Barcelona outline two priorities for left-wing next summer – position seen as priority | OneFootball

Barcelona went into last summer with the left wing position as one of their priorities, but did not manage to bring an out and out winger in, despite targeting Nico Williams. The latest coming out of the Catalan giants is that it continues to be their top objective for next summer.

While the idea of bringing in a top forward to succeed Robert Lewandowski, that is looking too difficult for the Blaugrana to pull off next summer. Thus the positions that they will target are the left-wing spot, and the two full-back positions. They feel that despite Raphinha’s stunning performances this season, they need a specialist winger.

As such, Williams remains the favourite for that spot, say Sport. The Basque winger decided to remain in Bilbao this season, but Barcelona intend to come back in for him if he does not renew his contract with Athletic. His release clause is €65m this season. Williams would be earning €9-10m per season.

Meanwhile Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is currently in contract discussions with his club, and is open to leaving the club next summer. He wants a deal worth €4-5m per year, while Napoli’s asking price is reportedly in the region of €80m. Rafael Leao has also been linked to the Blaugrana, but a move for the Portuguese is described as ‘improbable’.

If Barcelona were to pay those prices, a five-year deal for Williams would cost them a total of €110-115m over the course of the piece. On the other hand, Kvaratskhelia would thoeretically cost them €100-105m over the same period. Depending on the structure of the deal Napoli would demand, the up front cost could also be a key factor, with Barcelona still well over their salary limit currently.