Barcelona have reportedly been closely monitoring the situation of 23-year-old Argentine defender Lisandro Martinez.
According to a report by Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona have been tracking 23-year-old defender Lisandro Martinez for quite some time now. However, the Argentine international is set to sign a new deal with Ajax, committing the next four years of his career to the Dutch giants.
Lisandro Martinez joined Ajax from Defensa y Justicia in the summer of 2019, arriving in Amsterdam as the long-term replacement for Matthijs de Ligt. And in the last two years, he has proven to be just that, impressing a great deal at the Johan Cruijff Arena.
To date, the 23-year-old has made 88 appearances for Ajax, chipping in with five goals and three assists in the process. While he is yet to become a regular for the Argentine national side, Martinez is still seemingly rated quite highly among clubs across Europe, with Barcelona currently keeping tabs on him.
Barcelona are reportedly scouring the transfer market for a left-footed centre-back over a potential move in next summer’s transfer window. That is because Clement Lenglet has suffered an enormous dip in form while Samuel Umtiti’s travails over the last few years have been well documented.
Things have now reached a head at Camp Nou, with reports claiming that Barcelona might not have qualms about terminating Umtiti’s contract if the situation around him does not improve this term. So, it is hardly surprising that the Blaugrana could be in the market for a centre-back.
To that end, the Catalan giants have been linked with a number of defenders in recent times, including Alessio Romagnoli, Aymeric Laporte and Mohammed Salisu. And Martinez is a viable target to that end as well, especially considering his best years are well ahead of him.
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However, Barcelona could now be set to face disappointment in their pursuit of the 23-year-old Argentine defender, who is set to sign a new four-year deal. What now remains to be seen is if they remain in the hunt for Martinez even after he pens his renewal or if they turn their attention to some other central defender.