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| Eric Garcia centre-back of Barcelona and Spain during the warm-up before the La Liga Santander match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF at Spotify Camp Nou on March 19, 2023 in Barcelona, Spain. |
Whereas the Catalans seem to be going from strength to strength in terms of their form on the pitch, they have other urgent matters to tend to as well, looking ahead to the future.
The Financial Fair Play matter, for instance. Has become a massive thorn for the club’s potential plans. Heavily inclined to cut both current salaries as well as limit spending to an extreme, the Blaugrana outfit has thus started to realize that departures may just be a necessity at this point to ensure current operations, as well as potential future arrivals, can be sorted out.
In terms of the allocation of just how many players Barcelona are willing to part with, Diario AS reports it to be exactly four as of right now. These include a defender, a midfielder, and two forwards.
Eric Garcia:
The defender in question is youngster Eric Garcia, who since his arrival as a free agent from Manchester City has been met with a rather questionable reception. Albeit gifted, most involved with the Blaugrana outfit seem to disagree with the Spaniard being a Barcelona-caliber defender. His departure would also seem much more imminent once the arrival of Inigo Martinez proceeds to advance further.
Pablo Torre:
The midfielder whose departure is currently being assessed is Pablo Torre. The 19-year-old attacking midfielder’s arrival from Racing Santander came with high hopes and promise, yet has been unable to find opportunities to showcase it due to the level of quality and competition already present within the Barcelona midfield.
Thus the club believes it would be better for the development of the talented youngster that he is loaned out for next season. However, reports suggest their primary objective is to loan him out to a first-division club, to ensure that the youngster continues to develop at the highest possible level.
Ferran Torres:
The two forwards that are being contemplated as of right now are the Spanish duo Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati. The former was an acquisition from Manchester City, costing the Blaugrana a fee of around €50 million, a price that they would ideally want to recoup should they decide to part ways with him but realistically do not expect to.
His price tag set by the club is reportedly around €35 million should an offer come. While he is still appreciated by the sporting section of the club, he is not considered untouchable by the higher-ups.
Ansu Fati:
As for Ansu Fati, the promised jewel who was given the fabled number 10, things look a bit more uncertain. His quality is undeniable and unargued by those within the club, but his progress and form since his injuries has offered many a doubt.
His regressed physical state now looks apparent and despite the fact that the club does not want to ideally part ways with a talent so young still, desperation may just nudge them into offloading the youngster should an acceptable offer arrive.
Lastly, apart from these four primary departures, there also exists the case of the returning loan players. Players such as Clement Lenglet, Sergino Dest, and Alex Collado, expected to make their returns from their respective loans at Tottenham Hotspurs, AC Milan, and Elche, are reportedly going to be sold by the Catalan club.
The differing cases are those of Nico Gonzalez, on loan at Valencia CF right now, and Ezzalzouli Abde, currently on loan at CA Osasuna, who are both appreciated within the club. The latter is expected to stay within the dynamics of Xavi’s side upon his return, and while Nico Gonzalez is appreciated and liked by the sporting department and he is still seen as a bit of a work in progress more so.
