by FC Barcelona have reportedly reached an oral agreement to sign the Frenchman from Eintracht Frankfurt … [+]
FC Barcelona have reportedly reached a verbal agreement to sign Evan Ndicka from Eintracht Frankfurt on a free transfer ahead of next season.
The Frenchman obviously impressed Barca manager Xavi Hernandez when he knocked his side out of the Europa League quarter-finals with a 4-3 aggregate win last season.
Although the Germans win the tournament and advance to the Champions League this season, where they meet Italian Serie A leaders Napoli in the round of 16 next week, Ndicka is likely to leave in the summer.
According to Sport1 above ASThe 23-year-old has reached a verbal agreement with FC Barcelona to join them in 2023/2024.
The German outlet say Barca have to decide whether to go ahead with the operation in March as their financial distress remains a potential obstacle.
As in previous years, Barca have to respect Financial Fair Play rules and La Liga’s strict salary cap when signing new players or registering their current players’ new contracts.
Spanish top-flight president Javier Tebas has warned they will have to take a total of 200 million euros ($215 million) off their payroll, but Ndicka’s salary should help given his age and relatively lower experience compared to other stars Barca not too high his squad or anywhere else in Europe.
If the reports on Ndicka are true, it’s interesting that Barca feel they need another defender considering their current back line has scored just seven goals in 21 games – with 16 conceded – and Xavi’s men on course are set to win a first La Liga crown since 2019.
These possible developments could mean bad news for Eric Garcia. While Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen currently occupy central defence, Jules Kounde is at right back but could switch to the center if one of the other two is unavailable, as will be seen on Sunday against Cadiz due to Araujo’s suspension.
Garcia is currently fourth-choice at the position and there are already rumors of a summer sale which could materialize when Ndicka arrives.
Garcia also returned to Barca on a free transfer from Manchester City in 2021, meaning his sale will bring president Joan Laporta and the board pure profit if it goes through.
