Barcelona Tighten Transfer Grip on Six Players
The World Cup stragglers are back, the dressing room is filling up, and FC Barcelona’s squad is starting to look like the real thing. Which means the easy part is over. Now comes the surgery.
With the serious injury to Roony Bardghji on Monday ringing alarm bells inside the club, the coaching staff have moved quickly. Risk is no longer an option. Not in mid-August, not with the market still open and several players standing on the edge of the exit door.
So, the plan has changed.
Six pushed to the fringes
According to Carlos Monfort of SPORT, six players who had been working daily under Hansi Flick have been pulled out of the main group and placed on individual programmes: Jofre Torrents, Marc Casado, Hector Fort, Tommy Marques, Toni Fernandez, and Guille Fernandez.
It is not a punishment. It is a message.
These are players whose futures lie away from the first team, and Barcelona are determined to avoid another injury setback that could derail deals at the last minute. Bardghji’s blow has sharpened minds at the Ciutat Esportiva. No one wants a repeat.
Torrents is the clearest case. His move to Ajax is effectively done, agreed for days, with only administrative details holding back the official announcement. The left-back is counting down the hours until the transfer is signed off and public.
Casado and Fort weigh their options
Marc Casado has been on the departure list for some time. The midfielder is in no rush, though. He is still studying offers from Saudi Arabia while also drawing interest from several European clubs. For now, he is in a holding pattern, reflecting on which project suits him best before committing.
Hector Fort finds himself in a similar position. The right-back understands that his immediate future is away from the Spotify Camp Nou, and his market is strong. A growing list of suitors has formed, with various Premier League sides – Fulham among them – showing interest in a permanent transfer.
The direction of travel is clear. Fort will leave. The only question is where.
Tommy between sale and loan
Tommy Marques has also been moved aside. The midfielder was told last week that he must secure a new club before the window closes. Barcelona’s preference is straightforward: a permanent sale. But the market dictates terms, not intentions.
If the offers on the table fail to match the club’s valuation, a loan move remains on the cards. SC Braga are already in the conversation and are waiting for Barça’s response, ready to act if the Catalans open the door to a temporary deal.
Two La Masia jewels on the move
The group of six is completed by Toni Fernandez and Guille Fernandez, two of La Masia’s brightest young talents and, now, two players expected to step away from the first-team dynamic in the coming days.
Both have attracted broad interest. Clubs are circling with proposals for permanent transfers and loans alike. Barcelona are open to both scenarios, but there is a clear condition if loans are chosen: renewals first, departures second. The club want to protect their long-term rights over the players before letting them leave to gain minutes elsewhere.
For Toni and Guille, the first phase of pre-season is done. They have had a taste of the top level, trained under Flick, felt the rhythm of the senior dressing room. Now comes the decision that can shape the next stage of their careers.
The offers are there. The path is open. In a squad finally taking its definitive shape, their next move will be made far from the spotlight of the Spotify Camp Nou pitch, but it could define whether they ever return to it as Barcelona regulars.
