Barcelona have been remarkably awful this season.

Ronald Koeman’s side are currently ninth in La Liga after 10 games and are already 12 points behind leaders Atletico Madrid.

In their 10 games, they have lost to Cadiz, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, and Getafe, while also drawing with Sevilla and Alaves.

As the season progresses, it appears that the club have precious little hope of actually finding themselves as champions at the end of the season.

They do have two games in hand on second-placed Real Sociedad but if they win both, they will still be five points behind them.

Barca are a club that are expected to fight for the title every single season but they are currently level on points with 12th-placed Alaves.

And now it seems that a new defender is on the agenda.

Barcelona have conceded 11 goals in their 10 games and Sport Witness carries a report from Mundo Deportivo claiming that they are interested in Manchester City’s Eric Garcia.

However, should they be unable to get the deal over the line, they could move for Arsenal centre-back Shkodran Mustafi.

If Garcia does not end up at Camp Nou, they have eyed three alternatives; Lisandro Martinez, Federico Fazio, and Mustafi.

They will not make a move for the Gunners star until they know the outcome of negotiations with the City defender.

But he remains a viable option for Barca as they look to strengthen their squad.

GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…

Oh dear.

Mustafi has been poor for some time for Arsenal and is out of favour under manager Mikel Arteta.

He has played just 43 minutes in the Premier League this season, against Leicester City and Manchester United, and has not been included in the squad against either Aston Villa or Wolves, and was on the bench versus Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur.

If Barca are serious about getting back into the Liga title race, they need to be eyeing genuinely elite talents who can improve the starting XI immediately.

Mustafi is not that.