Barcelona will be looking to bring in defensive reinforcements in the summer
Gerard Piqué’s time at the top is done and dusted. The last time the Barcelona legend suffered a poor run of form, he recovered with ease. But this time around, the 32-year old former Spain international is heading towards the end of his career.
Barça need a centre-back who can succeed Piqué in the first-team. Both Samuel Umtiti and Clément Lenglet are left-footed, so it cannot be either of them. Youngsters Jean-Clair Todibo and Ronald Araújo are unproven quantities.
In other words, Barça need to sign a defender in the next summer transfer window. There are a lot of options available in the market, including some big names. But ideally, Barça should target young players with a lot of potential.
The first name which comes to mind is Fiorentina central defender Nikola Milenkovic. The Serbia international has made a name for himself in Serie A after breaking into the Viola first-team last season. Milenkovic has even attracted interest from Manchester United.
The 22-year old ex-Partizan man stands at 6 feet 4 inches tall, giving him a huge physical presence in the box. Milenkovic is a reliable player at the back, rarely giving the ball away. He wins an average of around 2 aerial duels per game, and has netted 3 goals this season already.
Milenkovic is a very consistent player who likes to give his best day-in-day-out. He is also very versatile. Due to his technical ability, former Fiorentina manager Stefano Pioli also played him at right-back. Hence, Milenkovic is a very good player overall.
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Next up is Benfica star Rúben Dias, who is a player being followed by Barça. The Encarnados youth academy graduate is among the finest young defenders in Europe, and has even excelled at the international level with the Portugal national team.
Dias is a fantastic passer of the ball, and has created attacks from scratch with creative passes from the back. The 22-year old centre-back has made 17 appearances in all competitions this season, and has even found the back of the net on a couple of occasions.
But the youngster enjoyed his breakout season under ex-manager Rui Vitória. He made 55 appearances in all competitions last season, scoring 4 goals and providing 3 assists. Under Vitória, Dias was given a leadership role at the back and he accepted it.
The young defender is a great communicator, and is a born leader. He was mentored by Benfica legend Luisão, who predicted that Dias would succeed him as club captain. With such a glowing reputation, Dias has attracted a lot of interest from the Premier League.
Dayot Upamecano is a long-term Barça target. Barça scouts tracked the progress of the young Frenchman for a long time, and the club even considered making an approach for him. But RB Leipzig’s exorbitant €100 million asking price was a put-off.
The 21-year old Valencienne youth academy graduate is a very talented defender who likes to do things old-school. At over 6 feet in height, Upamecano is a formidable aerial presence and wins 2.2 aerial duels per game on average.
He is adept at cutting off counter-attacks with interceptions of the highest quality. Upamecano reads the game very well, and is also very athletic. The youngster solidified his place in the Leipzig first-team last season, and has followed that up this season.
Arsenal are very interested in signing Upamecano. The Gunners see the France youth international as the solution to Unai Emery’s defensive woes. And rightfully so. Upamecano is among the best in Europe, and one of the biggest emerging stars of the Bundesliga.
When considering the three players, Rúben Dias seems like the best. The Portuguese centre-back has the highest pass accuracy, and is on par with Dayot Upamecano and Nikola Milenkovic in terms of physicality.
Barça will need to spend big money on Dias, but his talent and potential mean that he will be worth it eventually. He can adapt to Barça with his passing game, and can even surpass Gerard Piqué if he can reach his full potential.