Reports from Spain suggest more trouble on the transfer front for Barcelona following the substantial rise in Jean-Michel Seri’s price now that the Nice midfielder’s buy-out clause is no longer applicable.
According to Marca, the Catalan club who have already agreed to personal terms with Seri were confident of sealing the deal at €40m.
However, L’Equipe claim that the figure, based on his release clause, is not enough as it expired in the middle of July.
Barcelona had set 40m euros as the acceptable limit to any deal for the Ivorian and must now sit down and negotiate with Nice, who are willing to discuss a deal but reportedly want a far higher fee than they’d previously been forced to settle on.
Born in Grand-Béréby, southern Ivory Coast, Seri began his professional career with Abidjan club Africa Sports in 2009. He then moved to ASEC Mimosas, where he would remain until 2012. In November 2012, Seri embarked on his journey to European football by joining FC Porto’s reserve side.