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According to reports in the Spanish media, La Liga giants Barcelona are interested in bringing Leicester City defender Caglar Soyuncu to the club. The Turkish star has enjoyed an impressive season in the EPL under Brendan Rodgers and Barcelona has expressed an interest in the highly-rated centre-back.
Caglar Soyuncu was one of the best defenders in the EPL before the suspension of football before the coronavirus pandemic. While the Leicester City star has not been at his best since the EPL restart, Barcelona is reportedly willing to give him a chance and may place a bid for him this summer.
The 24-year-old EPL defender has a hefty price tag and Barcelona will have to dig deep into its treasury to raise funds for a potential transfer. Caglar Soyunu is currently rated at a price of £32 million and Barcelona may not be able to meet Leicester City's demands for the defender.
Barcelona has suffered from incompetent and misguided decisions in the transfer market on several occasions in the past and will have to tread carefully this summer. The financial crisis that has engulfed football has also had an adverse impact on Barcelona's economic clout and the Catalan club may not be able to splurge on established stars in the upcoming transfer window.
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Barcelona sets sights on EPL defender Caglar Soyuncu
According to Spanish publication Diario Sport, Barcelona is monitoring Soyuncu's situation in the EPL and could place a bid for him in case negotiations with Manchester City for former Barcelona youth prospect Eric Garcia fail to materialise.
Soyuncu has been a standout performer for Leicester City for most of the EPL season but he may find it difficult to adapt to Barcelona's unique style of play. The Turkish defender's former agent Mustafa Dogru has claimed that Barcelona tried to sign the youngster in 2016.
"It is possible that Barcelona could sign Caglar this summer, as they wanted to sign him before he moved from Altinordu to Freiburg in 2016. We negotiated with them back then, and they presented an interesting project."
Barcelona has not been convincing this season and has committed several defensive errors in a campaign that has seen the Catalan giants relinquish their La Liga title to arch-rivals Real Madrid. The Blaugrana needs defensive reinforcements and Soyuncu has reportedly become a transfer target.
Caglar Soyuncu has been highly error-prone since the EPL restart and Barcelona will have to rethink its plans for the highly-rated defender. The Catalans are also in pursuit of Eric Garcia and the former La Masia youth product remains a priority for Barcelona.
Barcelona has qualified for the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League and will face a formidable Bayern Munich side next week. The Catalans have to win the European competition to ensure that they do not go trophyless this season.
A Lionel Messi masterclass saw Barcelona pip an impressive Napoli outfit in the Catalans' round-of-16 clash yesterday. The Blaugrana will hope that its Argentine talisman can replicate his heroics against Bayern Munich next weekend.
