Are Tottenham in Barcelona for more than training?

By Rucker Haringey | Jan 25, 2016

July 21, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Barcelona defender Marc Bartra (15) controls the ball against Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Steven Gerrard (8) during the first half at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

Tottenham’s squad has hit out to Barcelona for training in warm weather, but could there be more business to be done in Spain for Spurs?

It’s not exactly a state secret that manager Mauricio Pochettino has taken his squad to Barcelona for training after the team’s 3-1 triumph over Crystal Palace, but there could be quite a bit more to it. Tottenham could be in Spain to advance negotiations for two different Barcelona players.

The first possible Tottenham transfer target in Barcelona is pretty obvious. The club has been widely linked to Sandro Ramirez for most of the January window and a deal would make a lot of sense. Sandro has struggled to find his place in the stacked Barcelona attack so he is looking to find more regular playing time.

Tottenham is looking for another striker to provide cover for their star, Harry Kane, and adding a young player like Sandro would fit Pochettino’s model. He could provide cover for Kane or even possibly play alongside him in more attacking setups.

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His reported release clause of just nine million pounds also fits nicely in Spurs’ price range. The club is hesitant to spend big money on an unproven player in advance of their new stadium construction. This sort of transfer wouldn’t break the bank and could potentially pay huge dividends for the club as they try to push for Champions League qualification at the very least.

Tottenham bringing in Sandro to supplement their attack force is a pretty straight forward rumor that doesn’t require much imagination. It’s been discussed at length and many pundits believe it’s Spurs’ most likely signing in the January window.

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In contrast, the possibility of Tottenham signing Barcelona defender Marc Bartra requires much more imagination. Full credit to the Mirror’s Jason Pettigrove for cooking this potential scheme up in his column today. He proposes that Tottenham move to sign Bartra to strengthen its back four.

Pettigrove correctly points out several factors that make this transfer seem not only possible, but logical. First, Bartra has gone on record several times over the course of the year expressing his displeasure with his Barcelona playing time. He’s struggled to cement his place in their starting 11 and has brought up the possibility that a move away might be best for his career. This proves that the Barcelona product is at least open to the right move.

The more compelling point that Pettigrove points out, is that Bartra has recently made an agent switch that might pour gasoline on this rumor. He was the first player to join Carles Puyol’s agency and wouldn’t you know it, Puyol just spent some time in Tottenham with Pochettino. In fact, he went on record calling the Spurs manager one of “the best coaches” in the world. That is, at the very least, a massive coincidence.

Now, in the interest of fairness there hasn’t been any reported Tottenham interest in Bartra as of late. However, he did reportedly turn down interest from both Spurs and Manchester City over the summer to try to secure his place at Barcelona. It’s not a stretch to think he might be rethinking that decision now.

Tottenham may be in Barcelona for warm weather, but I wouldn’t put it past Mauricio Pochettino to be doing more than just training in the Spanish sun. He may be there to close out negotiations for two Barcelona players that could help his Spurs team mount a challenge for the Premier League title.

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