FC Barcelona suffered a massive loss on Sunday against their arch-rivals Real Madrid on Sunday. Despite coming into this game at the back of nine back-to-back league wins, the Catalan club weren’t really comfortable at the Camp Nou, which eventually culminated in a 1-2 defeat. The primary aspect of Barca’s game that led to this loss was their shaky defense.
Coming into the game, Barcelona were already short of options with injuries to Eric Garcia, Andreas Christensen, and Jules Kounde. Hansi Flick had no option but to field a centre-back duo of Gerard Martin and Pau Cubarsi in the game, and it didn’t really work. A costly mistake from Martin, where he mispassed the ball to Kylian Mbappe in the box, even led to the opening goal for Madrid.
Even from a broader context, Martin’s performance in an out-of-position CB role hasn’t been too convincing. On top of that, their 19-year-old sensation Xavi Espart also sustained an injury to the syndesmosis joint in his right ankle and will be out for around seven weeks, leaving another major void in that backline.
The club’s overall defensive struggles aren’t a newfound one as well, as there have been multiple occasions, even last season as well, when their defense has folded under pressure. After Inigo Martinez’s departure, Barca couldn’t form a similar pair for the centre-back position. Now, with Ronald Araujo already sent on loan to Liverpool FC last summer, the defensive options have been streamlined for Flick to a large extent.
The Catalan club largely needs a centre-back to elevate the team’s depth in the backline. In this precarious situation, the Catalan club has identified VFB Stuttgart defender Finn Jeltsch as a valuable addition to the team’s backline in the upcoming winter transfer window in January.
Jeltsch, 20, has quickly established himself as the starting center-back of the team, and his performances have also earned him a nomination for the 2026 Golden Boy award.
Jeltsch moved to Stuttgart from Nürnberg in 2025 and is signed to the club till 2030. Notably, the 20-year-old doesn’t have a release clause as well, giving Stuttgart the ultimate leverage to demand a substantial fee. Sources say that Jeltsch’s current market value is £ 29.3M (35M Euros), but Stuttgart can demand in the proximity of £ 50.2M (60M Euros).
Besides, FC Barcelona isn’t the only club that is keeping a close eye on the player, as Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Arsenal also seem to be interested in the 20-year-old. Notably, Flick rates Jeltsch quite highly as well, and sporting director Deco has had tabs on the player. Earlier this month, reports had surfaced that the Catalan club had sent scouts to watch the player during Stuttgart’s game against Viking Stavanager.
Considering the player’s age and high ceiling, Jeltsch can be a long-term prospect for Barca as well, alongside Pau Cubarsi. Honed with an elite on-the-ball skill set and an ability to play in a high defensive line, Finn Jeltsch can fit seemingly well into Barca’s system as well.
