?Lionel Messi has reportedly already been told that Barcelona will sign Schalke midfielder Leon Goretzka in the upcoming January window – despite the C
Goretzka has caught the eye of a host of teams around Europe after building his reputation in the Bundesliga over the last few years. Having reportedly agreed to join Barcelona in the summer recently passed, the 22-year-old was said to have gotten cold feet over the switch, and called it off.
But now, according to Spanish outlet Diario Gol, Goretzka has agreed to join the Blaugrana already, with his Schalke contract running to a close come the end of the season.
The reason behind this is said to be that it will allow him to move to Camp Nou for free in the summer, meaning that Barcelona don’t have to pay a transfer fee – instead handing Goretzka a larger signing fee.
This news would be welcomed by fans of Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal – who are all sat in fear over their star players potentially leaving the club.
However, Ernesto Valverde has not ruled out moves for either of Ozil, Eriksen or Coutinho – though it is expected that all three will stay with their clubs next season (including Ozil, who, similarly to Goretzka, will see his current deal expire in the summer).
Should a deal be sorted for Schalke’s star midfielder to go to La Liga, the move would effectively end Barcelona’s exhaustive hunt for a new central midfielder – which stems way back to a year ago when expressing their initial interest in Coutinho.
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