Fulham launch sensational bid to sign Gerard Pique from Barcelona - reports

There are likely to be widespread changes at Camp Nou this summer after a disappointing season which saw Barca lose their La Liga title and receive a humiliating 8-2 thrashing by Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

There is a select list of players who are unavailable for transfer, and Pique's name was conspicuous by its absence when club president Josep Maria Bartomeu confirmed that only the likes of Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Marc-Andre ter Stegen would be retained at all costs.

Newly-promoted Fulham have emerged as a surprise contender for the 33-year-old centre-back's signature and the Daily Mail claim that they have gone as far as tabling a concrete offer.

The idea of seeing a player like Gerard Pique turning out for a Premier League yo-yo club seems too fantastical to be real - and in all likelihood it is. It is not in doubt that the veteran defender is in a steep decline and Barca's defence is in dire need of renewal.

But this is unlikely to be a normal transfer window, with clubs severely hit financially by the coronavirus crisis. Fulham spent big during their last solitary season in the Premier League and were unrewarded.

Pique would be a statement signing and demand huge wages, but their resources would be better focused on a younger player who would have some resale value should they go straight back down to the Championship again, rather than a huge name in decline.