Barcelona Sporting Director Deco has admitted that the transfer window has again been complicated for the Blaugrana, with two deadline day signings and three exits. For a third season in a row, there was uncertainty over Barcelona being able to register players again.
Three of their debutants did get off to a winning start on Sunday night though, with Joao Cancelo, Joao Felix and Inigo Martinez all coming on in the second half.
Speaking after the Osasuna match, Deco highlighted the sacrifice that the players had made to make things work.
“It has been difficult. It is a moment in which the players want to come and accept the situation we are in and accept that we need help from them. The two Joaos have made this effort. Also our captain Ter Stegen, who has renewed his contract knowing that has helped us with fair play and also gives us the stability that we wanted. It is important to have players with that spirit, who understand the situation of the club. It has been thanks to their efforts that they have been able to come.”
Deco also stated the obvious that on top of Cancelo’s quality and experience, he is a natural right-back, something Barcelona did not have in their squad.
“Joao [Cancelo] has a lot of experience. He is a mature player, he knows the moments and the timings of the matches. It brings us quality in a position in which we have been playing with Araujo or Kounde.”
The Brazilian-Portuguese arrived in August into the role, although it was thought that he was part of the recruitment effort before that, replacing Director of Football Mateu Alemany and previous Sporting Director Jordi Cruyff. It is his first role of this sort, having previously worked as a scout and an agent.