Man United transfer news: Barcelona eye cut-price January swoop for Lisandro Martinez

Barcelona are on the hunt for a centre-back for the next winter transfer window and Lisandro Martinez appears to be a realistic option.

Barcelona are in better financial health, as their last summer transfer window showed. The Catalan club invested £156.5m (€184m) to sign players including Rodri and Anthony Gordon. However, they have very little room for manoeuvre under the strict financial rules imposed by La Liga.

Without a major departure, Barcelona will not be able to invest heavily in a centre-back in the next winter window. That could hamper the club’s hierarchy in their search, with a shortlist of four names having been revealed: Josko Gvardiol, Natan, Lisandro Martinez and Alessandro Bastoni.

Barcelona do not have big resources for the winter transfer window

Raphinha’s contract extension, whose salary will be redistributed to free up space in the current season’s wage bill, will create a small additional budget.

However, Barcelona ‘could not cover both the transfer fee and the share of the wage bill corresponding to a top-level player’, according to Sport.

A loan solution appears, but it is not really in line with what the Spanish champions are looking for. They want to sign an experienced centre-back who can make an immediate impact.

No club therefore has an interest in loaning out a player of that standard, unless a mandatory option to buy is included.

Lisandro Martinez, a realistic and cheaper option

Faced with the complexity of such a move, the option of Lisandro Martinez appears realistic and could suit all parties.

The Argentine is approaching the end of his Manchester United contract and is not set to extend his stay. Barcelona and Manchester United could therefore negotiate a transfer for an affordable fee.

The 28-year-old could also sign a contract on a low salary until the end of the season, to ease his arrival in January, before being compensated with higher payments in the following seasons, Sport points out. It would be a good deal from a financial point of view.

It remains to be seen whether it is feasible and whether Hansi Flick will approve this defensive reinforcement. It should be noted that the German manager was not convinced by Alessandro Bastoni last summer.