Barcelona eye €25 million-rated Atletico Madrid priority target to reinforce key position

The pivot midfield position remains a major concern for FC Barcelona heading into the summer transfer window, even though they have found a temporary solution in the form of Andreas Christensen.

Signing a top defensive midfielder is one of the priorities for Barcelona sporting director Deco. And even though a number of names like Amadou Onana and Dion Lopy have been linked, the club’s finances make things tricky.

Amidst this, Barcelona seem to have landed on an affordable target who appears to be gaining weight as an option within the club.

Mats Wieffer growing as a possible target

Indeed, as per SPORT, Barcelona have excellent reports on Feyenoord defensive midfielder Mats Wieffer, who appears to be growing on the club as an option to reinforce the pivot position.

The Blaugrana assessed the Wieffer option at the end of last year. They have all the information about the price and the player’s willingness to sign, but Deco did not want to rush. Instead, the director wanted to check other alternatives.

This inaction almost put Barça out of the running because Atletico Madrid went for him in the January transfer window. However, the two clubs did not reach an agreement, leaving the door open for the Catalans for a summer move.

Mats Wieffer is on Barcelona’s radar. (Photo by ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Now, as per the report, Wieffer has returned to the top of the list at Barça, in a deal that may be affordable for the club despite interest from several other teams.

Wieffer could cost €25 million

Barcelona have not yet made any move for Wieffer yet, but they know that the valuation of the player can go up to €25 million, a lower figure than some of the other names that the Blaugrana were considering would cost.

Intriguingly, Deco was spotted with former Barcelona star Giovanni van Bronckhorst earlier this week. The Dutchman used to be the manager of Feyenoord not very long ago and knows Wieffer well, and the Catalans might have been seeking his opinion on the player.

However, Atletico Madrid retain a strong interest in Wieffer and see him as a priority target. Diego Simeone is a huge admirer of the 24-year-old and will do everything to sign him.

Barcelona will keep an eye on Wieffer in the summer’s UEFA Euro 2024, where he will play with Frenkie de Jong for the Netherlands and assess how the pair perform together.