The sensational Everton and Barcelona swap deal that would see both sides go up a level

Few things are certain at Everton right now – their ownership situation is febrile, their financial status worrying, and they have no idea how many points they will end up on at the end of the Premier League season regardless of how many games they win between now and May. But one thing that seems almost guaranteed at this point is that midfielder Amadou Onana will leave Goodison Park this summer.

The 22-year-old Belgian, who was signed for £33m from Lille two years ago, is wanted by almost all of the Premier League’s biggest clubs and has drawn substantial interest from overseas as well, with Barcelona in particular repeatedly linked with a bid as they look to rebuild their midfield.

The problem for Barcelona, of course, is that they too have plenty of cash flow issues to deal with, and Everton’s alleged asking price of £80m may be too steep for them – but according to TeamTalk (who cite Catalan outlet Sport) they are hoping to get around that by offering the Toffees their choice of players in part-exchange.

The four players supposedly up for grabs are Ansu Fati, Clément Lenglet, Sergiño Dest (all currently on loan at Brighton & Hove Albion, Aston Villa and PSV Eindhoven respectively) and Fermín López. But who should Everton take as a makeweight? We look at the options and how they might fit into Sean Dyche’s side.

Ansu Fati

First of all, let’s assume for now that Everton manage to extend their stay in the Premier League regardless of any further points deduction they face for alleged breaches of the profit and sustainability rules. None of the players mentioned would realistically consider signing a contract with a Championship club, even one with the history and support base of Everton. So let’s take it as read that Dyche wards the drop off once more and work from there.

Fati is an enticing proposition. He is undoubtedly one of the most talented young players in world football, but he has also been bedevilled by injuries and has struggled to string games together during his loan spell at the Amex Stadium. What he has been through is a crying shame for the game and for Fati himself, but any club signing him will be taking a massive gamble on his future fitness.

But if he does stay fit – and what a big if that is – then he could well become one of the best forwards in the world. He has scored 24 top flight goals in Spain and England despite only being able to start 35 matches in his career, he’s the youngest scorer in the history of the Spanish national team, and his combination of mazy dribbling skills, technique, finishing prowess, off-ball movement and rapid acceleration makes him genuinely lethal in the final third.

The problem is that he is so rarely able to get 90 minutes under his belt in order to showcase those breathtaking skills. But Everton have been so desperate for a goalscorer this season that perhaps Fati would be worth the risk. He certainly has by far and away the highest ceiling of any of the players on the table. Very high risk, extraordinarily high reward – he would probably be the most naturally gifted player ever to appear at Goodison.

Clément Lenglet

The French centre-half was a regular starter in the Barcelona side that won La Liga back in 2019 but the 28-year-old fell out of favour a couple of years ago and has spent the last two seasons on loan at both Spurs – where he was OK but little better – and now Villa, where he has been considerably more impressive.

He is probably not the best option for Everton, however, not that he’d be a bad signing should Jarrad Branthwaite be sold as well. Given the club’s financial issues they would probably want to prioritise players with resale value, which will soon be limited in Lenglet’s case, and as a defender his natural game doesn’t match up ideally with the attributes that Dyche wants.

Specifically, Lenglet is a natural ball-playing defender who looks to play out from the back and run forward to supplement the midfielder – but Dyche has always preferred to play with a more traditional centre-back pairing, and as a pure defender Lenglet doesn’t offer a noticeable upgrade over the qualities of players like James Tarkowski.

If Branthwaite leaves, signing Lenglet would address a new position of need, but it would be a solid signing which didn’t look much to the financial future of the club. If Ansu Fati is high risk, high reward, then Lenglet is the very opposite. Perhaps that in itself would appeal to Dyche’s naturally conservative tendencies.

Sergiño Dest

Of all the players Sport believe could be offered to Everton, Dest is probably the least likely – simply because PSV have an option to make his loan move permanent this summer. If he is judged to have played up to his early potential in the Eredvisie, they will keep him. If he hasn’t been good enough, then it’s hard to imagine that Everton would be that excited to pick him up themselves.

The American international was hugely hyped as a youngster as a dynamic and pacy attacking wing-back, but hasn’t really lived up to expectations or developed his end product as much as would have been hoped. He’s still a more than serviceable threat down the flank and has bagged five assists in the Netherlands this season, and his quick movement would offer Everton an extra dimension in their attacking game, but his defensive record is patchy at best. He isn’t the most Dychesque player imaginable.

There’s also the consideration that Everton already have a developing right-back in Nathan Patterson, who at 22 is a year younger than Dest and is one of the club’s brighter prospects for the near future. Signing Dest doesn’t seem to be likely on paper, nor does it make a great deal of sense.

Fermín López

The most surprising name on Sport’s list, López is a 20-year-old attacking midfielder who has broken into the Barcelona first team this season and largely impressed, scoring in recent games against Atlético Madrid, Getafe and Napoli in the Champions League.

Barcelona have proven willing to sell academy products in recent years – Nico, for instance, was shipped off to Porto for the sake of the profit – but he still seems to be a big breakthrough prospect and it would be remarkable if Barcelona attempted to usher him out of the door without giving him a chance to prove himself as a future regular.

If they do decide to offer him up, however, Everton should probably snap the Catalan club’s hand off. He’s dynamic, technically excellent, has quick feet and both scores and creates a very healthy number of chances while also putting a good shift in out of possession, with a tackling record that most holding midfielders would be proud of.

Given his age and talent (and the fact that, unlike Fati, he doesn’t have a long history of injuries to contend with), López would surely be the best buy for Everton. He would offer them the creativity and threat they crave and would likely net a healthy profit for them somewhere down the line. But we remain sceptical that Barcelona would really let him go so soon.