Caglar Soyuncu has re-emerged on Barcelona’s radar with the Catalan giants ready to table a €36 million bid for the Turkish superstar.
According to a report published by Daily Mail, Caglar Soyuncu has come up as a possible target for Barcelona who are ready to shell as much as €40 million for the Turk.
Soyuncu joined Leicester City from SC Freiburg in August 2018 as a deputy, and soon backup for Harry Maguire, who was tipped to switch teams within the Premier League in the coming windows.
After making just six appearances in his first full season in England, Soyuncu was upgraded to the starting centre-back role in 2019/20. He appeared 34 times for Leicester in the season gone by, and has proven to be one of the best defenders in the league alongside partner-in-crime Jonny Evans.
The duo were heavily involved in the Foxes tremendous season as they finished 5th in the league conceding just 41 goals throughout the campaign. Soyuncu has been commended for his excellent reading of the game, his timely sliding tackles, strength, and his commitment to giving his all throughout the 90 minutes.
However, as is the case with a player who performs at a high level in a medium or low stature club, bigger teams have come poaching for Soyuncu. One of them is FC Barcelona, who were reportedly interested in the Turkish international earlier this year as well.
The Catalan giants are in desperate needs of defensive reinforcements, especially after the season they suffered, conceding 38 goals – only the fifth-best in the league.
Gerard Pique has performed at the highest level of football for more than a decade now and is entering the last juncture of his career aged 33. While Ronald Araujo has been tipped to take over the baton from him, the gap between the Uruguayan top flight and the La Liga may be too big a step to take in two years.
Eric Garcia has also been linked with a move back to the Catalan capital with Pep Guardiola already admitting in a press conference that the Spaniard is not interested in renewing his contract. He has shown more maturity on the ball than Araujo and could serve as a good enough back-up for the World Cup winner before taking over that role.
Leicester have themselves been linked with one of Barcelona’s newest additions, Francisco Trincao, and have reportedly offered to take him on a two-year loan, with an obligation to buy him for €50 million, which was refused by the Blaugrana. However, it is being reported that Soyuncu’s sale to Spain could become key in this operation.
The only roadblock in Barca’s pursuit of Soyuncu is their frail transfer budget which will hinder them from making heavy bids. Additionally, with Leicester reaching European football for the first time in five seasons, it might actually give incentive for the Turkish international to stay and push the club to the Champions League, a feat they were incredibly close to this season.
