Potential center back targets for Barcelona in January - With injuries, inexperience, and lack of trust from the manager plaguing Barça’s central defense, what options does the club have to improve at the back?

[THREAD]

#PausaAnalysis

This season, Samuel Umtiti has played only 36 minutes, Ronald Araújo and Gerard Piqué have gone down with injuries, Frenkie de Jong has been forced to cover in central defense, and Óscar Mingueza has been called up from Barcelona B and thrust right into the starting eleven.

In addition to all the chaos, there has been plenty of inconsistency from those who have played. The club’s latest La Liga loss at Cádiz serves as a perfect example, with both goals coming from lapses in judgement by a center back.

Heading into the January window, Ronald Koeman and the board could surely be looking into the center back market to add quality, experience, or even just depth to the most depleted area in the side.

An especially important factor here is the status of Gerard Piqué. The veteran’s knee injury against Atlético Madrid will have him sidelined for at least a few months. Plus, at his age, there’s reason to worry over what level he’ll be able to return to.

Losing the club’s most experienced, accomplished defender, its leader in the back line, and a key piece in the side for over a decade can’t go unnoticed. With this in mind, the ability to take over some of Piqué’s duties will be crucial for a potential signing.

These options have been split into three categories based on their pedigree, age, and expected cost. For category one, we have the high profile, long term Piqué replacements. These guys have loads of talent and potential, but Barça could be forced to splurge for their signature.

Option One: Eric García

Pros:
- La Masia product, reportedly wants to return
- Contract expiring
- Brilliant on the ball
Anticipates passes well

Cons:
- Low volume and efficiency in duels
- Severely lacks Piqué’s aerial presence

Option Two: Pau Torres

Pros:
- High volume progressor through carrying and passing
- Strong in defensive duels

Cons:
- Not a strong aerial presence
- Could still use polishing in terms of progressive passing efficiency
- Little reason for Villarreal to sell
- Left footed

*Note: A player being left footed is only seen as a con in the sense of viewing them as a direct replacement or cover for Piqué.

Option Three: Robin Le Normand

Pros:
- Brilliant in the air
- Strong one vs. one defender
- Very comfortable carrying the ball forward

Cons:
- Not a prolific progressive passer
- Doesn’t intercept passes often
- Real Sociedad in title race, any reason to leave?

Out of these three, García seems to be the most plausible option. @FabrizioRomano has stated that an agreement on a five year contract has already been reached between García and the club, and that City would be willing to let him go for £22 million in January.

Now, what if Barça wanted to go down a slightly different route? Let’s take a look at three veteran center backs with a bit more experience, who could be available to provide slightly cheaper, short term cover for the position.

Option Four: Antonio Rüdiger

Pros:
- Solid volume and efficiency in both aerial and ground duels
- Excellent numbers for progressive passing and carrying
- Chelsea reportedly willing to sell

Cons:
- Not great anticipation of passes
- Could want high wage coming from a big club

Option Five: Patric

Pros:
- La Masia product, comfortable on the ball
- Excellent progressive passer
- Could be very cheap
- Potential to provide cover at right back

Cons:
- Could be a defensive liability, not an active ball winner
- Very poor in the air

Option Six: Gabriel Paulista

Pros:
- Solid aerial presence
- Good at reading/intercepting passes
- Excellent accuracy on long passes
- Valencia have been willing to sell experienced players

Cons:
- Already 30 years old
- Mediocre numbers for progressive passing and carrying

Rüdiger is definitely the experienced option with the strongest link to Barça and the most quality. Still, though, any short term signing isn’t ideal, but this is the club that brought in Jeison Murillo a couple years ago.

For three final potential signings, it’s time for some younger, less established defenders from outside of the big five leagues. These guys have potential, but would make for a riskier investments.

Option Seven: Victor Nelsson

Pros:
- Strong in the air
- Shows good technique on long and progressive passes

Cons:
- Poor efficiency in defensive duels
- Progressive passing volume is still pretty low despite playing in a bigger side

Option Eight: David Carmo

Pros:
- Excellent aerial presence
- High volume progressor, both passing and carrying

Cons:
- Struggles with “on the ground” defending (duels and interceptions)
- Could be more efficient with his passing
- Left footed

Option Nine: Luis Abram

Pros:
- Incredible ball progression numbers
- Wins defensive duels at a high rate while committing few fouls

Cons:
- Mediocre aerially
- Very low volume of cutting off passing lanes for interceptions
- Left footed

The jump to Barça would be a big one for Nelsson, Carmo, and Abram. While these options may be the most unlikely, looking for similar prospects could provide the club with the most value for their money.

Our tenth and final option would actually be the cheapest: Koeman pushing through the rest of the campaign with those already in the squad. If the club feels there aren’t enough funds available for a move, this may have to happen.

Can the manager revitalize the struggling career of Umtiti? Could he keep faith in Mingueza and try to develop him? With Jean-Clair Todibo’s loan to Benfica gone awry, could the Frenchman return and become a part of Koeman’s plans?

These are all massive question marks, but with the current state of the club, there’s no counting them out. There’s even the chance of further promotion from the second team, possibly for Santiago Ramos Mingo or Arnau Comas.

At the end of the day, Barça have a lot of work to do in terms of improving defensively.

Replacing Gerard Piqué is no easy task, whether through a direct replacement on the right, or someone with similar attributes on the left. However, the right signing in January would go a long way towards a much needed resurgence in the second half of the season.

[END OF THREAD]