FC Barcelona has been very active early in the summer transfer window. After completing deals for three arrivals, the Spanish club is looking to sort departures. According to ESPN, Barcelona is on the verge of increasing their budget by €13.5 million as they move in with the sales of outstanding potential Konrad de la Fuente and teenage defender Jean-Clair Todibo. De la Fuente is expected to join Marseille, while Todibo will sign a permanent deal with Nice, where he has been on loan from January.
Barcelona will earn €5 million from the selling of the USA international winger and will keep a portion of any future sales, while Todibo will help the club in getting €8.5 million. The Spanish club had sent Todibo on loan to Nice in January after a poor first half of the season at Benfica. The French club had a permanent option in the deal which allowed them to complete the signing for an additional €7 million in prospective add-ons.
The French defender joined FC Barcelona in the winter transfer window of 2018/19, making his league debut against Huesca in week 32 of that season. In 2018/19, he was a member of the Liga winning team. Todibo was loaned to Schalke 04 in the middle of the 2019/20 season.
De la Fuente featured in only three games for Barcelona’s senior team. Meanwhile, Todibo made only five appearances for the Catalan club. It appears that Barcelona would just rather cash in on both young players instead of keeping them around the first team to eventually help them to fulfill their potential at Camp Nou.
The report from ESPN also insists that Barcelona has to trim the squad in order to raise funds for new signings and open up room for an already enormous pay bill. While some supporters may be disappointed to see two great young players depart, the club is putting finishing touches to sign Memphis Depay on a free transfer. The Spanish club has already confirmed the deals for Sergio Aguero, Eric Garcia, and Emerson Royal. They were also interested in signing Gini Wijnaldum, but he eventually decided to join Paris Saint-Germain.