Barcelona want to offer loanee in deal to sign Atletico Madrid winger – report

Earlier today, Mundo Deportivo reported that Barcelona had very positive reports on Atletico Madrid winger Yannick Carrasco and were keen on activating the purchase option that they secured for the Belgian back in January.

However, the financial aspects of the deal were pointed out to be a hurdle as Barça were unwilling to meet the earlier price agreed upon with the Rojiblancos.

Building on that, SPORT is now reporting that Barcelona want to offer Sergino Dest to Atletico Madrid as part of the operation to sign Carrasco, in order to lower the fee.

The USMNT right-back is currently away on loan at AC Milan, who are unlikely to exercise their permanent purchase option for him. It would mean Dest will be back at Barça in the summer, where he has no place in Xavi’s plans.

The idea has been to sell the defender to free up space on the wage bill and generate income. However, they are now considering offering him to Atletico Madrid as a makeweight in order to lower the cost of Carrasco’s signing.

The transfer fee agreed between Barça and Atleti for the Belgian is reported to be around €15-20 million. But the Catalans do not wish to pay that amount any longer and will look to reduce it. Atletico, however, have no intentions of negotiating a lower fee with the Blaugrana.

But the situation could change as Carrasco is firm on wanting to join Barcelona, so much so that he is even willing to refuse to listen to offers from the Premier League. On top of that, the Colchoneros need a right-back and have held some interest in Dest in the past as well.

Carrasco is a player that is well-liked within the Barcelona staff. The 29-year-old is seen as a good option to strengthen the attacking unit while his wages also are understood to fit into the club’s new payscale.

Meanwhile, Dest is also attracting interest from Sevilla as well as German outfit Union Berlin, who wish to sign him if they qualify for the UEFA Champions League. So, it remains to be seen if Barcelona opt to sell him or convince Atletico Madrid over a player-exchange operation involving him and Carrasco.