FC Barcelona: New signings for the winter market
The FC Barcelona has all the potential to become one of the main protagonists of the upcoming winter market. The team from the city of Barcelona, solid leader in La Liga, wants to boost its squad and meet the demands of coach Ernesto Valverde, who wants to add new players for the second half of the season, with the goal of shining in the Champions League as well.
As has been rumored for several weeks now, the top priority for the Blaugrana is none other than Brazilian international Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian player, who was already on the radar last summer, ultimately did not sign with the Catalan club due to the repeated refusals from Liverpool, who showed inflexibility in the negotiations with Barcelona's president, Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Aware that this situation could be repeated in January, the newspaper Sport reports that FC Barcelona also has a series of young players in mind who could arrive for a lower fee. These are midfielders with good ball control and tactical sense who can adapt to Ernesto Valverde's style of play.
Thus, among the names mentioned, one of the recurring ones that has been followed since last summer is German midfielder Leon Goretzka, a 22-year-old player whose contract with Schalke 04 has sparked interest from several teams in the Bundesliga and the Premier League. Another option is the Brazilian Arthur (21 years old, Gremio), who has also been offered to Real Madrid and has a release clause set at €50M. One of Barcelona's options is for the player to stay on loan in Brazil for a year, thus reducing his transfer fee.
The last two options are two promising stars to be developed. The first case is Houssem Aouar (19), who currently plays for Olympique Lyon. The second is Kai Havertz (18), a skillful and disruptive player who has already shown great potential with Bayer Leverkusen.