Barcelona's defence the priority in transfer market after recent woes

There are plenty of rumours across various media outlets regarding Barcelona's interest in signing Atlético Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann for a reported £87.5m (€100m) this summer.

There is no question of the Frenchman's abilities; his dribbling capabilities, the technical skills he possesses as well as his ever-improving knack for goalscoring.

However, it's common knowledge that Barcelona have fantastic attackers already including Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Ousmane Dembélé and January recruit Philippe Coutinho so with that in mind, is Griezmann really what they need?

Despite injury, Dembélé has looked promising in flashes following his big-money switch from Dortmund

He's still relatively young and yet to reach the peak years of his career at 27, has experience of playing at the highest level and would be an excellent long-term addition for Barcelona - but their defensive issues need resolving sooner.

Barça's defensive woes

Although they have the best defence in La Liga this season, having conceded 13 goals in 29 matches, the majority of the credit for this impressive statistic goes to goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who has kept 18 clean sheets until now and has been excellent with his quick reflexes and brilliant saves.

However, it has become increasingly clear that they have weaknesses in central and wide areas as there are no ready-made replacements currently available, something which is a priority that needs to be fixed.

Issues in central defence

Here, it's important to look at how players are performing to gauge the issue itself. Gerard Pique has been in fine form this term, but is already 31 and has had to play upon occasion while injured or not at 100% fitness (knee) due to a lack of experience elsewhere within their first-team ranks.

Thomas Vermaelen, for his quality, is heavily injury-prone. The former Arsenal captain was signed for £15m in August 2014 and has only made 37 appearances since - a testament to just how unfortunate he has been with injury more than anything else.

Yerry Mina arrived with much fanfare given the youngster's level of promise for the future, but does not have much first-team experience at a high level and will be expected to potentially leave out on-loan next term to do just that.

The only exception to the rule here is Samuel Umtiti. The 24-year-old Frenchman has been excellent this season and established himself as one of the world's best central defenders - clever, strong in the tackle, an excellent reader of the game and aerially dominant, he is fantastic.

Umtiti has a number of attributes which help him standout as one of the world's best centre-backs

Someone who possesses all the attributes you'd expect from a world-class defender, it comes as no surprise that top clubs are monitoring his contract situation at present, as he's still yet to commit to a new deal.

Given the inflation in this current market, his current release clause of £52.5m (€60m) is considered cheap and his absence would hurt Barcelona significantly - he has been a reliable rock at the back and could continue to do so for the next decade.

Problems at wing-back

Despite Jordi Alba's impressive form at left-back with eight assists, there's no balance at fullback for Barcelona. Lucas Digne, the Spaniard's understudy, is struggling for form and rarely plays - meaning the toll on Alba physically is higher as a result.

There has been speculation surrounding Bayern's David Alaba, although it's likely the Austrian would prefer a position change should he move to Spain while Chelsea fullback Marcos Alonso has also been mentioned recently.

Following Dani Alves' departure two seasons ago, Barcelona have struggled to settle with one strong right-back option. Despite signing Nelson Semedo last summer, it appears as though the Portugal international still has plenty to do before convincing manager Ernesto Valverde that he should be their undisputed first-choice in that position.

As a result, make-shift fullback Sergi Roberto has been shouldering the responsibility in defence. However, it has become increasingly clear with every passing week that the Spaniard is an excellent midfielder and his creative abilities should not be shackled in an unfamiliar position - so they must respond accordingly to avoid wasting his potential in future.

It's clear that there are big tasks in the summer ahead for Barcelona's board

Looking forward to the future

The process of re-building a winning side has already begun with the acquisition of many talented youngsters, across attacking and midfield positions at Barcelona. However, now is the perfect time to prioritise strengthening in defence too.

Having spent heavily to acquire both Dembélé and more recently Coutinho, signing another attacker such as Griezmann would unnecessarily stretch Barcelona's budget. Instead, they should act with purpose in the transfer market to sign defenders - predominantly younger - who are proven to have top-quality, which in turn will help build the final pieces in their championship-winning puzzle.