Barcelona will assess €60 million centre-back’s situation in the summer – report

Barcelona have possibly reached the final steps of their rebuild as they will look to sign some players in the summer that will serve as permanent solutions to the problems that have haunted them across the last couple of seasons.

There are severe problems at the left-wing and defensive midfield, especially, that the Catalans will need to fix should they want to compete against the very best in Europe.

Defence, on the other hand, is stacked with talent. While these players have underperformed this season, last season was proof of their ability and potential.

One of those players is Jules Kounde, who has largely played as a right-back across the last two seasons despite being a centre-back by trade.

He was expected to be used centrally this season, but owing to Alejandro Balde’s and Marcos Alonso’s injuries, had to be shifted back to the right side again, while Joao Cancelo has been used as the left-back.

A report from SPORT says that Barcelona will continue to play Jules Kounde as a right-back till the end of this season, at least. The situation will be assessed next season once again after Balde returns from injury.

Kounde’s situation

If reports are true, Barcelona will be listening to offers for Kounde this summer, and are expecting some bids from Premier League sides.

Chelsea, for example, were interested in signing the Frenchman before Barcelona pounced and completed his transfer in the summer of 2022.

With him, Andreas Christensen has also been bookmarked as a player that can be sold to generate money through player sales. Inigo Martinez’s situation will be assessed, too, especially with the rise of Pau Cubarsi, who has taken the team by storm.

Cancelo’s future

Barcelona want to buy Joao Cancelo permanently in the summer, and might have to shell out anywhere between €20-40 million for his signing, depending on what Manchester City are asking.

Should they muster up the budget for the signing, Barcelona plan to use Cancelo as a right-back permanently, while Balde covers the left side of the defence after his recovery.