Barcelona director Deco wanted to sign 21-year-old Chelsea youngster last summer | OneFootball

Barcelona ended the last summer transfer window with only two new signings.

Dani Olmo returned to his boyhood club from RB Leipzig after a decade while Pau Victor was brought on a permanent deal from Girona after impressing on loan with Barça Atletic.

The Financial Fair Play situation meant that the Blaugrana did not have much room to operate but the club’s sporting director, Deco, had other players on his agenda, who he wanted to bring to Catalonia if the situation was different.

Deco wanted Chelsea starlet Carney Chukwuemeka

One of the players that Deco was thinking of signing for Barcelona last summer, according to journalist Alfredo Martinez of SPORT, was Chelsea starlet Carney Chukwuemeka.

At Chelsea, there was an excess of players following the numerous signings the club had made, forcing them to part ways with some of their squad members.

Deco an admirer of Chukwuemeka. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Deco, who had also played for the Blues for a few years, saw it as a golden opportunity to strengthen Barcelona’s squad.

Given that Oriol Romeu was allowed to return to Girona, there was a hole in the defensive midfield position, leading to Deco looking at Chukwuemeka, given the 21-year-old’s enormous potential.

However, the club’s FFP situation, coupled with the explosion of Marc Bernal and Marc Casado in pre-season stopped the Barcelona director from pursuing the Englishman, who has played just five times this season.

Furthermore, the Blaugrana felt the bigger priority was to strengthen the attacking positions, leading to their signing of Olmo as a priority.

Apart from Chukwuemeka, Deco also liked another Chelsea star in the form of centre-back Axel Disasi, although the interest in the central midfielder appeared to be stronger.