Barcelona set to make Jonathan Tah call imminently

Barcelona have made it a habit to pursue some of the best free agents on the market in recent years as their financial situation took its toll, with the likes of Eric Garcia, Ilkay Gundogan and Andreas Christensen all arriving on a free from the Premier League. In recent months it has looked as if Jonathan Tah of Bayer Leverkusen would become the latest free agent signing for the Blaugrana, but that is now in doubt.

Tah has decided against renewing his deal with Leverkusen, and after a failed attempt to sign him last summer, Bayern Munich have now dropped out of the race for the German international. Real Madrid were linked to him, but Barcelona became frontrunners and have according to multiple reports agreed terms on a deal with Tah.

However whether they will green light it or not is less clear. As reported by Sport, the renewal of Ronald Araujo in January, committing his future to the club until 2031 has altered the paradigm, and now Tah’s arrival is uncertain. Inigo Martinez and Pau Cubarsi will remain next season, with Eric Garcia putting in strong performances, the departure alone of Christensen is unlikely to be enough for Barcelona to consider his signing necessary.

The Catalan daily explain that Barcelona will speak with Tah imminently to give him an update on their position, after weeks without contact, but they describe the situation as cold. Tah was willing to delay his decision to see if Barcelona could speed up his signing, but due both to their centre-back situation and their salary limit situation, they are unlikely to give the green light before the summer. Hence Tah will now begin looking at other offers he has.

It seems as if Araujo’s future will be definitive for Tah’s path too: if the Uruguayan does remain, then it seems unlikely Tah will sign. Should he decide to entertain clubs willing to pay his €65m release clause, then Barcelona will likely be on the lookout for a long-term partner for Cubarsi, with Martinez now 33 years of age.