Atletico Madrid defender Mario Hermoso appears to be the beneficiary of the high demand for cheap, quality central defenders, and Los Rojiblancos will have a battle on their hands to hold onto him. One of the potential destinations is Catalonia.
Hermoso has again been linked to Barcelona by MD, who say he could be an option to back up Alejandro Balde next season at left-back, while also being employed in central defence. His contract is up at the end of the season, but he looks no closer to agreeing a deal with the Blaugrana. Hermoso has been linked with a move to their rivals on several occasions.
🚨 Mario Hermoso is on Barça's radar, and he will be a free agent at the end of the season. @martinezferran @gbsans pic.twitter.com/gl9y2BOA5g
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) February 29, 2024
The Catalan paper cite Marcos Alonso’s impending exit as a factor in the potential arrival of Hermoso, despite also positing Alex Valle, on loan from Barcelona at Levante, as a successor to Alonso.
🚨🇵🇹 Barcelona will only consider a second loan deal for João Félix. The chances of signing him on a permanent are currently non-existent.
[🥇: @Luis_F_Rojo, @marca] pic.twitter.com/vG41aVlu2R
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) February 28, 2024
As recently as two weeks ago, Football España was informed that talks between Barcelona and Hermoso were ‘cold‘, and Matteo Moretto has posited Premier League interest as more likely to come off. The 28-year-old is looking at perhaps his last major contract at the top level, and it would be no surprise if he looked to cash in.
