Dani Olmo returns to Barcelona, as he’s not included in the squad for today’s game against Switzerland.

Inigo Martinez can earn fresh contract extension at Barcelona due to clause

Barcelona‘s centre-back room looked like the strongest area of the squad in terms of depth going into the season, but injuries to Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo, combined with the exits of Mikayil Faye and Clement Lenglet, have left Hansi Flick much shorter. One of the beneficiaries has been Inigo Martinez.

The 33-year-old Basque defender has been in decent form at the start of the season, playing every match alongside Pau Cubarsi. The veteran finally got his hands on a clean sheet against Real Valladolid. Martinez signed on a free from Athletic Club two summers ago on a reported two-year deal, but like Robert Lewandowski, has a clause in his contract that would allow him to stay a further year. As per MD, should Martinez play at least 45 minutes in 60% of Barcelona’s games, then his deal will be extended.

While on the face of it, this is not an easy ask for a defender that was near the bottom of the pecking order last season, the injuries to Christensen and Araujo will keep him firmly in the frame for a starting role for the next couple of months. Jules Kounde is set to be deployed as a right-back, meaning Cubarsi and Eric Garcia are his only real competition. Last season Martinez played 45 minutes in 19 games, which would leave him some way short, but he was hampered by injuries too.

Barcelona face uphill battle to sign centre-back target Jonathan Tah

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick is well aware of Jonathan Tah‘s qualities, having coached him for the German national side, but he will also be conscious of the strength of the Blaugrana’s chief adversary in their attempts to sign him. Tah has confirmed he will not renew his deal at Bayer Leverkusen and will be a free agent next season.

The 28-year-old has been identified as a target for the Blaugrana, who have four of their five central defenders out of contract in the next two years as things stand, and clearly his signing would be economical with no transfer fee.

However Fabrizio Romano has revealed on his Here We Go podcast that Bayern Munich, who spent months trying to find a deal with Leverkusen for the central defender, have already had an agreement on personal terms with Tah for the past three months. Romano also confirmed Bayern still intend to sign him.

Barcelona do have a close relationship with Tah’s agent, Pini Zahavi, which could aid them in any negotiations, but the reality is that it will likely be difficult for the Blaugrana to get close to Bayern’s financial offer. The Catalan side remain over their salary limit, and incapable of using all the money they bring in on transfers.

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