Boca Juniors reject second Barcelona offer for Leonardo Balerdi
Barcelona’s attempt to find another defensive bargain in South America has encountered an issue as another bid for Leonardo Balerdi has been rejected.
South America has become a major area for top European clubs to try and acquire talented prospects for bargain prices. In recent seasons, Barcelona have signed Marlon Santos from Fluminense and Yerry Mina from Palmeiras. Both have been moved on for a profit, but the Catalans are still searching the area for a long-term defensive option.
Boca Juniors’ Leonardo Balerdi is seen as a player who could fill that need. The 19-year-old was recently promoted to the senior side and showed his ability with the Argentina U-20s when they won the COTIF tournament.
AS are reporting that Barcelona’s $5.5 million offer, with a loan deal to ensure he stayed with his current side for the rest of the season, has been rejected. This is the second offer that they have put in for the 19-year-old, but the Argentinian side clearly know how valuable their prospect is.
He would fill a need in the squad because Gerard Pique is currently the only right-footed centre-back in the squad. It also one of the weak areas in terms of players graduating from La Masia because neither Chumi or Oscar Mingueza impressed on the pre-season tour of the US. However, Balerdi is far away from being at the required standard for the club and Barca seem reluctant to go higher than their previous offer due to how little he has been tested at senior level as well as his lack of experience in Europe.
Finding a defender who can fit into Barcelona’s system is tough due to how capable they have to be on the ball and how much they are involved in build-up play. Therefore, finding talented midfielders such as Arthur Melo as well as attacking players is much easier even though Barcelona have an extensive scouting network in South America.
Buying defenders from top academies in Europe is likely to be a much more successful approach even if it costs significantly more due to the adaptation being easier for those players. Samuel Umtiti is a great example of this because he graduated through Lyon’s academy and has become a stalwart in the team since joining the club as well as being one of the top defenders in the world.
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Matthijs de Ligt is one of the best options on the market for Barcelona due to his experience with positional play at Ajax and how talented he is for a 19-year-old. However, there is likely to be lots of competition for his signature and the Catalans would struggle to provide his playing time requirements. Nevertheless, Europe would be the best area to look for a long-term replacement for Pique if they can’t convince De Ligt to join.