Transfer Talk: Villa Still A Possibility

Finally, news of the deal with Inter has been released officially by FCB. They're saying that there's a prinicipal agreement between the two clubs, but that both players in question - Ibrahimovic and Eto'o - have to settle their interests with what could be their new teams.

Barca president Joan Laporta also made clear that said deal is far from being closed, and that the club has not forgotten the option of David Villa.

Well, we're greatly relieved to hear that Villa won't be cancelled out so easily. Especially after Laporta said this: “The Ibrahimovic operation is not settled, as it is too early to say which of the two options – Villa or the Inter player – is the most satisfactory. In the end we will be going for the option that we consider best for Barça".

We're laughing at the fact that he called Villa by name while referring to Ibra as "the Inter player" – perhaps it means he's really only thinking of Villa? Then again, maybe he just can't pronounce 'Ibrahimovic' too well.

Anyway, we're starting to think the whole Ibra stunt is kind of a move by Laporta to put pressure on Valencia. After what he just said, that puts both possibilites on the line. Oh, you are clever Mr. President.

And we stand by our opinion that Villa is the better option. Not only does he have the obvious passion for Barca, and would fit in much better than Ibra ever could - signing him would be a much more honorable move for the club.

First of all, it would be downright unjust and also somewhat heartless of the club to turn a blind eye to the incredible effort Villa has put forth to try and join Barca. The news of this agreement must be crushing him right now, after all he's been through.

Second, the Ibra deal is a bit hypocritical, seeing as the club wouldn't pay more than forty million for Villa but are willing to give the same amount and two players for Ibra. Ibra is in no way worth more than Villa, and this is, in a way, Real Madrid-ish. We fully believe that that's the effect Real Madird have on other clubs, with their ridiculous signings: causing them to overprice their players this way. Inter rate Ibra far too highly, and Barca should not succumb to that.

And third, not only is this unfair to Villa, making it look like Ibra's worth much more than he is, but it's also very degrading for Eto'o. We agree that he's run his course on Barca and it's time he moved on, but we could never forget all that he's offered to the club. And neither should they. By including him in this deal, the club are drastically underrating him and being very unappreciative of what he's done here. Eto'o should be sold for what he's worth, in an honorable deal and not unceremoniously dumped like this.

In the end, there's nothing much we can do but just wait, and hope, that the club will come to a similar conclusion. The coming hours and days should bring more news, we'll just have to wait and see.