Barcelona receive late approaches for defender – Everton make enquiry

Barcelona and Hector Fort are still seeking an exit for the young defender, with it becoming clear he will not receive much in the way of game time from manager Hansi Flick. The 19-year-old has failed to make an impression on the German manager, despite a promising beginning to life in the professional game under Xavi Hernandez.

Fort has been linked with an exit for much of the summer, and it appeared that an agreement for a move to RCD Mallorca on loan had been wrapped up. The teenage full-back is keen to head out on loan and continue his development, before returning to the Blaugrana. However his move to Mallorca was contingent on the exit of Pablo Maffeo, and so far Los Bermellones have not reached an agreement for his exit.

In August, Fort attracted interest from Premier League side West Ham United, but that interest seemed to fade away following the agreement with Mallorca. However Indykaila say that Everton have made a late enquiry about his services.

Nevertheless, local media outlet Sport believe he could be remaining in Spain. They say that Fort is now close to staying on the East Coast, with Elche moving for him. Los Franjiverdes have until midnight local time to get a deal done for Fort, which would be a ‘simple loan’. At Elche, he would be working under former Barcelona assistant manager Eder Sarabia.

Fort struggled for minutes under Flick, despite Barcelona almost exclusively using Jules Kounde there until his injury late in the season. The Catalan giants were all set to target the right-back area this summer, but the late form of Eric Garcia in Kounde’s absence seems to have convinced the Blaugrana where Fort could not.