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Barcelona were linked to 141 players during the summer transfer window: A summary

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4 years ago

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Photo by JORGE GUERRERO/AFP via Getty Images

Barcelona’s summer transfer window was a memorable one, considering that they entered the market with a lot of uncertainty surrounding their financial capabilities.

But, by means of triggering several economic levers and getting rid of unwanted players, the Blaugrana managed to bring in as many as eight new players in the summer transfer window, with Robert Lewandowski being the biggest acquisition for the Catalan giants.

There were a few top targets like Bernardo Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta that the La Liga heavyweights could not get over the line.

As is the case with any transfer window, Barcelona were linked with a host of players over the course of the summer. According to data collated by Questra on Twitter, there were a total of 141 players (!) that the Catalan giants were linked with during the transfer window.

Goalkeepers

Heading into the summer there had been some doubts over the future of Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who had a couple of ordinary campaigns of late. The Blaugrana were uncertain about their second-choice goalie as well, as Neto was headed out and there was a possibility of Inaki Pena being loaned out.

It was Barcelona get linked with several goalkeepers, most notably Luis Maximiano of Granada and Kepa Arrizabalaga of Chelsea among several others. However, in the end, there were no incomings in the position as the Catalans decided to stick with ter Stegen and Pena as their No. 1 and No. 2 in goal.

Defenders

Defence was a major area of concern heading into the market for Barcelona and the club needed reinforcements across the backline. And the rumour mill churned out a host of names, one after the other, as potential targets for the Catalan heavyweights over the past couple of months.

The Blaugrana ended up signing Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen, Hector Bellerin and Marcos Alonso. But there were a few names that they missed out on – Cesar Azpilicueta was a top target at right-back, while Inigo Martinez was also heavily linked.

Thomas Meunier of Borussia Dortmund, Noussair Mazraoui, who snubbed Barcelona in favour of Bayern Munich, Antonio Rudiger, who signed for Real Madrid, were some of the other notable targets for the Catalan giants among a total of 61 defenders who were linked.

Midfielders

Barcelona entered the market with an aim of adding another midfielder while also hoping to offload Frenkie de Jong to ease their financial woes. Bernardo Silva was at the top of the wishlist, with the Catalans trying up until the transfer deadline day to sign him, but to no avail.

Ruben Neves, Martin Zubimendi and Aurelien Tchouameni were all linked as well, as potential long-term heirs to Sergio Busquets, but Barça decided to push forward their search for that role until next summer.

Fabian Ruiz was another long-term target who was again linked while there were shock reports of interest in Paul Pogba, Isco and youngsters like Alberto Moleiro and Carney Chukwuemeka. Of the total of 31 midfielders who were linked, Barcelona signed Franck Kessie and Pablo Torre.

Forwards

Despite adding three new attackers in January, Barcelona were once again in the market for new reinforcements to the frontline.

Erling Haaland was the top target heading into the summer but he ended up joining Manchester City, forcing them to turn to Robert Lewandowski. Barcelona also fought hard to bring in Raphinha from under the noses of Chelsea.

There were links to Paulo Dybala as has been the norm every summer, while Manchester United duo Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford were also said to be on the radars of the club. Dani Olmo was another target, who the club tried and failed to sign on deadline day.

Raheem Sterling, Sadio Mane, Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku were other big-name strikers who were linked, while the club also made an approach for ex-superstar Luis Suarez.

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