One of the problems that FC Barcelona will be looking to solve in the upcoming summer transfer window will be that of the overbooking in the central defense. The Catalans have a surplus of defenders who play primarily in this position, with Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, Inigo Martinez, Pau Cubarsi, and Andreas Christensen all vying for the two positions.
Furthermore, more players like Eric Garcia and Clement Lenglet are going to return from their loans, thus making this issue even more problematic for the Blaugranes.
While all of these players will be impacted, Eric Garcia’s return to Barcelona is expected to cause detriment to one player in particular, Inigo Martinez, as a recent report indicated that the defender returning from his Girona loan is valued higher by the Catalans than the former Athletic Club man.
Furthermore, Martinez will also have to be registered with La Liga anew this summer, and with this overbooking and their thin margin with FFP, Barcelona would be looking to part ways with him this summer.
This situation is already attracting the interest of top clubs across Europe, as Mundo Deportivo reports that the Italian side AC Milan has Martinez in their sights as they look for a replacement for Tomori who is being linked with the English side, Newcastle United.
Reports from Italy indicate that Inigo Martinez fulfills the criteria that Milan have for their required defender. But it remains to be seen how serious the Italians are for him, and whether they will make any advances for him in the coming days.
As things stand, it looks like Barcelona want the defender to depart more than they want his stay. They can communicate this to his uncle and agent, but the defender would have the right to claim fulfillment of his contract, but can also collaborate with the Catalan club to end up with a solution that satisfies all the involved parties.
