Because of El Clasico: Barcelona change their plan in the winter transfer market

Barcelona on the hunt for a centre-back

Back-to-back defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid have reopened the debate inside Barcelona over whether the club must strengthen their backline in January.

The injuries piling up in recent weeks have sounded a serious alarm, with those two losses laying the problem bare.

According to Sport, Barcelona are hunting for a centre-back who can offer an immediate boost in the January window, while also keeping tabs on defenders across Europe with promising long-term potential.

Hansi Flick will take the final call. Sporting director Deco is already working on it.

Last summer's plan revolved around one priority: the complete rebuild of the attack. Flick wanted players who could make a difference and inject vitality, pace above all in the forward positions, and the club worked to meet those demands.

Barcelona spent heavily to land Anthony Gordon and snapped up Karim Adeyemi as a market opportunity. They chased Julian Alvarez until the final moments before ending up with Gabriel Jesus. The financial outlay was considerable, which is why strengthening at centre-back was shelved, despite Ronald Araujo's departure to Liverpool.

Through the opening phase of this season, one thing became clear. The attack and midfield have plenty of options to rotate, but the backline is in obvious disarray.

Bad luck certainly played its part, with Andreas Christensen, Jules Kounde and Eric Garcia all sidelined, and now Xavi Espart too. Yet the underlying reality points to a genuine problem at centre-back.

Deco had spotted this during the summer. He made contact and tried to sign Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni, but the cost of the deal, coupled with doubts over how well he would adapt to Barcelona's risk-heavy defensive style, saw the club rule him out early in the window.

Several factors will now shape the final decision, and one of them is Christensen's recovery. Flick agreed to extend the Dane's contract by a further two years, drawn to his potential and professionalism, only for the player to break down again and miss a large chunk of the start of the season.

His condition appears to be improving nicely, but the club are handling the return with great caution and will protect him right through to the end of the season. That means heavy rotation and no run of consecutive starts. The second factor is the wafer-thin salary cap margin Barcelona have to work with in January. They have the funds to register a player, but not enough to land one of the very highest level.

This hurdle severely limits their room to manoeuvre. The winter window is a complicated beast and the opportunities are scarce right now, though Barcelona are studying a handful of names that could fit both on the pitch and on the balance sheet.

Here comes the decisive third factor. Sell one of the players short on minutes and the picture changes completely. No final decision has been taken, but the sporting department are working towards one goal: prioritising a centre-back who can deliver an immediate lift.

There are options from the top bracket, and the club are also listening to offers that come their way, which could flush out an exceptional deal too good to pass up should the right chance arise in January.

Barcelona will not sign anyone unless he genuinely raises the quality of the squad and stands a chance of competing for a starting berth.

Another path remains open: signing players for the future, part of strategic deals that are tricky to pull off in winter. On that front, Barcelona are tracking Stuttgart's Finn Jeltsch and Leipzig's Castello Lukeba.

Such moves demand big money and amount to long-term gambles, which makes the summer a better fit, allowing the players to settle calmly and in far better conditions.

Flick is delighted with the Pau Cubarsi and Gerard Martin partnership at centre-back, but the team have no cover behind them, and both are carrying a heavy load given the minutes they are racking up.

Christensen is expected back in November, while Eric Garcia plays more at full-back than in the middle.

The sporting department know action has become necessary. Flick is weighing it up and leans towards doing a deal if possible, provided the right player emerges with the backing of everyone who matters inside the club.