Barcelona decide 2 players they are willing to include as part of swap deal to sign Rafael Leao from AC Milan: Reports

Barcelona stars Ferran Torres and Ronald Araujo have been identified as two players who could go the other direction in a swap deal for AC Milan attacker Rafael Leao. According to Catalan outlet Nacional, La Blaugrana are willing to let go of the pair to entice a deal for the Portuguese forward.

The Rossoneri's asking price of £100 million for the winger is set to make any deal difficult for the Catalan giants amidst their financial troubles. Thus, they may look to subsidise the transfer fee by offering these two players.

Torres has mostly failed to impress for Barcelona since making a move from Manchester City in the summer of 2022. This season, he has largely been used as a super-sub while getting the occasional start over Robert Lewandowski in low profile games. He has made 30 appearances, bagging 11 goals and three assists. However, the report claims that manager Hansi Flick is not too keen on keeping him and thus he could leave the club.

Araujo, meanwhile, returned to action in January following a lengthy injury layoff. The Uruguayan has garnered interest from the likes of Bayern Munich earlier but seems to have fallen out of favour under Flick, who prefers to use Inigo Martinez and Pau Cubarsi. He has just 691 minutes of action under his belt this season.

Leao could be a huge addition to a Barcelona squad that has pursued an addition on the left wing. Athletic Club's Nico Williams was identified as a key target but he chose to remain with the Basque side. Raphinha has seized the opportunity and has excelled there for the club this season, but the addition of a more natural player could prove fruitful.

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Barcelona remain on top of La Liga title race despite fixture cancellation

It was a good set of results away from their clash for Barcelona as they held on to top spot in La Liga following 27 game weeks of action. The Catalan giants remained first despite the cancellation of their match against CD Osasuna.

One of the club's doctors died ahead of kick-off, leading the match to be postponed to a further date. Thus, La Blaugrana finished the week with 57 points from 26 games.

The exciting title race saw Atletico Madrid slip up first after their costly 2-1 loss at the hands of Getafe. They are now on 56 points from 27 games. Their city rivals Real Madrid managed to pick up a 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano, leapfrogging Los Rojiblancos into second position with 57 points from 27 games, level with Barcelona.