The striker’s file obsesses FC Barcelona. The priority has been Julián Álvarez for a long time now, but the price has to be paid. This gave rise to tensions with Atlético, moreover, not making negotiations easier. The Colchoneros would rather send the Argentinian elsewhere than to Spain to avoid strengthening a competitor. We are talking about a transfer of at least €120 million. Barça certainly has the means again, but does not want to fall back into its years of hardship either.
Faced with the complexity of this issue, and its slowness in coming with the World Cup, we must move forward on others in parallel. The Blaugranas want to recruit a left back, with a view to a probable sale of Alejandro Baldé. The latter has lost his place and will not be accepted in the event of a satisfactory offer. Marc Cucurella is the main target, but not the only one, especially since the Chelsea player would also cost an arm and a leg. He is estimated at €50 million and still has three years of contract ahead of him. This seems compromised.
Bayer wants to recover money from it
Another name is emerging according to information from Sportrather well known to Barça. It’s Alejandro Grimaldo, also followed by… Atlético. He is regularly cited to make his return to his training club, with which he has never played professionally. Since his departure for Benfica in 2016, the attractive left-hander has grown a lot. He joined Bayer Leverkusen in 2023 to become one of the very best in the world in his position. He was also called up by Luis de la Fuente for the World Cup where he should be the understudy… for Cucurella.
However, the 30-year-old costs much less than his competitor. One year from the end of his contract, he could be accessible at around €10 million, according to Marca. Bayer prefers to see him leave this summer and recover money from his transfer. After three seasons in Germany crowned with a championship title two years ago with Xabi Alonso, Grimaldo wants to leave. No concrete offer has yet been made, but Barça is aware of this market opportunity, especially since the player is coming off a full year again (46 matches, 14 goals, 12 assists).
