Pogba and Gündogan Are Barcelona’s main targets
By Dani Garcia
Though FC Barcelona faces a ban transfer this year and can’t sign any player until January 2016 due to a sanction of The Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS), rumors and news are omnipresent in Camp Nou. Furthermore, 2015 is an electoral year and the presidential candidates need to promise players to the fan base. According to Catalan newspaper ‘Sport’, current president Josep Maria Bartomeu is willing to invest 50 million euros in two players, a deep-lying playmaker in the midfield and a right-wing in the defense. If the club sells some player in summer there would be more cash for another acquisition.
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The front office is following players such as Marco Verratti (PSG), Lars Bender (Bayer Leverkusen) and Danilo (Oporto). The alternatives are Mattia de Sciglio (AC Milan), Lukas Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund), Paulo Dybala (Palermo) and Stefan Savic (Fiorentina).
But Joan Laporta, former president (2003-2010) and possible presidential candidate, would bring a Manchester City package according to the ‘Daily Mirror’. Manuel Pellegrini would be the next coach and Txiki Begiristain the general manager just the way he was during Laporta’s years. The first acquisition in Laporta’s and Begiristain’s plans would be Spanish midfielder Javi Martinez (Bayern Munich).
However, there are three big names in Barcelona’s zone of influence, for the current and/or the upcoming front office:
Paul Pogba
The French player is doing a great season with Juventus. He has played 31 games, scoring 8 goals and giving 6 assists. Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City, and PSG are on the hunt too, specially Barcelona’s greatest rival, Real Madrid, according to the Spanish capital newspaper ‘Marca’. The good news for ‘Barça’ is that one of the members of its front office, Ariedo Braida, has a very good relationship with Paul Pogba‘s agent and Juventus general manager, Giuseppe Marotta. The bad news is that the 22-year old player doesn’t want to wait until January 2016 to dress a new jersey.
Ilkay Gündogan
One of the main Bartomeu’s targets before the presidential elections would be Ilkay Gündogan, a 24-year old midfielder playing for Borussia Dortmund. His contract ends in June 2016 and he has no intentions to keep playing in Germany. That would reduce his price to less than 20 million euros. The German player is doing great this season after a lot of injuries in the 2013/14 season.
Radamel Falcao
The Colombian forward will leave Manchester at the end of the season. He is not one of the Louis Van Gaal favorite players and he will be back in Monaco. The teams interested in Radamel Falcao are, besides FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Valencia and Sevilla. His arrival to Barcelona looks difficult because Luis Enrique already has Messi, Neymar and Suarez playing in his position.
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