Barcelona target Man Utd's Telles for January move
Robin Bairner
- 19 Jan 2022 09:57 GMT
- 3 min read
Barcelona have turned their attention to their defence as the January transfer window reaches its climax, and they are ready to turn to Manchester United star Alex Telles to strengthen their back four.
Paul Pogba has been linked with an unlikely summer switch to the Catalan side, but it is another Old Trafford star that Barca have been linked with in the closing days of January.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Telles is on the Primera Division side’s shortlist, with the Brazil international one of several players linked with a departure from Old Trafford this month.
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Is Telles to Barca likely?
One of the reasons that Xavi wants to see his defensive line strengthened is because of a spate of injuries in the sector. Eric Garcia will miss five weeks, while Sergi Roberto is still at least a couple of months from fitness and Samuel Umtiti, who recently signed a new deal has broken his metatarsal and faces a lengthy period out.
So it is logical that Barcelona want additional defensive reinforcements, especially sign head coach Xavi is reportedly not a fan of Sergino Dest, who has been acting as cover for Jordi Alba at left-back and had been featuring on the right before Dani Alves arrived on a free transfer and became eligible at the start of the month.
As ever, Barcelona’s ability to add Telles to their side will be dependent on them freeing up sufficient space in their wage bill in order to accommodate him. It promises to be a difficult challenge given that they have already cut away a significant portion by offloading Philippe Coutinho and Yusuf Demir. The space this freed up has already been filled by Dani Alves and Ferran Torres.
Ousmane Dembele is a player who could potentially leave the club in order to free up a significant space on the budget, however. Newcastle could make a January move.
An alternative is that the France international could sign a new contract with a reduced salary, although this is looking an increasingly distant prospect.
While a loan deal would suit Barcelona in terms of it being a low-risk and low-cost option in the short term, this may not be the case for Man Utd, who would surely want to cut ties with Telles if he were to leave the club.
Alternative options
It is also worthwhile noting that Barcelona are scouting numerous possible additions in defence, including Alex Sandro, Nicolas Tagliafico and Raphael Guerreiro. They are clearly keeping their options open in this area.
Meanwhile, Barcelona have also been following Jose Gaya of Valencia and Alex Grimaldo of Benfica for a long period, so Man Utd may not be losing Telles any time soon.
