Barcelona Transfer News: The Catalans ready to sell Nelson Semedo next summer

What a difference 6 months can make to the career of a player. Earlier in the summer of 2019, Barcelona refused to listen to any offers for their Portuguese right-back Nelson Semedo. The Catalans saw him as an integral part of the future and expected him to become the first choice full-back at the club.

Barcelona were so adamant that they refused to open talks with the player’s agent, Jorge Mendes, even when he informed the club that Atletico Madrid were interested in the player. Cut to the end of the year and things have changed, rather alarmingly for the player.

Semedo’s start to the 2019/20 season has been far from ideal, and AS now reports that Barcelona are warming up to the prospect of selling him next summer. The Portuguese has failed to stake a claim for the right-back role and despite making 11 starts in the La Liga, he has struggled to prove himself better than Sergi Roberto.

In the meantime, Barcelona’s transfer strategy has also undergone changes with them now ready to consider the sale of players to raise cash. As such, the prospect of letting the player leave is no longer daunting to the Blaugrana and one of the reasons for that could be the emergence of Emerson, who has emerged as a possible replacement for the defending La Liga champions.

Emerson could be an alternative to Semedo in the future

Emerson (R)

The Catalans signed the Brazilian from Atletico Mineiro in January 2019 for €12m and immediately loaned him to Real Betis, where he has been plying his trade since. Emerson has been gathering rave reviews with his performances on loan with the Green and Whites and that enabled Barcelona to harbour high hopes for the future.

As such, the Catalans could opt to cut his loan deal short and bring the Brazilian to the Camp Nou a year earlier next summer, even though it might cost them a compensation fee of around €6m. The Blaugrana are hopeful that Emerson can be a better fit than Semedo, whose future now hangs in the balance.

The Portuguese joined Barcelona from Benfica in July 2017 and has since made 101 appearances for the Catalans, scoring 1 goal. The Spanish giants did consider giving Semedo a contract upgrade after Atletico Madrid’s interest, but it looks like he could be on the way out next summer.

Barcelona could even use the money raised from his sale to fund a move for Emerson. However, the Brazilian is yet to gain EU status, which could pose a problem for the Catalans and might even push them to continue their search for a world-class alternative to Semedo.