Barcelona are desperate to sell forward who PIF wanted even before they bought Newcastle

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Even before PIF bought Newcastle United, they had Ferran Torres on a list of potential transfer targets.

They have now been in charge of Newcastle for a season and a half, and have their best chance of signing the Spanish forward they wanted back in 2020.

That is because Barcelona are desperately looking to get rid of Torres, just one year after they signed him from Manchester City.

Barcelona want to sell Ferran Torres

According to 90min, Barcelona want to sell Torres during this summer’s transfer window. They would also consider a loan exit for the 23-year-old.

That could be music to Newcastle’s ears, as the Magpies have been linked with signing Torres this summer. They are one of three Premier League clubs that are keen, alongside Arsenal and Aston Villa.

That is good news for Barcelona, who want to move Torres on in the hope that it will improve their dire financial situation. Money continues to be an ongoing problem for Xavi’s side, who were unable to bring Lionel Messi back to the Nou Camp earlier this summer.

Now they need to sell a player they spent £46million just a year ago. However, there is an issue.

While Barca want Torres to leave, he has told them that he is going nowhere. The same report from 90min states that the Spain international wants to stay with Barcelona, despite being told that he will be behind Raphinha, Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele in the pecking order.

Given Torres’ desire to stay put, it looks like Newcastle are going to be unable to sign him, just like they were in 2020. However, things were very different three years ago.

PIF wanted him at Newcastle in 2020

In the summer of 2020, Newcastle were still owned by Mike Ashley. However, the plan was for that to change. He had agreed to sell the club to the Saudi-backed consortium, who already had plans for their first summer transfer window as owners.

According to the Chronicle, they were interested in signing the likes of Gareth Bale, Nathan Ake, Ciro Immobile and Victor Osimhen. And another player they wanted was Ferran Torres.

Getting any of those players through the door at Newcastle would have been an immediate statement of intent back in 2020, but none of them arrived.

That is because the takeover was not passed through by the Premier League, meaning Newcastle and Ashley remained stuck with each other.

Since they did not have the keys to the castle, PIF were not able to bring Torres to St James’ Park. Fast forward three years and it still looks like they can’t sign him.