Barcelona Agree Personal Terms With Lyon Forward Memphis Depay
Barcelona and Lyon are continuing talks over a deal for Memphis Depay after agreeing personal terms with the Dutchman.
Depay will continue La Blaugrana's Dutch revolution this summer following the arrival of Ronald Koeman as Quique Setien's successor last month. The club are also interested in Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum.
Koeman is said to be a huge admirer of the Lyon skipper and has identified the 26-year-old as somewhat of a replacement for the departing Luis Suarez.
Depay confirmed Barcelona's interest following the Netherlands' 1-0 defeat to Italy in the Nations League on Monday night.
“We will wait and see what happens," he told Dutch broadcaster NOS (via Mundo Deportivo). "This Tuesday, I will speak with Lyon. I know there is interest from Barça, but I can't say much more, mainly because I haven't talked much with my agent either."
Fabrizio Romano understands that Depay has agreed a deal with Barcelona but a final agreement is yet to be reached between the two clubs, but talks are ongoing.
Barça currently value the Dutchman between €20m-€25m due to his contract situation - it expires next summer - but Lyon are still reportedly holding out for €30m.
A potential compromise is including former Lyon defender Samuel Umtiti as part of the deal. The Frenchman appears to be another player Koeman is willing to let go this summer following two years of injury woes.
Nevertheless, with Depay ruling out an extension of his current Lyon deal, savvy club president Jean-Michel Aulas is keen to oversee the Dutchman's sale before the player can start negotiating freely with clubs over a potential transfer in January.
Aulas is pressuring Barça into agreeing to Lyon's demands and has attempted to hasten the Spanish club's approach by mentioning that Roma are also interested in acquiring the Dutchman, in what seems an obvious negotiation tactic.
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