Barcelona could offer up an exchange deal to land Villarreal star | OneFootball

La Liga giants Barcelona could make use of the interest of Villarreal in several of the club’s young talents to bring in Álex Baena this summer.

That’s according to Diario Sport, who have on Sunday provided an insight into the situation.

The name of attacker Baena has of course taken its place front and centre in the headlines in Catalunya’s capital for several weeks now.

This comes amid mounting claims that the 22-year-old has been identified as a potential summer signing on the part of the Barcelona brass.

Baena, for his part, is in the midst of a stellar campaign with the aforementioned Villarreal, which has seen him rack up a head-turning 17 assists across all competitions.

Such creativity would mark a welcome boost to Xavi’s Barca squad, with the absence of a similar player in Catalunya at present making Baena an altogether attractive target.

The issue for the Blaugrana, however, comes in the form of price.

The Spaniard’s contract at La Cerámica features a release clause set in the region of €60 million, an unattainable sum for the cash-strapped Camp Nou hierarchy.

As per the aforementioned Sport, though, Barcelona could seek to bring this figure down to a more reachable one, by way of the inclusion of some of the club’s highly-regarded young talents.

Villarreal, it is suggested, are keeping a close eye on several of the latest crop of breakthrough La Masia starlets, with it not out of the question that one, or even two such players could be utilised as part of an exchange to bring Baena in with a view to next season.

Conor Laird | GSFN