Barcelona must sell players before they can buy anyone else

Barcelona hope the transfer market will get moving now that the majority of the leagues across Europe have been complete. The objective is to move on a minimum of six players to lighten the squad, make room on the wage bill and bring in cash to sign new players. 

Negotiations are ongoing. Todibo, Rafinha, Braithwaite and, above all, Coutinho have offers to continue their careers in England. Talks are advanced but nothing is closed. There's no rush but Barça hope to be able to close two or three departures next week. The most important one is Coutinho and the club are increasingly optimistic that they can sell him.

Not everything will be easy. Junior Firpo is on the market but the club hope to be able to include him in a deal for Lautaro Martinez with Inter. Junior is happy to move to the Italian side. Things are more difficult with Samuel Umtiti. Barça have told him that he will hardly play next season and should look for a move. There's interest from Italian clubs on loan, but the French defender, for now, is refusing to listen to offers. He wants to stay at Camp Nou and is working on coming back from his latest knee injury. 

As for Rakitic, Barça want to get his wages off the books. He feels a dream return to Sevilla is getting closer. The La Liga side don't want to pay much, though, and talks have been parked until after the Champions League. 

Players who could bring in good money are Semedo and Dembele. The two are on the market but only in the case of a huge bid. Semedo seemed close to Manchester City before the English club turned their attention to Sergi Roberto, who does not want to leave. With Dembele, the situation is more complicated because Barça would only sell him, not a loan. And they want 90 million euros. We will have to see how he returns from his latest injury. Selling is key to buying.