With reports suggesting Barcelona are willing to let Carles Alena join Wolverhampton Wanderers for as little as £7 million, the inner-cynic inside all of us could be forgiven for wondering if there’s a motive lurking behind that fun-sized price tag?
Has Alena, a La Masia graduate compared to Xavi in his younger days, failed to live up to his early promise at Camp Nou? A modern-day Bojan, if you will?
Have his abilities been vastly overrated?
Is that why the 23-year-old is available on the cheap, for broadly a quarter of the fee Midlands rivals Aston Villa have just paid for Emi Buendia (Sport)?
Wolves eye bargain deal but why are Barcelona selling Alena?
Well, when you consider debt-ridden Barcelona have spent much of the past 12 months hawking their wares around Europe – letting Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal, Luis Suarez and more leave for fees more familiar to Championship clubs than a Champions League colossus – Alena’s £7m price tag is more a reflection of the club’s financial problems than his own ability.
Too good to be true? Well, maybe not.
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Goal reports the Kings of Catalonia have little choice but to sell their crown jewels, finding themselves more than £800 million in debt and under serious pressure to raise funds – and fast.
£7 million for Alena would hardly put a dent in those crippling debts, of course.
But beggars can’t be choosers and Barca’s loss could be Wolves’ gain.
Here’s what some Wolves fans had to say about the situation on Twitter:
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