Barcelona are looking to sign a midfielder this January as they look to fill the gap left by Sergio Busquets, while also bearing in mind the absence of Gavi since he was ruled out for the rest of the season due to an ACL injury.
One of the players that the Catalans are interested in signing is 22-year-old Brazilian midfielder Andre. He currently plays for Fluminense and was an integral part of their Copa Libertadores win over Boca Juniors in the final recently.
Andre has also publicly called Spanish giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona, great clubs but would sign for the latter if given the option to sign for the club.
He was also linked with a move to Fulham, recently, and was also close to joining Liverpool in the summer.
Spanish daily Sport say that Barcelona’s Sporting Director Deco is closely following Andre as a potential option for next summer. His price tag could be around €30m, although Fluminense are likely to complete the deal sooner rather than later, with just a year left on his contract.
Sport added that he could be an option for Barcelona this winter as well. A loan deal with an agreement to buy in the summer is on the cards.
However, Barcelona will have to careful move around the salary limit rules though. If a loan deal includes an obligatory buy clause, then La Liga generally calculate the impact as simply a permanent deal with an additional year.
On the other hand, Flumninense will look for some security in the transfer and an option to buy might not convince them. The deal might only go through if there is leap of their faith since Barcelona are not in a position to go into a bidding war with Fulham and Liverpool.