Joan Laporta says Barcelona want to sign a midfielder in January 2024

Joan Laporta, president of FC Barcelona, has admitted that the club are looking into the possibility of bringing in a midfielder in the upcoming transfer window, should their financial situation allow for it.

Barça, who were drawn against Napoli in the Champions League Round of 16, are without 19-year-old Gavi for the rest of the season after the midfielder suffered a knee ligament injury while on international duty with Spain. As such, the club are now, according to the president, looking at bringing in a replacement for the youngster in the winter window.

Laporta, speaking in an interview to Spanish news agency EFE, said that “if we can improve our salary limit, our idea is to add another midfielder that can compensate for Gavi’s injury”. The president expanded on the idea, saying that it would not be on a permanent deal, but instead a loan: “It would be a loan until the end of the season”, he said, “a similar deal to what we did with Edgar Davids in 2005. I think before the end of the year we can create the space for a couple of deals we are working on”.

Laporta says Barça have a ‘number of ongoing deals’

Davids joined the LaLiga club on loan halfway through the 2003-04 season when they were seventh in the table; by the end of the campaign, after an inspirational six months from the Dutchman before he sharply left, Barça finished in second place.

“We have until the end of this year to improve our salary limit through a number of deals we have ongoing”, Laporta admitted, “if they can be confirmed, we’ll be in contention of adding a new midfielder.” FIFA will compensate Barça for the injury to Gavi: he will miss the rest of the season and Spain’s Euro 2024 tournament. Meanwhile, LaLiga are also set to allow the club some wiggle room to register a replacement.

Is Vitor Roque joining Barcelona in January?

Eyebrows were certainly raised at Laporta’s suggestion of bringing in another player to the squad. The club have been in financial turmoil and the restrictions on who they can bring in are tight. Brazilian forward Vitor Roque is set to join the Catalan side in January from Athletico Paranaense, and he still needs to be officially registered as a LaLiga player. “The plan is that [Roque] arrives at the end of December or the beginning of January. The idea is that he joins the team as soon as possible. [Sporting director] Deco has explained to us he’s a goal scorer and I think he will be good for us right now.”

Which midfielder will Barcelona try to sign in January?

Unsurprisingly, no names have been confirmed as potential midfield interests of FC Barcelona for the upcoming winter window - as of yet. However, various players have previously been linked with the reigning LaLiga champions, such as Wilfred Ndidi of Leicester City, although a loan deal seems difficult as the English club are currently top of the Championship, fighting for the title and the chance to return to the Premier League.

Lucas Bergvall of Djurgårdens IF in Sweden has also been linked, but a loan move in January for the 17-year old seems unlikely. One name who could make more sense may be that of Giovani Lo Celso. The Argentine international moved to Spurs permanently in 2020 and since then he has played 32 times for the Premier League club, scoring 3 goals. This season, however, he has featured just 7 times for Ange Postecoglou’s side and looks on his way out.