Returning Barcelona president Joan Laporta has decided to sell Norberto Neto and Junior Firpo this summer amid rumoured interest from Arsenal and West Ham United, as reported by El Desmarque.
They have a saying in Barcelona; ‘Better the crazy we know than the wise stranger’.
And it was impossible not to be reminded of that particular idiom when Laporta was handed the keys to the Camp Nou machine for the second time in February.
The charismatic Catalan presided over an era of almost unprecedented success during his first spell in the Barca boardroom, lifting 12 trophies and two Champions League titles from 2003 to 2010.
It remains to be seen whether his second shot at the presidency goes as well as the first, however, with doubts persisting over Leo Messi’s future as the Spanish giants continue to haemorrhage funds at an alarming rate.
If Laporta is determined to mark his return with a hair-raising, marquee signing – an Erling Haaland, for instance – while tying Messi down to a new contract, he will have to find a way to raise funds and fast.
El Desmarque believe that Laporta’s approach will revolve around selling fringe players, such as Firpo, Neto, Samuel Umtiti and the seldom-seen Philippe Coutinho.
Firpo, the £18 million-rated left-back, should not be short of offers.
Arsenal and Southampton made bids in January and are still scouring the market for a new left-sided defender (MD and Marca). West Ham, meanwhile, were willing to pay a sizeable sum to take Firpo off Barcelona’s hands (ESPN).
Second-choice goalkeeper Neto is also available for a knock-down fee of £14 million, with Arsenal keen to bring in the Brazilian as competition for Bernd Leno (MD).
Then again, it will take more than the sales of Neto and Firpo to finance a deal for Haaland.
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