Football News: Barcelona reach verbal agreement to sign 23-year-old defender

According to reports, Barcelona and defender Evan N'Dicka of Eintracht Frankfurt have verbally agreed on a deal. The defender's current contract is set to expire at the end of the current campaign.

Thus, the 23-year-old Frenchman is anticipated to leave the Bundesliga team very soon. N'Dicka, a centre defender who is 6 feet 4 inches tall, has been with Frankfurt for the past four and a half years.

He has played regularly for the first team since transferring from Auxerre in 2018. N'Dicka has made 168 appearances for the German team in all competitions, totaling 10 goals and 10 assists.

So far in the current season 'soon to be a Barcelona player' has made 29 appearances. N'Dicka was a key member of the Frankfurt team that won the Europa League in 2021-22.

On the way to the final, he faced Barcelona, but he was sent off in the last seconds of their historic 3-2 away victory. N'Dicka now seems to be nearing a probable summer move to Camp Nou, according to a report from Sport1.

The reports add that the center-back has a verbal agreement to join Barca on a free transfer before the 2023-24 season.

According to the source, the agreement has not yet been finalised, and Barcelona has until the middle of March to ensure that the Frenchman joins Xavi's team as a new member.

Barcelona appear to be getting closer to signing N'Dicka, despite competition from a number of other teams, including Manchester United and Liverpool of the Premier League, who are also said to be interested in the defender.

N'Dicka has also been linked to Inter Milan, Sevilla, and Real Betis, but it seems like the chance to join Xavi's revitalised Barca team is too much to pass up.

N'Dicka's prospective arrival will assist Barcelona's defensive options, who already include Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Jules Kounde, and Eric Garcia, be even stronger.

As a result of their 16 La Liga cleansheets and seven goals allowed in 21 league games, the Catalan giants presently have the finest defence among Europe's top five leagues.

Frankfurt, in contrast, has struggled defensively thus far this season, and N'Dicka has made just 29 appearances in all competitions, contributing to just seven clean sheets.

Elsewhere, the race to capture Brazilian talent Vitor Roque from Athletico Paranaense apparently pits Barcelona against a number of European clubs, including Arsenal.

For more Sports updates please follow us on Twitter