Barcelona tipped to sanction surprise summer midfielder sale | OneFootball

The powers that be at La Liga giants Barcelona have not closed the door on the potential sale of a leading member of the club’s midfield ranks this summer.

That’s according to Diario Sport, who point towards İlkay Gündoğan as the player in question.

Gündoğan, for his part, is of course fresh off a stellar debut campaign in Barcelona’s colours.

After linking up with Xavi’s troops on a free transfer from Manchester City, the German international quickly went on to establish himself as an integral member of the Blaugrana’s midfield ranks.

In fact, many would no doubt argue that, across the length of the campaign, Gündoğan stood as Barca’s most consistent performer.

All told, the 33-year-old racked up a hefty 51 appearances across all competitions, chipping in with five goals and a team-leading 14 assists along the way.

And yet, as alluded to above, if the latest word stemming from the media is anything to go by, his place in Barcelona’s setup for next season is not yet assured.

As per the aforementioned Sport, this comes owing to the ongoing financial woes behind the scenes in Catalunya’s capital:

‘The uncomfortable reality leads the entity chaired by Joan Laporta to the conclusion that a hypothetical departure of the German this summer would not pose any problem.’

It is also suggested that, ahead of switching to new head coach Hansi Flick’s trademark 4-2-3-1, Barcelona consider themselves well covered in midfield.

Conor Laird | GSFN