PREMIER LEAGUE

Wolves dealt with a major blow in their pursuit of Barcelona’s Nico Gonzalez

Nico Gonzalez

The summer transfer market is yet to open officially but the rumors are coming thick and fast. Barcelona’s Nico Gonzalez is now making the news after the midfielder was linked with a move to Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolves are looking to bring in a new central midfielder and Nico happens to be their prime target. Moreover, the midfielder’s lack of game-time at Barca further fueled the speculations that he too wants an exit. However, that may not be the case according to the recent developments.

Wolves have rigorously pursued a midfielder in the past couple of transfer windows. Their midfield duo of Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho face an uncertain future at the club and Wolves want to resolve the issue. Moreover, Wolves seek a replacement for Moutinho, who will soon be 36 years of age. As a result, Wolves wanted to add young blood to their midfield with Barca’s Nico fitting their criteria. The 20-year-old has come through Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy to make his mark with the first team. Nico has played a massive 37 games for Barcelona this season, with 27 of those coming in the La Liga.

Wolves are set to miss out on Nico as Barca won’t sell the midfielder

Nico has had a brilliant breakthrough season at Barcelona playing 37 games in all competitions. However, with the season winding down, his playing time decreased. As a result, Nico’s agent Jorge Mendes started contemplating an exit for his client for regular playing time. Moreover, Barca manager Xavi wants Wolves’ Ruben Neves in his ranks, further prompting Mendes to find a new club for Nico. Wolves jumped in line to acquire Nico while anticipating Neves’ exit.

However, ESPN’s Moises Llorens has confirmed that Barcelona wants to keep Nico and won’t put him on sale. A meeting has taken place between Mendes, Barcelona president Joan Laporta, and director Mateu Alemany to discuss Nico’s future. The meeting reportedly went positive with Mendes later confirming the same. The super-agent said,

“They don’t want to sell Nico, even though we have offers for him. The meeting went very well.”

Meanwhile, Barcelona are pushing hard to sign Ruben Neves from the Premier League side. Wolves have placed a massive £70 million price tag on the midfielder, which the Catalans believe is too much. Moreover, given their financial struggles, Barcelona won’t be able to pay that amount. The club is therefore trying to engineer a player-plus-cash deal to lower Wolves’ asking price. On the other hand, Wolves only want Nico in any such deal.

Nevertheless, Wolves will have to part ways with Neves since the player himself wants to leave. Earlier reports suggested that Xavi has had held direct talks with Neves to convince him to join Barcelona. But a lot of work has to be done if Barca are to sign Neves. However, as of now, it is quite clear that Wolves won’t be getting their hands on Nico this summer.

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