Barcelona were said to have scouted Leon Goretzka last weekend, but reports claim that he wasn’t the only man on their radar.
The Catalan giants have made a point of lowering the average age of their squad with the likes of Ousmane Dembele and Nelson Semedo joining the club this past summer.
Naturally, they’ll balance that out with quality and experience to continue challenging in the more immediate future, but according to Mundo Deportivo, it looks as though they’re set to invest in some promising young talents.
Ariedo Braida attended the clash between Schalke and Bayer Leverkusen last Friday, with initial reports suggesting that Goretzka was the object of their interest.
However, it’s noted that Julian Brandt, Benjamin Henrichs and Max Meyer were also on the agenda, while sporting director Robert Fernandez and his right-hand man Urbano Ortega are said to have watched them too as they’ve clearly got Barcelona’s attention.
Henrichs is a versatile defender while Meyer has impressed in a more advanced position. It’s noted by Mundo Deportivo that Brandt is a target for Bayern Munich who are expected to pay his €30m release clause, and so Barca may well miss out.
It remains to be seen who Barcelona swoop for next summer, but Ernesto Valverde will hope that they can compete this season and continue to strengthen his squad in order to start to replace some of the experienced stalwarts in the side.
While the likes of Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique are still key figures in the team, they are getting on and will need to be replaced eventually.