Barcelona Defender Targeted By Manchester United

Barcelona defender Marc Bartra is the reported subject of interest from Manchester United

According to the Manchester Evening News, the Barcelona defender has been identified by the Red Devils as the ideal reinforcements they need in their backline. After a season in which they have seen Michael Carrick and Daley Blind forced to play centerback, the clubs knows they must improve at that position.

Spanish international Marc Bartra is reportedly available for just £10 million and will be tempted by the prospect of playing regularly at Old Trafford. He would theoretically be third on the depth chart behind the oft-injured Phil Jones and Chris Smalling rather than Javier Mascherano, Gerard Pique, Jeremy Mathieu, and even Thomas Vermaelen.

Bartra seemed to be on track to be the next great Barcelona defender in the vein of Pique and Carles Puyol but things have not quite worked out that way. Perhaps it is the lingering effects of being burnt to a crisp by Gareth Bale in the Copa Del Rey a few years ago.

As of Barcelona’s last La Liga match against Las Palmas, Bartra has only made nine appearances with six of them as a substitute. The 25-year-old is running out of time to prove himself at the Camp Nou and could try and force a move out to get his career back on track.

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Even if he chooses to be patient and remain at Barcelona, the club has little reason to be patient with him. They can afford to bring on a better player and at 25 it is not as if he can be touted as a prospect with tremendous upside.

One of the issues is that it is difficult to be a fringe player as a defender or goalkeeper. Often a midfielder or forward can get away with mistakes because of their position and can make up for a bad game with a timely goal. Defenders, particularly young ones like Bartra, are judged primarily on the mistakes they make and usually one mistake is one too many.

Bartra’s main problem now is his lack of consistency which can be blamed on a lack of consistent playing time. However with Barcelona chasing silverware on so many different fronts they must decide at some point whether or not they can trust the young defender. They have the offensive firepower to make up for defensive lapses against most teams and could wrap up La Liga earlier than usual.

If they have La Liga sewn up with several games to go and they entrust Bartra with that small responsibility then perhaps he may reconsider staying in Spain. If not, then it is time to pack up and make a move elsewhere to get his career back on track.

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