Barcelona still struggling to complete midfielder deal, further talks planned

Barcelona’s hopes of Ilaix Moriba signing a new deal took another hit after the club and the player’s representatives failed to reach an agreement after their latest meeting.

The Catalan club are desperate to tie down the midfielder to a new long-term deal but have failed despite multiple meetings between the player’s representatives and Barcelona’s Director of Football, Mateu Alemany.

According to Barca Blaugranes’ Reshad Rahman, the player’s agents are making hefty demands with regards to the wages, which Barcelona are not ready to offer at the moment. The club are hoping Moriba’s agents will reconsider their demands with the hope of reaching an agreement sooner rather than later.

Ronald Koeman is a big admirer of the central midfielder, who made 18 first-team appearances last season. The Dutch manager, who is preparing for his second campaign as the manager of Barcelona, wants the contract stand off sorted out in the coming week.

Barcelona are expected to continue talks with Moriba’s agents in the coming days and will attempt to finally reach a compromise. The player is keen to remain at the Camp Nou, but his agents will have to lower their demands.

The lack of progress and the tension between the club and Moriba’s agents have seen the midfielder demoted to Barcelona B. He is currently training with the reserves rather than the first-team, and it is likely to continue until a breakthrough is achieved between the two parties.

Moriba has just under 12 months remaining on his current deal, which could see other interested clubs make a move to further complicate matters. There has been no concrete interest from other clubs thus far, but Manchester United were pointed in his direction as a potential long-term replacement for Paul Pogba, whose future at Old Trafford remains uncertain.

Ronald Koeman returns to the club he helped win the European Cup in 1992 Josep LAGO/AFP

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