Barcelona watch Jonathan Tah, Julian Brandt and Leon Bailey during Bayer Leverkusen scouting trip

Barcelona technical secretary Robert Fernandez and assistant Urbano Ortega both attended Bayer Leverkusen's 2-2 Bundesliga draw with Wolfsburg at BayArena on Sunday (15 October), with reports from Spain suggesting that the duo were dispatched to run the rule over three of the home side's brightest young talents.

Catalan publication Sport claims that centre-back Jonathan Tah and wingers Julian Brandt and Leon Bailey were the main focus of the trip, with one previous target - right-back Benjamin Henrichs - once again confined to the substitutes' bench.

This is not the first time that Brandt, 21, has been watched by Barcelona.

Last month, it was claimed that the club's international adviser, Ariedo Braida, was in attendance during Leverkusen's meeting with Schalke at Veltins-Arena in order to take another look at Leon Goretzka and also keep tabs on Brandt, Henrichs and Max Meyer.

The 12-cap German international, who moved to North Rhine-Westphaliafrom Wolfsburg in 2014, has scored twice in nine outings across all competitions so far this term and Sport claim he would cost in excess of €30m (£26.6m, $35.4m).

Ex-Fortuna Dusseldorf loanee Tah, a highly-rated 21-year-old defender who has appeared 79 times since swapping Hamburg for Leverkusen two years ago, is said to be valued at the slightly lower price of €25m and was previously linked with a potential switch to Liverpool.

Jamaican speedster Bailey, the youngest of the trio at 20, attracted interest from a whole host of suitors including Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Everton, Hull City, Bournemouth and AS Roma after making a considerable impact during a productive two-year stint with Belgian outfit Genk between 2015-17.

However, he eventually signed for Leverkusen in January for a rumoured £12.8m fee and has gone on to feature 17 times for Die Werkself, scoring two goals and registering three assists.

Barcelona are clearly still looking towards the German top-flight for prospective new signings having already parted with a potential club-record £135.5m to prise Ousmane Dembele away from Borussia Dortmund in August. The exciting French forward has since been ruled out for three-and-a-half months after undergoing surgery on a hamstring injury suffered just 29 minutes into his maiden La Liga start against Getafe.

In addition to tracking soon-to-be-out-of-contract Schalke midfielder Goretzka, the undefeated league leaders could also be on a collision course with fierce rivals Real Madrid over RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner as they seek an upgrade on Paco Alcacer, who is expected to depart in January amid supposed interest from Southampton.

Barcelona were also believed to be monitoring Naby Keita before confirmation of his future move to Liverpool and Leipzig teammate Dayot Upamecano has similarly been mentioned in dispatches as Ernesto Valverde looks to prioritise the addition of a new centre-back.