Barcelona ‘contact’ £60m Arsenal target as Edu ‘makes calls’ to rivals amid Chelsea interest.
According to rumors, Barcelona director Deco has made ‘contact’ with Everton player Amadou Onana, who has links to Arsenal and Newcastle United.
The 22-year-old Belgian international joined the Toffees from Lille for around £30 million in August 2022.
He has impressed in a rather mediocre Everton side under Sean Dyche, who revealed on Friday that Onana is in contention to face Manchester City on Saturday after missing the previous two games.
“Amadou has been back out on the grass and we will pick the team accordingly,” Dyche was quoted as saying.
“However, the wounded players are showing greater indications of improvement. Doucs (Abdoulaye Doucoure) is on the grass and not with us, but he’s making good progress.”
Everton has some significant financial troubles, which resulted in a points deduction this season, and Onana is one player who will command a high price.
Arsenal were connected with the Belgian midfielder while he was at Lille, and they are still interested.
Newcastle United and Manchester United were both allegedly interested in signing him during the winter transfer window.
However, it appears that La Liga winners Barcelona are also in the running, with director of football Deco ‘contacting’ Onana’s representatives.
According to Spanish outlet Sport, Deco is anxious to get Onana ‘to improve the midfield’ and believes the Arsenal target is the’missing part’ in a club that requires his ‘stability’.
The former Chelsea and Barcelona midfielder prefers physically powerful midfielders above more technical players, as Xavi did.
However, Barcelona does face a minor ‘issue’. They understand that Everton would want to benefit from their £30 million purchase and have requested £51.2 million, which is out of the Blaugrana’s price range.
Everton has reportedly’received calls’ from Chelsea and ‘particularly’ Arsenal director Edu Gaspar, who are both keen in signing Onana from their Premier League opponents.
It was earlier said in the narrative that Onana ‘had offers from English teams’, with a transfer to Barcelona ‘depending’ on him.
If the Catalan giants want to match the Toffees’ value of the Belgian international, they will need to sign one or two players or ‘work miracles’, according to the source.
This implies Deco has set a maximum price of £34 million, which will undoubtedly be insufficient unless Onana actively advocates for the relocation.
Raphinha, a former Leeds United winger, has been linked with a move away from Barcelona.
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