Barcelona are preparing to bring a young Brazilian defender, Esquerdinha (full name: João Henrique Mendes), as an alternative to meet a special request from Hansi Flick to reinforce his squad for the upcoming season.

The new Barcelona coach is planning for the future by demanding another full back who can run both flanks in the absence of João Cancelo.

According to Diario Sport, Deco and company have been evaluating the market and analyzing alternatives and see the 20-year-old Fluminense defender as a low-cost option with great characteristics.

Esquerdinha is an attacking fullback. He's said to be very technical, pacy, and strong. Other attributes mentioned are his set-piece ability, versatility, and competitive spirit, more like the legendary Dani Alves.

Esquerdinha meets all the criteria to play for a big club like Barcelona. The Catalunya giant sees a lot of potential in him and would want him added to Rafa Marquez’s reserve side, with a plan to promote him to the first team quickly if he can impress.

But unfortunately, Barcelona is not in a position to carry out any operations until they resolve the problems with the La Liga Financial Fair Play.

Esquerdinha is contracted to Fluminense until June 30, 2026, although the report adds that he has a termination clause of 70 million euros.

That's quite huge, but there's a possibility of Barça matching up to the tag if they're able to return to the 1:1 Spanish FFP rule. This will give Barça the nudge to spend whatever profit they're making. 

Currently, Barça are restricted to spending a fraction of whatever is coming into their wallet in accordance with the league's law.