Barcelona were close to signing in-demand goalkeeper for €15 million in the winter window

In a massive revelation made by Bruno Alemany on Que T’hi Jugues, it’s been disclosed that Barcelona were offered to sign FC Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa in January 2022, but lack of funds forced the Blaugrana to give up on the transfer.

Costa, arguably the most in-demand goalkeeper at the moment, has recently signed a new five-year deal with the Portuguese team. The story, however, could have been entirely different if Barcelona had everything in place in January.

Back then, the team from Catalonia were still pondering the option of selling Neto Murara. But as they failed to sanction the sale, followed by the lack of liquidity, they were forced to pull out of the Costa deal.

If everything had gone according to plan, Costa would have come a step closer to becoming a Cule mostly because Barcelona had reached halfway to closing the operation for a price reported to be around €15 million.

It must be remembered that back then, Barcelona were also considering the option of making a move for Rayo Vallecano keeper Stole Dimitrievski as well, but only if Neto was offloaded.

As of today, Costa’s valuation has risen to €75 million as Porto decided to add the figure as his release clause in his new contract. On top of that, even if Barcelona are to explore the option, they will not be the only club as Manchester United, too, have been scouting the 23-year-old.

In fact, it’s been reported that the team from the English Premier League has scouted the stopper at least half a dozen times this season already.

As far as Barcelona are concerned, they are more likely to take a casual stance as they already have Inaki Pena in their ranks and it’s been reported that talks regarding the 23-year-old’s contract extension have already begun.

The post Barcelona were close to signing in-demand goalkeeper for €15 million in the winter window appeared first on Barca Universal.

from Barca Universal https://ift.tt/34hXnJm
via IFTTT