Luis Enrique will wait until the summer to get Nolito from Celta Vigo to Barcelona if a January transfer proves impossible.
Mundo Deportivo confirms Enrique’s desire to sign Nolito hasn’t gone away but the forward remains too expensive for Barca in January, Celta not budging from demanding the €18m specified in his contract.
A proposal for a loan with a compulsory purchase in the summer hasn’t found favour at Balaidos, but a new contract, which would raise Nolito’s clause to €25m, is on the backburner.
Barca face interest from Arsenal and an unnamed Serie A club for Nolito, but his preference is a return to Camp Nou, having been on the Barca books earlier in his career.
Arsenal appear to prefer Egypt’s Mohamed Elneny but there remains a chance another club could come in for the Spain international.
Enrique is however willing to wait until the summer transfer market to get his preferred option, even though he would very much like to get Nolito in his squad in the winter.
The Coach will have Aleix Vidal and Arda Turan at his disposal now Barca’s transfer embargo is lifted but with disappointment over the levels of Sandro Ramirez and Munir El Haddadi in the first half of the season, there’s the desire to bolster the attack for the rest of the campaign.
