Barcelona broaden search for January signing | OneFootball

Barcelona have plans to add to Hansi Flick’s squad during the winter transfer window, which opens for business in less than 24 hours. A central defender is wanted, with the La Liga leaders struggling for depth in that area of the park.

There were already rumours of a January move when Ronald Araujo requested a leave of absence, from which he has now returned, but with Andreas Christensen suffering a partial fear of his ACL 10 days ago, Barcelona officials made the decision to pursue a new arrival for the winter transfer window.

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They have set their sights on numerous targets, but given they cannot spend big money due to their financial woes, the vast majority of their options can be considered below-par. As such, the decision has been made to widen their search, as per MD.

Barcelona want a left-sided centre-back, given that Inigo Martinez was not replaced in the summer, but given their lack of realistic options in this market, they are now considering defensive midfielders that are capable of playing in a deeper role.

Why have Barcelona changed their transfer approach?

Flick has been using Eric Garcia as a midfielder in recent weeks, which is a role that he has done well in. It’s why he has kept his place ahead of Frenkie de Jong, but the decision may soon come for him to return to playing as a central defender, which is why Barcelona are open to the idea of replicating his profile.

It remains to be seen whether Barcelona have more success in the transfer market, now that their search has been widened. It’s clear that a new signing would ease Flick’s depth concerns, but it is equally important for anyone that comes in to be of the required standard to play for the Catalans.