After a second rejection by Athletic Club star Nico Williams, Barcelona is faltering, but now has to look at alternatives. Two names stand out as Plan B and Plan C for the Blaugrana.
The Catalan giants had agreed a deal with Williams with a deal of € 7 million per Athletic offered him a new bumper deal in the next decade and Barcelona missed it again because of their problems with the salary limit.
Barcelona will now make a new approach for, among others, Liverpool -wing player Luis Diaz, including MD and Fabrizio Romano. The first says that Barcelona will now go all the way for the Colombians, who was the preferred option of director of Football Deco. This week this week reported that Diaz had sent messages to Barcelona this week to try to keep a deal alive, because it seemed as if Williams could arrive in the Catalan capital.
Diaz and his agent have their attempts to negotiate an exit after the tragic death of teammate Diogo Jota for the time being, say the Catalan daily. There is of course little appetite to talk about transfers in Anfield in the light of these events.
However, it is worth saying that Liverpool has rejected Barcelona's previous move for Diaz. While the 28-year-old attacker no longer has a contract in two years and has a move, Liverpool demand € 80-85 million for Diaz, but even if they reach that figure, it cannot negotiate with Barcelona. After dealing with Barcelona in a deal for Philippe Coutinho, they have no faith in Barcelona's ability to pay.
Marcus Rashford from Manchester United is the autumn-back option for Barcelona. The international of England would like to switch to Barcelona and will last. However, Barcelona would in theory be looking for a loan with an option to buy, while the Red Devils prefer a sale. Their requirements are € 45 million for the 27-year-old attacker.