Barcelona ‘close’ to agreeing first summer signing as report names star who’ll be sacrificed

Barcelona are making progress in their bid to sign Jonathan Tah from Bayer Leverkusen and he looks set to replace Andreas Christensen in defence, as per a report.

Barcelona were hoping to land Tah last summer having been encouraged by the fact he had entered the final year of his Leverkusen contract. However, the German club still hoped to agree an extension with the centre-back at that stage and therefore rejected all approaches for him.

Tah has remained at Leverkusen ever since, but he has put himself in a great position to secure a major transfer this summer by rejecting all attempts to tie him down to a new contract at the BayArena.

According to an update from Mundo Deportivo, Tah is ‘on track’ to become Barca’s first signing ready for the 2025-26 campaign, with an agreement ‘close’.

The defender has snubbed a ‘highly lucrative’ contract offer from Leverkusen’s Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich in order to secure a ‘dream’ transfer to Barca.

Barca have held talks with Tah about a potential five-year deal, though the exact length of his contract still needs to be agreed.

Tah’s representatives will soon travel to Catalonia to ‘finalise’ the free transfer. One of the key factors behind the deal was Hansi Flick being in charge of Barca, as the defender worked with the coach when he was the German national team boss.

The report states that Barca made contact with Tah’s camp on December 11, the day of their Champions League clash against Borussia Dortmund.

Out of respect for Leverkusen, though, the player refused to discuss a move until January 1.

While Barca’s wage offer is lower than that of several transfer rivals including Bayern, Tah is understood to be excited to play at the Camp Nou.

READ MORE: Barcelona make Premier League’s ‘best striker’ their ‘top target’; Raphinha contract details emerge

Andreas Christensen to make way for Tah

As Barca have ‘crowded’ options in defence, Christensen is likely to make way for Tah by departing this summer.

The former Chelsea star almost left Barca during the winter window but a transfer is almost guaranteed to take place later this year.

Manchester United, Newcastle United and Brentford have all been tipped to swoop for Christensen, though it remains to be seen whether he will return to England.

Fellow centre-half Ronald Araujo almost left Barca in January amid strong interest from Juventus. However, Araujo ended up performing a U-turn and even extending his contract with Barca.

Barcelona transfers: Deco plans route to Gyokeres; Diaz latest

Meanwhile, Barca sporting director Deco is figuring out how the club might be able to afford lethal striker Viktor Gyokeres in the summer.

It has been suggested that Barca could engineer a player-plus-cash deal for Gyokeres which would see Vitor Roque head to Sporting CP.

Liverpool ace Luis Diaz is another forward Barca have been linked with on multiple occasions.

Sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk that major clubs including Barca are keeping tabs on Diaz’s situation, though Liverpool are trying to agree a new contract with him.

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