Marc Bartra is still a youngster at 24 years old but he's probably a little older than many would expect. Still seen as a La Masia product trying to break into the first team, Bartra still looks someway from being considered as an automatic starter. The arrival of Thomas Vermaelen from Arsenal last summer appeared to be the end for Bartra but he stayed and Vermaelen's injury situation meant he started more than 30 games.
Vermaelen and Barcelona now insist the Belgian is fit and won't be hampered by the same issues again, meaning Bartra is in a sticky situation. He suspected this may happen and therefore in his contract was inserted a clause, if he didn't feature in the vast majority of games then he'd be able to go for €12m rather than his full clause of €50m.
Bartra played in more than 30 games for Barcelona last season but it wasn't enough to rule the clause void. He wants more than that, hence the clause being set at such a high mark. Catalan newspaper Sport say on Sunday that Liverpool have come into the picture and are one of a number of clubs very interested in paying the €12m clause.
Sport say that Bartra will decide next week on whether to take up one of the transfer opportunities or stick around and try his luck up against Vermaelen and the other Barcelona central defenders.