According to the Guardian and Sky Sports journalist Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona are interested in Tanguy Ndombele and could make a move for the Tottenham midfielder next summer.
Romano said on Episode 9 of his ‘Here We Go’ podcast that the Catalans were weighing up a bid for Ndombele after missing out on Liverpool’s Georginio Wijnaldum, but it remains to be seen what they can offer as they’re having financial difficulties.
Why Ndombele?
Barcelona lost the Liga title to Real Madrid last season and currently find themselves 10 places and eight points worse off than Los Blancos (2nd) in 2020/21. The Catalans don’t have a lot of depth in midfield after selling Arthur (to Juventus), Ivan Rakitic (to Sevilla), Arturo Vidal (to Inter Milan) and Rafinha (to Paris Saint-Germain), so they need to strengthen in the transfer market.
Wijnaldum was top of their wishlist as he’s impressed at Liverpool and has all the attributes they’re looking for in a midfielder – composed in possession, effective in both boxes and a goal-getter. Barca failed to sign him, however, so they’ve turned their attentions elsewhere. Ndombele has impressed in recent weeks and garnered praise from Mourinho, but is he really good enough for Barca?
What’s the state of Barca’s finances?
Pretty poor. Sky News said in October that the Catalans took a hit of €203m (£183.2m) due to the Coronavirus, reporting a post-tax loss of €97m (£87.5m) for the year to the end of June. Barcelona reported revenues of €855m (£771.6m), which is down 14% from a year earlier.
They have lost a lot of income from games being played behind closed doors and the cancellation of the basketball Euroleague. Ticket refunds and lower sales lost them €47m (£42.4m) in expected earnings. They suffered a loss of €35m (£31.6m) from media and TV rights too. Barca took a €37m (£33.4m) hit from sponsorship deals that weren’t completed because of the pandemic, so they’re not in a good place right now.
We paid €60m (£54.1m) for Ndombele in 2019 and wouldn’t accept less if we were to sell him, so I don’t think Barca can afford him. I can’t see a deal happening next summer as a result, so this rumour may not have legs.
In other news, things aren’t going to plan for Steven Bergwijn at Tottenham