Barcelona Transfer News: Latest on Koke and Glen Johnson Rumours

Luis Enrique has told Barcelona Koke is the ideal player to revitalise the club's midfield ranks. The Barca boss wants the board to rubber-stamp spending as much as €60 million to land the Atletico Madrid playmaker.

Tomas Andreu of Catalan newspaper Sport (h/t Sport Witness) reports Enrique believes Koke is the perfect replacement for ageing, outgoing pass-master Xavi Hernandez. That makes sense given Koke's exceptional vision, work rate and class and assurance in possession.

His eye for a defence-splitting pass is the defining feature of Koke's game. The 23-year-old has already tallied 15 assists for Atletico in all competitions this season, per ESPN FC.

He's carried that form onto the international stage. Koke supplied a quite brilliant pass to create Alvaro Morata's decisive goal in Spain's recent 1-0 win over Ukraine in Euro 2016 qualifying, per Marca's Javier Estepa.

It makes sense for Barca to covet such a gifted provider for the best forward line in European football. The idea of Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr. and Luis Suarez receiving passes from Koke is a frightening prospect.

But the path to ensuring that dream combination won't be easy. The Sport Witness report detailed some of the obstacles:

Barcelona wouldn't be able to sign the Spanish international this summer because they're still serving a transfer ban and it may be considered unlikely that Koke could move during the winter transfer window, so Barcelona could have to wait until summer 2016 to complete the signing which Enrique has told the club should be their priority.

But even with their transfer ban naturally complicating things, Barca should seize any chance they have to wrap up a deal for the most natural Xavi successor on the market.

Johnson a Free-Transfer Target

While Koke moving to the Camp Nou seems like an ideal match, Barcelona signing Glen Johnson has to be one of the more unexpected transfer rumours of recent memory.

But the 30-year-old is being considered as a possible "short-term replacement" for Dani Alves, according to Liverpool Echo reporter Ian Doyle. He cites unnamed reports from Spain suggesting Johnson is a potential free-transfer target once Alves' own deal expires this summer.

Alves is already courting interest from Manchester United, per Daily Star writer Jamie Anderson. He's also said to be keen on a possible switch to Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain. In fact, Marca's Rafa Sahuquillo has stated the Brazilian has already agreed a three-year deal to move to the French capital.

So Barca seem destined to soon have an Alves-shaped hole at right-back. Johnson is hardly the ideal candidate to solve the problem, though.

He's still adept going forward, thanks to his pace and energy. But defensively, Johnson has always been wanting.

It doesn't help that he's rarely fit enough to feature. He's been nursing a groin injury since December, while other ailments and a loss of form saw him lose his spot to Jon Flanagan during last season.

Solidity at the back has always been an underrated aspect of Alves' game. Turning to the brittle and accident-prone Johnson will leave Barca's back four weak at a crucial position.

It's more likely Enrique casts a wider net as he attempts to replace one of the pillars of the club's fantastic success bridging the last two decades.

But the talk of Koke is certainly more plausible. Don't expect Barcelona's pursuit of the pint-sized schemer to let up any time soon.