Barcelona Could Include Luis Suarez In Two-Player Swap Deal To Sign $106M Target: Report

FC Barcelona reportedly could use Luis Suarez in a swap deal to sign Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan this summer.

Barcelona recently revealed a list of players that won’t be up for sale in the ongoing transfer window, but that did not include 33-year-old Suarez. After Barcelona’s elimination from the 2019-20 Champions League, following an embarrassing 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich, the club’s board decided to sack head coach Quique Setien and appointed Ronald Koeman as his successor. Even sporting director Eric Abidal lost his job at Nou Camp.

Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu has ensured that the likes of Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, and Ansu Fati among a few more are non-transferable this summer.

Speaking of Neymar’s return to Nou Camp, Bartomeu has said the club cannot do anything considering Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) are not looking to sell the Brazilian striker this summer amid the coronavirus pandemic. Barcelona tried to re-sign Neymar last year but were put off by PSG’s price tag on Neymar. It looks like Neymar will not return to Spain even in 2020.

However, Bartomeu is still hopeful about bringing Martinez, who is Messi's Argentina teammate, to Nou Camp ahead of the 2020-21 campaign. In an interview with Eldes marque, the Barca chief has said the negotiations with Inter Milan have stopped for now, but the Catalans will look to resume it once Koeman and his team arrive at Barcelona in the coming weeks.

Renowned Italian media outlet Calciomercato has claimed that the Nou Camp side could offer Suarez and veteran defender Sergio Busquets to Inter Milan in a swap deal to bring down the price of Martinez, who has been valued around $106 million.

It was earlier reported that since Suarez is going to be up for sale in the ongoing transfer window, the striker’s former club Ajax were planning to re-sign the Uruguayan forward. Suarez first became a star at the Dutch club, where he played for four seasons and scored 111 goals in 159 matches. However, Ajax are yet to approach Suarez’s agent about the same.

Barcelona are considering 22-year-old Martinez as a long-term replacement for Suarez, who is in twilight years of his career and has just one year left in his current contract with the La Liga side.