Barcelona linked with €80m World Cup winner – originally posted on Sportslens.com
Barcelona have been linked with a move for Bayern Munich defender Lucas Hernandez.
Hernandez joined Bayern Munich from Atletico Madrid back in 2019 for a Bundesliga record fee of €80 million. His first season in Germany was mixed, winning the treble but missing large parts of the campaign through injury.
In the last 12 months, he has impressed at the Allianz Arena. The 25-year-old helped the club to a ninth consecutive Bundesliga title, assisting two goals and keeping eight clean sheets in 23 league appearances.
The Frenchman has enjoyed similar success on the international stage. He won the World Cup back in 2018 and grabbed an assist in the final, and was a starter for France at Euro 2020.
Naturally, this form has earned him a lot of admirers. Spanish source Mundo Deportivo claims that Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman has got his eye on him this summer.
The Catalan giants may be in need of a new central defender ahead of the coming season. In an attempt to reduce the wage bill, they have already offloaded centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo to Nice, and are looking for suitors for Samuel Umtiti and Clement Lenglet.
However, a move for Hernandez is looking incredibly unlikely at this moment in time.
Firstly, with long-serving defensive trio David Alaba, Jerome Boateng, and Javi Martinez all departing this summer, there is a real urgency for the Bavarians to strengthen at the back. Dayot Upamecano has been brought in from title challengers RB Leipzig, but this may not be enough if they wish to compete on multiple fronts. Letting another defender go will only make this task even harder.
But more importantly, Barcelona don’t have the money to bring in a player of Hernandez’s market value. The Frenchman has three years remaining on his current contract, leaving Bayern Munich under very little pressure to sell. The chances are they will demand a profit on the €80m they paid for him, which the La Liga side simply can’t afford right now.
Read also: Barcelona offer Ousmane Dembele ultimatum amid contract difficulty
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Author:charliestewart