Spanish club Valencia have hit back at claims that La Liga rivals Barcelona have agreed a deal to sign midfielder Carlos Soler in the summer.
Spanish reports suggested the Catalan giants have reached an agreement to sign the playmaker, with his contract set to expire in the summer of 2023. A fee of €20m (£16.7m) has apparently been agreed, with a deal having also been signed-off with Soler himself.
However, it is suggested that there is still work to do before a deal can be completed. It was stated that Barcelona would be required to sell former Ajax star Frenkie de Jong first - the Dutchman reportedly being eyed by both Manchester United and Bayern Munich.
There also appears to be another considerable hurdle in the Catalans’ efforts to seal a summer deal - and that is the fact that Soler’s current employers Valencia dispute the fact that a transfer is already in place. They are also hoping to extend the midfielder’s current contract at the Mestalla.
A statement released on the club’s website read: “In response to a story published this Monday in Spanish newspaper Diario AS, Valencia CF deny the existence of any agreement -or any ongoing negotiation- with FC Barcelona for the transfer of Carlos Soler.
“The club are currently in an open negotiation process with the player and his agents to extend his contract with Valencia CF.”
That article was shared on social media with a short tweet reading: "Don't lie!"
It is certainly not a surprise to see Valencia attempting to retain the services of the 25-year-old. Since breaking through from the club’s academy, Soler has gone on to make 219 appearances and played a part in the side that went on to lift the Copa del Rey at the back-end of the 2018/19 season.
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The six-time Spanish international is also in the midst of an excellent campaign. He has netted 12 goals in all competitions, whilst also providing five assists despite Valencia having endured a poor campaign in La Liga.
They currently sit tenth in the Spanish standings with four matches of the campaign yet to play. The one saving grace of their season was that they managed to reach another Copa del Rey final but fell to Real Betis courtesy of a penalty shootout.
Speaking after the final whistle, manager Jose Bordalas was quizzed about his future at the Mestalla but did not give any indication of whether he would be at the club next term. As quoted by AS, he said: “I can’t speak about the future of Valencia. I am not the right person.
"What I have to do now is try to recuperate the morale of the lads. So proud of them. We had chances to take the final.”
