Luis Suarez could be forced to watch the 2020-21 season from the Barcelona stands as his negotiations with Juventus have slowed down, according to reports.
The Uruguayan forward was told earlier this summer by new Catalans boss Ronald Koeman that he will not be in the Dutchman’s plans for the forthcoming season and has reportedly been in negotiations with the Serie A champions over a move.
Suarez has been training away from the Barcelona first-team and Koeman continues to freeze him out and the 33-year-old was left out of the LaLiga giants’ pre-season win over Gimnastic over the weekend.
But according to Spanish news outlet Sport, Suarez’s talks with Juventus have slowed down recently with the striker waiting to view all of his potential options ahead of the new season.
The LaLiga giants have been in talks with Suarez and his representatives over the termination of his contract, which has one-year to go before it expires next summer.
Despite his transfer saga with Koeman, Suarez has carried on training with the Spanish side, with the forward keen on remaining professional until the last minute of being a Barcelona player.
The report also claims that the 33-year-old would be happy to carry on playing at the Camp Nou if Koeman performs a U-turn on Suarez’s future. The striker is waiting to see all of his potential options and has frozen the Juventus talks until his future is clarified.
Yet this professionalism has still not had an impact on the Dutch coach, who forced Suarez to watch his side’s 3-1 win over Gimnastic from home. Lionel Messi, who handed in a transfer request to the Catalans last month, was picked for the match with Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele scoring the goals.
Suarez’s talks with Juventus looked to be going well, but Sport say a completed deal is still far away despite reports in Italy claiming it is a ‘crucial few hours’ for the Uruguayan.
Interest in Suarez’s services have been high since his fall-out with Koeman became public knowledge, with Atletico Madrid also keen on signing the striker.
Diego Simeone’s side could lose striker Alvaro Morata to Juventus this summer should the Suarez deal fall through so could turn to Barcelona’s third-highest all-time goalscorer should that eventuality come about.
Since moving to the Camp Nou in 2014, Suarez has scored 198 goals in 283 matches for the Catalans.
Those goals have fired Barcelona to four LaLiga titles, four Spanish Cups and Champions League, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup wins in 2015.
