Barcelona star Lionel Messi wants the club to complete a stunning double swoop of Tottenham’s Dele Alli and Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio to replace Neymar, claims a new report. Neymar has left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain for €222 million and the Catalan giants have been trying to sign Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho to bolster their ranks.
However, Liverpool are refusing to sell Coutinho while Borussia Dortmund are demanding more than €100m for Dembele, with Barcelona no closer to completing the two deals.
According to Don Balon, as reported by the Express, Messi wants the club to go after Alli and Asensio if they fail to get their primary targets.
The Argentine fees that Alli would be a perfect fit for the Nou Camp outfit after scoring 32 goals in two seasons for Tottenham and could improve the midfield.
Getting Asensio could be tricky given he plays for rivals Real Madrid but the Spaniard has a £72 million release clause and Messi wants the club to activate it to try and sign one of the most highly rated young players in the world.
However, Barcelona officials are not keen on pursuing Asensio and have reportedly declined that suggestion given the tensions between the two Spanish giants. Alli has long been linked with a move to a top club and would be an excellent addition to the Barcelona squad but he will cost more than €100 million if they are to move for him.