Manchester City ready to compete with Barcelona for €75 million-rated Bundesliga midfielder

Barcelona will be disappointed to have missed out on young midfielder Lucas Bergvall on the final day of the winter transfer market.

But as we shift focus to the summer ahead, Barcelona are anticipating a busy window, with the club likely to splurge on at least one top player.

The midfield unit will certainly be in focus, as Barça seek a proper replacement for Sergio Busquets in the number six position.

To that end, Joshua Kimmich has been on Barcelona’s radar for a long time now. The player was even closely linked with a move to Catalonia in the summer, and we can expect more of the same at the end of the season.

Manchester City to compete with Barcelona for Kimmich

However, Barça’s path to sign Joshua Kimmich from Bayern Munich will be far from straightforward.

According to a report from The Athletic (h/t Mundo Deportivo), Manchester City are considering a move for the German international.

The English giants are well aware of Kimmich’s discontent with Thomas Tuchel at Bayern. Not to mention, his contract at the club expires at the end of the 2024/25 season.

What does the future hold for Kimmich? (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)

Manchester City are sensing a market opportunity here. In the coming months, the club will decide whether or not they should go big for the German.

Barcelona’s potential obstacles

Aside from strong competition from Manchester City and presumably a host of other top European clubs, Barcelona face several other obstacles in their bid to Kimmich.

The club’s economic woes, for one, seem to have no end in sight. With Kimmich still having a contract at Bayern until 2025, the club will have to spend in order to attain the midfielder’s services next season.

If Barça want to sign Kimmich for free, they would have to wait until the end of the season. One would argue it might be too late for Barcelona by then.

The Blaugrana, therefore, must find a way to generate revenue so that they can approach Kimmich this summer. One solution could be a big-money sale, with Ronald Araujo still appearing as a topic of interest for Bayern Munich.