Barcelona keeping tabs on eight left-backs across Europe

 

According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona’s pursuits for left-backs in the market are hotting up. The club is keen on finding a medium-to-long-term replacement for the ageing Jordi Alba.

Alba has been a mainstay in the Barcelona backline ever since he signed from Valencia over a decade ago and has contributed to a lot of the Blaugrana’s success over his career.

Unfortunately, due to a lack of quality replacements and planning under the previous Barcelona board, an over-reliance on Alba has become prominent. Without him, the squad suffers a lot in its structure and in-game attack.

This is something the new management is looking to rectify as soon as possible, as they have a variety of left-backs across Europe on their transfer list. The most prominent names who have popped up very recently, are Javi Galan, Borna Sosa and Ramy Bensebaini.

The list of targets also includes the more familiar likenesses of Jose Gaya, Alex Moreno, Nicolas Tagliafico, former La Masia product Alex Grimaldo, and even Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso as a potential short-term addition to bolster depth.

Galan has emerged as a strong contender, and Xavi seems to really like the Celta Vigo fullback. Stuttgart’s Borna Sosa has been catching many eyes lately, with the 24-year-old putting up very impressive numbers in the Bundesliga.

As for Bensebaini, the Algerian’s contract with Borussia Monchengladbach ends next year, and he could be a reasonably affordable acquisition. At 26, he could be a long-term addition to the squad.

The report also notes that Bensebaini’s representatives are the HMC Sports Management agency, which also represents Frenkie de Jong and Martin Braithwaite.

Previously established ties with Barcelona could help with a potential approach for Bensebaini.