{"id":549254,"date":"2020-04-10T14:46:48","date_gmt":"2020-04-10T18:46:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonfootball.com\/?p=549254"},"modified":"2020-04-10T14:46:48","modified_gmt":"2020-04-10T18:46:48","slug":"barcelona-prepare-to-steal-liverpool-defensive-transfer-target-diego-carlos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/04\/10\/barcelona-prepare-to-steal-liverpool-defensive-transfer-target-diego-carlos\/","title":{"rendered":"REPORT: Barcelona Prepare to Steal Liverpool Defensive Transfer Target, Diego Carlos"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to Sport<\/a>, FC Barcelona want to sign Sevilla defender Diego Carlos. He is also a major Liverpool<\/a> transfer target.<\/p>\n

Barcelona Prepare to Steal Liverpool Defensive Transfer Target, Diego Carlos<\/h2>\n

Highly Valued by Both Teams<\/h3>\n

Carlos would be Liverpool’s starting centre-back next to Van Dijk<\/a>. With Joel Matip<\/a> and Joe Gomez<\/a> already filling this position quite well, it is clear how highly valued Carlos is to Jurgen Klopp<\/a>. According to ABC Sevilla<\/a>, Liverpool have already contacted Sevilla about the deal.<\/p>\n

However, Barcelona will not be beaten easily to the signature. They also highly value Diego Carlos and has been identified as their main defensive transfer target. With Gerard Pique<\/a> entering the latter stages of his career, Barca need to sign a younger player to step in at the centre-back role. They have identified Carlos as the man to do the job.<\/p>\n

Barcelona Hatch a Plan to Complete the Deal<\/h3>\n

The latest reports suggest that Barcelona are not willing to pay his current \u00a365 million asking price. However, they are hatching a plan to complete the deal anyway. Barca are hoping to use Ivan Rakitic<\/a> to balance out the deal.<\/p>\n

Rakitic has fallen out of favour in Barcelona, only starting ten La Liga<\/a> games this season. A swap deal with Carlos and Rakitic makes a lot of sense for both clubs. It would soften the financial blow to Barcelona, while also being a good move for Sevilla, as they gain a major player to soften the blow of losing Carlos.<\/p>\n

The deal also makes sense for both players involved. Carlos would be making a big step in his career, becoming a starter at a big club like Barcelona<\/a>, while Rakitic would begin to enter the ending stages of his career and return to his former club, Sevilla.<\/p>\n

Why Diego Carlos?<\/h3>\n

Diego Carlos has had an excellent season so far, starting 22 La Liga games averaging 4.8 clearances and an 83.4% pass-accuracy rate. This has attracted interest from many top sides including Napoli and Real Madrid<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>