According to Sport, after nearly signing Gabriel Jesus, Barcelona sports director Deco has quickly shifted his focus to strengthening the defense. Currently, the club's main priority in the final stages of the transfer window is to acquire a young, promising left-footed center-back. Twente's 18-year-old center-back Ruud Nestande is the primary target being pursued by Deco.

As the transfer window enters its final stages, activity at Barcelona's training complex has intensified. After unexpectedly completing the signing of Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus, the sports department led by Deco has quickly reassessed their transfer strategy. As Sport previously reported, Barcelona's main priority in the final phase of this transfer window is to recruit a left-footed center-back to strengthen the defense. The club is seeking a very specific type of player: young, with significant development potential, and whose transfer fee must comply with Financial Fair Play regulations.

The need to recruit a new center-back has also had a ripple effect through Barcelona's youth academy, most notably the recent departure of young defender Álvaro Cortés. This young center-back had previously participated in preseason training under Flick and hoped to gradually establish himself in the first team, but ultimately chose to leave a few days ago. With an open position in the squad and clear tactical needs, the name currently highlighted by Deco on the transfer list is Nestande.

Deco is fully committed to pushing through the signing of the 18-year-old Dutch center-back from Twente. This is not sudden interest due to the imminent transfer deadline. Barcelona's technical department had previously received excellent scouting reports on Nestande, and several months ago, Deco himself and João Amaral made two trips to the Netherlands to establish contact with the player's representatives, laying the groundwork for a potential deal.

Nestande fits the profile of a modern center-back needed for Flick's high defensive line. He stands 1.95 meters tall, possesses excellent physical attributes, can play accurate passes from the back with his left foot, is strong in aerial duels, and has the ability to carry the ball forward from deep and break through the opposition's defense. In the Netherlands, Nestande's development trajectory and playing style have been compared to players like Dean Huijsen.

Barcelona also clarified that the push to sign Nestande is completely independent of the club's recent signing of Mikael Baza. The arrival of the 16-year-old Baza at La Masia is solely to strengthen the Juvenil B squad and continue his development and training.

However, acquiring Nestande will not be easy. With only hours remaining until the transfer window closes, Twente is very reluctant to release this highly valued young player at this time. Twente believes that Nestande still has room to continue developing in the Eredivisie. Head coach John van den Brom has also publicly stated that media rumors about players can create instability for such a young player.

What works in Barcelona's favor is the player's own desire. Nestande recently extended his contract until 2029, but when discussing Barcelona in July this year, he already openly expressed his aspirations. Nestande stated at that time: "Being able to play for Barcelona and form a central defensive partnership with Cubarsí would certainly be my main goal."

Now, as the transfer deadline draws ever closer, the challenge facing Deco is to try to realize Nestande's goal before time runs out.

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