When focus shifts onto the mistakes Barcelona have made in the transfer market over the last few years, the discussion usually centres around those they did sign rather than those they didn’t.
But when former technical director Ramon Planes bid farewell to the Camp Nou in November 2021, he did so with his fair share of regrets. Not because of who he brought to Catalonia, but because of who he missed out on.
“Dusan Vlahovic is very strong. We were interested but it was not possible. Manuel Locatelli is Barcelona-style footballer, very strong who had a big explosion in Sassuolo. We were close to him but Juventus they have a certain appeal for Italian players,” Planes tells Gianluca di Marzio, admitting that Barcelona tried and failed to sign two players who eventually set Juventus back £100 million.
And that’s without mentioning another Serie A star who slipped through Barca’s fingers. One who flirted regularly with the Catalan giants back in 2020, before COVID reared it’s ugly head and changed everything.
“Lautaro Martinez was very close to Barcelona,” Planes adds of the Inter Milan striker. “Then there was the pandemic, and things have changed.”
Barcelona could have signed Liverpool target Enzo Fernandez
Should he continue to develop at a rate of knots at Benfica, Enzo Fernandez’s name will soon be uttered with similar wistfulness around Barcelona. Planes, Sport say, spoke to the Argentine’s representatives following an impressive loan spell at Defensa y Justicia a year ago. Fernandez, at the time, would have cost just £8 million from River Plate.
But Barcelona decided against making a move, Planes departed, and Fernandez moved to Portugal around 12 months down the line. And the irony will not be lost on anyone – least of all Planes – as La Blaugrana step up their pursuit of a Sergio Busquets replacement just one year after turning their backs on Fernandez.
After all, a 21-year-old midfield maestro labelled a ‘spectacular’ talent by Barca legend Lionel Messi would have slotted effortlessly into Busquets shoes at the heart of Xavi’s midfield.
Will Fernandez end up at Anfield?
“(It is) absolutely surprising the level at which he plays at. At only 21 years old,” former Real Madrid coach Jose Peseiro tells A Bola.
“The best player I worked with was (Zinedine) Zidane, at Real Madrid. Of course, I don’t want to compare. But I’m talking about Enzo’s passing and surprising vision, a bit like Zidane.
According to Sky Sports, Fernandez now one of the names on Liverpool’s radar as Jurgen Klopp looks to add some youthful exuberance to an ageing engine room. In the space of less than two years, his market value has risen from £8 million to £44 million.
Vlahovic, Locatelli and Lautaro Martinez may keep Planes up at night. But if Fernandez leaves Lisbon for Liverpool so soon after Barcelona failed to heed their former director’s advice, Planes would have another reason to look back on his time at the Camp Nou and wonder what might have been.
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