Simple start for Deco with Barca only aiming for one addition in January window

New Barcelona Sporting Director Deco was presented on Wednesday, as he outlined the new sporting structure at the club, taking on much of the transfer business himself. However he will have an easier job than his predeccessors, with Barcelona only giving him one job for his first transfer window, at least in principle.

The Blaugrana, still tight up against their salary limit, are only aiming to get one deal over the line before next summer. Brazilian forward Vitor Roque has already agreed to join the club for a fee that could rise up to €61m, although over half of that is variables. The 18-year-old has signed an eight-year deal until 2031, and will at the latest arrive in the summer of 2024.

“We always want to bring the players as soon as possible. One of the conditions of the deal, of the negotiation with Athletico Paranaense was that he could not join this summer, and we will assess the conditions if he can come then,” Deco explained on Wednesday.

Sport say that Deco’s main and so far only priority for the January transfer window is to bring Roque to the club. The economic struggles at the Blaugrana also mean that any other business would require further sales in an already short squad.

This is in part down to the trouble Barcelona are having with the sale of their economic levers, but with the fee and his salary hit spread out over such a long period, it should mean Barcelona pay relatively little on yearly basis. His addition in January could swing their season though, with Robert Lewandowski hitting the midway point in his thirties and looking increasingly as if he could do with more rest. Roque would allow Xavi to rotate for the crucial games, whereas currently he would have to play Ferran Torres out of position to rest Lewandowski.