Barcelona have reportedly turned their attention towards 24-year-old Spanish midfielder Carlos Soler, who could leave Valencia this summer.
According to a report by Spanish outlet Fichajes, Barcelona’s search for a midfielder has taken them to Valencia. The Catalan giants are keen on signing Carlos Soler, with the 24-year-old Spanish midfielder open to departing the Mestalla in the summer transfer window.
Carlos Soler has spent his entire career with Valencia, right from his youth footballing days, having joined their academy aged eight in 2005. A decade later, he graduated into the first-team setup and has not looked back since, becoming a key figure for Los Che over the last five years or so. To date, the 24-year-old has made 185 appearances for Valencia, chipping in with 23 goals and 26 assists.
2020/21 proved to be a decent campaign for the Spanish midfielder, even though Valencia endured a tumultuous season borne out of financial struggles and boardroom issues. As a result, Soler is now open to a summer departure from the Mestalla, with Barcelona, who have also been linked with his teammate Jose Gaya, interested in signing him.
Barcelona’s eagerness to land Soler is hardly surprising, considering they have been unable to sign a midfielder this summer. The Blaugrana were heavily linked with Georginio Wijnaldum, who chose to join Paris Saint-Germain instead. Such an eventuality has forced Barcelona to scour the transfer market for alternatives.
To that end, Barcelona have been linked with Nicolo Barella, Marcelo Brozovic and a few others in recent weeks. And Soler is a viable target as well, although Valencia are likely to play hardball in negotiations involving the 24-year-old Spanish midfielder, as they have in Gaya’s case.
Barcelona, though, plan to offer two players on a permanent deal as well as one on loan to convince Valencia to sell both Soler and Gaya this summer. The players on offer for a permanent move would be Francisco Trincao, Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti, while Riqui Puig and Oscar Mingueza can be made available on loan, as per Fichajes.
What now remains to be seen is if Barcelona’s plan to tempt Valencia with their massive offer pays off, as they battle hard to secure the services of Carlos Soler and Jose Gaya. For now, Soler is the latest midfielder to have emerged on their radar over a summer move.
Barcelona’s summer business dictated by outgoings. Sell to buy needed.