Barcelona’s Director of Football Deco has discussed the potential options that they have to improve their squad this summer in the transfer market. His focus, as he was clear to emphasize was very much on keeping together the quality Barcelona already have before going into the transfer market.
One of the areas that has become the subject of hot debate is the goalkeeping position, with Wojciech Szczesny inconsistent during the latter stages of the campaign, and doubts about Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s form in recent seasons.
“We have two goalkeepers, Tek and Marc, and we also have to see what Inaki decides, as he has one year left. We have to look into another due to an age issue. Joan Garcia? I have very little knowledge of goalkeeping, but it’s true that we’re working in the scouting department to improve. Joan is a good goalkeeper,” Deco told RAC1 in an extended interview, as carried by MD.
Deco: "Koundé? He's key for us. He brings a lot, gives us stability, defends very well, and never complains. We need to keep these types of players around as long as possible."
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) May 22, 2025
The latest coming out of the Catalan capital is that Espanyol’s Joan Garcia is well-liked by Barcelona, and he has a €25m release clause, but their plan is to continue with Szczesny and ter Stegen next season.
Deco was keen to emphasize that his top priority was contract renewals before he started looking at what could be done in the transfer market.
“Our big priority is to strengthen what we have here first. We’ll probably renew our contracts with Pedri, Gavi, Araujo, Raphinha, and we’ll probably do that with Kounde. When people talk about signings, they think about those coming from abroad, but you have to see that renewals are also like signings.”
“The lucky thing is that we have a team that doesn’t require so many headaches for us for next season. First, we want to fix what we have at home, and then, if we can improve the team, we will. And what I’ve said is perhaps a forward with a different profile than what we have.”
Another frequent topic of debate has been the number nine position, with Robert Lewandowski failing to make an impact in the final two months of the season, in part due to injury. He will turn 37 in August, and his successor has been a discussion for since the end of the last campaign, but is not something that worries Deco.
“In the squad we have players like Ferran who can play there, we’ve played with Dani as a false ‘9’. Today, this squad has internal solutions when Robert is not there. Talking about a striker only seems like looking for a replacement for Robert, but today you have only one team that has a fixed ‘9’, which is Inter, with Thuram. PSG don’t have one, Arsenal don’t have one. Today we have one, which is Lewandowski, and there are players in the squad who can play there like Ferran, who has had a spectacular season.”
Seemingly Barcelona and Deco’s top priority is Liverpool left winger Luis Diaz. While he did not declare an ambition to sign them, he admitted certain admiration for them.
“We like Luis and we like Rashford, but we can’t talk about players who are under contract. For me, it’s much more important to improve what we have at home.”
Last summer their top target was Nico Williams of Athletic Club, but after President Joan Laporta declared on Monday that they were not thinking about him, Deco explained why.
“He’s a great player. It was evident at the European Championship, but this year he’s been a bit more inconsistent. But we have to find a more balanced team. We’re focused on what we have at home. We’ve renewed contracts with Pedri, Gavi, Araujo, and now Raphinha. We have De Jong and Eric. The priority is at home. If we can improve, we’ll see what we can do.”
“Last season, we had two players who could have improved the team: Nico and Olmo. Dani showed from the very beginning that he wanted to come to Barca, but Nico didn’t. That’s why things dragged on, and in the end, he didn’t come.”
Deco: "Frenkie isn't to blame for what he earns. He's a player who has taken a step forward beyond what we expected. Now he's committed, involved, feels good, and is a very important player for us. We can't look to the past. He hasn't been treated fairly because of his contract.…
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) May 22, 2025
Deco was reportedly told to halt all of his plans in March after auditors Crowe removed a €100m lease of VIP seats from their accounts this season. Once again their ability to register players is in major doubt this summer, although the club have expressed confidence that this will be resolved by the end of their fiscal year in June.
