Barcelona abandon pursuit of 18-year-old target after deadline day attempt fails | OneFootball

As has been well-publicised by now, FC Barcelona held a strong interest in signing Ruud Nijstad from FC Twente.

The Blaugrana had been stepping up their efforts to sign the 18-year-old left-footed defender in recent days, hoping to further reinforce the squad before the transfer window closed.

However, Nijstad will not be arriving at Barça this summer, with sporting director Deco confirming a while ago that there will be no more signings.

“There will be no more arrivals,” he said, after the signing of Gabriel Jesus from Arsenal.

What happened with Nijstad and Barcelona

According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona tried to sign Nijstad from Twente today.

However, the Catalan club’s plans were met with the Dutch side’s firm stance, with Twente refusing to sell one of their most promising defenders for a small fee.

Nijstad will not join Barcelona. (Photo by Mateo Villalba Sanchez/Getty Images for DFB)

Barcelona had been pursuing Nijstad for several days. The 1.95-metre centre-back has impressed with his ability to play out from the back and his attacking potential.

As previously reported, Twente had already rejected an initial €8 million offer from Barça, although the Catalan club decided to make one final attempt on deadline day.

That final push also failed. As such, Barcelona have now abandoned the operation after concluding that Twente would not change their position.

This is because Twente believe Nijstad could eventually command well above €10 million. In fact, the Dutch club hope to receive around €50 million from a future sale to the Premier League, although that valuation would be extremely ambitious at this stage.

Given Twente’s rising valuation of the teenager, Barcelona decided to walk away from the deal for good.

Barcelona will not sign another defender

No new defenders for Flick. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

With Nijstad’s arrival ruled out, Barcelona do not plan to pursue another defender before the window closes.

Hansi Flick’s centre-back options will therefore remain: Pau Cubarsi, Andreas Christensen, Eric García, Gerard Martin, and Jules Kounde.

The defensive group has been affected by departures, with Ronald Araujo joining Liverpool on loan and Alvaro Cortes moving to Royal Antwerp in a permanent transfer.

For now, Barcelona’s final attempt to reinforce the defence has ended with Nijstad staying at Twente.