Arsenal, Tottenham given timeline to sign ‘world-class’ star for £17m

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Barcelona have frozen making a decision on selling Memphis Depay until after the La Liga side conclude pre-season, with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur interested in the forward.

That’s according to Sport, who report the Blaugrana will not assess if Depay has a future at the Camp Nou until July. Boss Xavi Hernandez wants to understand what attacking options will be at his disposal next term before potentially offloading the Dutchman this summer.

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Club chiefs at the Catalan giants are in no hurry to rush Depay out of the exit door just one year after his arrival from Lyon. He finished his debut season strongly to impress Xavi with his versatility. The 28-year-old also ended the term with 12 goals from 28 league matches.

Barcelona freeze Depay decision amid interest from Arsenal and Tottenham

Depay’s objective would be to continue with Barcelona next season as he is convinced he will feature regularly under Xavi. Barcelona also believe they would be able to command a higher fee next January as his market value will rise following the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Barcelona could even offer Depay a new contract to further protect his market value. The Dutchman only agreed to a two-year deal when leaving Lyon as a free agent last summer. So, the Blaugrana are toying with the idea of locking him down for a further two seasons.

Arsenal have already sounded out the chances of Depay leaving Barcelona this summer as Mikel Arteta is interested in him. The Gunners started the summer market in contact with the Blaugrana to discuss the 80-cap Netherlands forward possibly moving to north London.

But Arteta faces competition from Arsenal’s rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, with Foot Mercato noting Antonio Conte has Depay on his list of potential replacements for Steven Bergwijn. 90min claim Ajax have agreed a fee of £20m, plus £5m in add-ons, for the Spurs forward.

A deal for Depay to leave Barcelona amid interest from Arsenal and Tottenham would set clubs back €20m (£17m), per Sport.  A potential bargain for a player Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas hailed as ‘world-class’ before leaving his Ligue 1 side for La Liga last summer.