This Wednesday, FC Barcelona presented its rookie Franck Kessié. The opportunity for President Joan Laporta to take stock of the transfer window.
This week, FC Barcelona announced the arrivals of Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessié, both free after the end of their adventure at Chelsea and AC Milan. Regarding the midfielder, he was presented to the press on Wednesday. Alongside him were director of football Mateu Alemany and president Joan Laporta who said:“Welcome Franck Kessié. We are very happy with this arrival. He wanted to come to Barca and that’s what we wanted too. I’m sure he will be important at Barca. Xavi wanted a player with these characteristics and the club worked very well for him to come..
But Xavi expects further reinforcements this summer. This is the message also sent by Laporta on Wednesday. His words are echoed by Mundo Deportivo. “Before talking about more signings, we have to activate the second lever to make the recruitments that the coach has guided us on. We can’t say how many there will be, but we can say that we will strengthen the team.”. Purchasing a shoe size at the number 9 position is the priority. Plan A leads to Robert Lewandowski. But the file drags on and Bayern Munich remains firm. The Culés would thus explore other avenues.
Laporta responds to CR7
The last leads to Cristiano Ronaldo, who wants to leave Manchester United in order to play in the Champions League. His agent, Jorge Mendes, has also met Joan Laporta this week. What the boss of FC Barcelona did not deny. “I had dinner on Monday with Jorge Mendes and we talked about the market in general. Mateu also had to come, but he had other occupations. Cristiano? I’m not going to talk about the names of the players who came out of the meeting, but it’s always interesting to know how certain names end up in the market. It’s always interesting to talk to him, he’s a great agent..
Relaunched on the subject, he replied: “Cristiano? Don’t make me talk about players. I won’t. It doesn’t contribute anything to Barca’s interests. We have to respect players who have contracts with other teams.”. The president was then more talkative about the players under contract. Many could leave. “We have absolute respect for our players, we are working very well on contracts which are not easy because the players want to maintain their status in the clubs they go to. When we activate the second lever it will be easier. And the player still believes he can convince the coach before leaving. I hope logic will prevail.”.
The president evokes the De Jong and Dembélé files
In addition to Clément Lenglet (loan to Tottenham) and Samuel Umtiti (loan to Rennes), who are on the start, Frenkie de Jong is also potentially a starter. Manchester United want to sign him. But Laporta was clear: ‘Frenkie de Jong is a Barca player and we haven’t put him up for sale’. Finally, the Blaugrana president gave an update on the thorny Ousmane Dembélé case. The Frenchman hasn’t extended his contract. Officially, he hasn’t been a club player since July 1.
“There is no date for Dembélé, the player replied. If he doesn’t accept our proposal, he won’t be able to stay. If he does not accept it, there is nothing to do. You have to respect the salary grid that you want so that there is no imbalance that could distort everything. And it’s the same with Frenkie. And with the reinforcements coming. We are in no hurry, even if we know that we cannot delay too long so as not to hinder the arrival of other players who have understood the situation. We will move forward in the transfer window with this principle.. Everyone is warned!
