Barcelona only signed Dani Olmo and Pau Victor this summer for cash, and the salary cap situation was again the most decisive factor in their transfer window. They had planned to go for a midfielder, and were already looking at potential options for January, before manager Hansi Flick intervened.
The German coach told the club that he feels that Barcelona is covered in the deep midfielder position, although he was identified as a need earlier in the summer. The Blaugrana tried to sign Mikel Merino and Amadou Onana, but now Flick feels with Marc Casado, Andreas Christensen, Eric Garcia and Marc Bernal when he returns from injury next year, they have enough resources.
Meanwhile, the Director Sporting Deco had his mind on the potential economic options for January, and had put in sight of Chelsea, where the amount of players is likely to lead to the exit. Deco was offered the chance to loan Carney Chukwuemeka, and he was one of the names on his radar.
Romeo Lavia was another. Deco tried to sign on loan two summers ago from Southampton, but in a bidding war between Liverpool and Chelsea, he joined the Blues for €60 million. After a serious injury last year, he is yet to make his mark in the starting XI this season, and Deco was also being assessed as a potential loan option.
As it is, Barcelona seems not to move for a midfielder, although recent history has noted that injuries have become more and more common. Flick cannot afford to lose Casado in that position, with Christensen and Garcia not natural, and De Jong has yet to show that he can occupy the deeper midfielder role effectively.
