Three players remain unregistered to play for Barcelona heading into their second La Liga match of the season against Levante.
Wojciech Szczęsny, Roony Bardghji and Gerard Martín remain sidelined due to Barcelona’s inability to yet comply with La Liga’s 1:1 spending rule. However, the Catalans are working overtime to register their three players and it appears Martín’s registration is the top priority.
Mundo Deportivo reports that Martín is first in line to be registered next, with Barcelona working to ensure Flick can call on the 23-year-old defender against Levante, a player the German insists he needs at his disposal.
The key to registering Martín would be to reach an agreement to terminate the contract of outcast midfielder Oriol Romeu. Flick’s made it clear that Romeu isn’t part of his plans, evidenced by him not even traveling on Barcelona’s preseason tour.
According to MARCA, Romeu’s agent has held constant talks with the club looking to reach an agreement on the termination of his contract. The hope is that, by allowing him to leave for free, Romeu gives up a part of his salary, which would result in Martín’s registration.
Last season, Martín was able to play without issues because he was registered as a Barça Atlètic player—not part of first team. Since the player turned 23 in February, he can’t be registered on the B team because he no longer meets the age requirements.
Martín featured 42 times for Barcelona last season, serving as Alejandro Balde’s primary backup. When Balde suffered an injury late in the campaign, Martín played significant minutes, even notching two assists in Barcelona’s heartbreaking Champions League semifinals defeat against Inter Milan.
Flick praised Martín for the versatility he showed during preseason, playing as a center back for the first time under the German. Iñigo Martinez’s departure means Barcelona currently don’t have a left-footed center back in the squad, so Martín could very well be the answer to that issue.
Once Barcelona manage to register Martín, Szczęsny is next in order of priority, with Bardghji’s registration likely not happening until close to the end of the transfer window.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Barcelona ‘Prioritizing’ the Registration of Versatile Defender.
