Barcelona 'have six untouchables in their squad'

Barcelona reportedly view six players in their first-team squad as 'untouchable', meaning that they would not be prepared to discuss their exits under any circumstances.

The Catalan outfit still have financial problems, which is likely to lead to them being inactive during the January transfer window.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta recently said that his club are not expecting to add more players to their squad in the middle of the 2022-23 campaign.

"We did the work in the summer and at the moment there is no sign of having to make operations. We have a midfield with Busi (Sergio Busquets) as the master of ceremonies, Pedri, Gavi, Frenkie [de Jong], [Franck] Kessie," Laporta told BarcaTV.

"Up front we have men like Ansu Fati in whom we have a lot of hope. There's [Robert] Lewandowski, Ferran [Torres], Raphinha, [Ousmane] Dembele... In defence, we have [Ronald] Araujo at centre-back, with Eric [Garcia] who knows how to get the ball out very well like the great players.

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"In goal, in addition to [Marc-Andre] ter Stegen, we have [Inaki] Pena and [Arnau] Tenas. I've forgotten [Alejandro] Balde (laughs). When you talk about a player you have to think about not leaving any out. Jordi Alba has also had a very good World Cup."

The club are expected to be active next summer, but they will more than likely have to make at least one major sale in order to raise the funds required to boost their squad.

According to Sport, there are six players at Barcelona viewed as 'untouchable', with the club not prepared to listen to offers for any of them.

The report claims that Robert Lewandowski is on the list, with the Poland international scoring 18 goals and registering four assists in 19 appearances since arriving at Camp Nou from Bayern Munich.

Meanwhile, fellow summer arrival Jules Kounde is also among the group, with the Frenchman proving to be an important player since his move from Sevilla.

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Gavi and Pedri are also seen as 'untouchables', with the young midfield duo vital players for the club both now and in the future.

Meanwhile, Ansu Fati and Ronald Araujo are on the list, with the Barcelona board viewing the pair as a huge part of the club's plans for the future.

Fati is still working to overcome his injury problems, with the 20-year-old yet to show the form that he demonstrated before being forced to spend an extended period on the sidelines.

The Spain international has three goals and three assists in 20 appearances this season, but he has only started three La Liga matches during the 2022-23 campaign.