Barcelona: The Latest on Futures of Lautaro Martínez, Donny van de Beek & Luis Suárez
By Tom Gott
It's fair to say that this is probably the most important summer transfer window in Barcelona's recent history. Things were bad enough before the 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich, but the carnage has only grown in the aftermath of that humiliation.
Quique Setién and Eric Abidal are gone and Ronald Koeman and Ramon Planes are in the hot seats, but the biggest changes could come on the pitch. Nearly every member of the squad has been put up for sale, which means that the list of potential targets is a long one.
Let's take a look at the latest workings of the Barcelona rumour mill.
Barcelona Have Three Priority Signings
There's a lot going on at Camp Nou this summer. There could be plenty of new arrivals and a boatload of exits, but Sport believe that Barcelona will focus on signing three specific players before doing any other business.
At the top of the list is Inter's Lautaro Martínez (no surprise there), and the Argentine is followed by Manchester City centre-back Eric García and Valencia left-back José Gaya.
If and when those deals get done, Barça will move on to some other targets, and there's a fair few of them.
Koeman to Build Netherlands 2.0
Koeman's arrival at Camp Nou is part of a major squad rebuild, and AS state that the boss could look to bring some of his buddies from the Dutch national team with him.
Liverpool's Georginio Wijnaldum, Atalanta's Marten de Roon, Lyon's Memphis Depay, PSV Eindhoven's Donyell Malen and Tottenham's Steven Bergwijn are all named as potential targets, with Koeman ready to put his faith in the group who led the Netherlands to the Nations League final.
There's another name on the radar - Ajax's Donny van de Beek - and there's a lot more on him.
Ajax Set Van de Beek Asking Price
Van de Beek has been close to a blockbuster move for what feels like an eternity now. Real Madrid and Manchester United have both been linked, and now Koeman's Barcelona have joined the party.
Ajax are prepared to let Van de Beek go and they have already spoken with the midfielder about a potential exit, but according to Sport, they will only do business for €55m (£50m).
The Dutch side are reluctant to let more of their stars walk away this summer as replacing them in the current market is easier said than done. If only there was a way Barça could sweeten the deal...
Luis Suárez to Move in Exchange?
Mundo Deportivo claim that Barcelona are considering the idea of sending striker Luis Suárez back to Ajax as part of any deal to sign Van de Beek.
Ajax are keen to bring Suárez back to the club, but the Uruguayan is yet to be convinced. He still wants to stay at Camp Nou, but if he can be persuaded to return to the Netherlands, it could save Barcelona close to €20m.
The likes of Depay, Malen and Martínez have all been touted as potential long-term replacements for Suárez, who is undoubtedly approaching the end of his time in Spain. Ajax want that end to come now, but there's still a lot of work to be done.
Suárez & Alba to Be Respected
A squad rebuild can be a little brutal at times, and Barcelona have made it clear that they are prepared to make some tough decisions for the good of the club. However, two tricky cases come in the in the forms of Suárez and left-back Jordi Alba.
Sport note that Barça cannot afford to keep paying both players' mammoth salaries, but there is an acceptance that both have done so much for the club that they deserve more respect that to simply be booted out the exit door.
Both Suárez and Alba will be urged to leave, but they will be given the chance to do so on their own terms.