Soccer Football - Europa League - Round of 16 First Leg - FC Barcelona v Galatasaray - Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain - March 10, 2022 FC Barcelona's Memphis Depay reacts REUTERS/Albert Gea
Tottenham Hotspur find themselves in a six-club scrap for out-of-favour Barcelona forward Memphis Depay, according to Spanish publication AS (via JFC News).
The lowdown
It was only last summer that Barcelona signed Depay after he reached the end of his Lyon contract, labelled a ‘phenomenal‘ signing by BBC writer Premier League Panel, but already he’s been deemed surplus to requirements.
That’s after the Catalan giants added Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha to their ranks and renewed the contract of Ousmane Dembele.
Spurs have already made an attacking addition themselves this summer, spending £52.5million on Richarlison, but it seems Antonio Conte wants even more depth at his disposal.
The latest
AS report that Juventus are the latest club to join a race that also includes Spurs, Napoli, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Depay’s former club Lyon.
They also reveal that Xavi has held frank discussions with the forward during Barcelona’s pre-season tour of the United States, telling him that he will effectively spend the ‘whole season’ on the bench if he stays at the Nou Camp and urging him to find a new club.
Depay, dubbed ‘incredible‘ by La Liga writer Rafael Hernandez, is apparently available for a fee of €20million, which equates to about £16.9million.
The verdict
Intriguingly, the report mentions that Depay’s departure would help Barcelona in their efforts to trim their wage bill. As per SalarySport, he’s one of the club’s top earners on £158,000 per week.
If it’s public knowledge that the Blaugrana need to get salaries off their books, then that certainly puts them in a weak negotiating position. On that basis, Fabio Paratici can attempt to sign the Dutchman for even less than the quoted £16.9m fee.
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That would be a bargain for a player who netted 13 goals in 37 appearances last season, averaging one every 190 minutes, and has scored 42 goals in 79 caps for the Netherlands.
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