Barcelona will need to sell five players to sign Haaland – report

Barcelona under Joan Laporta have shown strong intent across two transfer markets so far. After bringing in Emerson Royal, Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay, Eric Garcia in the summer, they went all-in to sign Ferran Torres and Adama Traore in the winter and want to continue snowballing across the next six months.

It is clear, though, that their top priority is buying a striker. Alvaro Morata and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang seem to be the top seed for the winter, while Erling Haaland is undoubtedly the first-choice for the summer.

The Borussia Dortmund superstar is bound to cost upwards of €100 million when we add up the transfer fee, agent fees, and any signing bonus he will demand. That is a number Barcelona simply cannot afford; for the time being anyway.

However, they will have the chance to if they are able to make some intelligent moves in the transfer market, starting with offloading players. There are, according to Fichajes, five players that could be sold sooner or later to make room for Haaland or any other big-money striker signing.

Riqui Puig

Puig has been the subject of an exit for the last four transfer windows but has refused to leave in an attempt to make way into the Barcelona team. He has failed to under two different managers so far, unfortunately.

With his contract expiring in 2023, the 22-year-old will have to make a decision on his future. Barça may not be inclined to renew him, especially when they can get an amount close to €10-15 million from his sale.

Oscar Mingueza

Once the darling of the fanbase, life has come fast at Mingueza, who barely has a spot in the Barcelona first-team right now. He’s played close to four different positions this season without nailing down a single one.

Luckily enough for the garnet and blue, Mingueza is no short of suitors. Several La Liga teams have already inquired about him in the winter, with the player refusing to move. He is in the last 18 months of his contract, though, and this summer be his last in the Catalan capital.

Ousmane Dembele

Dembele was never a loved figure among the Camp Nou faithful but has completely lost all trust he had tried to built after asking for an amount close to €40 million in annual salary.

The decision from the Barcelona camp is quite straightforward, if the Frenchman does not renew, they will do their best to sell him in the winter. The quoted price stands near €5 million, with Chelsea looking interested in signing him this month.

Alejandro Balde

Followers of the B team often tout Balde as the next to take over the left-back spot at Barcelona. However, he clearly lacks the understanding of positional play to find a place in the Barça team, and often finds himself as an unused substitute.

The club was looking to include him in the deal that would see Nicolas Tagliafico move to Barcelona, but it was turned down by Ajax.

Inaki Pena/Neto

Inaki Pena, much like any other La Masia graduate goalkeeper over the last few years, has failed to dig himself out of that third-choice spot. As such, he has probably run out of patience and is looking for a way out. Barça could easily get nearly €10 million out of his sale.

As for Neto, the Brazilian has been pleading for an exit without any success. There was interest from Flamengo for a while in December, but that soon died. At 32, he is definitely more marketable as a goalkeeper, and Barcelona could be looking for almost €10-12 million for him.