Barcelona monitoring mystery central midfielder ‘very, very closely’ | OneFootball

Barcelona had identified the holding midfield role as one of their priorities earlier in the year, but it appears that it has taken a back seat, with Dani Olmo signed for €55m plus €7m in variables, and the pursuit of a left winger continuing.

Nevertheless, Sport claim that Sporting Director Deco is ‘obsessed’ with signing a pivot in midfield this summer. He was interested in new AC Milan signing Youssouf Fofana, but as with Amadou Onana and Mikel Merino, they did not have the finances to move for them.

The club are happy with the performances of Marc Bernal and Marc Casado, and could wait until January to consider a move to see how they get on without one. Equally, the club cannot make it happen as things stand, due to their salary limit situation.

Deco continues to be intent on adding muscle and legs to the midfield though, and could look towards the Premier League for a loan move towards the end of the market. Most mysterious of all, they mention that it will depend on exits, but Barcelona have a pivot they are monitoring ‘very, very closely’. They also hint that the player in question may be younger, saying that it would be a ‘gamble for the future’, and would carry a certain element of risk.

Blaugrana fans will no doubt take this information with a pinch of salt – were Deco obsessed with bringing in a midfielder, it is slightly jarring that he has spent most of his summer pursuing Dani Olmo and Nico Williams. Although they reportedly made a move for Onana beforehand, quite clearly, it was not their top priority this summer, and if reports are to be believed, they are still looking at a left winger before a midfielder.