FC Barcelona Transfer Tracker: Week of June 17 News and Rumors

Barcelona have conducted little transfer business so far this window.

Only Neymar has signed on for La Blaugrana with a number of other targets proving hard to entice to Camp Nou.

Be it they are too expensive, unwilling to change their current arrangements or otherwise, the list of players that Barcelona wish to sign is decreasing rapidly.

A defensive signing is an absolute priority at this juncture.

We will update this tracker throughout the week with any news, rumours and updates.

LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY 22 JUNE

Thiago Alcantara

After a lot of speculation in the last couple of days, it now appears certain that Manchester United are on the verge of signing Barcelona midfield star Thiago Alcantara in a £17million deal.

Personal terms of £5 million a year have been agreed with the player according to the Daily Mail.

It is understood that talks will be ongoing over the weekend with a view to the player putting pen to paper shortly.

It will come as a bitter blow to Tito Vilanova who had wanted the player to be more patient in his quest for a regular first team spot.

Jeremy Mathieu

One player definitely not signing for Barcelona is versatile left sided defender Jeremy Mathieu.

Miles Chambers of goal.com (via Yahoo Sports) has revealed the Frenchman has decided to renew his contract at Valencia.

With only a year left on his current contract and a World Cup looming, the player told French magazine L'Equipe:

"

I am very happy, it is all done, I have renewed for Valencia.

Barca were interested in me, but I came in fourth or fifth on their list. I did not see myself as clear a major player there.

As far as I know the priority was Thiago Silva. I could have waited, but I had to show respect towards Valencia. 

I heard all the proposals but I always said I would stay here. 

"

Daniel Agger

Although Thiago Silva remains Tito Vilanova's number one defensive target, Charles Perrin of the Daily Express quotes Liverpool's academy chief Rodolfo Borrell as making a case for Daniel Agger to line up alongside Gerard Pique for Barcelona.

Says Borrell

"

Agger has the right characteristics to adapt to Barca’s play.

He is a very trustworthy centre-half, above all on the ball, because he comes out very well with it.

In a style like Barca’s, a defender must have a good pass, make the right decisions, be quick when the team loses the ball and good in the air at set-pieces both in defence and attack.

Agger fulfils all these qualities.

"

David Luiz

Barcelona's Dani Alves is trying to convince his Brazilian colleague David Luiz to swap London for Catalonia.

Both are on international duty at the Confederations Cup and Jack Wilson of the Daily Star notes that Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho could be willing to let the player leave in order to free up funds for further transfers.

French champions Paris St Germain are also reported to be interested in the player.

With compatriot Neymar another recent Brazilian addition at Camp Nou, it remains to be seen if Alves' negotiation skills are ultimately successful.

Andreu Fontas

Former Barca B starlet Andreu Fontas has signed on a permanent deal for Celta Vigo.

After a loan spell with Mallorca, new Celta boss and ex Barca man Luis Enrique, has moved quickly to secure the services of the 23 year old.

Barcelona have a buy back option on the player who has signed for one million euros on a three year deal.

A knee injury restricted the players appearances at Barcelona and the deal with Celta represents good business for all parties.

Juan Mata

A surprise inclusion into this list comes in the form of Chelsea player and Spanish international Juan Mata.

According to Martin Lipton of the Daily Mirror, Barcelona understand that Mata has fallen out with new Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

Furthermore, Mata's ire would appear to have been caused by the blocking of a wage increase by the Portuguese.

Barcelona are tentatively preparing to seduce the player via his agent father says Lipton, but in order for the Catalans to secure the player in a rumoured £30 million deal, the books will need to be balanced.

That could mean the likes of David Villa, Cristian Tello, Alexis Sanchez and Thiago Alcantara all being sold to raise the necessary funds to bring in the former Valencia man.

Thiago Alcantara

With each passing day, the possibility of Thiago Alcantara moving from Barcelona draws closer.

Gerard Pique, via skysports.com, is clearly one player who is worried that the youngster, fresh from a successful U21 European Championships, will decide to look for pastures new.

"

There is a possibility that he could leave but we have to convince him that the best place for him is Barcelona.

Players in his position like Xavi were patient and they ended up defining an era.

"

A move to Premier League champions Manchester United has been mooted and the guarantee of first team football in Manchester may lure the player away from Barcelona.

United defender Rio Ferdinand is in no doubt as to the quality of the player after watching him score a hat trick in the final of the European Championships against Italy, saying:

"

Spain u21s were too much! Thiago wants the ball under pressure, he demands it anywhere. We need to produce that kind of mentality in our kids.

"

Laurent Koscielny

One player going nowhere is Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny.

Barcelona have been linked heavily with the player (James Dickenson, Express) in recent days but Charlie Wyett at The Sun is reporting that the player is happy to stay in North London.

Rich Panzarino of sport.co.uk has quoted the player as saying:

"

I have the desire to add to my list of honours. I hope the club will give me the means.

"

If the most recent reports are accurate then it would appear that the player believes he is able to do just that by staying with the Gunners.

Koscielny's agent, Stephane Courbois' statement via Paul Collins, Daily Mail:

"

There is interest. I know that Laurent is part of a shortlist of three or four players for both clubs.

"

Now seems little more than a fishing mission, with the player set to continue to reject overtures from both Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Luis Alberto

Barcelona will not be taking up their option Barca B star Luis Alberto who has interrupted his holiday to have a medical at Liverpool.

