Barcelona’s transfer plans for four central defenders as new season looms – report

With the 2024/25 season just around the corner, FC Barcelona still have a lot of work left to do in the transfer market.

Only Pau Victor and Dani Olmo have been signed thus far while there have been very few notable exits which could be an issue for the club considering their financial situation and need to make one or two big sales.

As such, the upcoming two to three weeks will be crucial for the Catalans as they decide which players to retain and whom to sell.

The centre-back department, in particular, could see some cuts, given the number of options at manager Hansi Flick’s disposal.

What is certain is that Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen, and Pau Cubarsi are pretty much guaranteed to continue at the club.

As for the remaining four defenders – Eric Garcia, Inigo Martinez, Mikayil Faye, and Clement Lenglet, SPORT’s Toni Juanmarti has brought forth an update on the club’s plans for the quartet.

Eric Garcia

Back after an impressive loan spell at Girona, Eric Garcia has manager Flick’s ‘OK’ to continue at Barcelona next season.

The Spaniard’s versatility plays in his favour as he can play as a right-back and even as a pivot apart from his natural position at centre-back. What counts against him, though, is that he did not do the pre-season under the manager due to his involvement at the Olympics.

Inigo Martinez

The veteran Spaniard is also well-liked by Flick but is not seen as a priority player given the options at centre-back. Martinez is yet to be registered with La Liga by Barcelona and given the club’s need to free up salary space, there is a temptation of letting him go.

However, as things stand, Martinez wants to stay at Barcelona and it seems difficult to reach an agreement with him to part ways.

Mika Faye

An interesting case, as the youngster did not feature much in pre-season. But as per the report Barcelona wish to keep hold of Faye without ruling out the possibility of listening to any interesting proposals.

The 20-year-old starlet, for his part, will consider staying only if there are chances of getting meaningful minutes with the first-team setup. AS Monaco and Nice are interested.

Clement Lenglet

Even though Lenglet was used a lot by Flick in pre-season, the Frenchman’s future lies away from the club as keeping hold of him could cost Barcelona around €19 million next season through wages and amortisation costs.

Lenglet prioritises continuing in Spain but would be open to joining any other European club. But him staying at Barcelona is not an option even though Flick was happy with his pre-season performances.