Barcelona are preparing their Christmas wish list

They have plenty of unfinished business

Posted Saturday, October 14, 2017 by Marca.com

While new arrivals Nelson Semedo and Paulinho have been performing well so far this season, Barcelona still have plenty of work to do to try to solve the outstanding issues of what was a very tough summer.

In losing Neymar and failing to land Marco Verratti or Philippe Coutinho, many members of the Blaugrana fanbase were disappointed by the summer business, even if there wasn't sufficient fury to force a vote a no confidence.

The club's board have survived the motion brought by Agusti Benedito, but they cannot relax yet, as the winter transfer market is their next test and it is just around the corner.

These are some of the issues which must be resolved once the January market opens.

Arda Turan

Barcelona tried to offload Arda Turan during the summer window, given that Ernesto Valverde doesn't plan to use him much this season.

There was an opportunity for the Turkish midfielder to return to former club Galatasaray, but he declined that offer in order to see out his contract, which runs until 2020.

This is a tricky situation which needs to be solved.

Yerry Mina

A deal for Yerry Mina to join Barcelona for nine million euros is in place, however the arrival date remains up in the air.

The initial idea is for him to stay with current club Palmeiras until next summer and it would only be in the case of injury that his transfer would be brought forward to January.

A midfielder

Marco Verratti was one of Barcelona's main targets for 2017, but he didn't come and they are still looking for a player of his profile.

Jean Michael Seri was close to joining in the last transfer window, before that option was thrown out, although he may yet be set for a move to the Camp Nou.

Schalke's Leon Goretzka is another player to have piqued interest at the Camp Nou and, given that his contract expires in June, this is a deal the board could need to start working on soon.

A star signing

Coutinho is still on Barcelona's radar, even if they couldn't prize him away from Liverpool, despite his handing in of a transfer request.

There is still hope that he could move to Catalonia, even if it's considered "very difficult" for him to arrive in January.

Furthermore, he would not be able to play for Valverde in the Champions League, having already represented the English side in the competition.