David Silva and Ander Herrera lined up if Barça cannot sign Paul Pogba
Barcelona are looking for a top class central midfielder and the top choice on their list is Paul Pogba. Juventus' great star is the most wanted player in Europe. However, while Adiado Braida works to convince the Frenchman to sign for Barcelona, the market dictates that it might be hard, with Man City, PSG and Chelsea all in for the star.
Clubs who are looking to sell and agents who want to move their players believe that sooner or later, Barcelona should consider other options in the market, more economical choices, or players who are more likely to relish a move to the Camp Nou next summer, of January 2016 if the FIFA ban is not cancelled.
In the last few weeks the list of alternatives has become extensive - some have been dismissed as absurd, others are standby options and others still have merited preliminary contact to confirm they want to move to Barcelona and establish an economic assessment.
One of these players is David Silva. A Spain international, someone who would love to play at the Camp Nou, and every year is considered a possible summer reinforcement. In 2015 it will not be an exception. Man City are preparing to change their squad greatly and Silva would be transferable at a reasonable price. Weeks ago the club made contact with the sporting directors at City and the agents of the midfielder. There was a London meeting that was described as "cordial and satisfactory". Economically, it is expected that a final transfer would not cost more than €30million.
Silva has always been a player of the "Barcelona profile". His versatility in midfield and his exquisite play with the ball would make for easy adaption to life at the Camp Nou. It is true that years pass and Silva is 29, but his signing would be at a reasonable price for the market and guarantee high levels of performance in the short and medium term. The Man City player is aware of this contact, and his agent expects more to come in the coming weeks.
The second player with similar circumstances is Ander Herrera. The Manchester United central midfielder has been linked with Barcelona for a long time, while he was at Athletic Club. He's a player for whom Barcelona's technical staff have always had a soft spot. From the Guardiola era, he was always said to be a possible summer transfer signing. Finally United took him. His adaption to the Premier League has been good, but the English club are looking to reinforce next seasonm with millions of pounds, strengthening all areas of the team. Herrera will be allowed to leave if there is a reasonable offer. However, the club don't want to pay more than €25m for him, while it looks like it would take at least €30m to prise him from Old Trafford.
In both cases, the players and their "environment" knows that Barcelona needs time to solve different problems first. Firstly, signing Pogba is the priority and they're not going to throw in the towel in May. Furthermore, there is still the uncertainty about whether Barcelona will be able to pick up players in the summer or not, because of FIFA's ban.
