Barcelona could lose key target to Real Madrid despite verbal agreement being in place | OneFootball

Jonathan Tah has been a man in demand heading into the summer transfer window given that his contract at Bayer Leverkusen will expire at the end of the season.

The German international has confirmed that he has no plans to extend his stay at the club and a departure on a free transfer is guaranteed.

For a while now, Barcelona have been touted as Tah’s next destination, with the club having worked on his signing since last year.

However, the Financial Fair Play situation at the Catalan outfit has created some uncertainty about whether the deal can go through or not.

Barcelona could lose Tah to Real Madrid or Bayern Munich

Now, providing an update on the situation, journalist Florian Plettenberg reports that Tah and Barcelona have had a verbal agreement in place for several weeks already.

However, nothing has been formally signed between the two parties as the Catalans are not in a position to finalise the deal.

And, in case the operation ends up falling through, Barcelona’s arch-rivals Real Madrid are lurking to swoop Tah up on a free transfer.

Where will Jonathan Tah play next season? (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)

It is no secret that Los Blancos are looking for a new defender after a dismal season thus far and Tah is a player that is well-liked at Valdebebas.

Furthermore, there is a strong possibility that Xabi Alonso, the current Bayer Leverkusen manager, could move to the Santiago Bernabeu this summer to take over from Carlo Ancelotti.

Tah and Alonso share a strong relationship and as such, there is a possibility that the German central defender ends up following his current manager to Real Madrid.

At the same time, Bayern Munich also remain in the fray. The Bavarian giants are long-term admirers of Tah and have revisited the idea of signing him in recent days.

So, unless Barcelona are able to close the deal with Tah soon, the risk of losing the German to either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich looms large.