The Ligue 1 side are reticent to sell one of their big stars to the Catalans, who are eager to sign a player said to have ‘Barca DNA’
Nice general manager Julien Fournier has denied that midfielder Jean Michael Seri is poised to depart for Barcelona.
With Barca struggling to secure the signatures of either Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool or Ousmane Dembele from Dortmund, they have turned their attention to the Ivory Coast midfielder.
Blaugrana 7/5 to win La Liga
Article continues below
Editors' Picks
Juve on alert: Exiled Icardi may have already played his final game for Inter Sarri vindicated for dropping Kepa as Chelsea & Pedro impress in Spurs win Magnificent Mane takes centre stage as league leaders Liverpool put on a five-star show Lukaku sends reminder that his Man Utd career is far from over
Camp Nou great Xavi has said Seri boasts “Barcelona DNA” but the Ligue 1 side will not make life easy for the Catalans to secure him.
Reports had suggested that Nice have set an asking price of €40 million, but these have been dismissed.
“We haven’t negotiated with Barca nor do I know of any negotiations lined up in the next few days. They’re just rumours, so we haven’t set a price for Seri,” Fournier told Sport.
“I think the player will stay with us this season. It’s true that he is open to listening to offers but he’s also happy at Nice whether we qualify for the group stages of the Champions League or not.”
The Ligue 1 side face an uphill battle to join Europe’s elite, having lost the first leg of their playoff against Napoli 2-0, though with Mario Balotelli and Wesley Sneijder in contention for the return leg, they will at least be hopeful of turning in a more creditable performance.