Barcelona receive boost to complete £21.4m defender transfer, talks ongoing

Barcelona's chances of getting Sergi Roberto off the wage bill got a boost after Bayern Munich made enquiries about the defender's availability this summer.

The Catalan club are desperate to reduce their expenditure, which saw Roberto being made available for transfer. The lack of interest earlier this summer saw Barcelona consider a new two-year deal with reduced wages for the £21.4 million rated player.

Roberto is out of contract next summer and the La Liga giants are adamant that they will not lose him on a free transfer. They are keen to recoup a fee for the right-back and according to Goal, Bayern are interested in signing the Spain international.

The Bundesliga outfit are seeking an initial loan deal but Barcelona are expected to negotiate a mandatory option to make the deal permanent next summer. Bayern are also talking to Roberto's representatives via an intermediary about a move to the Allianz Arena this month.

Bayern have a good relationship with Barcelona following the loan deal for Philippe Coutinho in 2019, and are hoping to use that to get a favourable deal for Roberto this summer. They had also made enquiries for Roberto's teammates Sergino Dest and Emerson, but are unlikely to land either this summer.

The German champions were unhappy with Benjamin Pavard and Bouna Sarr's contributions at right-back last season and are keen to bring in reinforcements. Moreover, they are also not looking to spend heavily following the acquisition of Dayot Upamecano from Red Bull Leipzig and are keen to pursue loan deals.

Roberto has been a regular in the Barcelona first-team since the 2014-15 season. During the most recent campaign, the right-back struggled with a few injury issues that limited him to just 15 La Liga matches, but his quality is not in question having been a regular starter in the seasons gone by. He is also a two-time Champions League winner and a six-time Spanish league champion.