Alejandro Balde wants out of Barcelona in January, and Tottenham are one of five Premier League clubs his agent Jorge Mendes is working through before a decision in December.
According to Sport, Mendes is collecting offers and sounding out Europe’s biggest clubs, with England the left-back’s first choice. Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester United have already heard the conditions of a deal. Tottenham and Manchester City are named as alternatives, but for both of them any move would depend on players leaving in the winter window.
The 23-year-old’s decision to stay in the summer has backfired. He has yet to start a match this season, with 124 minutes spread across five appearances, and João Cancelo is ahead of him in Hansi Flick’s plans.
What do Barcelona want for Alejandro Balde?
Barcelona would prefer a permanent sale at close to €40m. Mendes thinks a loan with an option to buy is the more realistic route, and that option could even become an obligation if certain conditions are met.
The club have their own reasons to play along. Moving Balde on would cut the wage bill and, added to the roughly €4m of room they currently have under their salary limit, could decide whether they can register new signings in January. The targets are a left-footed centre-back or a top-level full-back who can play more than one position.
Because Balde came through La Masia, any future sale would be pure profit for Barcelona. So even a loan suits them if it rebuilds his value for a big sale in the summer.
The Araujo route
The model Balde’s camp have in mind is Ronald Araujo, whose value has gone up during his loan at Liverpool. The Spain international wants the same thing: regular football at a club that clearly wants him, and a chance to show what he can do.
It isn’t only an English race. Roma and Juventus have both met Mendes to ask about the terms, though his salary is a problem for both. Monaco remain a possible option in France, while Benfica, who were keen in the summer, have dropped back because they already have the left-back position covered.
Why would Tottenham need a left-back?
On paper, Spurs are covered on the left. In practice, Destiny Udogie has barely been able to train for weeks at a time, and De Zerbi admitted as much after the Palace win, a fitness story we looked at in De Zerbi’s blunt update on the Italy left-back. Andrew Robertson has been the one starting in the meantime.
Full-back is already on the January agenda at the other end of the back four, too, with Spurs chasing Villarreal’s USA right-back Alex Freeman as Pedro Porro’s hamstring forces a rethink.
Is Alejandro Balde to Tottenham realistic?
Not yet, and the wording matters. Liverpool, Villa and United are the clubs actually looking at the numbers. Spurs are in the second group, and their interest only becomes real if someone leaves first.
A loan with an option is the kind of deal that would suit Tottenham in January, far more than a €40m fee for a player who hasn’t started a game since the summer. But if Udogie gets a clear run of training, the need goes away. For now, Balde is one to watch rather than one to expect, with Mendes due to present his options in December and Barcelona hoping to close it in January.
