Barcelona are reportedly eyeing Shakhtar Donetsk’s Brazilian defender Dodo as an option in case Sergi Roberto does not renew his contract with the club.
According to a report from Spanish publication Fichajes, Barcelona have cast their sights on Shakhtar Donetsk’s Brazilian right-back Dodo as a replacement for long-serving star Sergi Roberto in case he does not renew his contract.
Roberto is in the final twelve months of his current deal with the Catalan giants. Talks over a new contract have been ongoing, with Barcelona wanting him to take a pay cut like the rest of the club captains have done. However, an agreement is yet to be arrived at, leaving his future at Camp Nou uncertain.
The 29-year-old is attracting interest from the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal and in case he were to leave Barcelona in a cut-price deal in January or on a free transfer at the end of the season, they will be left with Sergino Dest as the only option at right-back.
Oscar Mingueza has failed to impress in the position of late and with Dest also emerging as an option at left-back recently, Barcelona will need to bring in another natural right-sided full-back to the squad next summer. This has seen the Catalans get linked with a host of names of late, including AFC Ajax youngster Noussair Mazraoui.
Now, as per the aforementioned report, Shakhtar Donetsk’s Dodo has also emerged as an option on the radars of the Catalan giants. The 22-year-old came through the ranks at Brazilian club Coritiba before making the switch to Ukraine in January 2018. He spent a season out on loan at Portuguese club Vitoria Guimaraes in 2018/19 before carving out a place for himself at Shakhtar.
Likened to Barcelona legend Dani Alves, Dodo is an attack-minded full-back blessed with blistering pace. To date, Dodo has racked up 83 appearances for the Ukrainian giants across all competitions, producing a handy return of five goals and 14 assists, in the process. The 22-year-old signed a new contract with Shakhtar last year extending his stay at the club till the summer of 2025.
However, he could be made available for a transfer fee of around €20 million, as per the report. What now remains to be seen is whether Barcelona decide to formalise their interest in Dodo or look at other options to bolster their right-back department.
