No Nico? No Diaz? Then who? Potential left winger options for Barcelona

Barcelona suffered a huge blow to their transfer window when it was announced that Nico Williams had snubbed the Catalan club in favor of renewing with Athletic Club. The other main left wing target is Luis Diaz and a deal to bring him in seems unlikely as some sources say he could be joining Bayern and others saying the price tag of 80 million euros is significantly more than Barca are willing to pay. The Blaugrana club clearly feel the need to reinforce the left wing position but with their two main targets seeming out of the question, who are potential options?

Dream Signings

First, we will talk about AC Milan winger Rafael Leao who could potentially leave Milan for the right price. Despite new head coach Massimiliano Allegri assuring that Leao would remain a Milan player, the rumors of a move away still persist.

Leao has long rumored to be Joan Laporta's personal favorite left wing target for sporting reasons and revenue reasons. Leao has been labeled as an "inconsistent" player an often criticized for his attitude on the pitch and lack of tracking back. Despite this, he has all the makings of an elite winger with his height, pace, strength, dribbling, and chance creation being all an elite level. As a player, he would significantly improve the left wing posititon but his price is likely out of Barcelona's range and Milan have no need to sell.

The second dream signing would be a super talent in Juventus and Turkish winger Kenan Yildiz. The Turkish youngster was a target for Barcelona in 2022 when Yildiz was leaving Bayern, but got beat in that race by Juventus. Now could this interest resurface with a shock report that Barcelona could offer an Araujo-Yildiz swap deal to Juventus. We know that Juventus had significant interest in Araujo in the winter transfer window but would they really consider a deal for the crown jewel of their team?

The Realistic Options

Now we will discuss more realistic options that could still be good for the team and are in a realistic price range. First, we will talk about Eliesse Ben Seghir who is a 20 year old winger for AS Monaco. The promising Moroccan talent has impressed with his electric dribbling and his playmaking ability finishing the season with nine goals and four assist. He could be a young exciting option that would be in an ideal price range for Barcelona, someone they have already monitored, and would be with a club Barcelona has already negotiated with the summer.

Another exciting young player being floated around is RB Leipzig's Antonio Nusa. The Norwegian winger has long been touted as a promising player but has some injury troubles. Still, he would be another exciting young winger who likes to dribble and has the capabilites to be an excellent playmaker. It's likely he will be in Barca's price range and could add to their collection of young talent.

Lastly, Marcus Rashford has been the most consistent name in Barca rumors outside of Nico and Diaz. The Englishman has publicly talked about how he would love to play with Lamine Yamal and the rumors say he's willing to do whatever it takes to play for the Blaugrana. The ball seems to be in Barca's court as its up to them to negotiate a deal with Manchester United wheter it be on loan or for a fee. United aren't known for being great negotiators so Barca could get the loan move they ideally want.

La Masia to the rescue again?

Toni Fernandez, Ibrahim Diarra, and Jan Virgili are all La Masia wingers expected to join the team in their Asian preseason tour and will be given chances to show what they can do. Out of the three names, only Jan Virgili is a natural left winger, but Diarra has the capabilities of playing left wing and Toni could be molded to learn the position. We've seen La Masia bail Barcelona out before who's to say that can't happen again and save Barca on spending money on a position again.

Final Prediciton

My final prediction would be that Barcelona end up bringing in Rashford on loan with an optional buy clause and also promote Jan Virgili to the first team this season. This allows them to reinforce the left wing position without fully having to be comitted to Rashford long term if it doesn't work out. Promoting Jan Virgili gives him time to learn under Rashford and Raphinha while also getting used to first team dynamics and getting sporadic minutes. This stengthens the position while not spending any money this summer.