Barcelona have reportedly accelerated their pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah, whose agents have held a meeting with sporting director Deco.
After leading Die Werkself to the Bundesliga title without losing a single game in the 2023-24 campaign, Tah was inevitably tipped to depart to one of Europe's established powerhouses over the summer.
All of Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid were rumoured to have been pursuing the 28-year-old, who looked incredibly likely to make the move to the Allianz Arena at one stage.
However, Tah wound up staying with Xabi Alonso's side and remains an integral part of the German champions' defence, making 21 appearances in all competitions this season and scoring one goal.
The Germany international's contract is up at the end of the season, though, meaning that he can negotiate a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs from next month before a possible free transfer in the summer.
Tah, Barcelona 'very satisfied' with transfer meeting
![Germany's Jonathan Tah pictured on June 23, 2024 [IMAGO]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/26/jonathan-tah_1.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Germany's Jonathan Tah pictured on June 23, 2024 [IMAGO]")
© Imago
As cash-strapped Barcelona are still prioritising the no-cost signings of established stars, Tah is a name that has been on their shortlist for some time, a report from Mundo Deportivo claims.
La Blaugrana apparently stepped up their pursuit of the centre-back on Thursday, when sporting director Deco chaired a meeting with Tah's entourage, and all parties were said to be 'very satisfied' with the rendezvous.
Barcelona's chances of signing Tah are also boosted by agent Pini Zahavi's 'excellent' relationship with the club and president Joan Laporta, while head coach Hansi Flick is also a big fan of the Leverkusen defender.
Bayern have apparently not given up hope of luring Tah to the Allianz Arena either, but Barcelona appear to be at the head of the queue for the 28-year-old, who played for Flick a handful of times while the Blaugrana boss was in charge of Germany.
The defender has struck 15 goals and set up 12 more in 374 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen across all competitions since 2015, when he arrived in a €9.5m (£7.9m) deal from Hamburger SV.
Could Chelsea benefit from Barcelona's move for Tah?
© Imago
Tah will certainly not rock up to Camp Nou and expect to slot straight into the starting lineup right away, but the fact that Flick supposedly rates him so highly will only benefit his chances of becoming a regular starter for Barcelona.
The 28-year-old will reinforce a defensive contingent already brimming with expertise, most notably the 17-year-old Pau Cubarsi, who is already a mainstay of the Blaugrana backline.
Tah joining forces with Cubarsi could force the injury-plagued Ronald Araujo to take on a more peripheral role, which could in turn benefit Chelsea, who are rumoured to be plotting an audacious swoop for the Uruguayan.
Araujo is also about to enter the last 18 months of his contract with the La Liga leaders, whose hopes of tying him down for longer may suffer a hit if they cannot guarantee him regular minutes either alongside or in place of Tah.
Ben Knapton
