Barcelona have reportedly identified Boubacar Kamara as a possible solution to their central defensive woes next summer.
According to a report by Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, Boubacar Kamara is the subject of interest from Barcelona. The Blaugrana are eyeing the 21-year-old Marseille defender is being eyed as an additional central defensive reinforcement, even if they sign Eric Garcia next summer.
Boubacar Kamara has been with Marseille since he was a five-year-old, back in 2005. Over the past 15 years or so, the 21-year-old Frenchman has made huge strides within the Ligue 1 club and broke into their first-team setup in 2016.
Over the last three seasons, the youngster has gone on to cement his place in the side and is now a mainstay at the back for Marseille. Inching closer to his 100th appearance for the Ligue 1 outfit, Kamara’s stock is as high as it has ever been. And, his progress has been duly noted, with Barcelona among a number of top clubs keeping an eye on his development.
For a long time now, Barcelona have been rumoured to be in the market for a centre-back, with Eric Garcia reported to be their priority. The reasons for this are justified as well, especially with Gerard Pique in the final stages of his career and Samuel Umtiti becoming an unreliable figure lately due to a spate of injuries.
That leaves Ronald Koeman with Clement Lenglet as the only senior centre-back at his disposal apart from youngsters Oscar Mingueza and Ronald Araujo, both of whom have stepped up whenever called upon. The report does suggest that Barcelona are likely to secure the services of Garcia, although they are facing stiff competition from Arsenal, as per recent rumours.
As a result, Barcelona have also been linked with other centre-backs, with Lisandro Martinez on the radar of the Catalan giants as well. However, as per Mundo Deportivo, Kamara is high on their agenda, with his valuation of around €30 million being quite appealing as well.
A move for Kamara, though, is only likely for the summer transfer window, although Barcelona will need to act quickly and decidedly in his pursuit. They might also need to offload a couple of centre-backs to do so and it will be interesting to see if they do end up signing the 21-year-old in addition to Garcia next summer.
