Barcelona midfield target begins renewal talks with Bayern Munich

While Barcelona have indeed strengthened their forward department by signing Dani Olmo, the void in defensive midfield is still gaping.

With Oriol Romeu also set to leave the club, Hansi Flick must count on Andreas Christensen, Frenkie de Jong or young talents Marc Bernal or Marc Casado to hold the fortress in midfield.

As the club enter the second half of the summer transfer window, it is thus inevitable for them to be linked with possible pivot signings.

Joshua Kimmich, on that front, is a player who interests the management. While his signing this summer was always unlikely, Barcelona had chalked him up as a possible free transfer target for 2025, when his contract at Bayern Munich expired.

Renewal in sight

However, as revealed in a recent update by Florian Plettenberg, talks between Kimmich and Bayern Munich over a contract renewal have now begun.

The midfielder’s current deal in Germany expires next year but both parties are interested in furthering their relationship.

From the Bavarians’ perspective, a renewal is a must to avoid losing him on a free transfer next summer.

As it stands, Kimmich may well accept a contract renewal even on lower wages. Interestingly, the journalist furthers that Bayern may well have sold the player this summer had a good offer arrived.

A question of priority

Barcelona reached an agreement with RB Leipzig over the transfer of Dani Olmo earlier today and the deal is said to be worth over €50 million.

Given the Catalans’ economic situation, it is thus safe to say that a large chunk of their budget for the summer has now been expended.

While it is unclear what Barcelona will focus the remaining funds on, their adamance towards signing Nico Williams shows that the defensive midfield is not a priority for the administration.

Kimmich’s arrival this summer, thus, was always unlikely. But with the midfielder now opening talks over a new deal, signing him for free in 2025 also appears off the table.