Barcelona Transfer News: Latest on Douglas and Luis Enrique's Major Targets

Transfer talk around the Camp Nou has died down of late, with Luis Enrique having already reinforced a multitude of areas in his squad.

The Spaniard's roster is nearing completion, but with a move for Sao Paulo defender Douglas said to be imminent, there may yet be more business to be sealed.

We break down the latest developments around the Catalan giants as they seek a new start under Enrique, with a busy two weeks ahead for Barca in their recruitment pledge.

Douglas 

Barca are on the verge of buying Brazilian Douglas, according to Sao Paulo president Carlos Miguel Aidar, and Catalan newspaper Sport (h/t Goal.com's Enis Koylu) quotes the official in saying his compatriot Dani Alves could be sold:

Barca want to sell Dani Alves and are looking for a replacement for him, who would be Douglas. The sale isn't completed because we still have to talk and the economics involved in the operation are the Traffic group [who own 40 per cent of Douglas' rights], Juan Figger [an intermediary], Sao Paolo and Barca.

Two months ago our partner Figger asked if we would sell the player to Barca. We said we were willing to negotiate.  He's doing everything and things are progressing well. We haven't spoken directly to Barca but we are aware of their interest, so are the agents, Traffic. I guess they have already spoken to the player.

Aidar's move in talking about the deal so openly could be a tactic used to apply pressure on La Blaugrana to get rid of their current right-back.

Sky Sports' South American correspondent Paulo Freitas adds that should Alves remain, though, he will keep his place in the starting XI:

Douglas comes as a highly rated prospect from Sao Paulo, but Alves is nevertheless a fearsome talent of his own, and unless interest in his services is high, Enrique would be somewhat forced to make use of that talent.

Juan Cuadrado

The Daily Mail's Simeon Gholam has reported on new developments surrounding the potential departure of Juan Cuadrado from Florence, after he missed out on a place in Fiorentina's pre-season squad to face Real Madrid.

Alex Shaw of ESPN provides reason for that omission, however, with manager Vincenzo Montella defending his reasoning behind Cuadrado's absence:

Fiorentina president Andrea Della Valle has stated, however, that if Cuadrado's valuation was met, he would have to consider cashing in, per Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Goal.com's Vaishali Bhardwaj):

I spoke with Cuadrado and I have presented our project [to him]. I told him to stay another year in the team with a winning project. But, I am not optimistic because he has received important offers and we may have to let him go. We'll see what happens over the next week.

The boy had a good reaction. We spoke discreetly. It was a clear negotiation with the player. The World Cup that he played in [with Colombia] has not helped. Juan is a very discreet guy and honest.

According to Yahoo's Jason Pettigrove, Cuadrado would not sign for Barca if the club were to clinch the services of the aforementioned Douglas, however:

As things stand, it's a finely balanced debate as to which signing would represent more value to the club, both short-term and in the long run.

Mats Hummels

Jurgen Klopp has left no room for interpretation regarding his desire to keep Mats Hummels at Signal Iduna Park this season.

Earlier this week, the Borussia Dortmund boss was quoted by Tom Sheen of The Independent in proclaiming: "He (Hummels) is going nowhere. He is staying with us."

The centre-back and 2014 World Cup winner was recently handed the captain's armband at Dortmund in what could be a savvy means of tying his allegiance to the club and warding off any notions of an exit.

Norwegian pundit Jan Aage Fjortoft remains adamant that Hummels will continue to lead the Bundesliga outfit for the foreseeable future:

Having already brought in Jeremy Mathieu and Thomas Vermaelen, Barca aren't as lacking in defence now as they were at the start of the season.

That being said, there still isn't a star presence at the back, or at least not on the same terms with the stellar crop they possess in midfield and attack.