According to Sport, citing Laurie Whitwell, The Athletic's Manchester United correspondent, on the Talk of the Devils podcast, Barcelona are interested in signing Lisandro Martinez, provided the transaction cost is sufficiently low.
The 28-year-old Martinez is currently valued at €45 million. He joined Manchester United from Ajax in 2022 for a transfer fee of €57 million and has served the club ever since.
The Argentine center-back remains on Deco's recruitment shortlist, serving as one of the potential candidates for Barcelona to reinforce their center-back position. With Hansi Flick's side suffering a wave of defensive injuries at the start of the season, bolstering this position has become a priority for the club. However, Barcelona will only consider bringing in Lisandro if they can complete the deal at a low cost.
This also aligns with the reality of Barcelona's tight operating room during the winter transfer window under Financial Fair Play constraints. The club has already committed significant funds this past summer, bringing in Anthony Gordon, Rodri, Karim Adeyemi, Gabriel Jesus, Dominik Livakovic and Joao Cancelo.
Following the closure of the summer transfer window, Barcelona treasurer Ferran Olive stated on a Cadena SER program that the club's available margin for player recruitment next January remains exceptionally limited: “There is still margin, but very little, only around 3 to 4 million euros.”
Olive emphasized that to execute larger financial transactions, the club must first arrange player departures before considering reinforcements: “We must sell players before we can buy. The 1:1 rule means that for one player to arrive, another player must leave.”
Sport previously reported that Lisandro's contract situation makes him an appealing option. The 28-year-old Argentine international's contract with Manchester United is set to expire on June 30, 2027, with an option to extend for an additional year. Whether he will remain at Old Trafford is far from decided, and it is understood that Manchester United have already considered the possibility of sanctioning his departure.