Hansi Flick has twice overlooked the 20-year-old for a regular role in the first-team squad — first last season, when he was sent out on loan to Elche, and now again this summer.
Borussia Dortmund have emerged as the frontrunners after making the early running in talks, and are aware Barcelona are seeking around €15m for a player they still see as having significant sell-on value — a figure some reports suggest could rise closer to €20m depending on what percentage of any future transfer Barcelona retain.
The German club will look to negotiate that figure down as discussions continue, though sources close to the deal describe talks as still in an early stage. Fort is understood to have already turned down interest from Roma and Real Sociedad, having prioritised a move to the Bundesliga and communicated that preference to both his representatives and the club.
Barcelona are not willing to relinquish control of the player entirely. Any deal is expected to include a buy-back option that would allow the Catalan club to bring Fort back to Camp Nou in future, with the exact terms still to be worked out between the two clubs.
Neither Barcelona nor the player wants to fully close the door on a potential return.
Fort came through La Masia and made his first-team debut in December 2023 in a Champions League match against Antwerp, going on to make ten appearances across his breakthrough campaign before spending last season on loan in LaLiga with newly promoted Elche.
He is a team-mate of Pau Cubarsí and Lamine Yamal from Barcelona's academy generation, and his departure would leave Julian Ryerson as Dortmund's main specialist on the right side of defence, after Yan Couto left on loan to Como earlier in the window.