Barcelona 'identify' 27-year-old as possible Alejandro Balde replacement

Regarded as the heir to Jordi Alba at Camp Nou, Balde was the natural successor to Barca's long-serving left-back and has now become an integral part of the furniture in Catalonia.

Still only 20 years old, Balde has already made 80 appearances for La Blaugrana - scoring two goals and providing seven assists - albeit while also being hampered by injuries.

Nevertheless, Barcelona saw fit to tie Balde down to a new long-term deal until 2028 last September, also inserting a mammoth €1bn (£851m) release clause into his terms, reflecting his status as one of the club's most promising talents.

However, it was reported towards the end of last season that Barcelona could entertain reasonable offers for Balde's signature to alleviate their financial problems, as they have still not been able to register new signing Dani Olmo.

Barca targeting Sergio Reguilon as Balde successor?

Balde's sale would go down as pure profit thanks to his status as an academy player, and according to Fichajes, several Premier League teams have been alerted to his potential availability.

Contrary to previous reports, the Spanish outlet claims that Barcelona still view Balde as a pivotal part of their project under Hansi Flick, but lucrative bids from the Premier League would be difficult for both the club and player to turn down.

If Balde does head for the exit door, Tottenham Hotspur's Sergio Reguilon has apparently been earmarked as an ideal replacement, as the 27-year-old's days in a Spurs shirt appear to be numbered.

The former Real Madrid and Sevilla left-back joined the North London giants for £25.6m on the back of winning the Europa League with the latter in 2020, but he has never truly found his feet in the English capital.

Reguilon has two goals and eight assists under his belt from 67 matches in a Tottenham jersey, but he has not made a competitive appearance for the Lilywhites since 2022 and has been loaned out to Atletico Madrid, Manchester United and Brentford.

Flick 'approves' Barca move for Reguilon

The defender did not set the world alight with Man United, but he impressed in a Brentford kit and has apparently already earned Flick's seal of approval thanks to his knowledge of Spanish football.

Reguilon is in the last year of his contract with Tottenham, who are determined to offload him before the August 30 deadline, but there have been no concrete bids for the Spain international yet.

With Destiny Udogie at the top of the pecking order and Ben Davies providing backup, Reguilon is not in Ange Postecoglou's plans moving forward and was left out of the squad for their opening Premier League clash wih Everton on Monday night, which ended 1-1.

Meanwhile, Barcelona overcame Valencia 2-1 in their maiden La Liga match of the 2024-25 campaign and are next in action at home to Athletic Bilbao on Saturday evening.