Ranking Barcelona Players Most Likely to Be Sold or Loaned out in August
Barcelona's summer hasn't exactly gone to plan so far, and with the new La Liga season set to get under way, there's still much work to be done if the Camp Nou side are to challenge Real Madrid at the top of the table in 2017/18.
Neymar's departure, the failure to bring in some of Ernesto Valverde's chosen priorities and a Super Cup defeat to Real Madrid all have the fans at boiling point; plenty are calling for Josep Bartomeu to step down as president even before a ball has been kicked in league action.
Bringing in new signings is only half the battle, though; while there's money to spend, new boss Valverde also wants the squad to be shaped to his liking, and that means some inevitably have to depart the scene.
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Here are the five players most likely to be on their way before the transfer window closes, in order of how important they have previously been for the side and how surprising it is that they are deemed surplus to requirements.
5. Munir El Haddadi
There won't be many tears shed by those at Barcelona over Douglas' eventual departure, but Munir El Haddadi was supposed to be a different story.
Capped by Spain as a teenager soon after breaking into the Barcelona first-team picture, the forward never really capitalised on his fast start and a loan to Valencia didn't work out as planned. Now, AS Roma are reportedly interested, and Lluis Miguelsanz of Sport has said he has already agreed terms on a move.
Barcelona "are not happy with the Italian side's bid," according to Miguelsanz, but Munir only wants to join the Monchi revolution in Rome despite alternative options from Zenit Saint Petersburg and Ajax, among others.
Munir still has two years left on his contract and is now only 21, but thoughts of a prodigiously talented wide forward not quite making the grade at the Camp Nou and heading to Roma will spark comparisons with Bojan Krkic, who has ended up at Stoke City with still just the single Spain cap to his name.
He was supposed to be the next big thing out of La Masia—Munir, this is, though Bojan was too at the time—but he has only scored 10 goals in La Liga to date. Versatile and technically sound he might be, but wherever he moves, Munir will be expected to up the production rate.
4. Thomas Vermaelen
Thomas Vermaelen is, at best, fifth-choice centre-back for Barcelona right now, and with Inigo Martinez having been targeted by Valverde as an additional name for the position, there's simply no way he gets game time.
Vermaelen was at Roma himself last season but played just nine times as injuries struck early on, once again, and he ended up as sub for the final dozen matches. Indeed, from February onward, Vermaelen's game time in Serie A amounted to just 31 minutes.
It hasn't been a great move for the Belgian, leaving Arsenal to join Barcelona. He played 10 Liga matches in 2015/16 and just once the season before. Taking into account he wasn't first choice at the Gunners before leaving, he's actually played just 34 league matches in the past four entire seasons.
Sport reported that Valverde wants Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti, Javier Mascherano and Marlon all ahead of Vermaelen, leaving a move the only option, with Anderlecht and Premier League sides both suggested to be interested in his services.
3. Sergi Samper
Once heralded as the future of Barcelona's midfield, Sergi Samper just hasn't managed to progress from La Masia jewel to Camp Nou controller—and not just because Sergio Busquets remains in place as one of the world's finest holding midfielders.
Samper hasn't even come close to getting a look-in. He fell behind Gerard Gumbau as a young option for Luis Enrique two years ago, went out on loan to Granada last year and couldn't get in the side regularly enough to impress as they were relegated—and now he isn't wanted by Valverde.
Marca's Xavi Hernandez reported that Samper was told that he wasn't part of the new manager's plans for the 2017/18 season and instead would be loaned out once more to gain further experience.
Now aged 22, it's worth wondering whether anyone truly believes in his ability at the club anymore; 1,200 minutes on the pitch at last season's worst side can't have helped his progression much, if at all, and the likes of Deportivo Alaves and Girona, teams in the bottom half who clearly needed midfield additions, have already gone and snared targets elsewhere.
Malaga are in dire need of central reinforcements after losing Ignacio Camacho and Pablo Fornals, but would they look to a player who has far from been able to display his best traits and entrust him regularly? Samper's destination, as much as anything else, might show just how much Barca still think of him.
2. Arda Turan
Perhaps it's no surprise that Arda Turan is on his way out, but there was a period when the Turkish attacking midfielder looked an ideal back-up for Barca. At the start of last season, it was Arda who stood up in place of the injured Neymar, scoring with regularity and helping the team start positively.
Injuries and being taken out of the team left him a mere bystander over the second half of the 2016/17 campaign, and he rarely made a positive impact after the winter break.
The former Atletico man is now certain to be on the move; Sport reported the writing was on the wall when Valverde didn't play him in the Joan Gamper trophy, while AS' Ozgur Sancar said Turan's agent has spoken with Galatasaray over a potential move to the Super Lig.
Arda simply won't be of use in the new season; a replacement forward for Neymar, Gerard Deulofeu's return and the need to give other central midfielders a chance to impress all mean he'd be well down the order of preference.
1. Sergi Roberto
Top of the charts is Sergi Roberto, and offloading the versatile performer would be a scandalously poor move on behalf of whoever makes the decision—Valverde or the Barca board.
As a central midfielder, his natural role, he has vision, creativity and consistency in his passing, one of the very (very) few central players to break through from La Masia over the last few years. Switched to right-back under Luis Enrique, it's been quickly overlooked that he was a standout performer early on, not just individually impressive, but excellent in the context of all La Liga stars and tactically vital for Barca while Dani Alves was sidelined through injury.
Last season, a run of poor form and some high-profile errors changed all that, and Sergi became a scapegoat at times, targeted in silly fashion by supporters and overlooked in how his technical and tactical positives brought important traits to the team, not least of all his ability to play in various positions as needed to manage fixtures in-game.
Sport reported that he was becoming frustrated by his lack of game time even in pre-season, while AS suggested Paulinho's arrival has pushed him down Valverde's selection plans and interest from the Premier League could see him depart soon.
Short-termism may mean a departure from the Camp Nou for Sergi Roberto is viewed by some as irrelevant or even a positive, but this is a departure the club will, in the fullness of time, come to regret.
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