Valencia forward Paco Alcacer. (Photo : Getty Images)
La Liga clubs FC Barcelona and Valencia CF are set to complete the swap of strikers Paco Alcacer and Munir El Haddadi as the Spanish summer transfer window slowly winds down to a close.
SB Nation noted that the rumors of an impending swap between Alcacer and Munir "have been swirling for so long that they may not really be called rumors anymore" as the completion of the deal has been leaked to several news sites already.
Barça reportedly paid Los Che €30 million for the transfer of the 23-year-old Alcacer while Munir was sent on a one-year loan deal to Valencia at an undisclosed amount with an option to be a permanent buy next summer and also a buyback clause for the Blaugrana similar to what Real Madrid had with Alvaro Morata when he was sold to Juventus.
The report noted that the "biggest leak" came from Barça's official website itself, with the site inadvertently posting a photo of 5-foot-10 Torrent, Spain native sporting a Barcelona shirt.
The text also read: "Welcome Paco Alcacer!" with "The young Spanish forward is the sixth signing of the 16/17 season and we want to celebrate his arrival by drawing for a shirt he has signed exclusively for Barcelona fans".
The post was said to be immediately taken down, but a lot of viewers have already seen it.
Alcacer is set to backup any of Barça's three forwards Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, and Neymar, but speculations abound that he will particularly spell the middle man Suárez with Arda Turan supporting either Messi or Neymar in the wings.
Meanwhile, Caught Offside reported that Alcacer was already not part of "the Valencia squad that faced Eibar at the weekend", which Els Taronges lost 0-1, as head coach Pako Ayesteran reasoned out that the young Spanish striker simply "wasn't ready to play".
The article said that "it will likely be a difficult transition from his role at Valencia to the one at Barça", where he is expected to play a much lesser part, but the youngster will "undoubtedly hope to become an important part of the club's long-term success" moving forward.
Meanwhile, the 20-year-old Munir will finally have the opportunity he had been waiting for to start in a team as he came out of the shadows of MSN following the loan deal.
Munir was given the fabled no. 9 jersey, previously worn by Alcacer, when he arrived in Valencia on Tuesday.
