Bartomeu demands Barcelona sales in January transfer window
Josep Maria Bartomeu has asked Pep Segura & Oscar Grau to sell
Barça need to reduce the wage bill and find funds for January spending
Those in charge of comings and goings at Barcelona have been given a very clear task for January. Pep Segura and Oscar Grau, general manager and CEO, have received an order to sell before negotiating possible signings.
That's come form Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu. Barça's board feel it's a priority to two, three or even four players this winter for financial and sporting reasons.
MOTIVE
MOTIVEAmong the reasons, for example, is the need to reduce the wage bill. Also the need to bring in money to boost the budget available to spend on players in January.
In sporting terms, the plan is to reduce the size of the first team squad, which is a request from Ernesto Valverde. The coach prefers to work with less players and to give the B team a bigger role. At the moment, he is working with a 24-man first team squad and is obliged to keep each player happy and involved.
As a consequence, Barça are open to offers for various players. The list is not official but for the right offer the following players would be considered available: Aleix Vidal (has offers in Spain), Andre Gomes (Italy could be calling), Denis Suarez (Napoli is an option), Gerard Deulofeu (has a good reputation in Italy), Paco Alcacer and Arda Turan.
TURAN
TURANArda Turan's case is the clearest. The club tried to sell him without success in the summer. The Turkish midfielder is not in Valverde's plans and has not played an official minute this season. His wages are also high.
Barça know they will lose money on hin but there's no alternative left. They spent 41 million euros on him (34 fixed, seven in variables) in 2015 and he has two and a half years left on his 8.2 million euro deal. The board know they can't get all that back.
