FC Barcelona are still in the mindset to recruit new players this summer. The Catalan club wants to add new stars to their team and improve a squad that underperformed last season. With Hansi Flick now in charge, Barcelona do not wish to repeat the same mistakes.
In terms of priorities, FC Barcelona essentially have two positions in which they want to bring in new reinforcements. One is the pivot position, and the other is the left-winger role, for which Barcelona have several options to choose from and bet on.
The likes of Athletic Club winger Nico Williams and Liverpool star Luis Diaz are two of the most prominent targets. However, there are also some other names on the table and one of them is 22-year-old English winger Jaden Philogene, whose performances for Hull City last season have caught the eye of Barcelona.
Now, as highlighted by Mundo Deportivo, Hull City owner Acun Ilicali has even confirmed the interest from FC Barcelona in a recent interview, making it a real case of interest rather than just a rumor:
“Yes, everything is true. But I told my fans that I wouldn’t sell anyone. My idea in football is not to make money; my idea is to make the club stronger and bigger. But sometimes, to make a club bigger, if a player says ‘I want to leave,’ it’s a different case.”
“A player transfer is not the end of the world. However, I wouldn’t want to hinder my players’ careers or movements because of a contract. So, in that case, if Jaden wants to move and says he wants to go somewhere, this is something we can’t do too much about.”
For FC Barcelona, the signing of Philogene would not be nearly as expensive as the hypothetical signings of Williams or Diaz. As per MD, the player would cost around €20 million to sign, which proves that the price tag has a significant difference when compared to the other two targets for Barcelona.
Nico Williams reportedly has a release clause of €58 million while Luis Diaz would cost around €75 million as per reports. While Barcelona still dreams of signing the Athletic Club star, it is important to realize that their financial reality is a vulnerable one, and sometimes the club will have to reach for alternatives rather than priority targets.
