Barcelona Transfer News and Rumours Tracker: Week of August 12

Barcelona head into the into weekend with their transfer focus shifting once again to other targets.

It's been an abysmal window, evidenced by their most recent 360 degree about turn.

One potential acquisition was one of the very early front runners to take up a central defensive position in the Barca backline.

Jose Mourinho is still playing hardball with Barca—nothing new there!

Let's take a look at news and rumours from the last couple of days and, as usual, please keep checking for updates throughout the week.

LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, AUGUST 16

David Luiz

Try as they might, Barcelona are unlikely to prise David Luiz from Chelsea.

Blues manager Jose Mourinho, in an interview with BT Sport (h/t ESPN), has put one final nail in Barca's attempts to sign the defender.

"

He is a player with four years [on his] contract, he just signed a contract last year.

We like him.

He is an important player for the club and the club is not ready to sell him for any price.

"

When pressed on reports that Luiz had told of his desire to move to Barcelona, Mourinho retorted:

"

I don't know if he said that. What I can say is that he is not going to [leave].

The last quotes I read were Luiz saying he is not speaking about clubs when he is with the national team, which is a fantastic quote that I appreciate.

When they are with the national team they are national team players, they are not club players. That is the last quote I have and it is an intelligent one.

"

Martin Montoya

After rumours of a possible move to Italy, Martin Montoya's agent has moved swiftly to silence any rumours.

Barcelona right back Montoya had been a target for both Inter Milan and Napoli but Jose Maria Orobtig has confirmed via ilsussidiario.net (h/t forzaitalianfootball) a new contract at Barca for the player.

"

Until the end of last month I was receiving calls from Inter and Napoli, but not today because Barcelona have taken a firm position on the lad.

The player will stay at Barcelona, the club has decided to take him off the market. This week we will discuss his contract renewal and I hope everything will go well.

The club want to keep him as backup for Dani Alves, he will do everything to gain the confidence of the manager.

"

Eliaquim Mangala

Eliaqium Mangala has kept a low profile during a summer of speculation.

He has now moved to the front of the queue as Barcelona seek to tie down that elusive central defender.

Sport.es (h/t Ben Jefferson of the Daily Express) report that Barcelona are preparing to test the resolve of both the player and Porto.

In order to meet Mangala's buyout clause, Barca will need to stump up in the region of £40 million, but the monies set aside for the (seemingly unsuccessful) purchases of either David Luiz or Daniel Agger, will take care of this.

The Catalans are likely to face competition from Chelsea, with Jose Mourinho being a confirmed admirer of the player.

Mangala himself said:

"

It's flattering because Chelsea are a great club and Mourinho is a great coach.

I intended to stay in Porto but you never know what will happen in football, especially when big clubs are involved.

"

Cesc Fabregas

Thought you had heard the end of the Cesc Fabregas saga? Think again.

Mark Ogden of The Telegraph is reporting that Manchester United will submit a final bid for the player should he not start Barca's first few games.

Fabregas is injured with ankle trouble presently, but may return for the La Liga opener against Levante on Sunday.

He should also be fit for the first leg of the SuperCopa against Atletico Madrid next Wednesday.

Following the Atletico tie, Malaga and Valencia are the opposition either side of the second leg.

United understand that Fabregas’s contribution to those fixtures will decide his future.

Marc Bartra

As if the lack of defensive cover at Barcelona wasn't bad enough, the news that Tottenham Hotspur have made a bid for Marc Bartra will hit cules hard.

Duncan Castles reports news of the bid at Goal.com and it is suggested the player is open to the move.

The 22-year-old has suffered from a lack of confidence by the management team to allow him to make a central defensive starting berth his own, and it is only normal that the player would be tempted by offers of regular football elsewhere.

Bartra is much in demand as Castles also notes the interest of both Valencia and Villarreal should the youngster wish to stay in La Liga.

David Luiz

It looks like Barcelona's pursuit of Chelsea defender David Luiz may be at an end.

Duncan Castles of Goal.com reports that the Blues want Barca to double their original £21.5 million offer to £43 million if they want to have any hope of landing Luiz. 

Such a fee is likely to be beyond the Catalans who's only hope now is that the player's desire to join them will force the price down and the move through.

According to Mundo Deportivo (h/t Jack De Menezes of The Independent), Luiz has indeed told his current employers that he wishes to make the switch from London to Spain.

The report goes on to say that Barca will return with an improved £31 million bid but this still may not be enough to tempt the Londoners to part with the Brazilian.

