Barcelona ditch £45m target, reach agreement with 21-year-old over long-term deal

Dani Olmo was Barcelona's priority target going into the January transfer window after the Catalan club failed to execute a late move during the summer window. But that was during the Ronald Koeman era. The arrival of Xavi Hernandez has seen the club take a new direction, which means a new target - Ferran Torres.

The La Liga giants have made the Manchester City winger their priority for the upcoming winter transfer window. Barcelona recently confirmed that they had held initial talks with Pep Guardiola and other City officials with regards to a move for Torres in January.

The emergence of Torres, according to Sport, has seen Barcelona end their interest in Olmo, who was expected to return to the Camp Nou after leaving the club for Dinamo Zagreb in 2014. The Catalan giants had made a late move for the now Red Bull Leipzig winger, who was valued at £45 million, in the final days of the summer transfer window, but failed to complete a move.

Barcelona were again expected to hold talks with the German club. However, the arrival of Xavi has seen them turn to Torres, who has impressed despite playing a limited number of games under Guardiola in Manchester.

The Spain international, who joined City from Valencia in a £21 million deal, is keen to return to his homeland and has held talks with the Catalan outfit. According to Patrick Berger of Sport 1 in Germany, the player and Barcelona have a long-term agreement.

The only issue standing in the way will be a transfer fee for the player, who still has over three years remaining on his current deal with the Premier League champions. City value Torres at €70 million, but Barcelona are only willing to fork out in the region of €50 million, which is a stretch owing to their massive financial problems.

The La Liga outfit's spending cap has been slashed to €97 million for this season, which means they will have to offload more than one player in order to fund a move for Torres in January. Philippe Coutinho, Neto, Samuel Umtiti and £75 million rated Frenkie de Jong are said to be up for sale, as they look to raise funds to help Xavi strengthen his squad.