A prominent Spanish name has entered Barcelona's sphere of interest, and the details could make signing him a priority for the Catalan club in the upcoming transfer windows.
Spanish newspaper "Sport"report that Pedro Porro, the Tottenham full-back, could be one of the names pushed hard onto Barcelona's table. The reason? He wants out of the Premier League and fancies a return to Spanish pitches, even though his contract with the London club runs until June 2031.
Is Yamal the key to the deal?
Barcelona's interest drags last August's report from Spanish newspaper "El Nacional" back into the spotlight, the one claiming Lamine Yamal is convinced the Spanish full-back is the ideal signing for the team, ranking him above the likes of Rodri and Julian Alvarez in his priorities.
That report said Yamal struck up a special partnership with Porro during Spain's triumph at the last World Cup, sensing his ability to read his movements, whether pushing forward on the right flank, drifting into central areas or dropping back to help build attacks.
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For the Barcelona star, a player with those attributes means more space to work in and less defensive attention coming his way. The full-back creates numerical superiority. He offers constant attacking support.
Porro would also hand Hansi Flick extra solutions on the right flank. Jules Kounde has the defensive qualities, but he doesn't bring the same attacking threat as the Tottenham man.
Kounde and Balde the key to the deal
Getting the deal done is another matter. "Sport" explained that Barcelona's board won't invest a large sum on full-backs before sorting out certain matters involving the current squad.
Two names loom over the club's moves: Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde. A Kounde departure would open the door to Porro filling the right-back slot, while selling Balde would raise the funds to help pay for him, with the defensive options needing a reshuffle.
Tottenham's stance remains the biggest obstacle. They've renewed Porro's contract until 2031 and face no contractual pressure to let one of their important players go, so Barcelona may need a huge offer to change their minds.
No official offer has landed yet, according to "Sport", but Barcelona are monitoring the player's situation while weighing up alternatives, including Sporting Lisbon full-back Ivan Fresneda.
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