Dani Alves

Not content with denying Barcelona the signature of their top defensive target this summer, Paris St. Germain are now looking to acquire one of Barca's best defenders.

According to L'Equipe (h/t Tom Etherington of Sambafoot.com), PSG have targeted Brazilian full back Dani Alves to bolster their first class back-line.

Any bid would not be welcomed, but with the French side having already shown their financial muscle this summer, there may be little Barcelona could do about Alves moving to pastures new.

Mamadou Sakho

One player who could be leaving Paris St. Germain to join Barcelona is Mamadou Sakho.

The player is unhappy with life in the French capital, wants a move away, and is interesting Barca according to reports in Sport.es (h/t Football Espana).

At just 23-years-of age and available for a bargain transfer fee of €15m, could Sakho, a French international, be the defender that Barcelona have been waiting all summer long for?

The Catalans will have to move quickly if so as both Liverpool and AS Monaco are interested in the player according to Ben Jefferson of The Express.

Daniel Agger

Another target unlikely to be on the move is Liverpool's Daniel Agger according to James Dickenson of The Express.

The Dane was always a back up to Barcelona's first choice David Luiz, however that option now appears to have deserted the Catalan club too.

Manager Brendan Rodgers message is loud and clear that Agger stays:

"

Daniel has given me his word that he loves Liverpool and I will expect him to be here.

He had chances to leave, but told me as long as we wanted him here, then he wanted to stay.

He’s been brilliant, that is why we have given him the vice-captaincy. The one thing I got from him from the very first conversation is loyalty.

That is why he signed a new contract and committed himself to the club, and why we gave him a new contract - because we want him to be part of our future.

He is important to the way we play, and he has been central to the way we work since I came here, and he knows that. There have been a couple of inquiries, but we have made our position clear.

"

Jan Vertonghen

Darren Lewis of the Daily Mirror reports on possible Barcelona interest in one of Tottenham Hotspur's centre-backs.

Jan Vertonghen appeared to be interesting the Barcelona hierarchy, but Tottenham have even denied that a bid has been made.

In any event, the Londoners insist the player is not for sale.

Barca would therefore seemingly be wasting their time trying to negotiate to secure the highly rated defender.

Javier Mascherano

Javier Mascherano has really put the cat among the pigeons with his latest statement.

According to El Pais (h/t SkySports), the Argentine hasn't ruled out a move from Barcelona.

"

You never know. In football, you have to be prepared for anything.

There were calls from somewhere else, but no offers.

There are always doubts. You are at Barcelona and you have to fight for your place.

"

Mascherano went on:

"

The question is whether you now fight in the same circumstances, as I have always had to win my starting place throughout my career. It's as it should be.

If Barca tell me they don't need me, I will be off within a minute.

"

Daniel Agger

New Liverpool vice-captain Daniel Agger was left out Liverpool's preseason friendly against Celtic.

Far from this being a suggestion that the Dane could be on the verge of a move to Barcelona, Kieran Beckles of TheSportReview.com reports that it was, in fact, because the defender had sustained a knee injury.

Reds manager Brendan Rodgers also indicated that there was nothing further to report on the Blaugrana's chase for the player:

"

I think the two things with Daniel. He had fluid in his knee after Steven Gerrard’s testimonial and he had to get that taken out. He hadn’t trained for the week.

The only other development was that we named him as the vice-captain.

Nothing in terms of Barcelona.

He’s a top player and really wants to work with the club and I’m really looking forward to him and his role and working with him again this season.

"

David Luiz

David Luiz has already indicated he is willing to take a pay cut to join Barcelona, according to Mundo Deportivo (h/t 101greatgoals).

Jose Mourinho has already indicated that he has no intention of selling the player, as the Daily Mail's Sami Mokbel reports.

Whose will is stronger?

John Drayton of the Daily Mail reports that Barcelona are expecting Luiz to tell his Chelsea paymasters this week that he wants to leave the club.

Such a statement will put the Catalans in a much healthier bargaining position and keep a transfer fee to a more realistic level.

Denis Suarez

Paul Collins of the Daily Mail has reported that Denis Suarez is one of three players to have been left out of Manchester City's trip to Helsinki.

With the other two, Gareth Barry and Scott Sinclair, also rumoured to be leaving the Citizens, it is perhaps the clearest indication yet that Suarez's move to Barcelona could be imminent.

It's likely Suarez will initially form part of Eusebio Sacristan's Barca B side, with a view to promotion should he sufficiently impress.