Barcelona prioritise January move for €20 million-rated teenage defender – report
· Yahoo Sports
Visit syntagm.co.za for more information.
According to Ferran Correas of SPORT, Barcelona have decided to go after the signing of FC Twente defender Ruud Nijstad in the upcoming January transfer window as a priority.
Director Deco and the Barcelona sporting department want to strengthen Hansi Flick’s defensive options, and the 18-year-old Dutchman remains high on their list despite the financial obstacles involved.
Barcelona want a new defender
Barcelona opted not to sign a new central defender in the summer despite letting go of Ronald Araujo and Alvaro Cortes.
However, the injuries to Andreas Christensen, Eric Garcia, and Jules Kounde exposed the lack of depth in the position, leaving Flick short on options.
Even though Christensen is back, Barcelona’s position on signing a reinforcement has not changed, as the club continue to see Garcia and Kounde as primarily options in the right-back position.
Barcelona ready to go after Nijstad again. (Photo by Mateo Villalba Sanchez/Getty Images for DFB)
It leaves the manager with only Pau Cubarsi, Gerard Martin and an injury-prone Christensen as main options at the heart of the backline.
As such, Barcelona have made the decision to go after a new centre-back in January, with the preference being to sign someone with a long-term view rather than a stop-gap fix for only the second half of the season.
Nijstad emerges as the preferred option
And, even though there have been links to several players such as Natan of Real Betis and Manchester United star Lisandro Martinez, Nijstad has emerged as the priority target for Barcelona.
The Blaugrana made contact to explore a move for the defender last summer, but nothing materialised as Nijstad, who also attracted interest from other major European clubs, opted to stay at Twente.
The 18-year-old defender has a contract with the Dutch club running until June 2029, and his performances have pushed his valuation upwards.
Deco does not want to spend €20 million on Nijstad. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
As such, Twente are looking for a transfer fee of around €20 million for the teenage centre-back, a figure Barcelona are unwilling to meet.
The Blaugrana appreciate the youngster’s profile and value his immense potential, but see the transfer fee being quoted as higher than what they intend to spend.
Moreover, there is also the difficulty of Financial Fair Play, as the Catalans only have a margin of around €3-4 million. While that may have improved following Raphinha’s renewal, it still restricts the club’s spending power.
As such, the future of Alejandro Balde, who is linked with a January exit, could play a key role in Barcelona’s pursuit of Nijstad.