Barcelona want to sign a player from the Premier League who can have the same impact as Edgar Davids 20 years after his spell at the Nou Camp. Barca president Joan Laporta has confirmed intentions to sign a midfielder in January following the long-term injury suffered by Gavi.
Gavi will likely miss the rest of the season after tearing his anterior cruciate knee ligament in November. It has left Barca short of options in the middle of the park and they are keen to recruit.
As has become almost customary with Barca, they face financial restrictions in terms of what they can do in the transfer market. They focused on free transfers and loan signings in the summer, bringing in the likes of Ilkay Gundogan and Joao Felix, while also signing Oriol Romeu in a bargain deal.
A loan signing looks most likely in January as they aim to claw back the deficit to Girona at the top of La Liga. And Barca have a clear profile of player in mind.
Laporta said on Monday that a Davids-style player is what they are after. Former Netherlands star Davids joined Barca on loan from Juventus in January 2004 and made 20 appearances during his time at the club.
Laporta admits a loan is most likely. He said: “If we manage to have ‘fair play’, the idea is to have a midfielder who in some way compensates for Gavi’s loss. It would be a loan until the end of the season, like many years ago we did with Edgar Davids, for example.
“We have margin, I think that until the end of the year we can generate ‘fair play’, due to a series of operations that we have underway and if they are confirmed, we would have options.
“If we meet the budget, which is very ambitious, we could go to the market with the guarantees of carrying out operations that do not involve personal guarantees from the directors and it would be a matter of being able to sign normally.”
Spanish outlet Sport claims Barca director of football Deco wants to sign an intense, physical and experienced midfielder who can fit into Xavi’s style of play. The report says the Premier League is the area they are exploring for that type of signing.
Sport says Barca have identified a player who would be willing to move to the Nou Camp. However, they do not name who the target in question.
