AT BARCELONA THERE IS NEVER A SIGNING WITHOUT A SOAP OPERA

A summer would be a summer without a soap opera signing, which is as much a part of this time of year as beach umbrellas and crowded terraces.

Barcelona are very well versed in the phenomenon and have a less than enviable record of attempted signings which have failed, giving the fans plenty to talk about for weeks.

Two names have been popular when talking about the summer transfer window for Barcelona - Lautaro Martinez and Miralem Pjanic.

In the Argentine's case, everything looks to be a question of money as Barcelona know they will have to shell out to sign one of the hottest strikers in Europe. A fee of 111 million euros is Lautaro's release clause.

As for Pjanic, Juventus are willing to negotiate with Barcelona and want Arthur, but the Brazilian wants to stay at the Camp Nou. Thus, the Catalans have to find an alternative if they really want to sign the Bosnian.

Sitcom signings

What has become clear is that Barcelona have trouble in closing transfers, and there are plenty of examples that have slipped through their fingers because of financial constraints.

Others did arrive at the club, but only after making the front pages for weeks on end.

The most recent example of this is Rodrigo from Valencia.

The striker was the best fit when Barcelona needed an option to replace the injured Luis Suarez, but they were unable to seal the deal and ended up signing Martin Braithwaite.

That transfer wasn't without it's problems as Barcelona left Leganes without forwards for the decisive weeks of LaLiga Santander as their two attackers Youssef En-Nesyri and Braithwaite had left the club, with the latter doing so outside the transfer window.

What is there to say about the operation to sign Antione Griezmann? Surrounded by controversy on all sides.

The first incident came with the Frenchman's 'decision' to stay at Atletico Madrid the year before. Second, was the dispute from the Rojiblancos about the transfer fee paid for the Frenchman.

Frenkie de Jong's signing from Ajax was relatively smooth as the player wanted to make the move, but it did need a trip to Amsterdam for president Josep Maria Bartomeu in order to seal the deal.

The list is long and the circumstances usually the same. When a club is willing to get their chequebook out everything is easier.

And if there is enough pressure from the players themselves, if can help force a move, as was the case with Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele.

Of course, in both of those cases Barcelona had to pay more than 100m euros.