Barcelona are reportedly lining up a summer move to sign AC Milan forward Rafael Leao and are prepared to use Francisco Trincao in a potential swap deal.

According to a report from Italian publication Pianeta Milan, La Liga giants Barcelona are interested in signing Portuguese forward Rafael Leao from AC Milan in the summer as they attacking reinforcements.

It is no secret that Barcelona are in a dire situation financially. However, the Catalan club will need to plan for the season ahead and a big issue for them is the future of captain and talisman Lionel Messi. The veteran Argentine is out of contract at the end of the ongoing campaign and it does not seem like he will be extending his stay at the club.

Barcelona: A gargantuan club in crisis

Barcelona, thus, will need to replace him and even in the scenario that he does stay, bolstering their attack is a bit of a necessity considering as Martin Braithwaite has been a disappointing addition to the ranks. To that end, the Blaugrana have reportedly identified Rafael Leao as a potential transfer target.

Having come through the youth ranks at Sporting Lisbon, the 21-year-old shot to fame during his time at French club Lille before he was signed up by AC Milan in the summer of 2019. The Portuguese did not have the best of the debut campaigns in Italy but has shown signs of promise in the 2020/21 season.

So far this term, Leao has produced a return of six goals and five assists from 24 games in all competitions. Able to play anywhere across the frontline, the Portuguese U-21 international is valued at €40 million and is held in the highest of regard in Milan, who see him as an integral part of the club’s future.

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Barcelona, who are likely to find it hard to come up with the transfer fee, are hoping to convince AC Milan to part ways with the former Sporting Lisbon man by offering them a player of their own in exchange, with Francisco Trincao being the player in question.

The 21-year-old moved to Camp Nou last summer from Braga but has failed to establish himself in Ronald Koeman’s side, having managed just eight starts across all competition. The Portuguese international has plenty of potential, but as per the report, Barcelona are prepared to use him in a swap deal to bring in his compatriot Leao.

Barcelona have also been linked with Olympique Lyon’s Memphis Depay, who will be a free agent in the summer. But they face competition from Juventus for the Dutchman. Any decision on who to bring in will only be made once Barcelona’s corporate affairs are in order after the presidential elections take place.

Comments 16

  1. Kabiru Ahmad Chanji Mangari says:

    The best things for barcelona is to boost their defence with some of those that will become a free agents such as David Alaba, Eric Garcia and so on. And bring an entellegent striker E. B. Haaland from B.Dortmund

    • Dawit says:

      With the current financial crisis, Barca need just three players, two at the back, and one up front. We have only two reliable defenders in Araujo and Mingueza. Team them up with someone like David Alaba, and Antonio Rudiger. Bring Depay upfront. Keep Trincao for the reserve team. Get rid of Lenglet, Umtiti, Sergi Roberto, Firpo, Braithwaite or whatever his name is.

      Best 11
      Formation 4-3-3

      Ter Stegen, David Alaba, A. Rudiger, Araujo, Mingueza, De Jong, Pedri, Piug, Messi, Fati, Depay

      Reserve team
      Neto, Jordi Alba, Pique, Garcia, Sergino Dest, Busquets, Pjanic, Ilaix Moriba, Grizmann, Dembele, Trincao

      • Joseph Dunn says:

        I’m with you for the most part. But Messi will leave and we really need to let him walk. Use the money you will save on his exorbitant salary to buy Haaland as a pure number nine (before somebody else snatches him). Haaland is going to be a superstar for the next 10-15 years and is the best possible replacement for Messi (although not like for like). Bring in Alaba as you suggested along with Eric Garcia on the free transfer. Bring in Depay for additional attacking help. Use Alaba as the holding midfielder (he has played this role before) with De Jong and Pedri further up the field. Now you have haaland as the nine with Fati and Trincao on either side in a dynamic attacking trident. Believe me, Trincao is going to be a superstar in his own right and so far we’ve only seen glimpses of his incredible talents. With Garcia and Araujo in central defense and both Mingueza and Alaba able to provide quality cover at those positions we will be much improved. In fact I would probable start Mingueza as the right back ahead of Dest while Dest takes a few years to get up to speed. I really like Mingueza’s heart and versatility. If we can’t get Alaba then go after Kunde. He’s young, tough, full of pace, great on the ball and in the air, and adds an attacking presence at times. His release cause is not prohibitive and with the money we save on Messi departing we could probably squeeze him in. Anyway, I for one think the future can be very bright for this team with the right leadership at the top. And of course replacing Koeman with a top tier coach…..

