Barcelona Ready To Offer €54 Million Deal For Villarreal Ace Juan Foyth
It is no secret that Barcelona are scouring the market for right-back options to strengthen their squad in the summer. And, as per multiple reports, manager Xavi Hernandez has identified Villarreal ace Juan Foyth as his preferred option.
The 25-year-old was linked with Barcelona last summer as well but a move fell apart after he sustained an injury during the transfer window. But, the Blaugrana have continued to follow Foyth’s progress with the Yellow Submarine, and Xavi remains fixated on the idea of signing him.
A move, though, has been made complicated because Villarreal want Foyth’s €54 million release clause to be paid in full. Xavi, however, is refusing to give up and has asked Barça to make efforts to sign him.
And now, Javi Miguel of AS is reporting that Barcelona are looking into the possibility of offering a player to Villarreal as part of the operation to sign Foyth at a lower cost.
As per the report, the La Liga leaders are ready to offer academy graduate Nico Gonzalez, who is currently on loan at Valencia, to Villarreal as a makeweight in their bid to acquire Foyth’s services.
Nico has had a difficult season away on loan at Valencia due to multiple injuries that have stopped him from getting regular game-time. His future at Barcelona remains unclear given that there is already a lot of competition in the midfield department.
As such, the possibility of him being sold or used in a player-exchange deal was always going to be high. And now, Barcelona wish to offer Nico to Villarreal as part of their operation to land Foyth.
The Catalan giants hope that the inclusion of the midfield prospect in the deal could lower its value by at least €20 million so that they can sign Foyth for a fee close to €30 million or so, which would be feasible for the club.
Despite Villarreal officials’ firm stance, Barcelona believe that the Yellow Submarines’ manager Quique Setien could give the go-ahead to such an operation in the summer.
Barcelona also have other players on their agenda such as Joao Cancelo, Benjamin Pavard, and Diogo Dalot.
However, all of them are seen as complicated purchases and Xavi continues to push for Foyth. Only time will tell whether Nico’s inclusion in the operation helps Barça land the 25-year-old World Cup winner come summer.
