Barcelona 'tell Sandro Ramirez to find a new club' following Tottenham and Newcastle January talk

Barcelona have given Sandro Ramirez the green light to find a new club during the summer transfer window, according to Sport. The 20-year-old forward was already linked with the likes of Tottenham and Newcastle during the January mercato and would be now available for around €10m (£7.9m).

Luis Enrique decided to block his departure during the last window after failing to fill his gap with the arrival of Celta Vigo star Nolito. But Sport claims that the situation will be completely different in the summer as the La Liga giants have publicly admitted their intentions to sign a versatile forward to serve as a back-up for the MSN trident form by Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, with the likes of Hatem Ben Arfa, Sevilla's striker Kevin Gameiro or Ligue 1 sensation Ousmane Dembele among the reported candidates.

Sandro was expected to cover that role during the current campaign after Pedro moved to Chelsea during last summer. However, the Barcelona forward has only made 20 appearances this season, most of them as a sub, after having lost the battle for the position with Munir El Haddadi – while having be on the sidelines since March due to an injury.

The Catalan publication claims that Luis Enrique is therefore ready to part ways with the Barcelona academy player to keep Munir instead as the fifth choice, along with the new signing and the MSN. Yet, the Spanish publications recently reported that the Catalan club have eventually offered a new deal to Munir to commit his long-term future to the club after the young striker had taken his opportunities with eight goals to prove his worth to the manager.

Sport claims that Barcelona have thus urged Sandro and his agent to listen to the various offers they have received since the January mercato because he is no longer in the club's plans, hoping to get at least €10m for his services to fund other moves.

The Spanish publication, in this sense, points out that "Tottenham's interest has always been there, although they have never made a formal offer".

The Mirror reported during the January transfer window that Mauricio Pochettino saw the player as an good alternative to back-up Harry Kane due to Tottenham's difficulties of signing West Brom's Saido Berahino and Marseille's Michy Batshuayi. The Guardian later claimed that Newcastle were also interested in securing his services.

Yet, Barcelona opted to keep him until the summer, after failing to sign a replacement due to their economic limitations. The situation is going to be different at the end of this season but is yet to be seen whether the likes of Spurs and Newcastle are still interested in the Spanish youngster.