10 players Barcelona will be monitoring at the World Cup in Qatar
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The club will be checking in on possible signings ahead of January and the summer
The World Cup is the biggest event on the football calendar and Barcelona will take advantage of the tournament to monitor potential signings.
A right-back
The club have been working for a long time to find a new right-back. The Argentine Juan Foyth (Villarreal CF, 24 years old, contract until June 2026) was one of the favorites but his signing could not be closed in the summer due to a knee injury that kept him out until this month -- not to mention his release clause of 42 million euros.
Another name on the table is the Portuguese international Diogo Dalot (Manchester United, 23 years old, contract until June 2023). He is out of contract with the Red Devils in the summer and is open to renewing, although he will also contemplate the option of a change of scenery.
The French full-back Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich, 26 years old, contract until June 2024) has already publicly expressed that he wants to leave the Bavarian club after seven years in Munich. In principle, his preference is a move to Italy, with Milan interested.
A Pique replacement?
The departure of Gerard Piqué lightens the amount of central defenders at Barça. Xavi still has Christensen, Araujo, Eric Garcia and Jules Koundé, while Marcos Alonso has also been a resource in recent games. The Croatian Josko Gvardol (RB Leipzig, 20 years old, contract until June 2027) may be an option for the future, although it is well known that Barça's main objective for this position is Íñigo Martínez, although he was not called up by Spain. His deal with Athletic Club expires in the summer.
An heir to Busquets
Martin Zubimendi (Real Sociedad, 23 years old, contract until June 2027) did not make the Spain squad either. The midfielder preferred by Xavi Hernández to replace Sergio Busquets at Camp Nou in the long-term was left out. Busquets and Rodri were picked ahead of him.
But the man from San Sebastian is not the only name on Mateu Alemany and Jordi Cruyff's list to reinforce the midfield. There are at least five names to watch in Qatar for this position. The Portuguese star Bernardo Silva (Manchester City, 25 years old, contract until 2025) is a long-term target, albeit not a Busquets replacement.
The Argentine Enzo Fernández (Benfica, 21 years old, contract until June 2027) and Portugal's Ruben Neves (Wolverhampton, 25 years old, contract until June 2024) are other options.
Belgium's Youri Tielemans (Leicester City, 25 years old, end of contract on June 30, 2023) has also been linked to Barça as he could sign for free next summer. The same is true for veteran Germany midfielder Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City, 32, contract until June 2023).
