Barcelona poised to complete shock deal for Watford defender

Barcelona will sign Watford defender Juanfran Moreno as a replacement for the injured Aleix Vidal, according to Marca.

Luis Enrique’s failed to sign a replacement for Dani Alves last summer and had been rotating between Sergi Roberto and Vidal at right-back before the latter suffered a season-ending injury earlier this month.

Barcelona have since prioritised signing a new right-back and have opted to pursue their interest in Watford defender Juanfran having also been linked with a move for Malaga defender Roberto Rosales.

Juanfran joined Watford from Real Betis in 2015 in a deal worth a measly £1.5m but the Spaniard has never made a single appearance for the Hornets and has instead spent the last two seasons on loan at Deportivo La Coruna.

The 28-year-old reportedly has a £6.75m release clause in his contract with Watford, which would mean Barcelona could cut out Deportivo’s option to make his stay permanent and they reportedly intend on doing that imminently.

A loophole in Spain’s transfer rules means clubs are able to make ‘emergency transfers’ outside of the dedicated transfer windows if they players they are targeting are already based in the same country.

Juanfran has registered more key passes than any other defender in La Liga this season (29).

For more stat more on Juanfran Moreno, click here to visit his WhoScored player page