The last was Ukrainian Chygrynskiy in 2009 - Barca sign their first centre-back in five years

Posted Thursday, July 24, 2014 by Marca.com

With Jeremy Mathieu's arrival at the Camp Nou, Barcelona finally have the centre-back they have been searching for. With Puyol now retired, the Frenchman has been signed to partner Gerard Piqué at the heart of Barça's defence. However, there are those who question whether the club have finally found a centre-back capable of filling Puyol's boots or whether they will continue having the same problems of recent years.

Mathieu will undergo his medical this Thursday morning before signing his new contract in the afternoon and being presented to fans at 19:30 inside the Camp Nou.

Far too many players have partnered Piqué at the centre of Barcelona's defence. Five years have flown by between Chygrynskiy and Adriano, but the same old problem has remained. Abidal, Bartra, Busquets and Mascherano all tried out at centre-back to deputise for Puyol - plagued by injuries in recent seasons - but none of them made the grade.

It is well-known that Barcelona have been scouring the open market for a tried and tested centre-back for quite some time. Thiago Silva, David Luiz and Matt Hummels were just some of the names touted as potential defensive signings. Note that the last player the Catalan club signed to strengthen in that position was Chygrynskiy, who was signed by Guardiola for €25 million back in 2009.