Barcelona are still working hard to find a new defender with the necessary quality to bolster their defence, something that has been the club's Achilles heel these past few seasons. Luis Enrique wants to have two players available to him for every position. For now, the only left-footer he has is Mathieu. Piqué and Bartra are both right-footed, as is Mascherano. The new Barça manager is in need of a specialist in the back row to help them out.
Andoni Zubizarreta is juggling with five possible players for the job, but depending on how the summer market window pans out, more could be added. For now at least, the names up for consideration are Marquinhos (PSG), Vertonghen (Tottenham), Vermaelen (Arsenal), Hummels (Dortmund) and Blind (Ajax), although these last two stand the least chance.
Top of everyone's list at the Camp Nou is Marquinhos - a player who was sought after last year when he was at Roma, but in the end PSG managed to reel him in. All agree that he's a pretty safe bet for the future. The problem is that the French club have no intention of letting him go without first pocketing a princely sum, especially bearing in mind that only a year ago they forked out 32 million euros for him.
Vertonghen is another possibility, and would give the Barça defence a little added height (he is 1m 89 cm tall). The Belgian is prepared to leave Tottenham, who he still has two years left on his contract with, in order to play in a more competitive league. However, it won't be easy as he is presently being courted by a whole host of suitors.