If there is one side out of Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid in need of central defenders, it is likely Los Blancos. Yet they trail the other two in the chase for Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah, who is out of contract in the summer, and can sign a precontract with any of the three in just over two weeks.
In the summer, it looked as if Tah would be headed to Bayern, despite a late interest from Barcelona, but Bayern would not raise their offer €5m to the €25m Leverkusen requested. The 28-year-old has been courted by all three, and recent reports in Catalonia have claimed that that the Blaugrana have come close to an agreement on a contract for Tah.
Barcelona will look to renew Iñaki Peña, whose current contract expires in 2026. Hansi Flick and Deco are happy with how the goalkeeper is responding to his sudden prominence. @gbsans
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) December 12, 2024
Insider Christian Falk has confirmed to The Daily Briefing that this is not the case, and Bayern are very much still in the race for Tah with Barcelona. Real Madrid on the other hand are still interested, but are trailing behind the other pair.
Barcelona are hoping that the presence of Hansi Flick, who managed Tah for Germany, could be decisive in the deal, with Tah reportedly willing to accept a lower wage than he would earn elsewhere to join Barcelona. Central defence is not a priority position for the Catalans, but Tah is considered too good of an opportunity to pass up.