Barcelona looking to follow 'Raphinha model' to sign Joao Pedro de chelsea in this summer.
Sport report that the Brazilian striker is in competition with Julian Alvarez Becoming Barcelona's new number nine in the summer transfer window.
deco likes chelsea star
The newspaper reports that Barcelona's sporting director Deco is a big fan of Premier League players.
Having played in England himself, he believes that 'intensity, speed of execution and physical demands' create players who add positive factors to Barcelona's team.
This is especially the case as Barcelona's squad is relatively young, with La Masia also being constantly included.
Barcelona's directors frequently travel to England to evaluate players. As an agent, he brought Raphinha to Camp Nou. He also attempted to sign Luis Diaz, who has performed phenomenally for Bayern Munich this season.
Chelsea star Joao Pedro is the latest name in England he admires. In fact, he likes him so much that he is in the top two of strikers shortlisted to reinforce Barcelona's number nine spot this summer.
The Chelsea forward is valued for more than his skills on the field. He is also considered young at the age of 24, with great potential for development as he 'has not yet reached his peak or footballing maturity.'
Rafinha comparison
In this sense, Barcelona is watching what happened with Raphinha. He arrived as an incomplete package from Leeds and has since blossomed under Hansi Flick. Last season he was a contender for the Ballon d'Or.
The feeling is that João Pedro has a similar profile and, importantly, is 'a hidden gem in the media'. Therefore, Barcelona can give him a global status and scope to grow even further.
Of course, no deal will be cheap. Chelsea paid €63.7m for Brighton last summer and he is now worth €75m. The game makes no mention of Barcelona's stance on that front.
But it appears Deco is still fond of the striker. And Raphinha's success is potentially driving that interest even further.
