Barcelona's Deco plays down Erling Haaland, Victor Gyokeres talk; says La Liga club 'happy' with Robert Lewandowski
Published 14/11/2024 at 14:28 GMT
Barcelona sporting director Deco has played down talk over potential moves for Erling Haaland or Viktor Gyokeres, saying the La Liga club are "happy" with their in-form striker Robert Lewandowski. Spanish reports suggested Barca are monitoring Haaland and Gyokeres, but Deco did not give any indication that the club will be splashing for a big-money signing.
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Deco has said Barcelona are "happy" with Robert Lewandowski and wants the striker to "stay at least one more season", playing down talk of big-money moves for Erling Haaland or Viktor Gyokeres.
Reports emerged in the Spanish press that Barca are monitoring the prolific duo. Haaland leads the Premier League goalscoring charts and has scored 15 goals in all competitions this season, while Gyokeres has notched 23 - including a UEFA Champions League hat-trick against Manchester City.
But Barca's sporting director Deco said striking acquisitions are "not a priority" for the La Liga leaders - with Lewandowski, 36, amid a fine goalscoring run with 19 strikes in 17 matches in all competitions so far this season.
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Deco told El Mundo Deportivo: "First we have to know whether Haaland is what we want for the future. We don't know that now.
"At the moment we don't want any 'nine.' We have Robert. We are not planning anything with any 'nine.' It's not a priority because we have to focus on this season."
He added: "Gyokeres is a good player. He has been scoring goals for some time in Portugal. We know him as we know others, but it's not a priority for us right now.
"When the time comes to make a decision and I have to make it because I am the one at the club, we will consider the options. But I don't think it's the right time to talk about any player."
Deco went on to express his admiration for Barca striker Lewandowski, who has returned to form under his former boss Hansi Flick - whom he had previously worked with at Bayern Munich.
The 36-year-old has scored an array of important goals to help his side to six points clear at the top of the La Liga table, including a brace in their 4-0 El Clasico victory as well as a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Alaves.
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And Deco went on to say it's "very difficult" to find a forward of a similar calibre to the Barca frontman.
"I think it's very difficult to find a striker like Robert nowadays," Deco said. "There are one or two of this level. Maybe Haaland or another one. There are not so many of this level available.
"But we are not going to get hung up on finding any striker now because we are going to focus first on what Robert can do. I surely think he is happy to be here. He is a winner and if we have a big season I think he will want to stay.
"We want Robert to continue to be happy, to score goals and to stay at least one more season."
Deco also said Barca were let down by Nico Williams' decision to stay at Athletic Club - after Barca showed interest in the Spanish forward "during the summer".
Williams impressed for Spain at the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany on the opposite wing to Barca star Lamine Yamal, helping his nation to lift the trophy by scoring the opener in their 2-1 final win over England.
"We were interested in Nico [Williams] during the summer," Deco said. "We tried, but after that, the player made a decision and life goes on. The moment the player shows that he is not interested in coming, we don't talk about it anymore.
"We brought in Dani Olmo, who was the priority because we didn't have this player in the squad."
Barca boast the most prolific attacking record across Europe's top five divisions, scoring 40 goals in 13 La Liga matches. Flick's side also lead the UEFA Champions League scoring charts - notching 15 goals in four games.
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