After four defenders fall: Laporta makes a world champion an emergency target to rescue Barcelona's season
A World Cup duo reunited!
Barcelona's back line has been torn apart by an unprecedented injury crisis, and one name is now surfacing strongly inside the Camp Nou as the long-awaited magic solution. It belongs to Pedro Porro, the Tottenham right-back and world champion with Spain.
The emergency move follows a genuine defensive catastrophe over recent weeks. Four defenders went down at once: Eric Garcia, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen and Xavi Espart. That pile-up prompted the club's management to throw open the file on winter signings.
Spanish website "3cat" reported, citing special sources inside the Catalan club, that no final decision has yet been taken. The management prefer to wait and see how the injured players recover, particularly since the medical reports confirm that none of the injuries are long-term.
Should the club decide to enter the winter market, though, president Joan Laporta has a clear and personally preferred target. The son of Extremadura and former Girona player has become one of the names favoured by the president after a string of striking performances.
A magical partnership with Lamine Yamal
Laporta's admiration for Porro did not come out of nowhere. The 26-year-old was one of the most important pillars of the Spain side crowned world champions last summer.
Handed a starting place from the second match onwards, Porro formed a stunning partnership on the right flank with Barcelona's jewel Lamine Yamal. He contributed directly to the triumph with two decisive goals, one of them in the historic semi-final against France.
Sources revealed that Laporta watched that semi-final live at the Dallas stadium, and came away with an exceptional impression of the player. The World Cup final only confirmed it.
Testing the waters in the summer
Porro renewed his contract with Tottenham Hotspur just before the World Cup kicked off, which complicates the terms of any deal and makes it costly. Even so, Barcelona did not stand idly by.
The sources confirmed that the Catalan club tested the waters with the player and those around him during the final weeks of the last summer window, when the idea of reinforcing the defence was on the table.
Those exploratory contacts never went beyond the information-gathering stage. Barcelona have not submitted any official offer to either the player or his London club so far. His name, though, now sits at the top of Laporta's list should the club decide to act next January.
