Barcelona Transfer News: Top Rumours on Christmas Day

Barcelona are reportedly working on bringing Denis Suarez back to the Camp Nou and hope they can strike a deal with Villarreal before their buyback clause kicks in next summer. Meanwhile, Marc Bartra is unlikely to leave in January.

Per Mundo Deportivo (h/t AS' Joaquin Del Pozo), the Catalans can activate the clause for just €3 million in July, but they're hoping to come to a compromise with the Yellow Submarine in January. The same report says manager Luis Enrique previously revealed a desire to bring Suarez back.

The 21-year-old is enjoying a fine season out wide for Villarreal, scoring three goals and adding three assists in eight La Liga starts so far, per WhoScored.com. His strong form might actually complicate matters, per Yahoo Sport's Andrew Gaffney:

Suarez flashed his potential while on loan with Sevilla in the 2014-15 campaign, leading to a transfer last summer. He has looked much improved in 2015-16, however, and could be a great addition to the Blaugrana, who have struggled for depth in the attacking third.

Injuries to Lionel Messi and Neymar have forced Enrique to turn to Sandro Ramirez and Munir El Haddadi, who have both come up short. Suarez has already shown he can hold his own in La Liga, and he'd likely jump both players in the pecking order as soon as he arrives.

A move for Suarez makes even more sense when you consider Barcelona's financial situation. As explained by Sport's Lluis Miguelsanz, the Catalans lack the funds to bring in big-name players or add too much to their wage bill, which would make Suarez a more likely target.

Here's what he's been up to since moving to Villarreal:

The clause gives Barcelona some leverage, but Villarreal have every right to turn down any bid the Blaugrana make for Suarez until the clause kicks in. Even then, there's no guarantee the player will agree to a return, given the lack of opportunities he's had in the past.

But it should be possible for all parties to come to an agreement, perhaps involving a loan deal for one of the Catalans' other players. Someone like Bartra is in dire need of playing time―a loan move to the Madrigal could be the perfect solution.

Per Xavi Hernandez of Marca, the 24-year-old is likely to leave the club at some point during 2016, although the Catalans would prefer to do business in the summer:

"

If things do not change, Bartra will leave in 2016. His contract runs until June 2017, but the club management has not shown any interest in extending it, and so both sides think that a transfer is the best solution.

[…]

Sevilla rang him a few days back to enquire about a possible loan move in January. Barça's position on this, however, is not to let any defenders go at the moment. If anyone were offloaded, they would have to be replaced, and right now the coffers are not full enough for the 'Azulgranas' to be able to shell out much. In fact, for the winter transfer window, they are only considering minimal-cost forwards.

"

Bartra currently sits behind Gerard Pique, Javier Mascherano, Thomas Vermaelen and Jeremy Mathieu in the pecking order, and while it's never a bad thing to have five capable players at a position that only requires two, the Catalans should be able to survive comfortably without the La Masia graduate.

A lack of opportunities has held him back throughout his career after a promising start with the senior team, and he needs a change of scenery fast to salvage his career. A loan deal is possible if Barcelona still have faith in him, although a permanent move seems more likely.

He has plenty to offer for prospective buyers, as you can see in this video:

The Catalans don't have the funds to invest heavily in a young, promising centre-back like Athletic Bilbao's Aymeric Laporte in January, but given the lack of top-end defensive talent currently in the squad, one has to assume Barcelona will try to add a player like that in the near future.

Such a move would all but seal Bartra's fate and open the door for a permanent move. If Barcelona can use him to bring back Suarez six months before the summer window, it would be the perfect situation.

Follow @ReverschPass