FC Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez has approved the club’s acquisition of Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Ruben Neves, but only on one condition – this according to Gerard Romero.
When it comes to Barca’s activities in the transfer market, Romero is a major voice. He was responsible for various exclusives relating to the signings of Raphinha and Jules Kounde last summer.
Tuesday morning in Spain, Romero revealed that Xavi had a change of heart and is now open to signing Neves in the most recent session on his well-liked Twitch channel.
Super agent Jorge Mendes, a personal friend of president Joan Laporta, represents the Portugal international.
Mendes has a lot of influence at Camp Nou thanks to his relationship with Laporta and his role in overseeing the careers of various Barca talents, notably Ansu Fati, Alejandro Balde, and Nico Gonzalez.
This week, The Athletic reported that Laporta and numerous top Barça executives have a long-standing interest in Neves and had attempted to sign him.
However, Xavi is not persuaded and believes that Martin Zubimendi would make a better replacement for Sergio Busquets, who will depart at the conclusion of the current campaign.
Romero further reports how Barca spoke with Real Sociedad about Zubimendi following the Saturday defeat where the youngster provided the assist for the winning goal.
La Real are also reportedly interested in Blaugrana players such as Ez Abde, Pablo Torre and Mendes’ client Nico Gonzalez who could help bring Zubimendi’s reported €60m ($66m) release clause down.
Will Ruben Neves Join Barcelona?
As The Athletic points out, though, Mendes might possibly be able to convince Wolves to accept €45m ($49m) for Neves from Barca, who could then sell Fati for around €75m ($79m) making deals for both Neves and Zubimendi achievable.
Neves would then leave Zubimendi to partner Frenkie de Jong in Busquets’ old pivot role, and occupy a more advanced position often played by Franck Kessie this season.
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This then ties into what Romero has reported: that Xavi is now happy to incorporate Neves into his La Liga-winning first team squad.
However, if Kessie is sold in the upcoming transfer window.
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