Barcelona want Otamendi in January, Benfica captain on Catalans’ radar | OneFootball

Barcelona wants to strengthen its defense in the winter market, and one of the names on the list of potential targets is Nicolás Otamendi, captain of Benfica. The Spanish club is looking for a central defender with experience who can play more comfortably on the left side, something the defender has frequently done at Luz.

'Mundo Deportivo' mentions that the Catalans are considering three alternatives for this position in the squad, with the Argentine being one of the most referenced. The other two central defenders mentioned are Stefan de Vrij from Inter Milan and Marcos Senesi from Bournemouth.

Despite being right-footed, the Argentine has often been used in that area of defense by Benfica, which justifies the interest from the club managed by Hansi Flick. However, the same publication highlights that it will not be easy to convince the 37-year-old player to leave Clube da Luz, with whom he has a contract until June 2026.

The Spanish club needs to strengthen the defensive sector due to the absence of Andreas Christensen, who will be out of the fields for about four months due to injury, as well as the mental health issues of Ronald Araújo, one of the team's captains.

In the 2025/26 season, only with Benfica's jersey, Nicolás Otamendi – valued at 1 million euros – has played 28 matches: 14 in Liga Portugal Betclic, 10 in the Champions League, two in the Portuguese Cup, one in the League Cup, and another in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. In the 2,520 minutes he was on the field, the defender scored two goals.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.