Various reports suggest Barcelona’s search to beef up their defensive lineup has taken them to Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic. The 32-year old can play both as a right back and a centre back and was one of the main players that helped Chelsea win their Premier League title in 2015.
Ivanovic has not been in the good books of the new manager Antonio Conte for some time, who has brought about a defensive change in the team this season by shifting it to three at the back formation. Ivanovic does not fit in the back three at the moment and has been more of a bench player along with former captain John Terry. The Serbia international hasn’t started a Premier League game since September.
Now, with his contract set to expire and Chelsea more unlikely to offer a new one, Barcelona are interested in bringing the player to Camp Nou after experiencing a serious defensive crisis in the past few weeks with almost all of their first-team defenders injured.
Ivanovic is not the only target for the Catalans as they are also eyeing Shakhtar Donetsk’s Darijo Srna in January and Juventus right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner as short-term replacements for Aleix Vidal.
With his age, Ivanovic won’t get long term contracts anyway but he is looking for a new deal and unwilling to leave Stamford Bridge, says reports. He is on a rolling one-year contract at Stamford Bridge – the policy of the club for all players over the age of 30 and has recently stated that he is ready to sit on the bench whenever the coach decides, and it is not for the first time at Chelsea.
With Aleix Vidal out with injury, Luis Enrique only has Sergi Roberto to play in that position. If Roberto suffers an injury, and he has already suffered a knock recently, then Barcelona’s makeshift defence is sure to crumble. Ivanovic could be a very handy option given his experience. He could also help Roberto play up in the midfield as Barcelona also have Andres Iniesta out with an injury.
Barcelona will breathe a huge sigh of relief with Pique and Jordi Alba soon returning to the team after a month. The Catalans will be having some big games now after the international break including El Clasico that is coming up next month. They are surely going to need more squad depth in the second half of the season when the Champions League knockout rounds fixtures are scheduled. Ivanovic could be a valuable addition to the Catalans and he won’t be cup-tied either.
