BARCELONA have made Memphis Depay their no.1 target as Ronald Koeman bids to gift Lionel Messi a new strike partner, reports say.
The Dutch manager is reportedly insisting on a fresh forward man after the departure of Luis Suarez to Atletico Madrid.
Ronald Koeman has previously managed Memphis Depay when he was Holland bossCredit: AFP or licensors
Sport report that Depay is now seen as the no.1 target for Barcelona
And Depay, who has long been linked with the Spanish club, is seen as the perfect replacement to link up with Messi.
Barca hit four past Villareal in their opening La Liga game over the weekend but, according to Sport, Koeman was still left wishing for more going forward.
He said he hoped the club can still “occupy [the striker] position” and added that it’s “always good to have other possibilities.”
Without Depay, Koeman is left with only Martin Braithwaite as an out-an-out striker.
The ex-Manchester United man came off the bench to help Lyon to a 1-1 draw away at Lorient on Sunday as speculation on his future grows.
But reports have previously suggested that finances may continue to be a stumbling block to getting the transfer over the line.
Covid-19 has hit Barcelona hard and they’ve rushed to get highly-paid players off the wage bill, with Suarez swiftly following Arturo Vidal.
But even with those deals done, the Catalan club still may not have enough financial muscle to secure Depay.
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas even tweeted that his Barca counterpart, Josep Maria Bartomeu, told him the same thing in person earlier this month.
He wrote that he was informed that Barcelona were ‘suffering a lot’ from the aftershocks of the pandemic and there was ‘no possibility’ of them stumping up the cash.
Despite this, they are still being linked to Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez.
The Argentine is rated at £83million by his club but he is another who is believed to be way beyond the club’s price range.
Olympique Lyonnais star Memphis Depay shows off his physique as he works out at his luxury villa
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
