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Hello and welcome to the daily transfer news roundup for Barcelona!
Today's top stories feature Luka Jovic, Joao Felix and Matthijs De Ligt. Here are the top transfer news and rumours of the day surrounding the Catalan giants!
#3 Real Madrid set to battle Barcelona for Bundesliga star
According to reports from Spanish media outlet, Marca, Real Madrid are eyeing up a move for Barcelona's prime target, Luka Jovic.
With 25 goals and 7 assists in all competitions for Eintracht Frankfurt so far, Jovic is touted as potential superstar. The 21-year-old Serbian striker is one of the top goalscorers in the German league and he has proven his caliber both in Bundesliga and in Europa League.
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Jovic is currently on loan at Frankfurt from Benfica, with an option to buy for €12 million at the end of the season and Benfica will receive 20% of any future sale. According to the report, Jovic's price tag is around €70 million and Los Blancos will be willing to pay the amount.
Barcelona are looking for a top number nine as Luis Suarez is not getting any younger whereas Los Blancos are desperate for another number nine to carry the goalscoring load beside Karim Benzema. Jovic will be ideal due to his impressive goalscoring abilities and he is the most popular choice among the Los Blancos hierarchy.
There is no doubt about the fact that Blaugrana board remains interested in Jovic and they have sent scouts to keep tabs on Serbian sharpshooter on multiple occasions. Now, Los Blancos has entered the race and may persuade the Blaugrana target to join Real Madrid.
Jovic Sr. on his son's future
Meanwhile, Jovic's father opened up about his future destinations, revealing that he would like his son to stay and grow at Eintracht Frankfurt for few more years despite offer from Catalan giants.
In an interview with Bild, the Serbian ace's father said:
Luka has a lot of offers, one of them from Barcelona, but he's not interested at this time,"
"He's not sure if he would get minutes there. He wants to continue in the Bundesliga and qualify for the Champions League with Eintracht."
#2 De Ligt hopes to sign for Barcelona, claims rival
Pol Llonch, who currently plays for WIllem II in the Dutch league, faced Ajax led by Matthijs De Ligt. The Spanish forward has been pivotal for Willem II this season but his team succumbed to a 4-1 loss when they faced Ajax last weekend.
The forward claimed that he spoke with De Ligt after the game when the Barcelona target revealed that he hopes to join Barcelona.
In an interview with Sport, Pol Llonch said:
“I asked him directly if he would end up signing for Barça and he told me that he hoped so, but that he didn't know anything at the moment. He said: 'I hope so.' I didn't speak with De Jong."
The two teams will face again in the final of Dutch cup. At 19, De Ligt is already the leader of Ajax and garnered wide interest due to his superior defensive abilities. It is an open secret that the Dutch prodigy has long been on the shortlist of Barcelona, who signed his teammate Frenkie De Jong in January.
On how De Ligt would settle with the Blaugrana, Llonch said:
“That's the difficult part. You've got Pique, Umtiti, Lenglet. They are so good. I don't know what will happen with Lenglet and Umtiti but Umtiti has jut won the World Cup and Pique is one of the best in the world."
"That's where De Ligt might not have the same amount of playing time that De Jong will. But I don't know, that's a decision for the player, Barça and a question of time. They could trust him straight away and put him into the side. But as I told you, Umtiti and Pique are two of the best centre backs in the world so it'd be difficult."
#1 Barcelona scouts impressed with Joao Felix's performance
Barcelona sent scouts to watch Joao Felix in the Europa League clash between Eintracht Frankfurt and Benfica. While Felix plays for Benfica, their other target- Jovic was also present for Frankfurt.
Joao Felix is enjoying a breakthrough season with Benfica and depicted his caliber once again as his hat-trick helped Benfica defeat Frankfurt 4-2 in the first leg. The 19-year-old, who is touted to be Cristiano Ronaldo's heir for Portugal, became the youngest player to score a hat-trick.
According to report, Felix outshone another potential target last night and Blaugrana scouts were delighted with his performance. Known for his versatility, the young Portuguese can relentlessly bombard the flanks with his pace and score, as he showed last night.
No wonder Benfica increased his release clause to €120 million when Felix signed a new contract last November. The Portuguese giants will be looking to hold on to their asset and increase the release clause more to fend off interest from top clubs across Europe.
