The reason the Barcelona transfer committee turned down Goncalo Guedes | OneFootball

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Football Espana

·20 January 2023

The reason the Barcelona transfer committee turned down Goncalo Guedes

Article image:The reason the Barcelona transfer committee turned down Goncalo Guedes

Barcelona have lost Dutch forward Memphis Depay to Atletico Madrid this January, leading to a number of forwards being linked with his vacant spot in the Barcelona squad.

Manager Xavi Hernandez told the press that while he would like to strengthen his side, it ‘wouldn’t be a disaster’ if they did not. There will be no shortage of players and agents keen to carve out Memphis’ place for themselves.


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One of them could have been Goncalo Guedes. The Portuguese forward was desperate to leave Wolves after struggling in his first six months there, and a loan move beckoned. A deal was confirmed to take Guedes to Benfica on Friday morning, but Barcelona had the chance to snare him too.

As per Sport, Sporting Director Jordi Cruyff and Director of Football Mateu Alemany decided to turn down the opportunity to seal the deal. Their reasoning was that they did not feel Guedes fit what they wanted in exchange for Depay. While Memphis has operated chiefly from the left, the Blaugrana want more of a number 9 if they are to sign a replacement, in order to back-up Robert Lewandowski.

Xavi possesses players like Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati who can operate through the middle, still neither are best suited to the role. Losing Lewandowski for any length of time means changing the structure of the front three as things stand.

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