It's going to be a summer of change at Barcelona. Owing to lack of playing time, Marc Bartra has already indicated he's looking forward to pastures new while Thomas Vermaelen (presumably after a horror show at Euro 2016) has also been mentioned as surplus to requirements at Camp Nou.
Barca are light enough on defensive reinforcements as is but there's few who would bemoan the loss of Vermaelen and Bartra. It gives the La Liga champions a chance to go out and find a couple of defenders for the first time in quite a while and reinforce the one area that could be said to be lacking. However, that may now turn into a much bigger job than simply picking up some reinforcements.
After yesterday's news that Javier Mascherano is edging towards a move to Juventus and presumably back to his preferred midfield position, it now looks certain that Dani Alves will make the move to Turin on a free transfer.
The 33 year old Brazilian is under contract until 2017 but there's is some talk that the contract extension he signed last summer gave him the option to leave for free this year. It would appear that may well be the case with quite a few sources in Catalunya suggesting that the move to Serie A is as good as finalised.
Alves will move on a three year deal with Arsenal's Hector Bellerín already being linked with a move back to Barca. Mascherano's importance to Barca means that things are not quite so simple in that regard. The former Liverpool man has two years left on his deal and Barca have made it clear that they have no desire to let him leave any time soon.
