Barcelona Transfer News: Summer Plans Revealed, Latest Sergio Busquets Rumours

Barcelona are reportedly planning to invest €50 million (£38.8 million) on transfers in the summer with a new centre-back, full-back and forward all needed.

According to Marca's Luis F. Rojo, the transfer kitty will be supplemented by any fees brought in by outgoing players, and there is an extensive list of targets just for the centre-back role—including Paris Saint-Germain's Marquinhos, Athletic Bilbao's Aymeric Laporte and Everton's John Stones.

The report also mentioned Atletico Madrid's Jose Gimenez as being under consideration, while Barca manager Luis Enrique still has his sights set on adding Celta Vigo's Nolito in attack after missing out on signing him in January.

Per Rojo, those potentially exiting the Camp Nou in the summer are full-backs Douglas, Dani Alves and Adriano, along with forward Sandro, while "neither [Thomas] Vermaelen nor [Marc] Bartra are meeting expectations."

There are clearly plans afoot for considerable squad changes in the summer at the Blaugrana, and the focus seems to be on improving the back-up available to Enrique.

Certainly in attack, Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez are all guaranteed starters when available and are a major reason for Barca's current position as Europe's top side, per Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe:

Thus Nolito would be added to supplement the superlative trio, and he has the skill set to be a significant asset at the club—he is both a creator and provider while he is also comfortable playing in both advanced and deeper roles on the left flank.

However, he is 29 and was too expensive when Barca tried to sign him in the winter as Celta were asking for €18 million (£14 million), per ESPN FC.

Apps (as a sub)	17(2)
Minutes	1574
Goals	9
Assists	5
Shots per game	2.9
Pass success percentage	67.8

Defensively, Barca could do with some top-quality reinforcements to help them be more solid at the back.

In Javier Mascherano and Gerard Pique, they have a very able centre-back pairing—and they have only conceded 22 La Liga goals in 28 games this season—but the back-up is lacking.

Furthermore, Mascherano is now in his 30s, thus the addition of Laporte, Gimenez, Marquinhos or Stones—all 21 years old—would be fantastic for the future of the Blaugrana defence.

While any of them are likely to cost Barca a significant sum—Everton rejected an offer of a little less than £40 million for Stones last summer, per the Independent's Tom Sheen—reinforcing the back line is unquestionably the priority for the Catalans as they look to ensure their continued good form.

Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images

Another move likely to help Barca in the long run, particularly defensively, is to tie Sergio Busquets down to a new contract, and that is exactly what the club is planning, per Rojo.

The report indicated that president Josep Maria Bartomeu is prepared to offer the Spanish central midfielder around €16 million (£12.5 million) per season, making him as well paid as Andres Iniesta, Pique and Suarez and short only of Neymar and Messi.

The 27-year-old Busquets is one of the best defensive midfielders in the world and keeping him at the Camp Nou is clearly and, rightly, a priority.