Barcelona face a major dilemma ahead of the January transfer window

As soon as the international break arrived, talks of Barcelona’s winter transfer business popped in. However, if a report from SPORT is to be believed, those sitting in the Blaugrana offices are not really thinking that far ahead at the moment.

Barcelona view the upcoming transfer window as a distant project. At this moment, the primary focus is to keep a keen on those nursing their injuries. 

As such, they have issued a clear directive: there will be no outgoing transfers, and at most, they might consider only one addition. However, this stance is subject to change only if the injury situation becomes critical.

This was confirmed by Eduard Romeu, Barcelona’s Economic Vice President.

“In two and a half years we have been able to meet the needs of the technicians, so if the case arises we will make every effort to meet their requests,” he said.

Why no sales?

Barcelona believe that their current squad is already at a minimal size, making them reluctant to entertain any offers for player transfers, even if such deals could help them meet their Financial Fair Play obligations. 

Another potential avenue to achieve this financial balance could involve renegotiating the contract of Frenkie de Jong.

If the need for additional salary cap space arises in January, the club may explore deferring salaries for other players who are more amenable to such arrangements.

The dilemma

If there is enough Fair Play margin, Barcelona will likely have to choose between the incorporation and registration of Vitor Roque or the registration of Gavi’s first-team contract with both operations likely to require the same salary space.

If everything is running smoothly and effectively, the arrival of the Brazilian player could be delayed until the summer. However, if the team faces challenges such as injuries or struggles in scoring, the priority will shift towards registering the young striker.

On the other hand, they can also reverse the precautionary registration of Gavi and make it official to eliminate any potential legal complications.

At present, the registration of Roque is being preferred in order to shore up the attack towards the backend of the season.

Barcelona are waiting on the €40 million payment from Libero to unlock the situation which is necessary to go ahead with either operation. And if there is not enough margin, the club would have to wait until the summer of 2024 to address them.