Barcelona want £13m million for reported Liverpool, Arsenal and Wolves target Ilaix Moriba, with Sport claiming the contract-rebel midfielder will be frozen out if he isn’t sold this month.
This really is the last thing Ronald Koeman needed.
As the kingdom crumbles in Catalonia, at least Barca could call on some of the best young talent in Europe as they look to adapt to life without their greatest ever player.
Ronald Araujo, Oscar Mingueza, Sergino Dest, Riqui Puig and the marvellous Pedri. They may not be Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and Puyol but any club in Europe would love to have them.
The ongoing Ilaix Moriba saga, then, is one Barcelona would have preferred to avoid.
Barcelona will freeze out Moriba if he doesn’t leave for Arsenal, Liverpool – or anywhere
The teenage playmaker was a revelation during a breakthrough 2020/21 campaign. He ended last season with 18 first-team appearances while performing with the kind of poise, assurance and class you’d associate with someone who has learned all he knows in the feted La Masia academy.
“He’s physically very strong, but he’s also a very intelligent player,” said Moriba’s former Barca coach Denis Silva Puig, via Bleacher Report.
“Here, he’s called the ‘Pogba of Barca’ because he’s like a young (Paul) Pogba. But also he is very intelligent – and that’s his big potential. He’s a top player – no doubt.”
Moriba has been conspicuous by his absence during the past few months, however, after talks over a new contract hit the buffers (Goal).
Now the Premier League vultures are circling, smelling blood and threatening to pick the flesh from Barca’s bones.
According to 90Min, Moriba’s representatives have held talks with Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham, as well as West Ham, Leicester City, Wolves and Everton.
And it seems Barcelona are determined to make a complex situation as simple as possible.
According to Sport, the 2015 European champions are far from happy with Moriba and his representatives as the player’s camp demand a substantial wage hike at a time of serious financial uncertainty.
Either Moriba is sold now – the La Liga giants want £13 million – or one of the most promising young midfielders around won’t kick a ball in anger this season.
Your move, Ilaix.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
