Liverpool and Tottenham are both in talks with Barcelona about signing Marc Bartra, reports the Daily Express.
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The defender only played 23 games last season, which has left him with a relatively small release clause this summer. £8.5 million is enough to buy the 24-year-old, and the Premier League duo look keen to take advantage of this. However, they will have to fight off some serious competition to sign the Spain international, with Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Inter Milan, and Borussia Dortmund also interested in his signature.
The centre-back looks likely to struggle for game time next season as well due to the return to fitness of Thomas Vermaelen. Already behind Gerard Pique, Javier Mascherano, and Jeremy Mathieu in the pecking order, this could tempt the player to try his luck elsewhere despite having come through the youth system at the Camp Nou.
The Merseyside club could certainly do with a new signing in the heart of their defence. Dejan Lovren has failed to impress since arriving from Southampton last summer, and Kolo Toure’s advancing years mean he will have less of an influence. Particularly worrying will be Martin Skrtel’s assertion that his contract offer is unacceptable, as reported by The Guardian.