Barcelona have a transfer concern this summer that they hope will go away sooner rather than later. The Blaugrana have had a pretty quiet window so far, at least aside from the early signing of Anthony Gordon from Newcastle United.
Barca are now focusing on the signing of a new number 9 to replace Robert Lewandowski, and anyone connected to football knows how hard it is to find a reliable player in that position.
Attention will then turn to the other positions, but there is also a concern about a key exit that could take place in the front line.
Raphinha interest
According to various reports, there is interest in Barcelona forward Raphinha this summer after an impressive couple of seasons from the Brazilian. Raphinha has proven to be an excellent piece of business from Barca, and he continued to show it in the most recent campaign, scoring 21 and assisting nine across all competitions.
But at 29 years of age, big offers would usually be considered by the club. Raphinha is in his prime, but the vast majority of players go behind that prime within a year or two of turning 29.
But Barcelona do not seem to be thinking on that wavelength. According to Mundo Deportivo, despite interest from Saudi Arabia and the potential to earn a good fee, Barca are not considering the departure of Raphinha at all.
It's reported only an 'astronomical offer' would convince Barca to sell, and as long as the player is happy to continue at Camp Nou, the club will turn away offers this summer.
That is a breath of fresh air for Barca. The Blaugrana have found themselves searching for money too often in the last few years amid debt issues, often entertaining offers that gave them the chance to cash in.
But there seems to have been a change of focus to keeping this squad together, and it's only going to serve the club well going forward.
Flick is a big fan of Raphinha's
Flick will be the happiest figure with Barca's Raphinha stance. Speaking last season, he said of the winger: "He’s [Raphinha] unbelievable because he’s always 100% very focused and gives us a lot of strength in the defence, but also in the offence.
"He’s always the player who starts the dynamic to press, but also when we have space, he started in the right moment in these spaces, and it helps us a lot.Â
"He also always smiles; this is what I like the most, he’s always positive, and it’s important for him to be positive, this is the big thing – then you have confidence to give 100% on the pitch."
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