The genius Everton swap deal that could stump Aston Villa this summer

Everton are planning for the summer transfer window. Bold strategy. Rocked by the punishing backlash of financial restrictions this season, and not entirely certain as to which division they will be playing their football come August, the next few months could prove to be immensely difficult for Sean Dyche's side. And yet onwards they scheme regardless.

According to an update from Spanish outlet Sport, the Toffees are very interested in prising promising midfielder Fermin Lopez away from Barcelona. The 20-year-old has capitalised on something of an injury crisis in Catalonia to explode into relevancy of late, although it remains to be seen how auspicious his prospects will look once the likes of Pedri and Gavi have returned to full fitness. At the time of writing, 31 senior appearances in the centre of the park have yielded six goals and an assist for Lopez this term, and it is in this context that he continues to attract attention from several circling clubs.

In particular, however, it is suggested that Everton are keen, as are Premier League rivals Aston Villa. (Sport go on to claim that the Toffees already failed once with a bid for the Spanish starlet during the January transfer window.) But neither side will have it easy. Lopez is currently under contract with Barca until 2027, and has a release clause of around £343 million attached to him - although such exorbitant figures are generally used as more of a deterrent than they are a realistic valuation.

Nevertheless, luring him to England will be tricky, and not least because the player himself is also said to be intent on staying and fighting for his place at Camp Nou. To quote Sport directly: 'Fermín is focused on FC Barcelona and only thinks about succeeding as a Barca player.'

But sometimes these things are not decided by a player themselves, and to that end, perhaps Everton are in possession of a sweetener who could convince Barcelona into considering Lopez's departure this summer. It is no real secret that the La Liga giants are huge admirers of Toffees midfielder Amadou Onana, with Sport even going as far as to mention the Belgian in their report on Lopez's future, stating that Everton 'curiously also has in its ranks a pivot very highly valued by Barca'.

Now, given the Blues' precarious financial situation, there is a very real possibility that Onana may have to leave Goodison Park this summer regardless of whether Dyche's men beat the drop or not. But if he is to depart, perhaps the best case scenario Everton could hope for is that his exit facilitates the arrival of a suitable replacement. Maybe, then, there is a series of events in which the Blues can secure Lopez as a makeweight in any prospective agreement with Barcelona for Onana.

Plenty will depend on which league Everton find themselves in next season, and, indeed, how fiercely the likes of Aston Villa push to secure Lopez for themselves, but if the Toffees are canny about their predicament, they could engineer a way of turning their dire straits into something much brighter.