Barcelona have identified 18 emerging talents in three years under Deco and Joao Amaral
· Yahoo Sports
Visit newsbetting.cv for more information.
Barcelona have changed the way they approach the international transfer market, with Deco and scouting chief Joao Amaral leading a recruitment strategy built around finding young talent before the biggest clubs in Europe.
According to SPORT, the pair have identified a whopping 18 emerging players from abroad over the past three years as Barcelona look to establish an earlier presence in markets across Europe, Africa, South America and the United States.
The strategy is partly a response to the financial limitations that previously made it difficult for Barça to compete in major bidding wars for highly-rated prospects.
Deco changes Barcelona’s recruitment strategy
Barcelona’s economic problems meant the club often had to watch other European giants move first for some of the continent’s most promising young players.
Deco and Amaral have instead chosen a different route. Rather than waiting until a prospect becomes a recognised name, Barça are attempting to identify players much earlier in their development and secure them before their value rises significantly.
That approach has already produced a sizeable group of recruits.
Barcelona have been pretty smart in the transfer market. (Picture credit: x/@FCBarcelona)
Mika Faye, Mamadou Mbacke, Noah Darvich, David Oduro, Aziz Issah, Ibrahim Diarra, Juwensley Onstein, Ajay Tavares, Patricio Pacifico, Lovro Chelfi, Hamza Abdelkarim, Roony Bardghji, Mirza Catovic, Dany Freire and Jesse Bisiwu are among the players brought into the club through this wider strategy.
The results have naturally been mixed, as some prospects have made an impression, while others are still developing, and some have already moved on.
Barcelona are looking beyond the players they sign
The recruitment model is not based solely on finding future first-team players.
Barcelona also want to develop young talent whose value can increase before a potential sale, creating another route to generate income.
That dual purpose makes the strategy particularly important for a club operating under financial restrictions.
Not all young players have reached first-team potential. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
There have also been cases where Barcelona identified a player but could not complete the deal.
Lucas Herrington is one example. The Australian talent was followed by Barça before eventually joining Hull City this summer.
Ruud Nijstad was another target, with Barcelona pushing for the Twente centre-back but unable to agree a deal after his club demanded more than €20 million.
The success of Deco’s approach will ultimately be judged by how many of these prospects reach the first team or generate significant transfer value.
In any case, however, the direction is already clear: Barcelona are trying to move earlier in the talent cycle rather than compete once a young player has become an established European target.