La Semana

Seven Barcelona players could leave the club as free agents in the summer

- By Marcus Chan

Barcelona are in for a busy period as seven players from their first-team squad could leave the club as free agents. In the summer, Barcelona brought in seven new players but as the January transfer window approaches, the Camp Nou club are looking to keep hold of some players whose contracts are due to expire at the end of the season.

According to Barca Universal, the seven-player long list starts with Netherland­s internatio­nal Memphis Depay, who has been continuous­ly linked with a move away from the club after being deemed surplus to requiremen­ts.

Many people are expecting him to be sold in January but it is believed that he could play out his contract in order to earn himself a bigger contract in the summer as a free agent.

Another player with an expiring contract is Marcos Alonso, who only joined the club in the summer after leaving Premier League side Chelsea.

However, unlike Depay, Alonso is considered as an important player by manager Xavi.

The full-back has made a good impression in his first few months as a Barcelona player and his versatilit­y is another reason why the club want to keep hold of him. An agreement is reportedly close to being finalised.

Sergi Roberto’s time as a Barcelona player looks likely to be coming to end. Despite being the first-choice right-back ahead of Hector Bellerin, it is believed that his contract will not be extended beyond the end of the 22/23 season.

Bellerin is also facing an uncertain future as he has struggled to nail down a place in the team since returning to the Catalan club in the summer.

The Spaniard’s poor luck with injuries has continued to hamper his progress and reports have suggested that Bellerin is adamant to win over Xavi, but it looks like he could be fighting a losing battle. Although Xavi wants to keep him at the club, Busquets appears to have made his mind up about moving on in the summer of 2023. It is believed that the Spaniard wants to play in the United States after leaving Barcelona.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States