Barcelona appear to be making some ground in their bid to sign Guido Rodriguez this coming summer.
But the Real Betis star is not the only target for Barcelona, in their bid to reinforce the ranks in the number six position.
Amadou Onana, for one, is another player valued highly by the Barcelona board, with Deco, in particular, being a huge admirer.
Barcelona face obstacles in Onana race
However, Barcelona’s pursuit of Amadou Onana has been greatly impacted by Everton’s positioning in the league table, reports Diario SPORT.
Earlier in the season, the Toffees were involved in a relegation scrap. Barcelona, to that end, considered it a market opportunity, knowing Onana’s valuation would go down if Everton got relegated.
But Everton have pulled things back in recent weeks, thanks to three back-to-back wins over Nottingham Forest, Everton and Brentford. The Merseysiders are now nine points clear of the relegation zone, with just three matches remaining.
Onana’s valuation too high for Barça
Everton’s presence in the Premier League should allow the Toffees to leverage a higher valuation for Onana.
In fact, the Premier League outfit value the defensive midfielder at around €60 million, which is hardly a surprise given how much of an impact the player has made at Goodison Park.
At the moment, though, Barcelona are not in a position to assume such a figure and are likely to focus on other alternatives in the market.
One of the options could be Joshua Kimmich, who is reportedly available for a fee of just €30-35 million this summer. His salary, though, could pose challenges for Barcelona.