Né (ex-Olympiacos)

Marco Né (24), a one time international for Ivory Coast whose contract with Greek champion Olympiacos Piraeus was broken off in January, has this week been testing with Barça B. If he can convince coach Josep Guardiola, he will be training with the second team for the rest of the season.

Apart from also being an Ivorian defensive midfielder, Né's career so far shows remarkable parallels with that of fellow compatriot Yaya Touré. They come from the same youth academy in their home country, Né replaced Touré in Beveren (Belgium) and Olympiacos and both players were rejected by Arsène Wenger after testing with Arsenal.

Crosas goes French

Barcelona midfielder Marc Crosas (20) was last month loaned out to French champion Olympique Lyon till the end of the season. The player, who was permanently promoted to the first team only in December 2007, has already gained more playing minutes in less than a month then he did in the first half of the season playing for Barcelona.

Due to the injury of Lyon playmaker Juninho, Crosas started the three league games so far. He adapted quickly to the new competition but had some problems caused by not having started a game for a long time. Crosas can't play for Lyon in the Champions League.

Transfer history: Iaquinta (Juventus)

Udinese president Pozzo told Italian sports paper Tuttosport that Barcelona made a bid to sign forward Vincenzo Iaquinta (28) in January 2006. Iaquinta impressed the Barcelona staff during the group stage of the Chamions League that season. Udinese rejected the bid cause they couldn't find a player to replace Iaquinta.

In the summer of 2007 Iaquinta signed with Juventus.

Jorquera will sign renewal

Barcelona goalkeeper Albert Jorquera (28), currently recovering from a serious knee injury, will soon renew his contract that expires at the end of the season. Valdés' substitute accepted this week the offer he received from the club. He declared on the Catalan radio station Ona FM he only needs to sign now. The renewed contract will link Jorquera for two more years to Barcelona.

Edmilson's wife wants to stay

Catalan sports paper Sport claims that the wife of Barcelona midfielder José Edmilson (31) isn't keen on leaving Barcelona at the end of the season. The contract of the player expires in June and at this moment Barcelona doesn't seem interested in renewing it. Because of the children, Mrs. Edmilson would prefer to stay and hopes for an offer from Barcelona in the coming months.

Rijkaard on Garay

During a press conference Barça manager Frank Rijkaard commented today on the possible arrival of the Argentinian central defender Ezequiel Garay (21). Rijkaard admitted the player is being followed by the Barcelona scouts and that he could be an important player for the future of the club.

Alves (Sevilla)

One of the names that has been coming back for years now is Sevilla right back Dani Alves (24). With the possible departure of Zambrotta to Milan, the name of Alves is reappearing.

Asked about the issue, Sevilla president Del Nido told Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo that he rejected last summer bids of 31 (Chelsea) and 35 (Madrid) million euro for the Brazilian player. Things can change if Sevilla doesn't play Champions Legaue next season but as for now the player is not for sale. Unless... : "I wóuld exchange him for Messi plus 30 million euro".

Benzema (Lyon)

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Barcelona assistant coach Eusebio Sacristán has been spying on Olympique Lyon center forward Karim Benzema (20) during the Spain versus France game on Wednesday. Informed about this after the match, Benzema was quoted saying: "I would love to play for Barcelona one day. Who wouldn't?"

Newcastle dreams of Henry

Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan has said he would like to bring in Barcelona forward Thierry Henry (30). Keegan told Radio Newcastle : "He's the best player I've seen in the Premiership. What I've seen him do to good players has been incredible and I'd like to bring players here that amaze people". He added the club owners have the money for this operation.

Deco denies Juventus

Barcelona midfielder Anderson Luis de Souza "Deco" (30) has reacted to the rumours linking the player with Juventus and a possible exchange with Tiago. In the Italian sports paper Tuttosport he is been quoted saying he wants to finish his contract with Barcelona that runs until 2010 and that he nor his agent has been negotiating a transfer.

Poulsen (Sevilla)

Madrid tabloid Marca claims that Sevilla midfielder and Danish international Christian Poulsen (27) is one of the Barcelona priorities for next season. The player's contract expires in 2009. He has a buy out close of 10 million euro.

Mourinho wants to return

Madrid tabloid Marca says former Chelsea manager José Mourinho (45) is the number one candidate to replace Frank Rijkaard as the new Barcelona head coach. There already have been contacts between Barcelona officials and the manager's agent, but an offer hasn't been made yet.

It is said Barcelona president Joan Laporta is in favour of Rijkaard completing his contract until 2009. But that's only an option if the team wins the Liga or the Champiosn League this season. And it's not sure if Mourinho can wait long enough to see if that's the case or not.

Garay (Santander)

After a week of intense speculation about an upcoming transfer of Argentinian central defender Ezequiel Garay (21), the Racing Santander player spoke out on COM Ràdio. Garay said playing for Barcelona would be "a dream come true". He confirmed the negociations are ongoing and told that he'd love to play alongside fellow compatriot Lionel Messi.

Rijkaard held talks with Ajax

Dutch football magazine Voetbal International reports this week that Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard (45) is one of the three candidates to become the new Ajax manager as of next season. The two other candidates are current Dutch national coach Marco Van Basten and former Ajax manager Co Adriaanse. The three candidates would already have had a first meeting with Ajax officials. Van Basten admitted that such a meeting took place.

Kick Off

This blog wants to give an extensive survey of all the (incoming and outward) transfer activity concerning FC Barcelona. We will follow the performances of the "temporarily transferred" (as in 'loaned out') players and will inform about contract renewals. We will also include transfer information about former Barça players and managers.

The focus lies on basic information, no needless elaborations or repetitions that only help to fill up space. Less is more. Short and sharp.

If you want to have your daily portion of Barça transfer information (or if you just want to have a good laugh with what the papers are coming up with this time), add this blog to your favourites. Between the rumours, you'll sure find some facts.

Enjoy your time here,
pep



P.S. Anyone who has comments, questions or suggestions (news we have missed out on), feel free to contact us.