Barcelona looking for alternatives to Semedo - report

Promote, bring back a loan player, or sign someone.

FC Barcelona are aware that Nélson Semedo wants to leave and are looking at what their alternatives are should he exit, per Diario SPORT. Semedo has been rumored to be unsettled due to lack of playing time and is ready to exit. Barça do not want to sell him, and it’s unlikely that they will be forced to as no one is expected to pay his 100 million euro release clause. Still, the possibility exists that Semedo may force their hand.

To replace him, the Catalans have three options: promote from within, bring a player back, or sign someone from the market.

When it comes to promoting from within, the option is Moussa Wagué. The Senegalese fullback performed well in his first season at Barcelona B, and even made his debut for the first team. Sergi Roberto would remain the starter, while Wagué would be his backup, ready to potentially overtake him as he progresses. The main problem with this is Wagué is still pretty raw, and wouldn’t really be the favorite to compete with Roberto for starting minutes - at least not at first.

The next option would be bringing a player back from loan, specifically Emerson. The Brazilian was signed in January but loaned out to Real Betis, in a three-team agreement. Betis were supposed to have him for two seasons based on this original agreement, but Barça could change the terms of the deal through negotiation if they wanted to. Emerson started four games in La Liga so far, so he’s not all that experienced, either, at the European level at least.

Next comes the most expensive option - the summer transfer window. Barcelona could use the money from the sale to look for a player who could challenge Roberto for the starting job right away, although finding a good option for a reasonable price will be hard. Joshua Kimmich from Bayern Munich is seen as an ideal player for the job, according to the report, but actually signing him seems very difficult.e hard.

Source: barcablaugranes.com