With Aleix Vidal's future lying away from Barcelona, the Catalan club have been linked with a range of right-backs. The latest is Shakhtar Donetsk's Darijo Srna. Here are five reasons why the former Croatian international may be the most sensible addition to Luis Enrique's squad in January.
Low cost
Srna's contract expires next summer but Shakhtar owner Rinat Akhmetov suggested he could leave for free when Barca's interest first arose in September.
"If Darijo makes such a decision, I will be on his side," Akhmetov said. "He deserves that the club should treat him generously. He is a great person and a great captain who gave his all for Shakhtar. We'll make sure that we are proud of our decision. It will be as Darijo wishes."
Beyond that, Barca would have to come up with the player's wages, be that for six months or 18. Given he's 34 and would presumably jump at the opportunity to play for the Spanish champions, there are unlikely to be problems reaching an agreement. The length of the deal may provide the only stumbling block.
Experience
After beginning his career in his homeland with Hajduk Split, Srna has spent over a decade playing for Shakhtar. During that time frame, he's won the Ukrainian Premier League on eight occasions, a UEFA Cup (now the Europa League) and has been a regular in the Champions League.
On top of that he made 134 appearances for Croatia before retiring from international football after an impressive showing at the European Championships this past summer. Many of those caps would have been won alongside Ivan Rakitic, who could help him quickly settle into Catalan life.
And with players like Dani Alves and Xavi Hernandez moving on in recent years, Srna would bring a wealth of experience to the Barca squad.
Adds depth
Vidal has not played since the defeat to Alaves in early September. It's an open secret in the Catalan press that the club will look to move him in January. Luis Enrique has even preferred to use a back three -- with Rafinha or Arda Turan as a right wing-back -- than to play the former Sevilla man.
Those tactics have got them through games against Leganes and Deportivo La Coruna, but it may not be so simple in the bigger games which are still to come. Luis Enrique has shown a preference for a back four when the important matches roll around, so Srna would add some much needed depth to the right-back position, where there is currently only Sergi Roberto.
Short-term
Barcelona's two primary targets were, and still may be, Arsenal's Hector Bellerin and Valencia's Joao Cancelo. However, doing business in January is expensive for buying sides. After spending over €100 million on six players in the summer, the Blaugrana don't really have the budget to overspend.
Therefore, Srna would make sense. Coming toward the end of his career, he's a short-term solution to Barca's right-back shortage, allowing them more time to decide just how much they're prepared to spend on a younger, long-term model.
Sergi Roberto
Spending money on a Bellerin or a Cancelo may even prove counter-productive to Sergi Roberto's development. The former midfielder hasn't been at his best recently, but overall his move to right-back should be considered a success.
Srna would add the necessary competition and depth, and could also help improve Sergi Roberto, who has previously spoken about how much he learned from Alves. The old-young combination, for now, would work much better than pitting two hungry players at the beginning of their careers against each other.