Barcelona about to close Balde deal

Alejandro Balde has undoubtedly become a key man for Xavi in his starting XI. The academy graduate has overtaken Jordi Alba and Marcos Alonso for the left-back position, and is also a stalwart for the Catalan side.
Him breaking on to the scene forced Luis Enrique to call him up as a replacement for Gaya in the World Cup and the youngster left the U21 side to get straight to work with the first team. Now, Barcelona want to tie him down and sign him up for the first team.
According to 'Marca', the Spanish giants have been negotiating with Jorge Mendes for a while over the left sided defender. Conversations are in their final stages and they are close to an agreement, but it is not done due to the problem of Barcelona's high wage bill.
The main problem is how much they will be able to sign the player for, because it is not just him who is waiting to break into the first team. There is Gavi as well, as well as Araujo's new contract which he signed a few months ago. Having said that, there could be an agreement soon.
A possible Depay move to Atletico could free up space in the budget and therefore facilitate the defender's renewal.