Former Barcelona sporting director Ramon Planes has been very vocal about his time at Barcelona, sharing anecdotes and tales right here and there in each interview.
In his most up-to-date interview with , Planes, who’s now a director at Al Ittihad, revealed that Barcelona have been near signing Premier League ahead Alexander Isak.
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Planes on Barcelona signing Isak and Darwin Nunez
“We have been very near signing Isak for Barcelona – I used to be very satisfied by him as a striker who suits Barcelona’s model, however he didn’t come,” he mentioned.
Barcelona have been certainly curious about a transfer for Isak throughout his time at Actual Sociedad, when the ahead was beginning to make his mark on the highest degree of soccer after an detached spell at Borussia Dortmund.
Throughout his time in La Liga, Isak featured in 105 league matches, scoring 33 objectives earlier than becoming a member of Newcastle United.
Barcelona have been near signing Alexander Isak when he was at Sociedad. (Photograph by Stu Forster/Getty Photos)
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Planes revealed that Barcelona have been additionally linked with a transfer for Darwin Nunez as a alternative for Luis Suarez.
“Additionally, Darwin Nunez, I spoke with Koeman about signing him when he was at Almería. We wished to maintain him there and convey him later, however Benfica paid 25 million euros and snatched him,” he mentioned.
Nunez joined Benfica in 2020, scoring 48 objectives in 85 matches earlier than becoming a member of Liverpool two years later. His performances at Anfield, although, have been topsy-turvy at finest.
However, Planes admitted that he and his crew did discover difficulties discovering a alternative for Luis Suarez, whose departure in 2020 had left a gaping gap in Barcelona’s frontline.
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“I feel discovering a brand new striker to succeed Suárez was a problem we didn’t reach,” he concluded.
Barcelona in some way survived a couple of years by using the likes of Martin Braithwaite, Luuk de Jong and an out-of-form Antoine Griezmann earlier than ultimately touchdown Robert Lewandowski in 2022.
