The truth about Barcelona, Bruno Fernandes, Rodrigo and Valencia

Intense talks are ongoing at Barcelona over a complicated deal involving Rodrigo Moreno and Bruno Fernandes. For things to happen, it would need many actors to come together and reach an agreement. 

The final objective is to convince Valencia to let Rodrigo join Barcelona to replace the injured Luis Suarez, while midfielder Fernandez would join Barça before moving in the other direction. It's a real puzzle, one which Barça's hierarchy are trying to piece together. 

JORGE MENDES

Talks for Rodrigo have been tough because Barça would rather not include an obligatory buy clause at the end of the loan, as Valencia want. The operation was at risk of stalling until Jorge Mendes got directly involved in a bid to open the door to the move. 

That was also when Fernandez entered the talks. Barça had been targetting the Sporting Lisbon midfielder for next season. Their medium-term plan was to make room in the midfield this summer and move for the Portuguese man. 

THE COST & THE SWAP 

Meanwhile, there's the financial side of things. Barça don't want to make a huge outlay this month. Sporting would give the green light to a deal paid in installments, the first of which would be relatively low. At the same time, Barça are set to bring in money for Carles Perez's move to Roma to balance their accounts. 

The final piece of the puzzle is Valencia. They would be keen on loaning Fernandes. That would allow Rodrigo to move to Camp Nou on loan and without an obligatory buy clause. It would be a similar workaround to the one the two clubs did last summer with Jasper Cillessen and Neto. 

It's a complicated scenario, though, but things are in progress.