Since arriving at the club at the end of August, Barcelona have been impressed by Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo. Both have ‘bought’ the club and the hierarchy is very pleased with the way they have performed.
This is more the case with Cancelo, who has flourished since joining on a season-long loan from Manchester City.
Understandably, Barcelona are keen to make his deal permanent, and so is Felix, who is only with the Catalans until the end of the season as well.
The expectation has been that Barcelona will try to re-sign both players next summer, but newspaper Mundo Deportivo now say that these operations could be brought forward to January.
This could be because the club’s management anticipates that both players will continue to get better and better, which could increase their prices.
Barcelona values Felix at 40 million euros, with Atletico Madrid wanting more than 80 million euros. To avoid overpaying, a player-plus-money deal could also be pursued, although the question arises as to who might be involved.
In the case of Cancelo, City is said to be asking for 25 million euros, while Barcelona is willing to pay only 15 million euros.
The Blaugrana are banking on the fact that both players only want to sign for them, which appears to be the case at this stage.
However, they are negotiating from a position of weakness (due to their financial difficulties), so they may find it difficult to get City and Atletico to lower their price.