By Betsefy
Barcelona‘s financial problems cost them the chance to keep Lionel Messi over the summer, but the club seemingly have funds to spend during the January transfer window.
Now under the management of Xavi, the Catalan giants have been linked with a number of players in recent days, with the club’s new head coach thought to be keen to sign two new attackers.
Barcelona’s transfer budget is far from healthy, but the La Liga outfit could potentially raise as much as £41m during the winter window by selling Inaki Pena, Clement Lenglet, Samuel Umtiti and Philippe Coutinho.
Pena, valued at £2.7m by Transfermarkt, is thought to be keen to seek pastures new in January, and a recent report claimed that Barcelona would be open to letting the goalkeeper leave.
Lenglet, meanwhile, has dropped down the pecking order for the centre-back spots this season, making just six La Liga appearances, with Ronald Araujo, Oscar Mingueza, Gerard Pique and Eric Garcia all ahead of him when it comes to a starting role.
Valued at £16.2m, there would certainly be interest in the Frenchman, and the fact that Barcelona are well-stocked at the back could lead to the Catalan outfit parting with him at the start of 2022.
The same can also be said for Umtiti, who was strongly linked with an exit over the summer but ultimately remained at Camp Nou; the Frenchman – valued at £4.5m – has not made a single appearance at club level this term but would not be short of interest if he became available for a cut-price fee, with Arsenal and Manchester United both thought to be admirers.
Coutinho, meanwhile, is seemingly not in Xavi’s long-term plans, as the new head coach wants to play a 4-3-3 system with two fast wingers, meaning that there is not a clear role for the Brazilian moving forward.
The 29-year-old has made 11 appearances at club level this season but has scored just once, and there has been plenty of speculation surrounding a possible January exit.
Transfermarkt has placed a valuation of £18m on the Brazilian, and Newcastle United have been the club most strongly linked with his services over the last few weeks.
