Barcelona and Xavi ‘interested’ in summer deal for key Villarreal star

Barcelona are said to be interested in a Villarreal star ahead of next summer.

The Blaugrana are currently preparing for Saturday’s El Clasico, but in the background, their recruitment staff will already have an eye on both the January and summer transfer windows.

With that, Barca are said to be interested in Villarreal full-back Alfonso Pedraza, who has been among the most consistent left-backs over the last few years, particularly under Unai Emery. Pedraza is both a solid defender and an attacking threat, and Barca will need to replace Marcos Alonso in the not too distant future.

Pedraza was recently handed his Spain debut, and he is still only 27 years of age, already racking up around 300 league appearances during his career.

According to Fichajes, Xavi is interested in Pedraza, who is under contract until 2026 as things stand. Villarreal will likely be reluctant to lose the full-back, especially given likely interest in Yeremy Pino and Alex Baena next summer.

Barcelona would likely have to pay safely over 20million euros to get a deal done, and any deal will depend on what other players leave next summer.