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Valencia have denied they have agreed to let midfielder Carlos Soler join Barcelona this summer for a fee of €20 million.
Reports in Spain on Monday said that Barca had reached an agreement with Valencia and the player over a transfer, although added that any deal was dependent on Frenkie de Jong being moved on first.
“Don’t lie,” Valencia wrote on Twitter in response to the report, adding in a separate statement that they “deny the existence of any agreement — or any ongoing negotiation — with Barcelona for the transfer of Soler.”
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Soler, 25, is out of contract in 2023 and sources close to Barca have told ESPN that he is a player of interest to the Catalan club, who are targeting players in the final years of their contracts.
Barca’s sporting director Mateu Alemany previously worked with Soler at Valencia. Since being appointed, Alemany has used his contacts from his time at Mestalla to help secure the signing of former Valencia winger Ferran Torres, while Los Che left-back Jose Luis Gaya, who is out of contract next year, is also being monitored.
However, Valencia insist there has been no approach from Barca for Soler and say they are working on agreeing a new deal with the Spain international.
“The club are in an open negotiation process with the player and his agents to extend his contract with Valencia,” the statement added.
Soler came through the academy at Valencia and has made over 200 appearances for the first team. His recent form has earned him international recognition, with Luis Enrique handing him his Spain debut last year. He has six caps for La Roja.
Sources have told ESPN that Barca are working hard to strengthen the squad ahead of next season after missing out on the LaLiga title to Real Madrid. They are set to end the campaign trophy-less for the second time in three years.
However, with deals already in place to sign Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie on free transfers, any other incomings will be dependent on the club restructuring their finances.
Their LaLiga salary cap is currently -€144m — they are the only Spanish club with a negative limit — and they need to bring in cash to be able to make the signings coach Xavi Hernandez wants.
Reports have speculated one way of doing that could be by selling midfielder De Jong, with sources telling ESPN the club are prepared to listen to offers for most of their squad, although Xavi said on Saturday he wants the him to stay at Camp Nou following links with Manchester United, among other clubs.
The Barca coach said he spoke with De Jong last week following his frustration at being taken off against Rayo Vallecano and, speaking after Sunday’s win over Mallorca, the player confirmed their chat.
“The conversation was good,” De Jong told reporters. “I have confidence in myself and the coach told me that he also has confidence in me. Everyone is happy.”