The reasons why Jonathan Tah is the ideal signing for Barça's defence

Published:19/10/2024 - 10:44h

Updated:23/10/2024 - 07:30h

Jonathan Tah could be a strategic signing for Barça in the coming seasons. The centre-back would arrive for free and would give the defence a leap in quality

Jonathan Tah is set to be one of the names of FC Barcelona in the 2025 transfer market. The centre-back's contract with Bayer Leverkusen expires on June 30th next year and the player has already announced that he has no intention of renewing, so it is expected that he will make the jump to one of the big clubs on the continent for the following season, with Juventus, Inter Milan and Real Madrid being some of the rivals of the culés in the 'race'.

The profile of the 28-year-old defender is very much liked by the sporting management of the Blaugrana, where they see him as a real 'bargain' as he could come to the team at zero cost. In addition to being a threat from above (he is 1.95m tall and scored six goals last season), he adds physical strength, good ball output and, above all, the hierarchy and experience of a 'crack' who has been competing at the highest level for 10 seasons at the BayArena.

Barça could suffer an exodus of centre-backs soon

The signing of Tah, in addition, gains strength in view of the contractual situations of the Barça centre-backs. As of today, three of Barça's defenders are out of contract in 2026 (Araújo, Christensen and Eric García) and another in 2025 (Iñigo Martínez). The commitment of the latter will be extended for a year if he plays 60% of the games with a minimum of 45 minutes, and although at the moment he has played 10 of the 11 official matches, his age (he will turn 34 in May) and the returns of the Uruguayan and the Dane in the second half of the season could leave him without opportunities in the final stretch of the season.

On the other hand, the uncertainty surrounding the futures of Araújo, Christensen and Eric García remains unresolved, so Tah would represent a 'safeguard' of guarantees in the culé rearguard. For this reason, Deco wants to try to sign him due to the need to have central defenders tied down in the long term, since only Pau Cubarsí has a contract until 2027 (it will increase to 2029 when he comes of age). However, the 'bid' will not be easy, which is why the Catalans will have to use their options to avoid losing him to their rivals.