Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said the club need to sign a defender in January to bolster their chances of success this season.
Barça have conceded 20 goals in 18 LaLiga matches this season, more than any other team in the top seven, while they have also leaked 11 goals in their six games in the Champions League.
“We are not ready at the moment [to make a signing], but when you see the last line, the position with the full-backs and the centre-backs, maybe we need one more player,” Flick said Friday in a news conference when asked if he wanted to add any new players to the squad this month.
“We have to discuss it. It’s not easy in the winter to get a player on this level. I have the confidence and belief we are able to do something, but it has to make sense to do this transfer.”
Barça have struggled defensively since Iñigo Martínez‘s departure to Saudi Arabia last summer, while they also lost Andreas Christensen for several months in December to an ACL injury.
That has led Flick to use teenager Pau Cubarsí and converted left-back Gerard Martín as his preferred centre-back pairing in recent weeks with Ronald Araújo also absent.
Araújo took a mental health break in November but returned to training this week, although it’s unclear when he will be available for selection again as Barça prepare for Saturday’s derby away at Espanyol.
“It’s up to him,” Flick added of Araújo’s availability. “He is good now, physically maybe not 100%, but he is in a good way. He has to decide how fast it goes.
“I can see and feel the support from the teammates, which has been fantastic. He got the time he needs and this is what we can do [for him].”
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Pedri and Dani Olmo will both be available against Espanyol this weekend after missing the win at Villarreal before the winter break, while Flick also confirmed Lamine Yamal is fit to play after missing training with flu on Thursday.
There is tension around Saturday’s match as it marks Barça goalkeeper Joan García‘s first match against Espanyol since he left the club to cross the city in a €25 million deal last summer.
Flick is confident García will not be affected by the abuse he is expected to receive from the home fans, but called on all supporters to focus on supporting their own teams.
“Given how I see him, I don’t think Joan will be affected,” Flick said. “He’s always focused. You can see it. He has played a fantastic half year here in Barcelona and showed why the decision [to sign him] was right.
“The most important thing in football is to support your team, not go against other teams. This, at the end of the day, affects the players most in a positive way.
“I think everybody wants positive energy for the players. Everyone has to be focused on their team, not on the other team.”
Saturday’s derby at the RCDE Stadium pits two of LaLiga’s most in-form teams against each other. Barça have won eight games in a row to build up a four-point lead at the top of the table, but Espanyol, in fifth place, are also on a five-match winning run.
