Barcelona have reportedly reignited their interest in Saul Niguez, who is also a target for Liverpool, over a potential late move this summer.
According to a report by Spanish outlet El Gol Digital, Barcelona have, for perhaps the umpteenth time in the summer transfer window, reignited their interest in signing Saul Niguez. The Catalan outfit are hoping to raise funds from the potential sale of Martin Braithwaite to land the Spaniard, who is also being courted by Liverpool.
Saul Niguez is coming off the back of a difficult 2020/21 campaign, wherein he lost his place as a regular in the first-team setup for Atletico Madrid. While he still featured in more games than not, the new rotation role has affected his stature quite a bit, as he was omitted from the Spanish national squad for UEFA Euro 2020.
To date, Saul has made 338 appearances for Los Rojiblancos while chipping in with 43 goals and 20 assists in the process. And while he might noe be indispensable for Atletico Madrid anymore, there has been no shortage of interest in his services, with Barcelona and Liverpool among those that have been hot on his trails for quite some time now.
Barcelona have been tailing the 26-year-old for quite some time now and it was even reported at one point that they were leading the race to sign him. However, after initially trying to include him in a part-exchange deal involving Antoine Griezmann, the Blaugrana’s trail went cold for a while.
It now looks like Barcelona might finally be able to fund a separate move for Saul, as they are hoping to recoup around €30 million from the sale of Martin Braithwaite, who has been heavily linked with Tottenham and West Ham United lately. However, Barcelona still continue to face stiff competition from Liverpool in his pursuit.
The interest from Liverpool makes a lot of sense considering the void left by Georginio Wijnaldum’s departure is yet to be filled at Anfield. As a result, the Reds have been linked with a whole host of central midfielders, with Saul being named as their priority target for a long time now.
All things considered, it will not be a surprise to see Saul departing the Wanda Metropolitano if Barcelona or Liverpool make their move. That ‘if’, though, is a a big one and it remains to be seen if either of his suitors end up swooping the Spanish international away from Atletico Madrid.
