Barcelona eyeing a transfer for Premier League defender: Do they need him?

FC Barcelona are interested in signing Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof, it has been reported.

The Catalan club have inquired about the Swedish International as Plan B to AFC Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt, according to Mundo Deportivo.

De Ligt is close to joining Juventus, which means Barcelona will have to look elsewhere in their bid to add more defensive strength this summer.

During the Swede’s two-year spell at Manchester so far, Lindelof has established himself as a starter, and his performances under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer showed promise after initial doubts under former manager Jose Mourinho.

Lindelof made 40 appearances for the club across all competitions last season, two of which came against Barcelona at the Champions League quarter-final stage.

Do Barcelona need Victor Lindelof?

Lindelof is a versatile player who predominantly features as a central defender and possesses the ability to move in at right-back or a defensive midfield role if the need arises.

The 24-year-old defender had an impressive campaign for Manchester United, even though the club failed to click together as a unit.

The Swede averaged a pass success percentage of 88.2 which highlight his composure with the ball at his feet as didn’t misplace too many passes, something that will hold him in good stead should he move to Barcelona.

During the defensive phase of the game, Lindelof managed 1.1 tackles, 0.9 interceptions, 4.2 clearances. Lindelof is also an absolute unit at the back, and managed two aerial duels won per game.

The aforementioned attributes make Lindelof a viable option for the Blaugrana. Even though he has all the signs of a top quality centre-back, Barcelona have enough players already.

Barcelona have four central defenders – two right-footed and two left-footed – in their squad in Pique, Jean Clair Todibo, Clement Lenglet, and Samuel Umtiti.

Even with limited options in the right centre-back spot in the back four, Todibo has struggled for minutes at the Camp Nou, thanks to the consistency of the other three players.

Lindelof will be limited to a bench role, which could hinder his development. Manchester United signed Lindelof for a fee of €35 million, so it’s unlikely that he will come cheap as the Red Devils won’t sell him for a loss, that’s pretty certain.

Taking all this into account, the addition of a fifth central defender, no matter how versatile the player is, seems more of a luxury than a necessity at this point in time as Barcelona need to strengthen their midfield and attack first.

Stat Courtesy: Transfermarkt, Whoscored