One of the areas of Hansi Flick’s squad that Barcelona are looking to address during the summer transfer window is left wing. Marcus Rashford is not certain to stay amid impending negotiations with Manchester United over a possible loan extension, and in the meantime, sporting director Deco has been working on new targets.
Even if Rashford stays, Barcelona are clear that they want to sign a younger alternative to Raphinha. They’ve been linked with Ez Abde and Victor Munoz in recent weeks, but right now, the most likely to sign would surely be Jan Virgili, given that he can return to the Spotify Camp Nou for a bargain price.
Barcelona sold Virgili to Mallorca last summer for a fee in the region of €3.5m, and as part of that agreement, they retained a 40% sell-on clause. This allowed them to re-sign him for €18m due to him having a €30m release clause in his contract, but as per Sport, this has now dropped to €12m following the Son Moix club’s relegation from La Liga.
Real Betis are one of the clubs to have become attentive to Virgili’s situation in the wake of Mallorca’s relegation, with €12m being a very interesting price for them. But any move can be trumped by Barcelona, given that can be return to Catalonia for €5m cheaper than anyone else can sign him for.
Virgili impressed during his first season in La Liga. He may have only registered two goals and four assists in 31 appearances (19 starts), but his explosive play made him stand out on many occasions, and as far as a Raphinha backup goes, Barcelona could do much worse than to pick him up again 12 months after letting him leave.
Even if Hansi Flick does not want him, it would make sense for Barcelona to sign him for €7m before seeking an immediate sale, for which they would surely be able to get at least €10m – while also having the option to include more clauses to give them control over his future once again.
