Earlier this month, we covered claims made in Spain that Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi has emerged as a transfer target for Barcelona.
Ronald Koeman has limited options when selecting his centre-backs and therefore, the Catalan club are looking to strengthen that position in January.
Eric García remains the number one target for the Spanish giants, but it will be difficult to take him away from Manchester City next month.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are looking at alternatives and Ajax’s Lisandro Martínez, Mustafi and AS Roma’s Federico Fazio have been identified as backup options.
It’s claimed the Catalan club contemplated taking Martínez only on a loan deal.
Regarding the other two players, the newspaper explains Mustafi and Fazio names are included in the Camp Nou side’s transfer list for January. However, ‘everything is frozen’, until the outcome of the negotiations to sign García is known. 
Barca will sign a new central defender in the winter market and they have Mustafi’s name in their transfer ‘portfolio’.
The 28-year-old missed the start of this season due to a knee injury and has been restricted to only two Premier League appearances after regaining full fitness.
In addition to this, Mustafi has five more appearances in the Europa League.
