As has already been established in the past few days, FC Barcelona are going after the signing of Bayer Leverkusen and Germany defender Jonathan Tah before the transfer window closes.
The 28-year-old has entered the final year of his contract with the Bundesliga champions and has shown no indications of wanting to renew.
In fact, Tah’s agent, Pini Zahavi confirmed today that the centre-back wants to leave Bayer Leverkusen and that he hopes that all parties involved can find an agreeable solution in the next couple of days.
Deco in touch with Leverkusen
Now, Florian Plettenberg reports that Barcelona sporting director Deco has personally communicated to Bayer Leverkusen that the Catalans are very keen on signing Jonathan Tah.
In fact, the former Portugal midfielder has even conveyed to the German champions that Barça are ready to offer a transfer fee of €20 million for the centre-back.
Barcelona’s pursuit of Tah has been driven by the injuries sustained by defenders Andreas Christensen and Eric Garcia, while Ronald Araujo is also sidelined for almost the entirety of the first half of the season.
As such, the Catalans seem willing to make every effort to bring Tah into the club, with manager Hansi Flick personally requesting his signing.
Leverkusen make their stance clear
However, as per the update from Plettenberg, Bayer Leverkusen have made it clear to Barcelona as well as Bayern Munich that they intend to keep hold of Tah at this moment.
In fact, the Bundesliga champions are not even looking at the possibility of a replacement for the 28-year-old, despite the risk of losing him for free next year when his contract expires.
But, at the same time, Leverkusen would be willing to discuss the situation if offers of at least €30 million were to arrive for Tah.
As such, Barcelona, who are offering €20 million for him, will need to substantially increase their proposal if they are to get the German champions to the negotiation table for Tah.
With not much time left before the window closes and the club’s FFP situation far from ideal, a move for Tah looks difficult to pull off.
