Deco’s favorite pivot target getting out of the reach of Barcelona | OneFootball

Photo by LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images

For the upcoming summer transfer window, the greatest priority for FC Barcelona would be to bring in a competent midfield pivot.

This has been a clear area of weakness for the Catalan club since the departure of Sergio Busquets, as Oriol Romeu has not been able to play at the required level since his return to Barcelona in the last summer transfer window.

Thus, the Blaugranes will once again have to go into the market to get a player for this position, even though Andreas Christensen has played well in this role whenever Xavi has asked him to. Barcelona are already close to signing Guido Rodriguez, but if the club can return to the 1:1 rule, it will also look to sign another proven player.

Several players have been linked with Barcelona for this role in the last few months, and one of the favorites of Deco is the Everton midfielder, Amadou Onana. He has been playing at a very good level in the Premier League at only 22 years of age, and his physicality, power, and ball handling have been quite impressive.

Barcelona have been keeping an eye on him for some time now and believed a market opportunity could have arisen if Everton were relegated from the Premier League this season.

However, as SPORT has reported, the Toffees have now secured their place in the top English flight for the next season, as they are eleven points clear of the relegation zone with only three matches remaining after they beat Brentford at Goodison Park this Saturday.

In such a scenario, Everton or the player will not be as keen to part ways, and the English club will thus not sell him for less than his market value of €60 million. As this is a sum that Barcelona cannot pay in their current economic situation, it looks increasingly likely that the Catalans’ pursuit of the player is coming to an end.