The final stretch of the transfer market always brings unexpected twists and turns, and Barcelona experienced this themselves in their attempt to strengthen their defence, which was devastated by injuries to Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen.
In the last hours, Barcelona are looking to secure a centre-back in order to keep the team competing for titles and to replace injured players.
According to information from the Spanish newspaper El Nacional: In recent days, Barcelona have focused their efforts on signing Jonathan Tah, the centre-back of Bayer Leverkusen, but the process has not been as simple as they had hoped.
Barcelona’s difficult financial situation, coupled with fierce competition from Bayern Munich, has made signing the German defender a race against time and in the end, Vincent Kompany seems to have managed to achieve a knockout blow by transferring him to Bayern Munich, leaving Hansi Flick and Barcelona without one of their priorities.
The newspaper continued: Jonathan Tah, 28, comes after a great season under Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen. It should be noted that his contract expires in 2025 and the player’s intention is clear not to renew. Tah has made it clear that he intends to leave this summer or leave as a free agent next summer.
Pini Zahavi, his agent, has been pulling the strings in search of a way out and has found Bayern Munich to be a more than attractive destination. The Bavarians, who are also looking to strengthen their defense, have wasted no time and have rushed into negotiations to close his signing.
Hansi Flick has put Tah on his wish list for Barcelona and despite being aware of the central defender’s position and his experience in the Bundesliga, he has seen him as an essential addition to give solidity to a defense that urgently needs solutions to deal with the injuries suffered by Barcelona’s most important defensive stars.
However, Barcelona’s financial difficulties and the need to comply with Financial Fair Play requirements complicated the move and while Flick called for speed and determination, the Barcelona board had to deal with the reality of not being able to compete with Bayern Munich’s financial offer.