Barcelona Transfers: What Do Los Blaugranas Need in Final Week of Transfer Window?

The summer transfer window deadline day is rapidly approaching, something Barcelona fans will surely welcome to quiet down incessant talks about their current precarious financial situation.

The transfer window looked promising for Barcelona after completing the bargain signing of goalkeeper Joan García in early June. However, Barça’s seemingly never-ending financials woes reared their ugly heads afterwards.

The club’s economic struggles saw Barcelona swing and miss in their attempt to recruit Nico Williams and subsequently Luis Díaz, settling in the end for Marcus Rashford on loan as the answer to Hansi Flick’s plea for a new left winger.

Roony Bardghji is the third and final reinforcement to arrive in Barcelona this summer. Overall Barcelona have reportedly spent €25 million ($29.1 million) in transfer fees this summer, just the fifth most in La Liga.

Barcelona began their La Liga title-defense with consecutive victories. Still, club higher-ups are working behind the scenes to have everything in order before deadline day.

Here’s what Barcelona must do before the end of the transfer window.

Register All Their Players

Three Barcelona players are currently stuck in limbo, unable to feature for the Catalans due to the club’s inability to register them because of their failure to meet La Liga’s financial fair play regulations.

Gerard Martín, Wojciech Szczęsny and Bardghji haven’t even traveled with the team for their opening two games of the season. The situation mirrors what Barcelona endured a summer ago when they struggled to register Pau Víctor and Dani Olmo—the latter is still playing with a temporary registration.

Flick has already voiced his displeasure about the situation, one that Barcelona seem to run into every single summer. Recent reports signal that Martín’s registration is Barça’s priority, followed by Szczęsny’s and then Bardghji’s—who already featured for Barça Atlètic last weekend. The club hopes to have at least the first registered by the time they face Rayo Vallecano on Aug. 31.

However, in recent days, Barcelona have already all but conceded they won’t meet La Liga’s 1:1 spending rule meaning the three players can only be registered if the club manages to free space on their wage bill.

Simply put, other first team players have to leave the club to solve the registration crisis.

Offload Unwanted Players

Oriol Romeu, Iñaki Peña and Héctor Fort are three players that are currently not being considered in Flick’s plans, making them expendable and the key to complete the pending registrations.

The Catalans have been working all summer trying to find a new home for Romeu, who didn't even travel for the club’s preseason tour. The current plan is to reach an agreement to terminate Romeu’s contract, but that’s proven to take longer than anticipated. According to SPORT, several La Liga clubs are interested in Romeu, which could lead the player to accelerate his departure.

Peña has served as Joan García’s backup through the first couple of games of the season, but it’s no secret Barcelona are hard at work looking to facilitate his exit. The plan is for Peña to sign a contract extension with the club that will allow him to leave on loan this term.

The final player Barcelona are looking to offload is Fort. The young right back has Eric García and Jules Koundé blocking his path to consistent minutes, making a departure on loan a no-brainer. Per SPORT, Fort’s future could very well be in the Premier League, with West Ham seemingly very interested in adding the 19-year-old La Masia graduate.

Barcelona will use Romeu and Peña’s departures to register Martín and Szczęsny. Fort’s exit would theoretically suffice to complete Bardghji’s registration, but a concrete bid for the right back still hasn’t arrived. It’s safe to say Barcelona could have to wait until deadline day for this “dream scenario” to materialize, if at all.

Sign a Left-Footed Center Back

It might be unrealistic, but if a suitable option is available Barcelona should explore signing a new left-footed center back.

Iñigo Martínez’s departure to Al Nassr caught many by surprise. As a result, Barcelona no longer have a left-footed center back in the squad. Pau Cubarsí has been forced to play as Barça’s left center back with Ronald Araújo to his right. Through two games, Martinez’s absence is glaring.

The Catalans are monitoring the situation of 19-year-old Brazilian center back Luiz Benedetti, SPORT revealed. Despite just six starts for Palmeiras’s senior side, he’s shown tremendous promise. Although his price could be modest, several other European clubs including Arsenal are said to be interested in acquiring him, lowering Barça’s chances of landing him.

Other options that fit the profile of what Barcelona are looking for should be explored. However, it’s likely Barcelona have to make due with in-house options. Flick deployed Martín in the heart of defense during preseason and he could be the Martínez replacement.

This makes his registration even more important, showcasing just how vital it is for Barcelona to complete the first two steps prior to the transfer deadline.