Barcelona set to land big-name targets

Barcelona will land the “big-name signings” needed to return to the club to the summit of Spanish and European football.

That is the pledge made by sporting director Robert Fernandez, who insisted new coach Ernesto Valverde would get all the backing he needs to bring success back to Camp Nou.

After finishing second in LaLiga behind fierce rivals Real Madrid and being dumped out of the Champions League quarter-finals under Luis Enrique last season, far greater things are expected of Valverde’s Barca.

And Fernandez is confident Barca will bring in all their key targets, even if some players fear they may only have bit-part roles with the Catalan giants.

“We have a lot of information and there’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes,” he told Barca Magazine.

“It goes without saying that we’ll bolster the squad in the positions we need and that they’ll be big-name signings.

“The biggest difficulty we face is our own grandeur. A lot of players don’t want to come here because they aren’t sure they’ll get much playing time.

“But we are very happy with the players that we signed last summer because they have all made big steps forward in their careers.”

Barca have been linked with Paris Saint-Germain’s Marco Verratti, Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin and Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele.