The summer transfer window saw a lot of activity at Barcelona, as the Catalan giants completed as many as 28 operations (incoming and outgoing) over the course of the last couple of months.
And now plans are already being made for the winter, with the January window a little over three months away. Unlike the summer, there are unlikely to be a lot of operations, but the focus will be on reducing the wage bill.
Even though Barça have been successful in registering all their new signings, they are still cutting it close when it comes to the Financial Fair Play limit. So, Mateu Alemany & co. will look to make some cuts to the wage bill once the winter window is open.
So, SPORT is reporting that Barcelona will revisit their idea of selling some of the players who are no longer key to manager Xavi Hernandez's plans and are on high wages.
Frenkie de Jong is one such player who the club tried to offload in the summer but were unable to get rid of him. The Dutchman, though, is no longer a regular starter in Xavi's side and attempts will be made to move him on in January.
The same holds for veteran defenders Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba as well. The former is the fifth-choice centre-back at Camp Nou this season while the latter is behind Alejandro Balde and Marcos Alonso in the pecking order for the left-back slot.
De Jong, Pique and Alba are some of the highest earning members of the Barça squad. If they are not sold, the club will restart discussions over wage reductions for them.
Along with the aforementioned trio, Memphis Depay is another player who could be sold after his move to Juventus in the summer fell through.
The Dutchman made his first appearance of the season on Saturday and is no longer a vital part of the plans. So, he could also be allowed to leave in January in order to trim the wage bill.
La Liga president Javier Tebas warned Barcelona recently that they will face difficulties if their salary mass was not reduced. And it seems like the club will act in the winter to try and make some important cuts to the payroll.