Barcelona president Joan Laporta has admitted that the second 'economic lever' will be worked upon this Monday, a move that could ensure that Raphinha, Ousmane Dembélé and Jules Kounde could all end up joining them and not Chelsea.
There was a point in time where all three of the listed players above appeared to be Chelsea-bound but for various reasons, it looks as though new owner Todd Boehly and Thomas Tuchel are set to suffer triple disappointment at the hands of the Catalan giants, with the £177m economic lever cash injection that was confirmed earlier this week having given Barca the power to sign up both once more.
Their deal with Leeds for Raphinha is expected to be very add-on heavy in comparison to what Chelsea had agreed. On top of this, Dembele will not be getting the improved terms his agent Moussa Sissoko tried to broker for him during these contract talks which had seen the 25-year-old become a free agent on July 1.
READ MORE: Ousmane Dembele's new Barcelona contract could mean more Chelsea suffering after Raphinha misery
Now, Barca are in prime position to swoop for the pair, which would seal Chelsea miss out, but at least allow Boehly and Tuchel to move onto other targets and priorities quickly with pre-season already underway.
If things weren't bad enough already for the Blues, Barcelona are understood to also be in talks with Sevilla to sign Kounde, a player who looked to be heading to west London in January. As well as signing the aforementioned trio, signing up free agents like Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie will also be on the priority list for Laporta, as well as trying to tie down teen sensation Gavi.
Laporta himself has given an update on where his club stand with negotiations for a second economic lever and his admissions will certainly be music to the ears of Barca fans.
He said via @barcacentre: "What about the second lever? On Monday we will start working on the sale of 15% of TV rights.
"If we achieve it, we will have 1-1 in fair play. It would allow us to position ourselves on the market. We will be very cautious when we sign. We will not make mistakes that have been made in the past."
Chelsea fans- How worried are you regarding this update on the second economic lever for Barcelona and what it could mean for the Blue targets? Leave your thoughts down below in the comments section!
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