Barcelona offer Liverpool ‘Van Dijk replacement’ swap in Luis Diaz talks

Barcelona are expected to make at least one major summer transfer sale to balance the books in Catalonia ahead of next season.

The club suffered a financial blow earlier this month as La Liga opted to reduce their salary limit for 2025/26 after their €100m VIP seats sale was excluded from consideration.

With Barcelona hopeful of raising their wage bar, the club are confident of adhering to work within their 1:1 transfer policy, of only spending money generated via measurable income.

Contract extension talks with Wojciech Szczesny and Lamine Yamal are now expected to be paused until a major sale happens, as reported by Relevo.

That means Hansi Flick may have to offload a key name to ensure financial stability and boost his own transfer funds for the months ahead.

A fresh update indicates the main name in the frame to move on is key defender Ronald Araujo due to his high transfer value.

In January, Araujo appeared destined to leave Barcelona before a dramatic U-turn saw him sign a new contract.

However, the small print of the agreement includes a significant reduction of his release clause, which is now reported to be worth €65m and the Catalans are hoping this is triggered in the summer, but it is time sensitive.

As per reports from Relevo, Araujo is available for that fee up until July 16, at which point the clause will rocket back up to over €1bn.

As part of a move to sign a key target, and remove Araujo, Barcelona could offer Liverpool a swap deal involving Luis Diaz.

Barcelona are openly looking into a deal for the Colombian international but they cannot currently afford an outright transfer offer.

It remains unclear if Araujo for Diaz would be a straight swap, with no fee involved, but the ongoing uncertainty over Virgil van Dijk’s continuation at Anfield means Arne Slot could be in the market for a new defensive leader on Merseyside.