BARCELONA, Spain — Barcelona want to get rid of Munir El Haddadi this month after the forward snubbed an offer to extend his contract beyond the end of the season.
Munir’s terms expire in the summer and sources close to the player confirmed to ESPN FC last week that he had decided not to renew his deal with the club.
That decision did not go down well with Barcelona and Munir was told before Christmas that he would no longer be called up for first-team duty.
The once-capped Spain international is free to sign a pre-contract agreement with any club ahead of a free transfer in the summer, but coach Ernesto Valverde says the best outcome would be for him to leave in the current transfer window.
“It seems Munir has taken a decision and, evidently, the club have also made a decision,” Valverde said in a news conference on Wednesday, when asked about the delicate situation.
“We want a solution as soon as possible. If that can be this month, even better.”
Valverde added he had “nothing against” Munir and seemed to infer that the decision to freeze him out of the first team’s plans was a stance adopted by the club.
Sources have told ESPN FC that there’s interest from various teams in Spain, England and Italy in signing the striker. Sevilla are among those clubs, but nothing has been signed yet.
While Munir can move for free at the end of the season, Barca could technically demand a fee for any January transfer, although their posture on the issue weakens their hand.
Munir, 23, returned to the club as Luis Suarez‘s understudy last summer after an impressive loan spell with Alaves. However, after making just four starts all season, he decided to turn down a proposal to renew in order to find regular football elsewhere.
Denis Suarez, meanwhile, remains a Barcelona player despite interest from Premier League side Arsenal.
“His situation is different to Munir’s,” Valverde said when asked about the midfielder’s future. “Denis is a player that could play at any moment. That is the reality. We took him to Getafe on Sunday, even though he didn’t make the squad in the end.”
Denis could even feature on Thursday against Levante in the Copa del Rey, with Valverde saying he will rotate his lineup for the game.
“With a league game around the corner on Sunday [against Eibar], we will make changes,” the coach said. “I am sure [Levante] will, too, even though our ambition is to get through to the next round.
“[Players like Lionel] Messi and Suarez could be rested, it’s a possibility.”
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