Barcelona are currently eyeing an Everton heavyweight midfielder to bolster their ranks and add some strength, muscle, size, power, and tactics to their engine. Barcelona are lacking when it comes to power, fitness, and strength, and this Premier League box-to-box player might be exactly what they need.
The real question is if the player will decide to leave his PL club, Everton, and how much his price tag will be for the move to the Spanish side in La Liga.
Will Barcelona Get the Everton Midfielder for Next Season?
Meeting his new players 🤝 pic.twitter.com/wYJkrsshlm
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 29, 2024
Barcelona finished La Liga in second place, which isn’t bad for any other club in the world – but for a club with the history and tradition of Barcelona, coming in anything but first is a loss. They are surely looking to bolster their squad in the off-season by bringing in more reinforcements. One of their main targets is a powerful and strong Everton midfielder, Amadou Onana.
Currently, Barcelona have tons of finesse, creativity, tactical awareness, and technical skill in the middle of the park. They have playmakers like Gundogan, who is an ex-Manchester City maestro who can thread the ball anywhere. Pedri is a young Spanish player that took the world by storm last year with his creativity and skills. And Frenkie de Jong is a defender from the Netherlands who has stepped into the #6 roles with ease.
But, one thing that none of these three players have is an engine combined with strength and size. Pedri can run for days, but he is a slight and small midfielder who can get pushed off of the ball. De Jong is a holding midfielder who doesn’t make forward runs into the box. With Onana, Barcelona can have more physical and powerful presence when playing certain teams that tend to bully them off the field in the middle of the park.
Even if Onana doesn’t start for Barcelona, having that option off of the bench is key for Barcelona to help in terms of any injuries or playing against tougher and more physical teams. Deco, the Barca director, wants to take Barcelona in a new direction moving forward, potentially going away from the old-school one-two passes that has made the club so famous.
‘The team did not’ display, in many matches, a physical and athletic capacity to overcome the opponents. You can’t just take a group of kids, dress them in a Barcelona jersey, and expect them to win.’
This more than hints at the fact that Deco doesn’t believe his squad was physically ready to take on opponents in La Liga or the Champions League this past season. Bringing in Onana, a 22-year-old midfielder who is tall, strong, and fast, is exactly what Deco needs going forward.
Barcelona FC Looking Forward
This past season, Barca ended in second, falling short to Real Madrid who captured the La Liga title yet again. They won many of their matches and had numerous clean sheets, but let silly games take hold, like when they lost 4-2 to Girona towards the end of the season. Bolstering their midfield and being able to score more goals is a key piece of the puzzle of the club moving forward.
Onana will have to learn how to play with the strikers on the team, like Lewandowski, another physical presence from the German Bundesliga. Onanna can string together passes to Yamal, a young striker, and Rapinha, the Brazilian sensation.
By adding more physical presence to the field, Barcelona FC can really give Real Madrid a run for their money next year.
About the Author
Emma is an athlete and sports fan who currently plays professional soccer. Growing up, she reached a high level in track and field, distance running, and soccer on both club and university teams.