  2. Franklin says:

    Barcelona should sell Coutinho and Pique and Busquet instead of Trincao and to buy Haaland from Dortmund, Rafael Leao and a another stron defender. Trincao is a very good player who can help the team in future. Give him more playing time.

  3. Dawit says:

    All of the following players are suitable to Barca’s way of playing; and they are either free agents or easy to get them.
    David Alaba
    Eric Garcia
    Antonio Rudiger
    Memphis Depay
    Sergio Auguero
    Nathan Ake

  4. Stanley says:

    please ,do everything possible to keep Trincao in Bercelona. He is better than some first team players ,he has huge potential. Don’t make the mistake of selling him.

  5. Chidowki says:

    Please nobody should sell Trincao please

  6. Dion Kungu says:

    Typical Barcelona. This report is pointless, yet increases a lot of anxiety in us Fans of Barcelona Fc. With our current crisis. We need to get things in order. And the first order of business, should be to sign Memphis Depay. Secondly, we need to buy a center forward such as Andre Silva or Latauro Martinez with either Griezman or Coutinho swap could be fantastic. 3rd, we need to buy true number CDM or a CM who can play 6 role. And Manuel Locatteli is just fantastic.4th we need to sign Jose Gaya and sell Junior Firpo in the summer. 5. We need a defensive clear out. Pique , Umtiti and Lenglet. Then purchase Kounde , Eric Garcia and Alaba.Doing this will help this team go back to the leaders board as champions once again.

  7. Emmanuel Abubakar says:

    Yeah,I support what you said,Trincao is a nice player that can help the team

  8. Ndu Jude says:

    I prefer barcelona to swap coutinho with Rafael Leao and get balance of some money from AC milan

  9. Aniefiok says:

    Barcelona don’t want to learn from their mistakes
    Swapping Teincao for WHO?
    They are not serious

  10. Abdulsalam says:

    Barcelona should buy a new left, centre backs and a quality striker like E.B. Haaland.

  11. Mukizwa says:

    Barcelona should make the following changes:

    Président: Laporta

    Head Coach: Ten Haag (Ajax) with Xavi (Assistant)

    Sall :

    *all Loanees + coutinho,Bousquet,Pique,Braithwaite,Firpo,Roberto,Umtiti, Lengle,Conrad de la Fuente,Emarson

    Bring in :

    * use the amount from sales to buy: Haaland
    and Perreira (Leicester)+ one good Center Back
    * wijnaldum (free), Alaba(free), Éric Garcia (free),Depay (free),

    NB : If good offers comes up sell:
    Griezman or Dembele

  12. Thabang says:

    Sell Braithwaite and Busquets as on all their positions they are inefficient and reinforce on defense especially on center backs because Pique and Lenglet their form is rubbish and we can only rely on Umtiti who apparently isn’t getting enough time comparing to the likes of Mingueza and Araujo and please don’t sell Coutinho he brings attacking sense of football in midfield as well as Dembele, Puig and on a serious note sell Braithwaite

  13. Reading all comments here has shown me that most of you guys are not aware with club’s financial situation. Barcelona is in deep shit. More than 450 million euro are payable till the end of this year. That means, we can not sign any new players who are still under contract. Yes, Haaland is the best central forward at the moment in Europe, but his contract expires in 2024. We can not afford to pay his asking price. E.Garcia and M.Depay are the only realistic targets, because we don’t need to pay any transfer fee for them. But, before signing anyone, we will have to download tons of salary. We need to get rid of Umtiti, Lenglet, Firpo, Coutinho, Braitwaite and Leo’s huge salary. I would not swap Trincao for Leao, first because the late is not any better and second, his 40 mil transfer fee is too high for us. When Leo leaves, Trincao will take over as a RW, while A.Fati will operate on the other flank, Even though, M.Depay is also LW, he has played numerous times as a CF for the Dutch National Team. This season in 26 matches he has scored 14 goals with 6 assists. Here is how our starting XI can looks like:

    Dest – Garcia – Araujo – Alba
    …….FDJ……….. Moriba………
    Trincao ….. Griezmann…. Fati
    …………….. Depay………………

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