Transfer News: Dodo on Barcelona radar

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.

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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.

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