Barcelona must sell defender to convince player to sign as Real Madrid open talks | OneFootball

Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Jonathan Tah was close to leaving the club this summer, with a move to Bayern Munich falling apart. However with his contract up next summer, it looks as if he will be on the move sooner rather than later.

Tah, 28, can sign a precontract in January, and while Bayern remain interested in him, Sport say they are no longer leading the race for the German international. Barcelona appeared late on the scene for Tah in August, but have maintained communication with his camp and are one of the leading options.

The Blaugrana are currently well covered at the position though, with Pau Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez, Eric Garcia, Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen in the position. The Blaugrana and Tah are aware that one of those defenders must leave to accommodate his arrival, with the last two in the final two years of their contracts. Barcelona must decide whether to hand them new deals or sell them in the next six to nine months, but Tah is a top alternative if there is a departure.

Meanwhile Real Madrid see him as an excellent option for their defence, which is suffering from injuries. They have made a habit out of signing top free agents, and Tah could be another, with David Alaba’s recovery up in the air, and Antonio Rudiger already in his thirties. Los Blancos have already opened talks with his camp too, and Tah’s priority is now to play in Spain.

One factor that could have an impact is his agent, Pini Zahavi. The Israeli super-agent has a strong relationship with Barcelona, which could give them an edge, but clearly they have more obstacles to his signing.

With Barcelona, the situation seems up in the air, given they must make calls on the futures of Christensen and Araujo. From Real Madrid’s perspective, there are less obstacles, but equally, Los Blancos have generally preferred to sign younger projects, and in theory already have three starting quality central defenders.