Barcelona are keen to bulk out their squad in the coming months, and they may well turn to the free agent market in order to do so.
The Blaugrana have been left with just 19 players to begin the season, following four exits in the final two days of the transfer window. One of the key priorities for Manager Xavi Hernandez is to ensure they have two options for each position, and there are three positions without an alternative.
At right-back, Xavi will have to rely on Sergi Roberto, Ronald Araujo or Jules Kounde to rotate Joao Cancelo, while up front, Ferran Torres is the only makeshift option to replace Robert Lewandowski through the middle.
The other position, which Sport say is a priority, is the pivote position, covered by Oriol Romeu. They are keen on giving him cover with a low-cost addition, and new Sporting Director Deco has taken note that Josuha Guilavogui and Jean-Philippe Gbamin are available as free agents.
The former was mostly recently with Wolfsburg, but was released by the German side. He once had an unsuccessful loan spell with Atletico Madrid, but the 32-year-old now finds himself without a side.
Meanwhile Gbamin was last at Everton, spending his final season with them on loan at Trabzonspor in Turkey. Coming through as a central defender and a right-back, he moved into midfield but the 27-year-old Ivory Coast international is now without a side.
The other two options the club are looking at are Joao Neves of Benfica and Dario Essugo of Sporting CP. Neither are likely to arrive this winter, due to the financial constraints Barcelona are working with, but Deco likes them as options for the future.
Neves, 19, has made 25 appearances for Benfica’s senior side, and six for Portugal’s under-21 team. He is represented by Jorge Mendes, to whom Barcelona have close ties. Meanwhile Essugo has played 13 times for Sporting, and recently became a teammate of Neves for the under-21 Selecao, making two appearances.
