Barcelona close to completing midfielder deal amidst double salary offers

Barcelona are reportedly close to reaching an agreement with Ilaix Moriba over a new deal after weeks of negotiations. The Catalan club are desperate to tie down the young midfielder to new long-term contract and not lose him on a free transfer in 2022.

Ronald Koeman rates Moriba very highly and has informed the club that he wants the midfielder to remain with the club beyond his current contract. The Dutch manager also wants the issue resolved at the earliest in order to include him in his plans for the upcoming campaign.

Barcelona were unhappy with the 18-year-old midfielder's demands and due to the stalemate in contract negotiations, he was relegated to the Barcelona B team for pre-season training. He will not be allowed to return to first-team training until an agreement is reached, which will see him miss the club's pre-season tour of Germany.

According to Goal, after weeks of stagnation, Moriba's representatives and the Catalan giants are slowly making progress with a new three-year deal close to being agreed. It will see Moriba remain with the Spanish giants until the summer of 2024, when he will be 21-years-old.

Moriba has always maintained that he wants to succeed at Barcelona and Koeman trusted the midfielder to make 18 first-team appearances last season. The Spain youth international could play an important role during the upcoming campaign, especially after the Camp Nou outfit failed to land Georginio Wijnaldum.

Moriba's contract standoff has not gone unnoticed with clubs in England and Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain showing interest in signing the midfielder likened to Red Devils star Paul Pogba. According to Mirror, Chelsea and Manchester City have offered to double the midfielder's wages if he decides to leave the Camp Nou this summer.