Now this feels like one of those transfers that suits everybody down to the ground.
Southampton get a replacement for Ryan Bertrand, Junior Firpo gets a chance to play regular first-team football, and cash-strapped Barcelona get some respite from their crippling financial problems.
It’s no secret returning Barca president Joan Laporta is desperate to trim the fat from a bloated, expensively assembled squad. And, alongside Samuel Umtiti and Philippe Coutinho, £18 million left-back Firpo has been placed front and centre in the shop window.
The availability of Firpo, a former Spain U21 international, could hardly have been better timed either, at least as far as Southampton are concerned.
ESPN claims the Saints have made their interest known less than a fortnight after confirming Ryan Bertrand would leave St Mary’s on a free transfer.
West Ham United are also interested, according to Mundo Deportivo, with manager David Moyes a long-time admirer of the former Real Betis youngster.
Barcelona would prefer to recoup most, if not all, of their £18 million investment. But while Firpo has started just 14 La Liga games in two years at Camp Nou, allow us to allay any concerns.
Many a Barcelona misfit has blossomed in the Premier League, from Lucas Digne to Yaya Toure and Alexis Sanchez to Luis Garcia.
And Firpo, in his defence, has had one of the greatest left-backs of the modern era, Jordi Alba, keeping him out of the Barca XI.
Here’s what some Barcelona fans had to say about the situation on Twitter:
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