Barcelona close to announcing third January deal, forward departs

Barcelona have saved themselves from a €10 million expense by ending Yusuf Demir's loan deal just six months after signing him. The talented winger joined the Catalan club last summer, and impressing during his stint, he has been let go as Barcelona did not want to incur an added expense.

The La Liga giants' financial struggles are no secret and in order to make room for new players in their squad, Barcelona needs to slash their overinflated wage bill and offload unwanted players. Philippe Coutinho was the first exit in the January transfer window after the Brazilian agreed a six-month loan deal to Aston Villa in the English Premier League.

Barcelona were keen to see the back of Samuel Umtiti, who was among the highest earners at the club, but agreed a new deal with the Frenchman until 2026 to spread the payments that were due to him in the next one and a half years. The new deal allowed them to register Ferran Torres, who had arrived from Manchester City in a £46.7 million deal, at the start of the month.

The Catalan club would have been liable to pay Austrian outfit Rapid Vienna €10 million had Demir made one more appearance for Barcelona, and they were keen to avoid that unnecessary expense. As per Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the club have completed the paperwork for the teenage winger to return to his parent club with immediate effect.

"Yusuf Demir loan to Barcelona will be cancelled. He's prepared to come back to Rapid Wien, where Demir's expected to stay until end of current season - still some 'technical details' to be completed between clubs," Romano wrote.

The 18-year-old right winger has reportedly already begun training with Rapid in his homeland. He made nine appearances in all competitions for the Barcelona first-team, which include three Champions League games against Bayern Munich and Benfica.

Xavi Hernandez is keen to further strengthen his attack this month, and has been pursuing Atletico Madrid forward Alvaro Morata, who is currently on a season-long loan at Juventus. Barcelona will have to further slash their wage bill if they are to sign and register the Spain international this month.