Barcelona are reportedly interested in signing 22-year-old Ghanaian defender Mohammed Salisu from Premier League club Southampton.
According to a report by Spanish outlet Fichajes, Barcelona are keen on signing a centre-back in a future transfer window, as Gerard Pique is edging closer to his retirement while Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti continue to fail to impress. To that end, the Blaugrana have set their sights on Mohammed Salisu.
Mohammed Salisu joined Southampton last summer, and has since only made gradual progress in his career. Having been given a lot of time to settle down in the Premier League, it was only after several months that the 22-year-old managed to become a regular for the Saints. The departure of Jannik Vestergaard has aided his cause further, and he is now a first-choice centre-back.
To date, Salisu has made 19 appearances for Southampton, with four of those coming in as many Premier League matchdays this season. Having shown signs of progress since becoming a regular at St. Mary’s, the Ghanaian defender has started to attract some of the biggest clubs in the world, and in particular, Barcelona.
Barcelona did sign Eric Garcia to reinforce their central defensive unit in the summer transfer window, with the youngster immediately becoming a regular. However, Gerard Pique is nearing the final years of his career. In addition, Clement Lenglet’s stock has fallen enormously while Samuel Umtiti is as good as being surplus to requirements.
While Garcia ought to succeed Pique in the long run, Barcelona need to do something about Lenglet and Umtiti’s lack of performance. As a result, it has now emerged that the Blaugrana are set to enter the transfer market for a central defender.
To that end, they have drawn up a shortlist of candidates they will target, with this list including the likes of Sven Botman, Aymeric Laporte, Matthijs de Ligt and Cristian Romero. And another name on Barcelona’s radar is Salisu.
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That the 22-year-old also has prior experience in La Liga is a factor that makes him an even more attractive prospect for Barcelona. Having said that, it remains to be seen if the Catalan giants do indeed make their move for the Ghanaian defender or if they launch the offensive for some other centre-back in their list.