It has now been reported in Catalonia that Everton midfielder Amadou Onana is the preferred option to fill the void left by Sergio Busquets after leaving the club around a year ago.
However, the Blaugrana are finding it difficult to close the deal for his transfer, due to their difficult financial situation.
Onana has also been linked with a move to other English clubs such as Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United in recent months, and now the Catalan media Sports has reported that Everton have made the decision to allow the Senegalese to leave in the summer.
However, the English club will ask for a large amount of money to allow the 22-year-old to leave, as they will also aim to sell the center back Jarrad Branthwaite.
Recent reports suggest that Onana could leave for 50 million euros, but the Catalan daily reports that this price is expected to rise to 70 million euros.
Barcelona have been in contact with Onana's agents in recent months and have suggested a player swap to Everton to soften Onana's price tag, but Chelsea are leading the race for his services as they are willing to meet their financial demands.
The way things are going, we are expected to witness another difficult transfer window for Barcelona, who are struggling to raise funds for the transfer of players.
In order to complete Onana's transfer as well as other transfers, they will most likely have to sacrifice some players, and among those at risk of sale is Ronald Araujo./telegraph/
