The center back has a clear path to leave Inter, but the Blaugrana club is having a very difficult time signing him.
Barça has a practically complete squad, pending a last-minute departure, which seems unlikely to happen. Despite everything, nothing is being ruled out at the Blaugrana club and they continue to receive offers for players who would fit the bill if there are options to sign them. One of these offers is Benjamin Pavard, a player who was previously in the Blaugrana's orbit and whom Hansi Flick knows very well, having coached him at Bayern Munich. He is set to leave Inter in the final days of the transfer window, and his priority is to continue playing at the highest level in Europe.
The French international fits the profile of a versatile center back—he can play at center back or full back—and has extensive international experience. Inter are keen to save on his salary, but they paid just over €30 million for him two summers ago. In recent days, he has been linked with Saudi Arabia's Neom, but the player reportedly declined the multi-million-dollar offer in favor of finding a top European team that would allow him to play in the Champions League.
Pavard is in the hands of agent Pini Zahavi, who represents Robert Lewandowski and Hansi Flick himself. He met with Barça president Joan Laporta in Barcelona late last week, with whom he has a close personal relationship. The name is on the table, but Barça hasn't made any progress, as the priority is to register Szczesny, Gerard Martín, Marc Bernal, and Bardhji in these final days of the transfer window. And there won't be much more to come, even if the 1:1 rule is reached, something expected before the market closes. The situation is complicated, and the sporting directorate, for now, is ruling out any moves.
What Deco has put on the table is the option of signing a young center-back with a reserve team number, whose registration is viable and who can enter the first-team dynamic. The profile being sought is more left-footed than right-footed, following Íñigo Martínez's departure to Saudi Arabia. There are options on the table, but they are also difficult to match due to the salary cap.
From what we've seen so far, everything indicates that Eric Garcia will be playing a lot at right-back, a position that also includes Koundé. With the current squad, only Araujo, Cubarsí, and Christensen would remain as center-backs, so he could be somewhat tight in this position with all the games remaining and the injury history of some of them. It's clear the team has emergency solutions, but Flick wouldn't mind the arrival of a new player to bolster that area. Íñigo Martínez brought experience and composure, and now the profile of all the center-backs is younger, although they already have sufficient experience in the first team. We'll have to see what the final days of the transfer window bring.