Barcelona have been trying to sign a central defender for the last few months especially with the knowledge that captain Carlos Puyol may not be playing in a few years. They were extremely desperate to sign PSG defender Thiago Silva, who is regarded as the best centre back in the world right now.
However, the Brazilian rejected the lure of the Catalan club and signed a new contract with PSG. Since then, they have been looking at alternatives like Chelsea defender David Luiz and Liverpool's Daniel Agger. They have been unable to make any progress in the attempts to lure these players as well.
A few weeks ago, a new manager Gerardo Martino admitted that Barcelona needed to strengthen the central defensive position because they had less cover. Now, he has said that Barcelona need not strengthening in this position because there are several players capable of playing there. In the last few seasons, the club has been utilising the likes of Javier Mascherano and Alex Song as central defenders. This was also the opinion of star defender Gerard Pique, who continues to be the main man at the club since joining from Manchester United.
Agger revealed his wish to stay at Liverpool, while Chelsea are unlikely to sell David Luiz at any price.
“We have Puyol, Pique, Mascherano, Bartra, even Adriano.
If there's an injury, January transfer window is only a few months away,” said the Barcelona manager. The Spanish giants opened the new campaign with a convincing 7-0 win over Levante, which has put them as the favourites for the league title this season as well. Their main competitors – Real Madrid, meanwhile, struggled to a 2-1 win over Real Betis. Barcelona's next match of the season will be against Atletico Madrid in the Super Cup when they will be coming up against their former striker David Villa.