Barcelona had an eventful summer transfer window which saw them bring in players like Ilkay Gundogan, Joao Cancelo, Joao Felix, Oriol Romeu, and Inigo Martinez while also securing a deal for Vitor Roque.
The Blaugrana also brought in some talented young players to reinforce the youth and reserve ranks such as Noah Darvich and Mikayil Faye, among others.
But there could have been more additions made in the summer window if things had gone the La Liga champions’ way.
Barcelona tried to sign Sergi Altimira
Indeed, as per Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona made an attempt to hijack former La Masia wonderkid Sergi Altimira’s transfer to Real Betis in the summer.
Former sporting director Mateu Alemany wanted to bring the 22-year-old central midfielder back to the club but the move to Real Betis was already very advanced by the time Barça entered the picture.
Altimira spent several years in Barcelona’s La Masia youth setup but departed for Sabadell in the summer of 2019.
Having made his breakthrough with the lower-division Spanish outfit, Altimira went on to make 62 appearances for Sabadell after he had a loan stint away at Granollers.
The midfielder signed for Getafe on a free transfer this summer before Real Betis made a move to sign him up.
Amidst all this, Alemany explored the possibility of bringing Altimira back to Barcelona, but things were already very advanced with Real Betis, and as such, the hijack attempt proved futile.
Since joining Real Betis, Altimira has played just three times so far this season, seeing a paltry 92 minutes of action.
Barcelona will sign a new pivot next year
While Altimira might have slipped out of their grasp, Barcelona did bring in Romeu and are also planning on further reinforcing the pivot position once more next year.
The idea is for Xavi to have two players for every position in the squad and as such the club wish to sign another No. 6 to cover for and compete with Romeu.
Intriguingly, Real Betis’ Guido Rodriguez, whose contract expires in 2024, is seen as an option.
