Real Betis interested in Barcelona defender- Reports 

According to Mundo Deportivo, Real Betis are keen on signing Barcelona defender Oscar Mingueza in the summer. The Spaniard's contract at Barcelona ends this summer but the Spanish side have the option of extending it till 2023.

With Mingueza impressing in his debut season for Barcelona's senior team, it is expected that the club will activate the option to extend his contract at the end of the season. Real Betis' central defence partners Victor Ruiz and Aissa Mandi will also see their contracts end this summer. While it is also expected that the contracts of both players will be extended, Betis are still looking to solidify their defence in the summer and Mingueza has been touted as an option.

Mingueza is a graduate of Barcelona's famed La Masia academy. He made his debut for the Spanish giants last November, starting in place of the injured Gerard Pique in Barcelona's 4-0 Champions League group stage victory over Dynamo Kyiv. He made his La Liga debut five dalater,ter starting alongside Clement Lenglet in central defence in another 4-0 victory for Barcelona over Osasuna.

⚽ In #DynamoBarça, Mingueza pulled off a brilliant performance, adding new steps of success to his Blaugrana career. 📊 These were his stats in his @ChampionsLeague debut: - Accurate passes: 86 - Passing accuracy: 93,5% - Interceptions: 6 - Shots blocked: 1 pic.twitter.com/sCZrfy6lmi

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 25, 2020

The 21-year-old has enjoyed a very impressive debut season for Barcelona and has proven very useful for Ronald Koeman with numerous injuries hampering the defence.

With Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti, Ronald Araujo, Clement Lenglet, and Sergi Roberto all spending time on the sideline at one point or another due to injuries, Mingueza has stepped in and shown his quality. A versatile player, Mingueza has appeared both at centre-back and right-back for Barcelona this campaign.

Mingueza made 5 tackles today. Among Barça players, only Busquets (35) has more successful tackles in La Liga this season than Mingueza (34). pic.twitter.com/0sl9U7G5Dv

— adil (@Barca19stats) February 27, 2021

Barcelona will delay player transfers for now

Real Betis v FC Barcelona - La Liga Santander

Reports claim there has been contact between Barcelona and Real Betis for the defender. This contact has however been primarily preparatory and nothing concrete has been decided. Reports also claim that the interest for the Barcelona defender does not end with just Real Betis as the 21-year-old also has also attracted interest from the Premier League. Barcelona are, however, putting aside any decision on the future of Mingueza until the end of the season.

Player transfers at Barcelona, both incoming and outgoing, have been put on hold for now as the club goes through a transition period. A new club president is expected to be elected later this season, and until then, there can be no clarity on the issue.

Barcelona are expected to be active in the transfer window during the summer. While there might be need for some departures at the club to clear the wage bill and generate funds for the incomings, Mingueza's strong showings probably indicate he is not one of the players shortlisted to be moved on and a contact renewal might be on the cards.