Barcelona makes bold summer moves: Koeman stays, three new signings confirmed

Alot has been happening at the Camp Nou in the past week, with new president Joan Laporta quickly putting his stamp on the club. Manager Ronald Koeman has reportedly agreed to extend his tenure for another year beyond his current deal. That means he will potentially be in charge of the Blaugrana at least until 2023.

Koeman's extension will reportedly be finalised when Laporta and his board of directors sit down for a meeting on Thursday. An official announcement is expected to come out after the said meeting, but numerous Spanish media outlets have already shared the news about Koeman's contract.

Apart from the extension, Catalunya Radio claims that Koeman also agreed to "convert part of his wages into variables." What these variables are is still unclear.

Some have criticised the way Laporta handled the Koeman situation, after he made it clear that the club had not been fully confident about asking him to stay. "I already said that we were opening a period of reflection for Koeman. We have to evaluate what has gone well and what has not gone well last season. We needed this quiet period and, in a week, or ten days we will meet again, but there are talks," he said last Tuesday.

It was evident that Barcelona was looking for a possible replacement before finally deciding to keep their manager, and with a salary adjustment at that.

Nevertheless, Koeman handled the situation well, and has reportedly been deep into helping the club make plans for the upcoming season. As of today, they have already confirmed three new signings.

Argentine forward Sergio Aguero was the first to be announced, before Eric Garcia was also unveiled earlier this week. Meanwhile, Barcelona has decided to bring Emerson Royal back to the Camp Nou for the 2021/22 season. The Brazilian had been playing with Real Betis for the last two seasons on a co-ownership deal. Barcelona has reportedly claimed outright ownership of Emerson after paying Betis nine million euros.

After Koeman is officially confirmed, Barcelona fans will no doubt be pressuring the club to finalise the contract extension with Lionel Messi, who has reportedly agreed to a two-year deal.