With Thomas Vermaelen injured and no return date set for Samuel Umtiti, the reigning LaLiga champions decided they had to sign a centre-back.
Barcelona have agreed a deal to sign defender Jeison Murillo on loan from Valencia.
The centre-back will initially join the club on a short-term deal at the start of the January transfer window, with Barca holding the option to buy the defender for €25 million at the end of the campaign.
The Colombian international spent the 2017-18 season on loan at Valencia from Inter before the Spanish club made the move permanent, but he has played just once thus far this season.
Ahead of Barcelona’s clash with Levante, Valverde said: “Umtiti could recover and that would be great news for us and would mean that we would have four centre-backs for the rest of the season, although three are left-footed.
“We will know more about what happens with him in a little while, but we are Barcelona and want to have a team who can respond. As I said, we’ll see what happens but I’m happy to manage with what I have.”
Chelsea defernder Andres Christensen is also reported to be gaining interest from Barcelona.