Barcelona’s transfer woes have taken a new turn after France’s sports daily L’Equipe reported the price tag of Nice star Jean-Michel Seri has risen substantially.

Indeed, the Catalan club had hoped to tie up a €40million deal by activating his release clause.

Personal terms are believed to have been agreed with the Ivorian but the reports in France claim the release clause expired in the middle of July.

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Barca are now negotiating with the Ligue 1 side who are willing to discuss a deal but will ask for a much higher fee to complete the move.

And an in another setback Nice general manager Julien Fournier has claimed Seri won’t leave this summer.

“We haven’t negotiated with Barca nor do I know of any negotiations lined up in the next few days. They’re just rumours, so we haven’t set a price for Seri,” Fournier told Sport.

“I think the player will stay with us this season. It’s true that he is open to listening to offers but he’s also happy at Nice whether we qualify for the group stages of the Champions League or not.”