Barcelona will need to strengthen their defence in the winter market following Samuel Umtiti’s ongoing fitness concerns and Gerard Piqué’s injury setback.
Eric García still remains a priority target for the La Liga side after they failed to sign the Manchester City centre-back in the summer.
Chelsea’s Antonio Rüdiger is viewed as one of the backup options, if the Catalan club fail to land García.
According to Sport, Ronald Koeman’s side have ‘reactivated’ the operation to sign the Germany international, who has struggled for regular game time this season.
The 27-year-old has made only five appearances for the Blues, out of which only one has come in the Premier League.
When it came to the possibility of leaving Frank Lampard’s side in January, he said, “What will happen in January is a long way off. I’m completely relaxed.”
Sport are of the belief the defender’s latest comments indicate he remains ‘focused’ on Chelsea, and therefore, the possibility of the Spanish giants signing the Blues player is ‘complicated’.
Barcelona had identified Rüdiger as an alternative to Manchester City’s García for the upcoming window.
