Barcelona have made a perfect start to the 2026/27 campaign following significant changes to Hansi Flick’s squad.
The Catalan giants have won their opening eight La Liga matches, scoring 36 goals during their impressive early-season run.
Raphinha has played a major role in that form, scoring 12 times across Barcelona’s first eight league fixtures.
Barcelona also invested heavily during the summer, with Rodri, Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi among their major additions.
However, the club could return to the market for defensive reinforcements as Deco considers Barcelona’s options for next summer.
According to El Nacional, citing The Independent, Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has offered himself to Barcelona ahead of a potential move.
The Netherlands international’s current Liverpool contract expires on June 30, meaning he could become available without a transfer fee.
Van Dijk has indicated his willingness to experience La Liga, potentially presenting Barcelona with an opportunity to add an experienced centre-back.
However, Flick currently has reservations about pursuing the Liverpool defender despite the potential availability.
Van Dijk would arrive at Barcelona aged 36, and Flick believes the move would require an adaptation period.
The Barcelona manager also has concerns about potentially restricting opportunities for Gerard Martin and younger players emerging from La Masia.
Flick would therefore prefer Barcelona to explore younger alternatives as they assess possible defensive additions.
Alessandro Bastoni, Ruud Nijstad and Nico Schlotterbeck feature among the other options mentioned in the report.
Furthermore, Flick would favour Aymeric Laporte over Van Dijk if Barcelona ultimately decide to recruit an experienced defender.
Barcelona therefore have an opportunity to pursue Van Dijk should his Liverpool contract expire as scheduled.
However, Flick’s current preference for alternative targets means the Catalan club have yet to embrace the possibility of signing the Liverpool captain.
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