Despite an underwhelming start to their season, Barcelona look to be right on track now. With Luis Enrique leaving at the end of the season, the Barcelona board is already busy plugging the gaps left by an underwhelming transfer window by the manager last summer.
And one of the primary areas of concern would be their right defensive flank. The departure of Dani Alves last summer was accepted quite reluctantly by the club. But shockingly they failed to cover the area sufficiently. And now with Aleix Vidal out for the season with a horrific ankle injury, Enrique has realised that shifting midfielder Sergi Roberto to that position was really a bad option.
As per reports, Barcelona scouts have a few targets who they thing can fit in perfectly. Among them feature Southampton right-back Cedric Soares. The Portuguese right-back has been hugely impressive for Claude Puel and the French manager is well aware of his demand in the market. Reportedly, the Saints could ask for a whopping £25million for the 25-year-old full-back, which is five times the price they had bought him for from Portuguese side Sporting CP in 2015.
Of course, Soares would grab the first chance of moving to Nou Camp and the Saints seem to have their priorities right. They have hinted they won’t stand in his way, rather they are determined to hold on to their star defender Virgil van Dijk.
Saints chairman Ralph Krueger has recently stated that the club would definitely make it difficult for his suitors, like Chelsea and Manchester City, to land the Dutch enforcer given the crisis of quality centre-halves. He has also recently stated that it is Virgil, whom they would like to keep for the long-term.
Barcelona could be in a similar situation. Having a world class full-back is scarce now and Southampton know it quite well. After failing in the race to sign Uruguayan international Martin Caceres, which they incidentally lost to Southampton, they had even tried bringing in former Premier League star Bosingwa. They are also interested in Arsenal right-back Hector Bellerin, who has just signed a long-term contract with the North-London club.
Soares started his career from Sporting CP Juvenis and worked his way through the ranks of the popular Portuguese club breaking into the first team back in 2011. He spent a loan stint with Coimbra before making his big move to Premier League in 2015.
A right-back by nature, Soares is equally adept in an advanced role. He has garnered interest by his brilliant crosses from the flanks and solid defensive quality. He likes to play short passes in the build-up and could definitely make it to the top at Nou Camp.
