there's a debate at Barça between the management, on the ond hand, and the technical secretariat and Hansi Flick, on the other.
The coach and the sporting director try to maximize the sporting quality of the squad. The better the players are, the easier it will be to build a champion team.
In the offices they have another idea, mainly due to the delicate economic situation that the club is going through.
Money in the Field or in the Bank?
In the elite area, they consider that Flick has many high-level and valued players, especially in a position where not everyone can play.
They are referring to the midfield. For three places, Flick has Casadó, Frenkie De Jong, Pedri, Fermín, Gavi, Pablo Torre and injured Marc Bernal.
Laporta told Flick that, given the number of quality players, the departure of one of them wouldn't imply a weakening of the squad.
He's given the example of Fermín, for whom Barça already has three high-level offers on the table. If Fermín were to leave Barça, between Pedri, Gavi or De Jong they could perfectly cover his absence.
And, more importantly, the club would receive an injection of money that would allow it to adjust the salary cap and even bring in other players.
But Laporta hasn't managed to convince Flick or Deco, who consider the squad to be settled and don't want to hear about departures.
The president has already got used to it. He knows that young players are not on the market, even if offers come in. In the case of Fermín, there are three, according to fichajes.net.
PSG, Liverpool and Arsenal are the three clubs that have so far expressed their interest in Fermín to Joan Laporta. His performance at the Olympic Games captivated everyone.
Laporta Puts a Price on Fermín
Fermín has a contract with FC Barcelona until 2027. Laporta has told the three interested clubs that Fermín's price would be between 80 and 100 million.
All three have replied with an OK without blinking an eye. It's worth it. For Mikel Arteta, Fermín would be the ideal complement to Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard and Thomas Partey, with such an attacking power.
Luis Enrique doesn't have a player of these characteristics at PSG. He would complement Joao Neves and Warren Zaire-Emery wonderfully.
As for Liverpool, they see in him the help that their attacking midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai needs.
The problem is that Barça only sells its veterans. The youngsters don't even appear in the shop window.