Barcelona are reportedly chasing Borussia Dortmund midfielder Julian Weigl. The defensive midfielder has attracted a lot of attention by his performances and Manchester City are also after the 21-year old. With Pep Guardiola also keeping tabs on him, Barcelona would not be able to land the Bundesliga star that easily.
Upon arriving in 2015 from second tier side TSV 1860 Munich, Weigl has become an integral member of the first team at Dortmund making 39 Bundesliga appearances for them so far. PSG are also interested in the promising midfielder and they are apparently plotting a move next summer.
He could be the ideal partner and replacement for Sergio Busquets in the centre of midfield and they could be about to make their move this January. Considering their attack is thriving, they need to strengthen other areas in their team and the central midfield is one of the priority areas as their academy has pretty much dried up.
Weigl’s passing accuracy is impeccable and his strong focus on the game makes him a valuable addition for the Catalans. At 186 cm, he could also provide an aerial strength to Barca’s midfield and his long shots are also quite threatening. He has appeared 4 times for Dortmund this season and has scored 1 goal already.
Barcelona are currently going through a huge defensive crisis with Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Samuel Umtiti, Jeremy Mathieu and Aleix Vidal all out injured. They are in desperate need to acquire options on that front before moving to the second half of the season. Their easier fixtures have helped them to scrap through till now, but it is becoming difficult now.
The Spanish giants have conceded 13 goals already in the league this season, which isn’t a good sign by any means for the reigning domestic champions. Their back line has been shaky, leaky, erratic and penetrable which, defensively speaking, makes them fragile as a complete unit. A reliable option in the pivot would allow Enrique to make things stringent at the back.
Barcelona have had a decent start to their campaign, being placed second in the La Liga table with 25 points from eleven games. They have largely won matches owing to the world class trio of Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi but they have struggled to hold to leads for long. The match against Sevilla was a glaring example. With big matches coming up in the league as well as win Champions League, they need more squad depth.
Weigl has already been touted to be a future German star and if Barcelona can sign him, they won’t have to worry for a considerable time keeping in mind the Dortmund star’s current age.
