Barcelona are closing in on the signing of Manchester City attacker Ferran Torres with a deal of around 55 million Euros in the works. For a cash-strapped Barcelona side that could not even keep hold of their best player ever, Lionel Messi, this is welcome news. The former Valencia man was identified as a target for the Catalans leading to delegates visiting Manchester City to speak to Pep Guardiola. The deal looks set to go through despite a financial impasse on the part of Barca.
He has 9 goals and 3 assists in 28 appearances for the citizens. His record with Spain is stellar. 12 goals and an assist in 22 appearances has seen him become a mainstay under Luis Enrique. Ferran Torres will add a certain dynamism to the squad that Xavi lacks at the moment. He likes to run behind the defense and that profile is not common within the notoriously on-the-ball-centric team that is Barca. He also operates on the right side of the attack, a position where Barcelona lacks senior options. 20-year-old Abde Ezzalzouli from the La Masia has occupied the right-wing position at Barca with Ousmane Dembele returning in their last game against Sevilla. Speaking of Dembele, signing Ferran will also allow Barcelona keep going if he leaves this summer with the Frenchman refusing to put pen to paper on a new contract.
Barcelona are also targeting Jules Kounde from Sevilla, but his 80 million Euros release clause could prove tricky to negotiate with Monchi. Ironically, Kounde received a red card for hitting Jordi Alba with the ball when Barcelona faced Sevilla. They also want Edinson Cavani to replace Sergio Aguero this summer. Joan Laporta recently promised that Barcelona now have some money to spend in the transfer window. It remains to see how many of those signings they can make and if they will be enough to push Barcelona up from the seventh position they currently occupy on the La Liga table. They are 15 points away from the top and have crashed down to the UEFA Europa League where they will face Napoli.
