Midfielder goes public with Barcelona desire – ‘If an offer came in, I would like to go there’

Napoli and Slovakia midfielder Stanislav Lobotka has revealed his desire to leave his club side for a bigger fish, and in particular, would be delighted to end up on the Catalan coast. Lobotka has been fleetingly linked with Barcelona over recent years.

He first made his way onto Barcelona’s radar at Celta Vigo, where he impressed dictating the tempo, before moving to Napoli and gradually becoming a key part of their team. Since he has been intermittently mentioned in relation to the Blaugrana, but when Xavi Hernandez complemented him in March, that speculation returned.

Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, as carried by Sport, Lobotka he was open to leaving Naples.

“I would like to play for a top-level club, but now I am at Napoli, I have a contract, I have an ‘Italian family’ there. If I had an offer of a important club, I would accept it, but it would not be a problem to stay.”

Barcelona haven't mentioned anything about Sergi Roberto, whose contract also expires today.

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) June 30, 2024

More specifically on Barcelona, Lobotka revealed that he had a childhood affection for the Catalan side.

“I followed them when I was a child, with Deco and Ronaldinho. If an offer came, I would like to go there,” said the 29-year-old.

While Lobotka has plenty of quality, he may have suffered from the departure of Xavi. Much of the talk has been that Sporting Director Deco and manager Hansi Flick are seeking a more imposing physical presence in the middle of the pitch. Recently his agent also said that they had agreed a deal with Barcelona, but he was never that close to actually signing for them.

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