Barcelona Turn to Their Young Core After Summer Squad Reset

FC Barcelona closed the summer transfer window on Tuesday having added five players and offloaded several high earners, including Robert Lewandowski, Marcus Rashford and Ferran Torres, freeing up considerable space in the wage bill. With Deco now able to see exactly how the club’s Fair Play position has settled, the Sporting Department’s attention has swung toward a different priority: locking down the futures of its emerging young core.

According to MARCA, whose report by Luis F. Rojo was published on September 3, Barcelona’s renewal work now centers on three names: Marc Bernal, Hamza Abdelkarim and Xavi Espart. The Catalans deliberately held off on any extension talks while the market was open, choosing instead to concentrate fully on incomings and planned exits. That phase is over, and MARCA reports that contacts with Bernal’s representative have already begun.

Bernal’s current deal runs until 2029, and Barcelona want to add two further years on top of improved financial terms that reflect his performance level this season. Deco met the midfielder’s agent in August, shortly after Rodri’s arrival, specifically to stress that the Spain captain’s signing would not interrupt Bernal’s progression through the midfield. The club is also mindful that other sides would be willing to pay a significant fee for a player of his profile, a concern that has shaped the urgency behind these renewal talks.

Abdelkarim’s situation carries its own logic. Barcelona exercised a €1.5 million purchase option on the Egyptian forward after he was named in Egypt’s World Cup squad, and he went on to play some minutes in the United States before returning to finish pre-season as the club’s top scorer. That rise has made his existing €15 million release clause look outdated, and MARCA reports Deco intends to raise it to €150 million to shield him from interest elsewhere, even as competition from Gabriel Jesus complicates his path to minutes.

Espart, an academy product who has established himself at left-back after standing out through pre-season and the opening league matches, presents the most straightforward case. His contract expires in 2028, and the club regards the renewal as urgent given how quickly he has forced his way into first-team contention.

None of the three deals has been finalized. MARCA frames all three as planned or targeted improvements rather than agreements already signed, and Barcelona still want to assess what role Abdelkarim occupies in the squad this season before the picture becomes fully clear. The broader signal, though, is unmistakable: having spent the summer shaping the first-team squad, the Blaugranes are now turning to the job of keeping their own emerging talent in-house.