With the season having ended, FC Barcelona are now focusing on the market side of football in a bid to strengthen the squad for the upcoming season. In this regard, they are quite close to one of their transfer aims.
This aim is signing a backup center back, and the club has identified Inigo Martinez as their preferred choice for such a role. The player had been associated with Athletic Club for the last few seasons, but now his contract with the Basque club is ended and he can arrive at FC Barcelona for free. The player has already bid farewell to his old club and confirmed his departure this summer.
The player was recently seen in a hotel near Camp Nou, and Mundo Deportivo reports that the player will have his medical with the club today. If the medical ends up successfully, the player would be signing a two-year contract with the club.
While FC Barcelona have got their feasibility plan accepted by La Liga, they still have to register the contracts of Ronald Araujo, Marcos Alonso, Sergi Roberto, and Iñaki Peña as a priority and get Alejandro Balde renewed before embarking on other operations.
The club believes Martinez’s signing would not be problematic with FFP, owing to his low wages, but still have inserted a clause in his proposed contract that will allow him to leave on loan on June 20 if La Liga does not register him.
Thus, Martinez’s arrival at FC Barcelona is seemingly getting nearer and nearer, and could be the first signing for the club in the upcoming window. Barcelona would benefit from his skills and experience, as he already has played 357 games in La Liga. Despite arriving as a backup, his inclusion will definitely strengthen the club’s backline significantly.
