Barcelona are planning to shift their focus to Juventus winger Federico Chiesa because the Catalans are going to miss out on Luis Diaz, that’s according to a report in Spanish publication SPORT.
Nico Williams has been priority number one for Barcelona however, the club is struggling to agree on a deal for the Athletic Bilbao winger. Barca have not made any major progress in the pursuit of Williams which is why in recent weeks, the club has tried to make contact with Luis Diaz.
At the start of the summer, Barcelona had been heavily linked with the Liverpool man and there have been some rumours that the South American wants to leave Arne Slot’s team to join Barcelona. However, Barca are not expected to get their hands on the 27-year-old simply because Liverpool are demanding a massive transfer fee to let him leave.
Should Barcelona give up hope of signing Luis Diaz?
Luis Diaz is currently valued at €75 million and his contract expires in 2027 which is why Liverpool are in no hurry to offload him.
Even though there are rumours that Diaz wants a fresh challenge he’s shown no signs of discontent and even Arne Slot is unwilling to let him leave without signing a proper long-term replacement.
The new Liverpool boss said, as quoted: “His future is with us because I really like what I’ve seen in the last 10 days and I saw the same last season. He’s had a big impact on Liverpool’s recent campaigns and I hope he has a big impact next season as well.“
Liverpool can very easily quote €80-90 million for the left-winger and there’s no way Barcelona will be able to pay that kind of money in the next couple of days.
Will Federico Chiesa be an ideal solution?
Liverpool might be unwilling to offload Luis Diaz but Juventus are very clear that they want to cash in on Federico Chiesa before deadline day.
Chiesa’s contract expires in 2025 which is why Juventus do not want to lose him as a free agent. The 26-year-old has spent his whole career in the Serie A and since joining the Old Lady, the winger has played in 131 games for the club.
In 131 appearances, Federico Chiesa has made 55 goal contributions and even though he is a left-winger, the Italian international can play all across the forward line including as a centre-forward.
Last season he played 33 league games but instead of the left wing, Chiesa featured mainly as a secondary striker and a No. 10. He chipped in with 9 goals with an xG of 6.43 and an xA of 5.58. The 26-year-old had 27 shots on target and created 54 chances.
Nico Williams or Luis Diaz would have been a much better option but Federico Chiesa won’t be a bad choice either given that he has less than 12 months remaining on his contract and his market value right now is only €35 million. There’s no way Juventus will be able to demand a crazy fee which means Barcelona should be able to get their hands on the winger for around €40-45 million.
It’s clear that Barca do not have the funds to go after their big-money targets and in such a situation someone like Federico Chiesa can turn out to be a great solution for new manager Hansi Flick.
