RCD Espanyol defensive gem addresses Barcelona transfer rumors | OneFootball

Although their first priority is to reinforce the forward line, FC Barcelona will ideally also want to strengthen their flanks in the upcoming summer transfer window.

The Catalans have their starting fullbacks, Alejandro Balde and Jules Kounde, performing at a very high level this season, but still, the Blaugranes will be looking to bring more depth to these areas as the replacements for these two starters, Gerard Martin and Hector Fort, do not have a lot of experience playing at the highest level.

In such a scenario, Barcelona continue to be linked with several fullbacks, and one of the names that they have been associated with in recent times is the Moroccan international, Omar El Hilali.

While he has been linked with the Blaugranes, the 21-year-old defender clarified that he himself has not directly been approached yet by the Catalans as he appeared in an interview with Mundo Deportivo.

When asked about these links, the Spanish-Moroccan footballer said:

“I heard about this news through friends who sent it to me and so on. Just as I haven’t received anything about this, I haven’t received anything about other rumors that have come out either. Everything that comes in has to be evaluated by my agents—that’s their job. From there, whatever has to happen will happen at the right time.”

From these comments, it seems like there have not yet been any contacts between Barcelona and the defender.

However, this might change in the coming weeks and months as El Hilali has emerged as one of the brightest young defenders in Espanyol this season and has already held his own against the likes of Vinicius Junior and Nico Williams.

He would definitely be an interesting option to rotate with Jules Kounde in the Barcelona team, but it remains to be seen how this story develops in the future.