Barcelona left-back target close to signing a new contract with La Liga club | OneFootball

In what will be a major blow for Barcelona, key transfer target Jose Gaya is believed to be closing in on signing a new contract with current club Valencia, reports Super Deporte.

The 26-year-old has spent his entire career at Valencia, having come through the youth ranks at the club and has assumed the role of the captain of the team over the past 18 months.

Gaya has been on the radars of Barcelona for a long time now, with the Catalan giants identifying him as the ideal long-term replacement for current first-choice left-back, Jordi Alba.

The fact that the Spaniard’s current contract with Los Che runs out in 2023 had fueled speculations and given Barça hopes that they could successfully sign him up in the summer transfer window later this year.

However, as per the aforementioned report, those hopes have been dealt a setback, as Gaya could be set to sign a new contract extension at the Mestalla. It is claimed that the 26-year-old is keen on continuing at his boyhood club and believes that current manager, Jose Bordalas, is the right man to take the team forward.

In addition to that, the report states that the Spanish international is enjoying captaining the team Furthermore, he believes that the continuity and the stability will hold him in good stead for the FIFA World Cup later this year.

Negotiations between Valencia and the player’s camp are now set to resume next month, once the transfer window is over and the expectation is that an extension will be agreed upon. If this is how things develop, it will come as a blow for the Blaugrana.

Thursday’s defeat to Athletic Club in Copa del Rey showed that Alba is in the final phase of his career and will soon need to be replaced. Gaya, to that end, can be an excellent acquisition. But, should he pen a new deal, signing him would become a difficult task for the Catalan heavyweights.