It is no secret that signing a right-back remains on the agenda for Barcelona in the summer. For that matter, the name of Villarreal’s Juan Foyth has been doing rounds for quite a long time but nothing substantial has materialised to date.
So as Barcelona begin their preparation for the upcoming transfer market, SPORT has reported that Xavi has asked the management to put in extra effort to sign the Argentina international as he believes the defender ‘would make a key leap in quality for the right-back’.
Foyth, 25, has put in some scintillating performances for his team this season and his returns certainly have not gone unnoticed. The aforementioned source brands the defender as ‘one of the most difficult full-backs to beat’ and this trait of his comes in handy for Barcelona.
Over the past few seasons, the Blaugrana have struggled to get in a suitable right-back. Sergino Dest’s acquisition in 2020 proved to be a dud while Hector Bellerin also was a poor addition last summer and was moved on in January itself.
This season, the likes of Jules Kounde and Ronald Araujo have played their due parts and now, the management has made it clear that they must return to the central position.
Barcelona are aware of Xavi’s desires to sign Foyth, but getting into negotiation with Villarreal is actually proving to be very tricky as they continue to refuse to lower their demand for the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner with Argentina.
It is believed that they will be forced to sell their players at the end of the season but if they finish within the Champions League spots, things will change. At the moment, they continue to hold on to Foyth’s release clause, which is said to be worth €54 million.
As part of the contingency plan, Barça have, in fact, prepared a list of alternatives, which include Benjamin Pavard, Thomas Meunier, and even Joao Cancelo, but the priority remains the acquisition of Foyth.
