Barcelona must sell a defender to convince the player to sign while Real Madrid open talks
Central defender of Bayer Leverkusen Jonathan Tah he was close to leaving the club this summer, with a move to Bayern Munich falling through. However, with his contract up next summer, it looks like he will be on the move sooner rather than later.
Tah, 28, can sign a pre-contract in January, and while Bayern remain interested in him, Sport they say they are no longer leading the race for the German international. Barcelona appeared late on the scene for Tah in August, but he has maintained communication with his camp and is one of the main options.
The Blaugrana are currently well covered at the position, however, with Pau Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez, Eric Garcia, Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen in the position. The Blaugrana and Tah are aware that one of those defenders must leave to welcome his arrival, with the last two in the last two years of their contracts. Barcelona must decide whether to hand him new deals or sell him in the next six to nine months, but Tah is a first alternative if there is a departure.
Wojciech Szczęsny: “Which player surprised me the most? Cubarsi was impressive for me. After watching it on TV, I expected him to be a modern type of defender, elegant on the ball, but softer. When the see live, it's actually not sweet and it does very well…
— Barcacentre (@barcacentre) October 10, 2024
Meanwhile Real Madrid see him as an excellent option for his defense, which suffers from injuries. They made a habit of signing the best free agents, and Tah could be another, with the recovery of David Alaba in the air, and Antonio Rudiger already thirty years old. The Blancos have already opened discussions with their camp as well, and Tah's priority now is to play in Spain.
One factor that could have an impact is his agent, Pini Zahavi. The Israeli super-agent has a strong relationship with Barcelona, which could give him an advantage, but they clearly have more obstacles to his signature.
With Barcelona, the situation seems to be up in the air, since they have to make calls on the future of Christensen and Araujo. From the perspective of Real Madrid, there are fewer obstacles, but equally, the Blancos have generally preferred to sign younger projects, and in theory they already have three central defenders of starting quality.
