Barcelona still have long way to go before this ongoing 2023/24 season comes to an end. Thus far, the Catalan giants have only taken part in two of the four total official competitions that they are eligible for. While La Liga remains intact, Barcelona will soon have to focus on others as well.
However, at the end of the day, the UEFA Champions League remains their great desire. Having not won Europe’s premiere competition since 2015, Barcelona are more than hungry to end that drought. Unfortunately, the road to end that drought may not be quite easy.
Their very first hurdle comes in the form of Walter Mazzarri’s Napoli side. The opponents for Barcelona from Serie A have not been enjoying the best of seasons thus far. Already knocked out of the Copa Italia, they are simultaneously now sitting at 8th place in the Italian league.
However, for exactly this reason, they have now turned all their attention towards Barcelona. According to SPORT, the team from Naples is willing to invest €60 million in order to overcome FC Barcelona. With the Round of 16 now a clear goal in their head, they have several targets and signings lined up.
Firstly, they have managed to acquire Salernitana’s right back, Pasquale Mazzocchi. Having acquired the player for €3 million, he will provide more depth to the team’s defensive options.
However, Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis does not plan to stop there. In fact, he is still after the signings of another central defender and two more midfielders to better prepare his club. One of those targets is someone who Barcelona are also keeping an eye on.
Lazar Samardzic and Boubakary Soumare are the two midfielders that Napoli are currently after. Their incorporation within the team could give the Italian team a lot of new options against Barcelona. However, one of their most promising targets is undoubtedly Radu Dragusin.
The Romanian central defender is one that many teams in Europe are excited about. Barcelona, among those interested teams, is also carefully assessing the player’s future. Moreover, even Tottenham Hotspur is quite engaged and is in contact due to their interest in signing the player first.
Both Barcelona and Napoli will be locking horns on the 21st of February at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. After this first leg, Barça will welcome their opponents to the Montjuic Stadium for the second leg in March.
