Barcelona are closing in on a surprise swoop for Brazilian full-back Douglas after their attempts to sign Fiorentina and Colombia ace Juan Cuadrado appear to have stalled.
Barca are keen to secure a long-term replacement for veteran Dani Alves, who only has one year remaining on his contract and is set to leave on a free transfer at the end of the current campaign.
Cuadrado has been their number one target all summer but an impasse has been reached in negotiations with Fiorentina, who are holding out for a fee of €50 million (Dh242m).
The Catalan club have now turned their attentions to Sao Paulo right-back Douglas, a 24-year-old who has represented Brazil at under 20 level, and a delegation of officials flew to Brazil yesterday to thrash out the details for the deal.
One player not going anywhere is Javier Mascherano, who has put pen to paper on a new contract until the summer of 2018.
Towards the end of last season Mascherano admitted he expected to leave the club in the summer, but the arrival of coach Luis Enrique – a big admirer of the Argentine – has served to ensure his future at the Nou Camp.
Mascherano, sent-off in Barca’s La Liga opener against Elche on Sunday, was delighted to sign his new contract, which comes with a €100m (Dh483) buyout clause.
“Our ambitions have been restored after a difficult season,” he said. “I want to stay here until the end of this contract.”