Barcelona will be looking to bring in more free transfers and cut-price deals this summer as the club finances bite hard once again. Director of Football Mateu Alemany was charged with the tough negotiating last summer and looks as if he will have to be at his best again if the Blaugrana want to strengthen.
According to Relevo, one of the players he will be playing hardball over is Yannick Carrasco. Heavily linked with Barcelona in the winter transfer window after Memphis Depay moved to Atletico Madrid, the two sides supposedly had a deal for €9m agreed, before Los Colchoneros doubled their demands late on.
As things stand, Barcelona have an option to buy on Carrasco set at €20m, but are unlikely to exercise it. Alemany has set the limit at €9-10m, and will not go over that amount. Should Atleti demand more, they will look eslewhere.
Likely to sell one or two forwards in the summer, Barcelona are looking at cheaper ways to strengthen their left side, and Carrasco would be an obvious method of doing so. The Belgian winger is out of contract next summer, and with negotiations for a renewal dead, Carrasco will leave after this season.
It could be that Barcelona are leaking this information as a negotiation tactic. Whether it works or not will likely depend on how much interest there is from other clubs in Carrasco.
