According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona had a member of their sports management team in attendance at the RCDE Stadium this past Wednesday when Espanyol hosted Villarreal in La Liga.
The report claims that the representative was present to watch Jorge Cuenca and Juan Foyth in action as Barça continue to scour the market for reinforcements to their defensive unit.
It is no secret that the Blaugrana wanted to sign Foyth in the summer transfer window and were willing to offer up to €20 million for the Argentine. However, an injury to the right-back put paid to any hopes of a move to Spotify Camp Nou.
The 24-year-old has recovered from the injury and is being eased into action as he played 13 minutes against Espanyol. With Xavi said to be prioritising the signing of a new right-back ahead of the January window, Foyth is back on the agenda at Barcelona.
Along with Foyth, Barça were also keeping an eye on another Villarreal defender in Jorge Cuenca.
The 22-year-old is a player that the Blaugrana know very well as he spent three years at the club between 2017 and 2020. Having joined from Alcorcon, he went on to play 68 times for Barcelona Atletic and even featured once for the senior team in a Copa del Rey clash against Cultural Leonesa.
Having joined Villarreal in 2020, he spent two seasons away on loan at Almeria and Getafe and has found his place in the Yellow Submarine setup this term. He played the entire game against Espanyol on Wednesday as his team kept a clean sheet in a 1-0 win.
With Gerard Pique retiring, Barcelona will need another centre-half either in January or in the summer. Even though Inigo Martinez has been linked heavily, the Catalan giants are looking at other options, including Aymeric Laporte of Manchester City and now Cuenca.