Barcelona are studying the possibility of signing Dani Parejo. His name has appeared in recent meetings between the sporting department and the reality is the feeling is mixed on the midfielder. Ernesto Valverde, however is a huge fan of the player.
Valverde believes Parejo is a good on the ball, has great vision, is adapted to LaLiga and the player would be happy to sign for Barcelona. At the moment the club has spoken to his entourage to see how viable a deal would be.
The current plan for the sporting department is to not commit the same errors as previous years. It's important that they sign players who are good enough to fight for a starting place. Parejo fits due to his quality but everything depends on his price. One area the club agrees on is that €50m would be far too much and any fee would need to be more realistic.
Parejo's wages wouldn't be a problem but the only way a move happens is if the asking price is acceptable. The footballer would be willing to push for a move should Barça make a bid for his services.
In Barcelona's favour is that Valencia are interested in many of their squad players, in particular Andre Gomes. Los Che are desperate to bring the Portuguese international back to the club and have told the player to hold off on a transfer away from the Camp Nou so he can join Valencia on loan.
The only way Barcelona will allow this to happen is if they sign Parejo and are able to use Gomes to lower the asking price. If a deal isn't made for Parejo then Barça will sell Gomes to the highest bidder or, at worst, loan him to a club which is willing to cover the midfielder's wages - something Valencia can't afford to do.
Barça have more or less finalised their squad, in terms of incomings, but Valverde would still like a ball-playing midfielder to round off his options. The deals for two main options - De Jong and Rabiot - aren't advancing as expected and it isn't inconceivable that both remain at their respective clubs this summer. This is why Parejo is a genuine alternative.
Plus he has a relatively low asking price, will be easy to agree terms with and because he's someone Valverde likes. Despite that, Barça are going to wait another week and see if the other deals take a step forward.
Valencia are aware of Barcelona's interest in Parejo and their coach, Marcelino Garcia Toral, has left the door open for the midfielder to leave. Parejo is valued by Valencia but his age and the fact his contract is up in 2020 means they can't discount a sale either.
Key in all of this is the player's desire to move to the Camp Nou. He wants to sign for Barça and is waiting for them to firm up their interest with an official offer to Valencia.