Inside Barcelona: Ake, Cancelo transfer links — will they take advantage of Christensen’s injury? – The Athletic
Welcome to the latest edition of Inside Barcelona, our weekly series to follow throughout the 2025-26 La Liga season, after Spanish football returned following its winter break.
Every Monday, we will bring you information and analysis on the biggest talking points, cutting through the noisy world of all things Barca with reporting you can trust.
The information contained in this article reflects multiple conversations with various sources at the Spanish champions, all of whom wanted to speak anonymously to protect relationships.
What’s the biggest talking point at Barcelona right now?
Barcelona passed a difficult test, beating Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium with their city rivals in top form. After ending 2025 with five straight league wins, Manolo Gonzalez’s side are fifth in La Liga and made the game as difficult as possible.
Barca were crowned La Liga champions on their previous two visits to the ground (in 2023 and 2025). On the first occasion, the derby also saw Espanyol relegated to the second division.
That has fuelled a tense rivalry — taken to new levels by goalkeeper Joan Garcia’s move across town in the summer — but Barca’s 2-0 win strengthened their lead at the top of La Liga.
Joan Garcia was in inspired form against Espanyol (Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)
While they have struggled at times this season, Hansi Flick’s side have more points than at this stage last year. After matchday 19 of the previous campaign, Barca were third with 38 points, five behind Real Madrid in second and six behind leaders Atletico Madrid. They are leading the table with 49 points now, four ahead of Real Madrid.
Now, they travel to Saudi Arabia to play in the Supercopa de Espana, a competition they won last season as part of a domestic treble. In recent seasons, the Supercopa has been a barometer for the rest of the season in Spain — since 2022, the team that has won it has gone on to lift La Liga. Barca face Athletic Club in the semi-final on Wednesday, with a potential final against Atletico Madrid or Real Madrid to follow on Sunday.
Another issue that is beginning to gain traction is what Barca do in the January transfer market: will they use Andreas Christensen’s injury to make a new signing?
Sporting director Deco told Cadena Ser radio last month that Barca would not make any signings in the winter window as they do not tend to work out. But, following the centre-back’s long-term knee injury and the uncertainties around Ronald Araujo’s return (more of which below), the club are looking into the possibility of strengthening their defence.
What did we learn from Saturday’s game?
That this Barcelona team can win while not necessarily being at their best.
“To be honest, we didn’t deserve it,” was Flick’s post-match assessment. The team did not gel in midfield and Pedri, who came on in the 64th minute on his return from a muscle injury, cut a frustrated figure.
Another issue was Raphinha not quite working in attacking midfield. The Brazil winger cannot turn and accelerate in central areas in the same way as Dani Olmo or Fermin Lopez, and it seemed clear his best position remains on the wing.
But we also learned Garcia is here to stay as Barca’s No 1 and can make history at the club. Some voices within Barca have even said, “We have our own Thibaut Courtois” in reference to the 24-year-old.
His saves kept Barca in the game against his old team. It came against a backdrop of genuine hostility towards him. Every time Garcia touched the ball, he was met with deafening whistles and insults, while Espanyol fans held up banners with rats drawn on them.
That he was able to keep a cool head in such a hostile environment provided further proof that Barca did the right thing in signing him (not that it was needed).
The feeling within the club is he could become a Barcelona legend.
Will Barcelona make a move this January transfer window?
Flick is very keen on signing a new defender. The club are exploring what players are available this month, but it is far from a simple situation.
“When we look at our defensive line, I think we need one more player,” the German manager said in his pre-Espanyol press conference on Friday. “It’s something we need to talk about, but it is not easy to get a player of this level in winter.
“I am confident we can do something, but it has to make sense.”
Barcelona have a big problem in defence after Christensen was sidelined for months. Araujo has just returned to train with the first team after being given indefinite leave with the club’s agreement, but there is still no timeframe on his return. He was included in their squad for the Supercopa de Espana but is not expected to play.
All of this leaves Barca with just five defenders — Jules Kounde, Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, Gerard Martin and Alejandro Balde — to cover four positions. One of those, Garcia, is being used in midfield.
Andreas Christensen’s injury could see Barcelona dip into the transfer market (Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)
The challenge now is to find something that makes sense given the reservations Deco mentioned about the January transfer market.
The sporting director’s top priority was to sign a centre-back in the summer, but the names they were monitoring — such as Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi and Nico Schlotterbeck of Borussia Dortmund — are not currently for sale. It is also unclear as to whether Barca have the finances for a deal of that size.
Barca remain in a tight position with their La Liga-imposed salary limit, but Christensen’s injury does give them options. As the Denmark international is expected to be out for more than four months, the Catalans could use the long-term injury exception in La Liga’s rulebook to use 80 per cent of his salary space to register a new signing.
But bear in mind that there is a deadline for this. According to the league’s rules, every club that intends to use this exception must notify La Liga at most 25 days after the player is injured. Christensen’s injury happened on December 20, which means Barca need to tell La Liga if they want to register a new signing in his place by January 14.
In an ideal world, Deco would like an experienced player to join on loan until the end of the season to provide depth and competition.
One player liked within Barca’s sporting department is Manchester City’s Nathan Ake. But it is seen as unlikely that City will be open to letting him go on loan until the end of the season without the possibility of a permanent sale. Following injuries to Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias, that option seems even more remote, and City do not envisage letting him go at this point.
A player who has been offered to the club in recent days is Joao Cancelo. The Portugal international is expected to leave Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal this month and would be very keen on re-joining Barca following his loan spell there in the 2023-24 season.
Right-back Cancelo is not the central defender Flick wants, which means the 31-year-old is not seen as the most sensible option, according to club sources.
What might we have missed? What should we look out for?
Araujo’s return happened during the club’s open training session, which Barcelona hold every year around Christmastime. The Uruguayan received a warm welcome from supporters.
After Barca’s Champions League defeat by Chelsea in early December, Araujo asked the club for indefinite leave, a request which was granted. He has not trained nor played since then, although he has been working with a physical trainer who has helped him stay in shape.
Ronald Araujo in Barcelona training last month (Manaure Quintero/AFP via Getty Images)
He decided to return after the holidays, with club sources saying he may not yet be physically ready to return to the pitch and needs to train more with the group.
“It’s up to him,” Flick said, when asked when he could return to the team. “He’s fine now, physically he may not be 100 per cent, but he’s fine. Besides, it’s up to him to decide how quickly he’s going to come back.”
Araujo will continue to gain match fitness with the squad at the Supercopa.
