BARCELONA plan a January fire sale to fund a move for Raheem Sterling.
And one player who could be shown the door at the Nou Camp is former Manchester City target Frenkie de Jong.
New Barca boss Xavi is a huge fan of England hero Sterling – and would love to bring him to the Catalan giants in the New Year.
This week, Barcelona brought Brazilian Dani Alves, 38, back to the club – meaning at present they are not allowed to register any new players due to their financial woes.
As it stands, they would struggle to land Sterling, even on loan, due to his City wages of £300,000 per week.
But Barcelona are hopeful the landscape will have changed by the time the transfer window reopens in January.
Director of football Mateu Alemany said: “The reality is we can register Xavi and his coaching staff.
“But beyond that, we can’t do anything else right now.
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“We are working on some different situations.
“And we will see if we can make room to still remain within the fair-play regulations.”
Dutch international De Jong, 24, was a target for City boss Pep Guardiola back in 2019 when he was leaving Ajax.
But the classy midfield star instead opted for a £67million move to Barcelona – and City are now very well stocked in his position.
And the Premier League champions seem unlikely to sanction a move for Sterling in January, even despite his contract stand-off.
Guardiola and Co still hope the 26-year-old will commit to a new contract to replace the one which now has just a little over 18 months to run.
Barca yesterday unveiled Samba Boys legend Alves, who has returned for a second stint.
The right-back last played for Sao Paulo.
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