Zubimendi in, Alonso out: What Barcelona need in January transfer window

Cameron Smith

• 22 Dec 2023 14:07 CST
• 4 min read

Barcelona topped their Champions League group and are currently third in La Liga, but pressure is beginning to mount on Xavi.

The Blaugrana are seven points behind league leaders Real Madrid and while they qualified top of Group H in Europe, they suffered shock defeats to both Shakhtar Donetsk and Royal Antwerp.

Their financial woes mean that a January spending spree is extremely unlikely, but Joan Laporta has admitted that a replacement for the injured Gavi will be pursued.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through the incomings and outgoings that would help Barcelona mount a challenge to Real Madrid in Spain.

Goalkeepers

Marc-Andre ter Stegen hasn’t played since November 12 due to a back injury, which has given Inaki Pena the chance to prove himself in the Barca first-team.

The Germany international is expected to return shortly, but a loan move for out-of-favour Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale would make sense if Ter Stegen suffers any setbacks in his recovery.

If he is due to return before the Spanish top flight season kicks off again in January, then signing a new goalkeeper won’t be necessary.

Defenders

Ronald Araujo is currently being pursued by Bayern Munich, but Barcelona can’t afford to lose the Uruguayan whatsoever, let alone mid-season.

Signing Joao Cancelo on a permanent deal would be a wise choice, although that seems slightly unrealistic, while Ian Maatsen has previously been targeted and he remains out of favour under Mauricio Pochettino.

The Dutchman would be a smart signing and likely wouldn’t cost too much given his contract situation at Stamford Bridge.

Marcos Alonso’s contract is due to expire in the summer, so offloading the former Chelsea man would be sensible if there are any interested parties.

Clement Lenglet is currently on loan at Aston Villa and Unai Emery has stated that he wants the Frenchman to stay, despite links with a move to AC Milan.

Midfielders

Xavi reportedly wants to sign Giovani Lo Celso, but the Tottenham star appears to have forced his way into Ange Postecoglou’s thinking and a January move is now far more unlikely than it was last month.

Regardless, he would be a good signing given Gavi’s ACL injury and the lack of options currently at Xavi’s disposal.

Martin Zubimendi is unlikely to leave high-flying Real Sociedad mid-season and fellow previous target Gabriel Moscardo is on the verge of joining Paris Saint-Germain.

As a result, landing Lo Celso would be a coup and could tide Xavi over until the summer. If more funds were available, then a pursuit of a pure defensive midfielder would be ideal, but that may have to wait for another six months.

Zubimendi would be perfect for this and is certainly someone Barcelona need, but a pursuit may see them come up short.

There aren't enough midfielders in Barca's squad for the club to let any of them leave in January.

Forwards

Robert Lewandowski is experiencing a poor run of form in front of goal and while Vitor Roque is set to arrive in January, another centre-forward is probably needed.

Santiago Gimenez, Jonathan David and Lois Openda have all been linked and would all represent excellent additions if Barca are able to pursue a move.

Their inability to spend big will likely rule them out of the race to sign all three, however, so a loan move for a player like Armando Broja could be sensible if Chelsea sign Victor Osimhen.