Barca 'could sign Memphis Depay for £4.5m in January as Lyon look to cash in'

Memphis Depay could join Barcelona for as little as £4.5m this January, as Lyon grow concerned at the prospect of losing their star man for free next summer.

New Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman was desperate to reunite with the Dutchman on his arrival to the Nou Camp this summer, but the Catalans - who are in deep financial turmoil with £720m of debt - struggled to raise the funds to complete the transfer.

The cost of the coronavirus pandemic as well as the failure to sell players like Ousmane Dembele, whose move to broke down, prevented Depay's move to the Catalans from going through.

The winger is in the final year of his contract at Lyon, meaning Barca would be able to sign him on a free transfer next summer.

And according to L'Equipe via Mercato, Lyon want to avoid losing Depay for nothing next summer, and would listen to offers for as little as £4.5m for their star man.

Despite having an array of attacking talents at his disposal, the former Manchester United flop is the player that Koeman will feel can kickstart his tenure at the Nou Camp.

Barca's urgency to strengthen their attack has increased due to Ansu Fati's injury with the forward set to be on the sidelines for four months after undergoing surgery on a knee injury.

The seemingly low fee for Depay follows news that the Dutchman is willing to force through a January exit to seal his desired move to Spain.

Depay was asked about the links to LaLiga side following Holland's 1-1 draw with Spain last month and admitted any player would love to join the Catalans.

'Who wouldn't want to play there? It is one of the best teams in the world,' he said.

'Everyone would like to, but I'm not thinking about that.

'About Barca, I don't know. The transfer market is not open. I have no head on that.

'I'm trying to do my best, to do good performances to become a better player. There is a lot of speculation about it '.

The winger has scored five goals in all competitions for Lyon this season and also has three assists. Last season he managed 15 goals and two assists.

Barcelona languish in fifth place in LaLiga, six points behind leaders Atletico Madrid, and the future of Lionel Messi remains uncertain following the Argentine's attempt to leave the club last summer.