Only in the last month, the FC Barcelona head coach, Xavi Hernandez, was sweating because of a dearth of options for his backline. Defenders like Inigo Martinez, Marcos Alonso, Alejandro Balde, and Joao Cancelo were all out with injuries, and the situation was made even worse with Araujo’s red card in the Spanish Super Cup final.
However, things are improving now, with Cancelo and Martinez having returned to fitness, and with Pau Cubarsi proving his mettle as a reliable option for the center of the defense.
But as SPORT has noted, the situation regarding the center-back position can turn up to be a cause of headache for the Catalans as there will be a surplus of defenders available at the club.
There are four center-backs currently present in the Barcelona team, i.e., Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, and Inigo Martinez. Furthermore, Cubarsi’s name can now also be added to this list, as he is a reliable option for Xavi if other players are not available.
Two more defenders are going to return to Barcelona at the end of the season, i.e., Clement Lenglet from his loan at Aston Villa and Eric Garcia from his loan at Girona. As things stand, both these defenders are important parts of their respective teams.
However, Barcelona do not need such a high number of centre-backs, and will be looking to sell two or three of these before the start of the next season. The currently on-loan duo of Lenglet and Garcia have the highest chance of leaving the club permanently this summer.
In addition to them, one of the current Barcelona defenders can also be sold this summer. Ronald Araujo has been clearly indicated as a key player for the team going forward, but the interest of Bayern Munich in the Uruguayan makes everything uncertain for the moment.
Kounde and Christensen can also be sold as they have a high demand in the market. Barcelona can get a profitable deal if the latter is sold, as he arrived as a free agent last year, and all the proceeds from his sale will count as a profit for the club.
Another option that Barcelona can consider to sell to raise funds is the Barcelona Atletic defender, Mika Faye. The Senegalese does not want to continue playing in the reserve team, and has several offers on the table from around Europe.
