Manchester City forward Ferran Torres has been linked with a potential January switch to Barcelona. However, City are demanding three of the Catalan players in a swap deal, The Mirror understands.
The players in question are Ansu Fati, Pedri Gonzalez, and Frenkie De Jong.
Ansu Fati has been scintillating off-late after spending the lion’s share of the last year on the sidelines owing to a serious knee injury. Though the Spaniard has featured in only a mere 11 matches in the last two years (in La-Liga), he has netted the ball seven times and that is enough to suggest the vast amount of potential the Spaniard carries with himself.
He scored a screamer in the 80th minute of the away fixture against Dynamo Kyiv, handing Barcelona their UCL fate. Now, a win against Bayern Munich will be enough to see them through the group-stages but it is not going to be easy, especially with the winger tipped to sit the key fixture out.
Pedri has been the shining light of a breezy Spanish campaign thus far this year ( Semis exit in the EUROS and Runner-up in UEFA Nations League ), making a record 73 appearances (Country + Club) and rightly honored with ‘Golden Boy’ and ‘Kopa Trophy’.
Having said that, both Ansu and Pedri have recently extended their contracts with the Catalans until 2026 and a release clause quoted at a whopping €1 billion.
The last candidate on the list and probably the most vulnerable one among the lot is Dutch midfielder Frenkie De Jong. The 24-year-old was the only shining ligh alongside Argentine talisman Lionel Messi in covering the (now) very-visible cracks in the Barca setup.
Manchester City are demanding €70M for Ferran Torres and Barca are negotiating to lower it around €50M mark. Given the financial crisis at the Blaugrana, the Sky blues may demand any one among the three players.
Catalan ‘s new boss Xavi’s ploy around wingers would mean that Ferran Torres could be a perfect fit for the former La Liga champions and could thus, force one of their stars out of the club.
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