Barcelona monitoring ex-La Masia graduate who has verbal agreement with La Liga rivals - Reports
FC Barcelona are currently monitoring the situation surrounding Girona full-back and former La Masia graduate Arnau Martinez, according to SPORT (via Barca Universal). The 19-year-old defender is having a stellar season with Girona in La Liga, which is the main reason behind the interest from the Catalan giants.
Arnau Martinez has been one of Girona's main players this season. The full-back has made 24 league appearances for this side and has contributed three goals and two assists along the way.
Despite his tender age, Martinez has a good amount of La Liga experience which is one of the reasons why Barcelona are interested in signing him this summer. According to the aforementioned source, however, Martinez has already agreed personal terms with fellow La Liga side Atletico Madrid.
The deal between Girona and Atletico Madrid is far from done. Arnau Martinez has a minimum release clause of €20 million in his contract. Atleti, however, want that figure to be lowered, thus stagnating the deal.
Barcelona, meanwhile, are monitoring the situation between the two sides and will be ready to pounce should the deal with Atletico Madrid go downhill. Barca Universal has also claimed that Martinez is happy with how the Blaugrana are functioning at the moment and is also a huge admirer of manager Xavi Hernandez.
It is worth mentioning that Arnau Martinez played the full 90 minutes during Girona's away game against Barcelona in the Catalan derby on April 10. The game ended 0-0 despite Xavi Hernandez's side dominating possession and having more shots compared to their opponents.
The Catalan outfit will be looking to strengthen their right-back position in the summer transfer window. They are currently forced into playing Jules Kounde as a makeshift right-back despite the Frenchman being primarily a centre-back.
Arnau Martinez could be a great signing for the club should the deal take place. The full-back first joined La Masia back in 2010 but left them six years later to join L'Hospitalet.
Barcelona have a healthy lead at the top of the La Liga standings
Despite their 0-0 draw against Girona on Monday, the Blaugrana still have a healthy lead at the top of the La Liga table.
At the time of writing, Xavi's side have amassed 72 points in the league with 10 matches remaining in the season. They currently have a 13-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid.
Barcelona will next face Getafe in the league on Sunday (April 16) at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez.