Barcelona planning major January signing with Man Utd, Arsenal stars considered

Barcelona plan to sign a left-footed centre-back in January, and a report has named Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City stars as being in their sights.

Barcelona are flying high under Hansi Flick once more, though the German head coach is forever seeking improvements to his star-studded squad.

According to a recent report from The Athletic, Barca are determined to sign a centre-back in the upcoming winter window, and more specifically, a left-footer.

This developments comes on the back of Flick having to field midfielder, Frenkie de Jong, at centre-half last week amid injuries to Andreas Christensen, Eric Garcia, Jules Kounde and Xavi Espart, all of whom can play centrally.

Adding to Flick’s issues is the fact the club loaned Ronald Araujo to Liverpool over the summer, and rather than recall the Uruguayan, Liverpool might actually sign Araujo outright in January.

The Athletic went on to detail a number of players Barcelona are interested in signing, beginning with Alessandro Bastoni of Inter Milan and Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol.

Of course, both players would be ultra-expensive to sign. Inter showed no willingness whatsoever to negotiate Bastoni’s sale last summer, and perhaps the only way Gvardiol could be available is if City receive a monumental punishment for their 114 FFP breaches.

A more realistic target comes in the form of Man Utd’s Lisandro Martinez. The Argentine is in the final year of his contract at Old Trafford and wants out.

Martinez was mentioned in the report, while a separate update from Sports Illustrated shed light on others in Barca’s crosshairs.

Aside from the aforementioned trio, Arsenal’s Piero Hincapie, Ajax’s Youri Baas, and Castello Lukeba of RB Leipzig were named.

A move for Hincapie looks impossible to make, at least according to the reporting of Fabrizio Romano.

Speaking late last week when discussing a rumoured swap deal involving Hincapie and Alejandro Balde, Romano stated: “Then when it’s about Piero Hincapie and the swap deal between Arsenal and Barcelona, I don’t see this happening for one reason – Arsenal have no intention to sell Hincapie.

“Arsenal have no intention to change anything in their back four for the January transfer window. They are super happy with the players they have.

“I think the conversation should be on one of the best defences in the recent history of the game because Arsenal are really incredible with their way of defending, and so Hincapie can play as a centre-back and as a left-back.

“He’s a very important player for Mikel Arteta and so I don’t see this one happening.”

On Martinez, Sports Illustrated stated: ‘Lisandro Martínez is having a nightmare start of the season at Manchester United, and it seems his time at Old Trafford is destined to end next summer once his current contract expires.

‘For many, his fate was sealed when he took aim at United’s sporting directors in a spectacular rant following the recent defeat against Atlético Madrid, but his performances on the pitch this season have hurt United more than they have helped.

‘His stock is unquestionably down, but on paper, Martínez has the skills to help Barcelona. He’s a reliable passer and ball carrier, a speedy defender and his tenacity makes up for his non-intimidating frame.

‘At his best, he’s a brilliant defender, as he showcased in the 2026 World Cup with Argentina.

‘According to Sport, Barcelona would be interested in the Argentine if the move doesn’t require them to spend big.

‘There was mutual interest between Martínez and Atlético Madrid last summer, so the Catalans face some competition if they decide to explore a move.’