Barcelona keen to sign 2 new centre-backs this summer
By Tom Gott
Barcelona remain hopeful of completing the signing of Manchester City centre-back Eric Garcia and plan to follow that up with a deal for left-footed defender as well.
Garcia's free transfer to Camp Nou had been verbally agreed for months, but they decided to throw a spanner in the works by reneging on their initial offer to the Spaniard and instead asking him to sign on reduced terms.
According to Mundo Deportivo, talks with Garcia are continuing but Barcelona remain focused on getting a deal over the line, and there are also discussions over bringing in another new centre-back to join him.
On Barcelona's wish list is a left-footed centre-back to compliment their back line. As it stands, Clement Lenglet is the only left-footer, and while Barça aren't actively against the idea of playing two right-footed players, they would like a little more versatility at the back.
One of the top names on their list is AC Milan's Alessio Romagnoli, who is set to enter the final 12 months of his contract. Barca are already dealing with his agent, Mino Raiola, in their talks over Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland.
Scouts are also looking at options in the Eredivisie. Ajax's Lisandro Martinez and Feyenoord's Marcos Senesi have both played their way onto Barcelona's radar, with Dutch boss Ronald Koeman understood to be a huge fan of both.
There are also some low-profile names on the list. Real Betis' Aissa Mandi, who will be out of contract in the summer, is a right-footer who is seen as capable of using his left, while the option to buy back 21-year-old Villarreal man Jorge Cuenca is there.
The recruitment of a second defender will likely come down to whether Barcelona can finally offload Samuel Umtiti. The Frenchman doesn't want to leave but is so far down the pecking order that club officials hope he will finally accept defeat.
Garcia remains their top defensive target, but there's no guarantee that the City youngster will agree to move to Barcelona after they withdrew their initial contract offer. The Daily Star recently claimed that Chelsea and Arsenal are both monitoring the situation as well.
President Joan Laporta remains fixated by the idea of signing Haaland, who comes with a £150m price tag and some hefty wage demands, so all other business must be planned with that in mind.