BARÇA COULD STRENGTHEN ITSELF WITHOUT SPENDING A EURO
The list of 'bargains' that FC Barcelona could incorporate in the free agent market
Published:6/09/2024 - 21:42h
Updated:6/09/2024 - 21:48h
The free agent market offers several high-quality options for Barça to strengthen without spending a penny. Players such as Adrien Rabiot, Perisic and Joel Matip are still without a team and could be low-cost alternatives to shore up the defence
On Friday, August 30, a very complicated transfer market came to an end for FC Barcelona, which 'only' managed to bring in Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor to Hansi Flick's squad. The club's financial situation continues to present some problems, and Joan Laporta acknowledged that the club still needs 60 million euros to reach the 1:1 rule in LaLiga's financial fair play. However, the president assured that, if necessary due to a serious injury to a player, the Catalans could cancel his contract and take advantage of 80% of his salary by signing a player without paying a transfer fee. In that sense, the free agent market offers several options that, despite not being very striking, the Catalans could resort to.
The main name is Adrien Rabiot, who at 29 remains without a team after leaving Juventus. The Frenchman proved to be in great form at the last European Championship, and could be an interesting option for the midfield. In the same position there are several alternatives, such as Francis Coquelin (34), who was released by Villarreal after four seasons at La Cerámica, the Dutchman Davy Klaassen (31), whose last club was Inter Milan, and the Russian Anton Miranchuk (28), without a contract after his last stint at Lokomotiv Moscow.
The Catalans could 'comb' the range of veterans, which is made up of Anthony Martial (28) who is said to be in negotiations with Flamengo. Ivan Perisic (35), a left winger who already knows what it is like to work for Hansi Flick after his time at Bayern, is also presented as an alternative for the attack, although Barça had ruled out his signing last summer. Wissam Ben Yedder (34) and Eric-Maxim Choupo Moting (35) could act as emergency options for the attacking midfield. The Frenchman has just scored 20 goals for Monaco, while the Cameroonian has been in a poor form for Bavaria, only scoring three goals last season.
The defence, without top-level options
Finally, the defence does not offer many reliable alternatives to reinforce the Blaugrana team. Cédric Soares (33), formerly of Arsenal, and Serge Aurier (31), after leaving Galatasaray, are the two most renowned right-backs on the list, while in the centre of defence Joel Matip (34), after leaving Liverpool, and Simon Kjaer (35), formerly of AC Milan, appear as the two most reliable players to shore up the position.
