Barcelona to sell Eto'o, buy Villa, report says

Barcelona may be reportedly on a tight transfer budget this summer, but that will not stop it from coming back and having another crack at signing David Villa.

Despite Valencia president Manuel Llorente recently declaring that the striker is no longer for sale, bar a "scandalous offer," Spanish radio station Onda Cero believes that Blaugrana are hoping to tempt the troubled Mestalla outfit with a decent proposal.

Barcelona daily Sport, meanwhile, is confident that Barça will be in pole position to land "El Guaje" when and if it makes an official bid, because archrivals Real Madrid had only recently affirmed, via director-general Jorge Valdano, that it is now out of the running for Villa's signature as the two clubs are unable to break the impasse over his transfer fee.

The "Holy Trinity" at the Camp Nou -- Pep Guardiola, Txiki Begiristain and Joan Laporta -- have already acknowledged that they consider Villa a vital part of their future plans, while a large section of the Catalan-based press believe that the Che hitman would prefer Barça over Madrid, in the event that the two rivals collide again for his signature.

The only issue for Barcelona now is their budget. "El Tricampeon" has no more than $49 million of its own money to spend this summer, but is ready to rectify that with the sale of Samuel Eto'o.

According to TV3, the Cameroonian is only valued between $42 million to $49 million, a significantly inferior amount compared to his true market appraisal due to his contract expiration in June 2010, but it will be more than enough to fund the bulk of the $56 million bid Barça is expected to offer Valencia.