Barcelona Transfer News Roundup: Sevilla striker offered to Barca, Chelsea in pole position to sign Blaugrana midfielder and more - 22 August 2021

Barcelona have been offered the chance to sign a Sevilla forward as Ronald Koeman remains keen to bolster his attack.

Barcelona still have a lot of work to do before the close of the summer transfer window. The Catalans had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Athletico Bilbao on Saturday night. Club president Joan Laporta and co. are still looking to offload more players in order to trim their wage bill.

Without further ado, let's take a look at the top stories involving Barcelona from 22 August 2021.

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Ronald Koeman says teams show more courage against Barcelona without Lionel Messi

Memphis Depay celebrates with Jordi Alba after scoring Barcelona's equalizer against Athletic Bilbao

Barcelona are just starting to feel the effects of life without Lionel Messi. They had to put their nose to the grindstone to get a point against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. Speaking to the press after the game, manager Ronald Koeman said that teams treat Barcelona differently without Messi (via Marca):

“I don’t like to always talk about it, but we are talking about the best player in the world. The opposition is more afraid when Messi is there. If you give Leo a pass, he usually doesn’t lose the ball. You can tell he is not here. We know that but it can’t be changed.”

Chelsea willing to pay more than RB Leipzig for Ilaix Moriba

FC Barcelona v RC Celta - La Liga Santander

Several European giants are keeping tabs on Ilaix Moriba's contract situation. Ronald Koeman recently slammed the youngster, suggesting that the club would not be able to extend his contract due to his monetary demands. The teenager's contract expires next summer.

As per reports, Moriba currently earns €2 million at Barcelona. He wants that to be increased to €3 million at least. However, the Catalans are not in a position to increase Moriba's wages. They want to see how things pan out over the next season before handing him a more lucrative contract.

According to Mundo Deportivo (via Sport Witness), Manchester City won't make a move for Moriba this summer. They want to snap him up on a free transfer in the summer. RB Leipzig and Chelsea are the other teams in the race to sign Moriba.

Leipzig are reportedly not interested in matching Barcelona's €20 million valuation of the young midfielder. Meanwhile, Chelsea are reportedly willing to pay more than RB Leipzig and that makes them the favourites to sign Moriba this summer.

Ilaix Moriba's wage demands could force him out of Barcelona 👀 pic.twitter.com/ECfngDMx5N

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) August 22, 2021

Luuk De Jong offered to Barcelona

FC Sevilla v Stade Rennais: Group E - UEFA Champions League

According to SPORT, Sevilla striker Luuk De Jong has been offered to Barcelona. De Jong played an important role in Sevilla's 2019-20 Europa League triumph. However, he had a poor 2020-21 campaign, where he scored just nine goals and provided one assist in 48 appearances across all competitions.

Sevilla have signed Rafa Mir from Wolverhampton Wanderers and have deemed De Jong surplus to requirements. Ronald Koeman wants to sign another attacker following the departure of Lionel Messi. Koeman is also familiar with De Jong during his time as manager of the Dutch national side.

However, the Catalan top brass is not too interested in De Jong due to his poor form. He scored just four goals in 34 La Liga appearances last term.

Barcelona have been offered the chance to sign Luuk de Jong (30) from Sevilla. Koeman knows the striker very well from the Dutch national team, but he's currently not a priority. Barça think they could sign a striker in the last days of the transfer window. [sport] pic.twitter.com/0gCAmBVsOV

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) August 22, 2021