Barcelona are reportedly eyeing up Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Giovani Lo Celso as an alternative to Bernardo Silva, having been priced out of a move for the Manchester City star.
Lo Celso, 27, spent the last season and a half on loan at Villarreal, where he impressed in flashes but was overall inconsistent, and Quique Setien’s side elected not to use the option to buy they had in his loan deal.
Bernardo Silva has been admired for some time, but Man City will not let him follow Ilkay Gundogan out the door without a huge transfer fee, something Barcelona cannot afford right now.
A report from MARCA has now claimed that Barcelona could use their good relations with Spurs to land Lo Celso as a cheaper alternative, and given his much lower wages, he would be more affordable than Silva.
However, the report has also stated that Xavi will look to secure the signings of Oriol Romeu from Girona, as well as a right-back, before targeting another midfielder.
Should Barcelona sign Lo Celso?
Given that Xavi already has Gundogan, Pedri, Gavi and Frenkie De Jong in addition to Franck Kessie, who could leave, it would be surprising if he chooses to sign yet another midfielder on top of Romeu.
Whilst this would provide Barcelona with excellent depth, the current financial situation means that spending additional funds and wages on a player unlikely to be a starter would go against their current plan to trim the wage bill.
Lo Celso has not hit top form since departing Real Betis for Spurs in 2019, and whilst he showed promising signs at Villarreal, his lack of end product from midfield makes him an inferior option to Silva.
He has impressed for Argentina despite his poor club form, and was once described by former teammate Harry Winks as “exciting.”
He scored just three and provided four goals in 51 appearances for Villarreal over 18 months, after producing very little at Spurs, and Barcelona may be better off waiting for the financial situation to improve and sticking with their current options unless they can bring him in for a minimal fee and low wages as a backup.