FC Barcelona made only two additions to their squad in the last summer transfer window, Dani Olmo and Pau Victor. Both of these players are expected to mainly contribute to the offensive end of the pitch.
Thus, the Catalans would be looking to reinforce other areas of the team once they return to the 1:1 status, and one of the areas they will be looking to strengthen will be that of defense.
Although the Blaugranes have a surplus of center-backs present in the squad, two important names, Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen are currently injured, and Inigo Martinez and Pau Cubarsi have had to play a disproportionately high number of minutes this season as Kounde is the starter on the right-back position, and Eric Garcia has had to play in the midfield.
In such circumstances, Fichajes reports that Barcelona can look towards the market to further bolster their backline, and one of the players they have in mind for this purpose is the Inter Milan center-back, Benjamin Pavard.
Inter signed Pavard from Bayern Munich back in 2023, and the Frenchman has quickly established himself as an important part of Simeone Inzaghi’s team. Last season, he played 23 Serie A matches and another 5 UEFA Champions League matches with the Milanese team. This season, he already has four Serie A appearances and has also played in both the UCL matches for his team.
Thus, Barcelona or any other club will have to shell out a significant amount of money to sign him, especially considering the fact that Inter paid €30 million to sign him from Bayern Munich.
The €50m-rated French defender could be an enticing option as he can play both as a center-back and as a right-back and also has significant experience playing at the highest level in Europe. He also has a World Cup to his name that he won with France back in 2018.
However, considering Barcelona’s depth at center-back and their ongoing financial constraints, a move for Pavard seems highly improbable. At best, he would be viewed as a luxury signing rather than a necessity for the Blaugrana.