Barcelona Transfer News: Record-Breaking Defenders Eyed, Latest Rumours

Barcelona are reportedly preparing to splash out on a new defender and are willing to surpass the €36 million they paid for Dani Alves to get him.

Per Marca's Xavi Hernandez, the news comes from "sources from within the club," with two-thirds of their transfer budget this summer to be set aside for a new top-drawer centre-back.

Hernandez reports Athletic Bilbao's Aymeric Laporte and Atletico Madrid's Jose Maria Gimenez as the two most likely candidates, with the former having a €50 million release clause and the latter recently agreeing a new deal at the Vicente Calderon.

The news will no doubt be welcomed by Spanish football expert Sergi Dominguez, who has been unimpressed with the likes of Thomas Vermaelen, Douglas and Jeremy Mathieu:

Both Laporte and Gimenez would make excellent signings, having emerged as two of La Liga's top young defensive talents in recent years.

Indeed, the latter was named as the world's seventh-best player under the age of 23 by Squawka Football in February:

Laporte has also stood out thanks in part to his exceptional reading of the game, as revealed by WhoScored.com:

Here are some of the Frenchman's highlights this season, in which the youngster has yet again shown himself to be calm and capable at the back despite his tender age:

Their La Liga stats for the campaign compare well, per Squawka:

Category	Laporte	Gimenez
Age	21	21
Apps (La Liga)	25	23
Goals	3	1
Tackles Won	35	38
Aerial Duels Won	50	46
Interceptions	66	58
Blocks	15	17
Clearances	93	126
Pass Completion	80%	75%

While Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano are fine choices at centre-back, Barca's attempts to add strength in depth beyond them have provided mixed results, with none of their back-ups inspiring a great deal of confidence.

The Blaugrana's lack of quality defensive cover is perhaps the one weakness in their squad, so if they are to splash out this summer, a centre-back is a wise choice—and either Laporte or Gimenez would be a brilliant signing.

In other news, according to Mundo Deportivo (h/t Joe Rimmer of the Liverpool Echo) Everton pursued Munir El Haddadi in January with Marca (h/t Rimmer) adding the youngster was open to a loan move but was prevented from leaving by Barca boss Luis Enrique.

Further, the Toffees could make another attempt to land him this summer.

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

As the first-choice stand-in for Barca's front three, the 20-year-old has enjoyed fairly significant playing time this season, scoring eight goals and assisting seven in 25 outings.

Dominguez hailed his recent impact:

The Catalan giants seem to have high hopes for the forward but could well be looking to add more experienced cover for Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar over the summer.

Should they do so, they may well be open to letting Munir follow Gerard Deulofeu to Goodison Park, though possibly just on a temporary basis.