Barcelona started the winter transfer window strongly by landing Ferran Torres from Manchester City. It hasn’t been an easy move for them with all their financial problems, but Xavi Hernandez made his first big signing anyway.
Shortly after they announced him, the Cules were heavily linked with another Spain international. Alvaro Morata has reportedly become the Catalans’ new target to reinforce the striker position in winter.
For a moment, it seemed that he was just a few steps away from making the move to Camp Nou. However, the days have passed and Morata continues at Juventus. These are the three reasons whyhe’ll probably stay there for the restof the seasonas well.
1. Barcelona’s problems to comply with La Liga’s Financial Fair Play
As much as Xaviwants to bring in Alvaro Morata this month, the truth is that the financial aspect is still a huge obstacle forBarcelona. They have barely been able to register Ferran Torres in La Liga, something they’ve only been able to do by finding a new destination for Philippe Coutinho and reaching an agreement with Samuel Umtiti to reduce his salary.
Withdebt of more than €1 billion and having lost €400m last season, La Liga establishedBarcelona have a salary cap of €97 million for the 2021-22 campaign – a €250m reduction from last term. Therefore, they’d need to free up even more spaceshouldthey want to include Morata in their roster.
2. Juventus would not let Morata leavewithout first securing a replacement
Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri has emphasized on Alvaro Morata’s importance for the team, claiming he would not leave the club. The former Real Madrid striker is on loan at Juve from Atletico Madrid and he is theOld Lady’s main forward.
Losing him halfway through the season hasnot beenin their plans and if they were to accept that, Juventus would first want to sign another striker. They were linked with Mauro Icardi but PSG wouldn’t let him leave, thus making Morata’s exit to Barcelona fall apart.
3. Federico Chiesa’s injury a huge blow for Juventus
Another factor that would prevent Morata from moving to Barcelona might be Federico Chiesa’s recent setback. The Italian star suffered an ACL injury that rules him out for the remainder of the season, which is why Juventus would hold on even tighter to Morata. They have already suffered a big loss for this term, they won’t be open to losing another important offensive player.
