Barcelona closely watching performances of club’s former defender

Barcelona closely watching performances of club’s former defenderThe scouting department at La Liga champions Barcelona are keeping a watchful eye on the form of a former member of the club’s defensive ranks.The ex-Blaugrana talent in question? Álvaro Cortés.Stopper Cortés for his part only brought a close to his time in Catalunya’s capital this past summer, in the final days of the transfer window.In something of a surprise move amid the shortage of options at the heart of Hansi Flick’s Barcelona backline, the highly-regarded youngster was granted a departure for Belgium with Royal Antwerp.And Cortés has since gone on to establish himself as one of the first names on the team sheet in his new home. Not only that, but along the way, the Spaniard has turned heads with the stellar level of his performances on both sides of the ball.And as alluded to above, amongst those keeping a close eye on Cortés’ development are none other than his former employers at Barcelona. As per a report from Diario Sport:‘It should be remembered that Barça maintain a significant percentage of a future sale and a repurchase option. The Barça entity are therefore monitoring Cortés while he continues his progression at Antwerp.’Conor Laird – GSFN