Umtiti and hope that he doesn’t fall prey to injury again.
Miralem Pjanic doesn’t play a key role under Ronald Koeman at Barcelona
4. Miralem Pjanic
Barcelona exchanged Arthur for Miralem Pjanic as the Bosnian joined the Catalans for around 60 million euros. Barcelona fans were left baffled with the board’s decision to let go of Arthur who was termed as the next Xavi and bring in a 30-year-old midfielder.
The question to this date hurts fans because in Arthur they lost a midfielder with sublime ball control and exquisite passing skills. Pjanic no doubt offers quality but not exactly what Barcelona want from him.
Pjanic hasn’t featured in Ronald Koeman’s plans and remains a squad rotation player. The Dutch manager has just handed six La Liga starts and 11 off the bench appearances. With Ilaix Moriba quickly rising through the ranks and ticking all the boxes, he could soon jump Pjanic in the pecking order.
There are continuous reports of Georginio Wijanldum joining the La Liga giants on a free transfer which will further suffocate Pjanic as Koeman has previously worked with the 30-year-old.
Martin Braithwaite has been a squad rotational player for Barcelona
5. Martin Braithwaite
Martin Braithwaite was never the solution to Barcelona’s problems. He was signed to provide extra cover after Ousmane Dembele was injured last season ruling him out for a long time. The Denmark International has had few good spells in the Barcelona shirt but with the enormous attacking quality expected to flood the Barcelona attack in the summer, Braithwaite may end up with just sporadic appearances if he stays at Barcelona.
The 29-year-old has 8 goals in 47 games for the Blaugrana, not the kind of return you expect even from a backup striker. He’s been linked to Premier League teams with West Ham United one of the most linked teams.
The Hammers are hunting for a striker and could still consider Braithwaite as a candidate. Braithwaite has the pace to survive in the Premier League which is why interest from England could be expected.
As Barca target Erling Haaland potentially another attacker on a free transfer, Braithwaite’s days in the Blaugrana shirt seem numbered.
Junior Firpo has failed to come close to Jordi Alba’s level at Barcelona
6. Junior Firpo
Junior Firpo was signed by Barca to put pressure on Jordi Alba to keep on performing at the highest level or face the risk of losing the place to the Dominican. Alba surely looks a man reborn but it is not due to the competition provided by Firpo.
The former Real Betis man has found it difficult to adjust to the Barcelona style of play and offer the same attacking output from the left back position as Alba. The 24-year-old was uncomfortable under Ernesto Valverde as well as Quique Setien which was surprising because Setien knew Firpo well.
Under Koeman, the Dominican has played 17 games but has not been exceedingly assuring. The two Milan powerhouses are potential suitors for Firpo’s talent as well as Napoli being credited with interest previously. Should the Catalonians get a reasonable amount, the 24-year-old could be sold.
Neto has just played 16 games so far in his Barcelona career
7. Neto
Neto and Jasper Cillessen were a straight swap in 2019 as the Brazilian arrived at Camp Nou and Cillessen switched Barcelona for Valencia. Marc-Andre ter Stegen remains the undisputed No.1 keeper at Barcelona and Neto is just a backup.
Gone are the days when Luis Enrique was the manager and had the policy of playing Claudio Bravo in La Liga and deploying ter Stegen in Champions League and Copa del Rey. Neto has just 16 Barca appearances under his belt and has not been able to stake his claim for a starting role.
Manager Koeman revealed that Neto had asked to leave the club in the January transfer window but the Blaugrana turned his request down. The summer will be another opportunity for Neto to search for a club. If the 31-year-old is sold, the Spanish giants will have to either enter the market in search of a new keeper or promote Inaki Pena as the backup to ter Stegen.
Signing Erling Haaland remains a very tricky operation and if has to be completed, the Blaugrana will have to sacrifice and sell a lot of their players who have underperformed or no longer fit in the system. A huge transitional summer is on the cards for the club from Catalonia.
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