Long-term injuries to Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo means that Barcelona are significantly short of options in central defence. As things stand, Hansi Flick only has Pau Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez and Eric Garcia, although Jules Kounde can also be moved across from right-back.
Barcelona have until 5 minutes before tonight's game to register Dani Olmo. @jaumemarcet
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) August 24, 2024
This situation means that it would be very unlikely that Barcelona sell one of their centre-backs before next week’s transfer deadline. However, that hasn’t stopped links from occurring – the latest to surface involve Martinez.
As per L’Equipe (via MD), the 33-year-old is wanted by Al-Ittihad, who had been keen on Christensen until his injury earlier this week. Ramon Planes, Barcelona’s former sporting director, holds a similar position at the Saudi Arabian side, and it’s likely that he is the driving force behind this interest.
As expected, Barcelona do not consider selling Martinez before the summer transfer window closes – not only because of their lack of options in central defence, but also because he is considered to be an important player for Flick.