Fede Quintero of Marca reports that the deal for the player to join Liverpool is almost done with his parent club Sevilla agreeing a fee in the region of £7.5 million.

Neil Jones of the Liverpool Echo agrees that Alberto is about to join the english club but says a fee has yet to be agreed.

One of the stars of Barca B during the past season, Barcelona fans may well be unhappy that another young talent has been allowed to slip through their fingers.

Jeremy Mathieu

Jeremy Mathieu is edging closer to a switch to Barcelona.

Equally comfortable on the left side of central defence or at left-back, at €15 million, his transfer represents good business for Barca.

However, Los Che will not be opening the exit door for Mathieu to walk through just yet. In fact, the player himself is in no rush to leave the Mestalla.

Football Espana have noted the players desire to remain at Valencia. 

"

Barcelona is Barcelona and it is normal that if I was asked about then that I would say that they are a fantastic team.

But my focus is clear: Valencia.

"

The player's contract expires one year from now and Valencia are keen to extend it by three years.

They are, however, interested in Barcelona's Gerard Deulofeu, and he could be used as a makeweight in any potential deal.

Gerard Deulofeu

Valencia's sporting director Braulio Vazquez has identified Barca B starlet Gerard Deulofeu as a potential signing for the new season.

Football Espana report Los Che's interest in a player that they already tried to sign in the last transfer window.

Valencia join a whole host of teams that are keen on securing the talented youngster.

If Tito Vilanova only intends to use him sparingly once more, then the likelihood is that the player will move during this window to take advantage of more match time elsewhere.

Valencia may well have jumped to the head of the ever-increasing queue given Barcelona's alleged interest in their defender Jeremy Mathieu.

Laurent Koscielny

A recent name to come into the reckoning for a spot at the heart of the Barcelona defence is Arsenal's Frenchman, Laurent Koscielny.

Marca report that the Catalans may have already contacted the North London club to open negotiations for the sale of the defender.

No price has yet been agreed, but with it being reported that the player himself is seeking a move after being at the "Gunners" for the last three seasons, it is anticipated that any fee will not be a problem for Barcelona.

If signed, Koscielny will join a long line of players to have made the same journey including Emmanuel Petit, Marc Overmars, Thierry Henry, Alex Song and Cesc Fabregas.

Ibrahim Afellay

Another player that could be heading to North London is Ibrahim Afellay.

Tony Stenson of the Daily Star identifies the interest of Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas.

The Dutchman has been on loan at Schalke in Germany and is surplus to requirements at Camp Nou.

With Barcelona keen to offload players to raise funds, any offer over £8 million will see Afellay move to pastures new.

Villas-Boas is a known admirer, and a move could be on the cards as the manager looks to further strengthen his midfield options before the beginning of the new season.

Fernando Torres

There are conflicting reports in the media regarding Chelsea's Fernando Torres.

Barcelona appear interested in a move for the player with a fee of £17 million mooted.

Yet Hannah Duncan of Metro reports Torres as saying he wishes to stay in West London.

"

I want to continue, I want to complete the contract I signed and continue winning trophies and I would like to be the best in the world in my position again.

It’s always nice to hear about interest from clubs like Barcelona, but my plan is to stay at Chelsea.

"

The marksman may be willing to reconsider that view when he hears of new Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho's comments, via Daniel Jones of Metro.

"

Torres so far is so-so. Somebody could expect more because of his potential, because of what he did before. But not so bad as people sometimes try to say.

"

David Villa

The future of striker David Villa still remains unresolved.

Barcelona President Sandro Rosell was clear when he faced reporters at a press conference during the past week. As Scott Rumsey of Goal.com notes, Rosell has indicated that Villa is going nowhere.

The player himself—on Confederations Cup duty with Spain—prefers to delay any decision on his future.

"Throughout my career, I have always been respectful of my current club. Right now, I'm just thinking about doing a good job in Brazil - and then we will see."

At 31 years old, Villa's opportunities at Barcelona look to be dwindling.

Frequently substituted or used from the bench during the last season, the arrival of the younger and more mobile Neymar to slot into the left sided position Villa has made his own could persuade the player that his future lies elsewhere.

Both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are believed to be jostling for position in a bid to secure the services of Spain's record goalscorer, per Dion Dassanayake of The Express.

Thiago Alcantara

Manchester United are looking to secure the signature of Thiago Alcantara after their main summer target, Cesc Fabregas, ruled himself out of a move to the Premier League champions, according to Daniel Jones of Metro:

"

It has taken a lot for me to get where I am, and I am not thinking about throwing it all away for nothing.

If they [Barcelona] said that they didn’t want me, that would be another thing—but what I really want is to triumph at Barca.

If people boo me then I will have to cope with that.

"

Disappointed by a lack of first-team opportunities, Alcantara could be persuaded to leave, although rumours of a lowering of his release clause are incorrect. Sandro Rosell, via Matthew Nash of hereisthecity.com explains:

"

[The clause] is poorly explained. It's the other way round, if he had played the necessary number of games, the clause would have risen from 18m euros to 90m.

I understand that he wants to play more games, but I'd like him to stay on at the club and become as important as Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets.

Now they are recognised by the world. It took time for all of them to become regular starters, there’s a lot of competition. I would like it if he had the patience the others had.

"

With Thiago now thought to be at the top of David Moyes' list of transfer targets, per Jamie Sanderson of Metro, any business will have to wait until the conclusion of the U21 European Championships, in which the player is captaining his country.