Five Barcelona players who NEED a transfer this summer

Tom Weber

• Updated: 8 Jun 2023 19:21 BST
• 4 min read

Barcelona have won their first LaLiga title since 2019, but everything is far from rosy at the Camp Nou.

Club legend Lionel Messi has rejected a return to his former stomping ground and, though the league has reportedly approved Barcelona's financial viability plan, the club's ongoing financial difficulties still loom large.

Moreover, there are several players on the books who can't be content with their current roles in Catalonia and who need to push for a move this summer. Here are five of the most notable.

READ: Barcelona 'activate Plan B' after Messi rejection

Ansu Fati

The former wonderkid was once billed as the next big thing to come out of the La Masia academy, but the youngster has struggled to earn himself a guaranteed spot in the side. Though he contributed to Barcelona's title win with seven goals and four assists, Fati was a perennial substitute and he is clearly not a ready starter in the mind of head coach Xavi.

Indeed, Fati was regularly touted as a potential departure to fund the Messi move and, although that transfer has since collapsed, it wouldn't be surprising if the Blaugrana cash in on the 20-year-old this summer anyway. This can only benefit him because he needs regular game time to fulfil his substantial potential.

READ: Inter Miami line up World Cup winners to join Messi

Ferran Torres

Despite the fact that Barcelona only signed Ferran Torres in January 2022, the Spaniard has been repeatedly linked with a move away. In fact, like Fati, he is a prime candidate to get sold in order for the Blaugrana to move towards balancing the books.

Again, like Fati, the winger was a peripheral figure in 2022/23, scoring four goals and recording two assists, mostly as a substitute. At 23, he needs to be playing regular football and this is clearly not possible at Barcelona.

Franck Kessie

Kessie arrived even later than Ferran Torres and yet he too should probably move on again this summer. The Ivorian enjoyed some spectacular moments last season, like scoring the winner in what was arguably the title-deciding Clasico against Real Madrid.

Despite this, the former AC Milan man has struggled to nail down a starting spot even more than the two mentioned above. Linked with a move to Liverpool - although there's not a lot to those rumours - he needs to get out of the Camp Nou because he is a good player in the prime of his career; he can't just rot on the bench.

Samuel Umtiti

Most people will have probably forgotten that the former World Cup winner is still a Barcelona player. The 29-year-old's Barcelona career took a turn for the worse after an injury and he has since been out of the side, spending the season just gone on loan at Lecce.

In Italy, Umtiti has actually impressed and he admitted that he would prefer to stay at his loan club beyond the summer after comparing his time at Barcelona to prison in a recent interview. Out of all the players on this list, the Frenchman is the most likely to leave and he could cost Lecce just €4 million - he joined the Blaugrana in 2016 for €25m!

Clement Lenglet

Similarly to Umtiti, Lenglet spent 2022/23 out on loan. The defender was a fairly regular fixture at Tottenham and Spurs are said to want to keep him around.

It would be a move that would make sense for both parties. Barcelona get rid of a player who is reported to be on massive wages, while Spurs get a solid player for what could be as trifling a fee as €10m. The 27-year-old featured in just 814 minutes for Barcelona in 2021/22.