Juventus are lining up a move for Barcelona forward Memphis Depay this summer, with Barcelona reportedly willing to let him leave for free as they look to trim their wage bill.
Barcelona have spent £130m on four new players, bringing Jules Kounde, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Pablo Torre to the club. They have also recruited free agents Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen, while their three economic levers have raised over 500m euros to ease their financial issues.
But, as it stands, the Athletic report that they cannot currently register all of their new signings, with La Liga regulations preventing them from doing so due to their current salary cap.
As a result, they are willing to let one of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Memphis Depay depart this summer, which will allow them some relief.
Juventus closing in on Depay
As per the reliable Gianluca Di Marzio, Juventus are closing in on signing the Dutch forward, having offered him a two year contract in Turin.
However, the final decision could well lie in Chelsea’s hands, with the Blues having expressed an interest in signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, for whom Barcelona would likely receive a fee.
Should a deal for the former Arsenal captain materialise, Barcelona would keep hold of Depay, and in doing so deal Juventus a blow in their hunt for a backup option to Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic.
For now, however, no bid has been forthcoming from the Blues, which leaves the Old Lady growing increasingly confident of landing their man on a free transfer, and in doing so freeing up some room on Barcelona’s wage bill for the Blaugrana to register their summer signings.
It could represent a win all around.
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/xlmedia/75056cb2-70a2-47ac-a9bf-dc86877bc260.png)
