Barcelona are in the market for a defender this summer, particularly now that Carles Puyol is coming towards the end of his career and Eric Abidal cannot play regularly due to the situation regarding his liver transplant. Gerard Pique is their only other recognised central defender, with Javier Mascherano and Sergio Busquets often filling in alongside the former Manchester United player as and when required. Who then looks likely to join the Catalan squad for next season and will Tito Vilanova decide on actually purchasing a defender rather than trying to convert a midfielder?
Up until recently it seemed like the conversion idea was feasible, with the club heading towards league glory and doing okay in the Champions League. However, huge losses to Bayern Munich, which eliminated them from Europe, has really put things into perspective. A makeshift back four that saw young Marc Bartra tested against some of the finest attacking talent in Europe went horribly wrong. People have been saying it for years that their attack has compensated for a poor back line, and without inspirational captain Puyol to lead them, even Pique, Alba and Alves looked a bit lost.
Top of the list would appear to be Borussia Dortmund’s young German defender, Mats Hummels. He recently declared that the Catalans would be one of only a few teams that he would even consider joining and after winning the Bundesliga several times during the last few years, he may feel that now is the right moment to move abroad. Strong, quick and with a great eye for a pass, he could well be the piece of the puzzle that Barca are missing. They will not want to ever suffer another humiliation like they did against Bayern and toughening up the defence seems like the best plan of action. All they need now is to make an offer and see whether the Germans are prepared to do business.