Barcelona tell Koeman how to sign forward, reject proposal for midfielder

Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman was told in no uncertain terms that he will not be allowed to make any further additions to the squad this summer. The club's focus will primarily be on offloading unwanted first-team stars and only if they manage to generate high transfer fees, will the club consider investing in new talent.

The Catalan club have thus far signed Memphis Depay, Sergio Aguero, Eric Garcia and Emerson Royal. The former three arrived on free transfers, while the latter arrived after Barcelona activated their buyback clause with Real Betis.

Barcelona's financial situation is so dire that the club have not been able to register Depay, Aguero and Garcia with the La Liga thus far. Royal is the only player eligible to represent the club at the moment when the club welcome Real Sociedad to the Camp Nou on Sunday.

According to Spanish publication Sport, Koeman approached the club's director of football Matheu Alemany earlier this week to talk about further signings. The Dutch manager wants to sign a new midfielder after losing out on free agent Georginio Wijnaldum, and a new forward after it was revealed that Aguero will be out for 10 weeks.

Barcelona have made a number of first-team stars available for transfer, but are struggling to generate interest. The likes of Philippe Coutinho, Samuel Umtiti, Neto, Martin Braithwaite and Miralem Pjanic are all up for sale, but interest has not been overwhelming.

Pjanic is the only one that looks close to leaving, with Juventus keen to sign the Bosnian midfielder. Meanwhile, the report claims that Koeman's chances of signing a forward this summer will hinge on Braithwaite's future.

If the Danish striker is offloaded for a considerable transfer fee, it could be put forward to bringing in a replacement to provide cover in Aguero's absence. Braithwaite has attracted interest from West Ham United in England, but the forward is waiting to see if better offers arrive from clubs competing higher up in their respective leagues.