Barcelona came into the season knowing they had the best center back prospect in world football in Pau Cubarsi, who is effectively the defensive equivalent of Lamine Yamal in terms of his quality, readiness, and projected future.
Next to Cubarsi, Barcelona had no shortage of options in Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen, and Ronald Araujo. All three are also legitimately among the best central defenders in the world.
Kounde has been excelling on the right flank again, while Christensen and Araujo have been sidelined by injuries. In their steads, Barcelona have found an even better center back than any of them, Inigo Martinez.
A veteran of La Liga, Martinez was a secret star – at least, hidden to those outside the Spanish footballing bubble – for iconic Basque sides Athletic Club and Real Sociedad before joining Barcelona for free in 2023.
His first season didn’t go swimmingly, but Martinez has been incredible this season just months after being seen as a player ticketed for a transfer elsewhere. But Martinez had no desire to give up his spot and he’s been as impressive as any of the attacking superstars in Catalunya.
Despite the riches in central defense, Barcelona are looking for another bargain for their back four, and two years after signing Martinez, the Blaugrana are eyeing another high-impact veteran free agent signing at center back.
According to noted Bundesliga transfer insider Christian Falk, Barcelona are right there with Bayern Munich as one of the two favorites to sign Bayer Leverkusen center back Jonathan Tah, who was close to a move to Bayern this past summer but will now leave Leverkusen for free in 2025.
Real Madrid are, in contrast to Barcelona, VERY center back needy, but Falk says that their eternal rivals to the east have usurped them as one of the favorites in the Tah sweepstakes.
But Barcelona may have an even better shot at Tah than Bayern despite Die Roten having the advantage of being a German club going after a German international who has only known the Bundesliga through his career.
That’s because the Tah deal collapsed this summer due to some bad blood between Leverkusen and Munich executives, and with Bayern’s interest potentially cooling over the course of the 2024/25 season, the issues behind the scenes could grant Barca a free pass at the best free agent center back.
Tah isn’t a world-class player, but he’s very good and has been a quality starter for Leverkusen for years. More importantly, he’s a leader and elite with the ball at his feet, and Hansi Flick loves his ball-playing German central defenders.
Flick could relish the opportunity to sign Tah for free and set him up as the veteran next to Cubarsi in matches where the coach especially wants to make sure he controls the flow of possession.
