Barcelona scouting left-footed centre-backs, want to offload French duo in the summer

Barcelona’s pursuit of a new centre-forward has been dominating the headlines for a while now, with links to Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski doing constant rounds.

But the Catalan giants are looking to strengthen several other areas of the squad in the summer transfer window.

And, according to SPORT, a new left-footed centre-back is very much on the agenda for Barcelona. That is because the Blaugrana will be left with no specialist left-sided central defender next season if things play out as per their transfer plans.

At the moment, Barça have two left-footed centre-halves in their ranks in the form of Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti. However, the French duo is out of favour at Camp Nou, and the club plans to offload the pair at the end of the season.

Indeed, Umtiti has no part to play in Xavi’s plans next season. The former was close to being sold last summer itself but managed to stay put, only to spend another campaign on the benches or the treatment table.

As for Lenglet, he has also been used sparingly by the manager, with the former Sevilla man also believed to be headed for the exit doors.

Should Barça succeed in getting rid of the two French stars, they will not have any senior centre-back in the squad who is left-footed. While Andreas Christensen is set to arrive on a free transfer, the Dane is also a right-sided centre-half.

It has compelled the Catalan heavyweights to scour the market for a new left-footed central defender to come into the team for next term.

One name that is particularly appealing for Barcelona is that of Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhaes. The Brazilian has had an impressive couple of years in the Premier League and has attracted the Catalans’ interest.

A potential swap deal involving Gabriel and Memphis Depay or Neto is being touted already and it remains to be seen how that story unfolds.