Barcelona targeting two left-backs for the summer | OneFootball

Even though we are still at the halfway point of the 2021/22 season, Barcelona are already laying out plans for the summer transfer window later this year.

Erling Haaland remains the top priority for Joan Laporta & co. ahead of the next season. At the same time, the Catalan heavyweights are set to prioritise a move for a new left-back come summer reports journalist Oriol Domenech. (h/t Fichajes)

Indeed, club director Mateu Alemany has made it a key mission to identify and bring in a long-term successor for Jordi Alba, whose performances are on the decline, as was evident in the game against Athletic Club earlier this week.

And, as per the report, Barça have lined up two potential options to reinforce the left-back slot in the summer.

The primary target for the Catalan giants is Valencia captain Jose Gaya. The 26-year-old has long been linked with a move to Camp Nou and the next summer provides Barcelona the best chance to sign him, as the Spaniard is entering the final year of his contract.

Widely regarded as one of the best in the position in La Liga, he would be the ideal choice to take over from Alba. However, Valencia’s financial demands could make things tricky for the Blaugrana. At the same time, recent reports have also claimed that Gaya may be considering signing a new contract with Los Che, which would complicate matters further.

Alejandro Grimaldo is Plan B

In case Barcelona fail to land their preferred target, Gaya, they have identified SL Benfica’s Alejandro Grimaldo as Plan B. The former La Masia academy man has excelled since moving to Portugal in search of regular game-time in 2015, although he continues to be overlooked by Spanish national team boss Luis Enrique.

Nevertheless, at 26, he has his best years ahead of him. Having played close to 100 games for Barça’s B team, he knows the club inside out, while he has plenty of exposure at the highest level, given Benfica’s regular appearances in the Champions League.

Like Gaya, Grimaldo’s contract also expires in eighteen months, meaning he could be available for a bargain in the summer.

Apart from these two names, the report mentions that Barcelona are also keeping tabs on Alex Telles (Manchester United), Alex Sandro (Juventus), Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax), Alvaro Pedraza (Villarreal) and Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund).