Grading the signings Barcelona have made under Deco's sporting director tenure

Deco has started to become a very controversial figure among the Barcelona fanbase as many question his abilities as a sporting director. Many fans are unhappy with his failure to sign Nico Williams and his constant pursuit of Luis Diaz who is rumored to be valued at 100 million euros. Add to the the lack of sales that can help bring the club to the 1:1 ratio, and many are left to question his competency as a sporting director. Today we review all the major signings made under Deco's tenure since he joined in 2023 and grade them to see if the criticism is valid.

Ilkay Gundogan: B-

Ilkay Gundogan came on a free transfer after winning and captaining Manchester City to a treble. It seemed like a smart signing, at the time, to bring in an expereinced player with plenty of abilitiy left to help guide the likes of Pedri and Gavi. He did have a pretty good season with Barcelona, even managing to score in El Clasico, but it all seem to go downhill when he called out Ronald Araujo after Barca's exit in the UCL quarterfinals against PSG. He eventually got his contract terminated at the end of the season and left on a free back to Manchester City.

He performed well in his time at Barcelona but ended it on a sour note and left for free making this at best a B-.

Oriol Romeu: D-

Oriol Romeu was bought for 3.4 million euros from Girona making him the only player bought for a fee in the 23/24 summer window. He was bought as a stop gap replacement for Sergio Busquets as Barcelona looked for the DM of the future. Even as a stop gap Romeu couldn't cut it as he was eventually benched in favor of an out of position Andreas Christensen. Romeu was eventually loaned back out to Girona last season and is far from being in Barcelona's plans long-term.

With Barcelona paying a fee and the inability to make the cut even as a backup, this signing gets and D- overall.

Iñigo Maritnez: A+

Martinez was signed for free from Athletic Club as a backup centre back to the league winning duo of Araujo and Christensen. He then went on to go above both in the pecking order and became the left centre back starter alongside Pau Cubarsi. He was arguably one of the 3 best centre backs in La Liga last season and was a key piece in Barcelona winning a domestic treble. For a free transfer and his impact on the squad already, this season alone makes the signing an A+

Joao Cancelo: B-

Joao Cancelo was one of the two Portuguese deadline day signings of the summer of 2023 and I believe he's the better of the two signings. Him and Joao Felix both came in on loan deals but Cancelo made the most sense then and now. Cancelo came in with the idea of him being capable of relieving Alejandro Balde in the left back position and also being capable of starting and rotating with Jules Kounde in the right back position. In this role, he was doing well even coming up with clutch moments such as his goal against Celta Vigo to give Barca a crucial three points.

His first few months at Barca were going well but than Balde suffered an injury in January that ruled him out for the season leaving Cancelo as the starter at left back for the rest of the season. His faults became more obvious in Barca's crucial games of the season against PSG and Real Madrid where his mistakes lead to goals and the opposition consistently attacking his side. His big game performaces left a sour taste in Culers' mouths, but overall he was better than most fans remember him overall giving him a B-

Joao Felix: C

The other Joao of this transfer window, the talented Joao Felix practically begged for the move to happen as he had came out and said how much he wanted to play for Barca. He was very good in his first few games for Barca especially against Royal Antwerp and Real Betis, but eventually the same issues that Felix has always had, reared their ugly head. He was inconsistent, disappeared often in games, and there wasn't really a role for him to start as the questions of his best position lingered. He did show up in both games against his parent club, Atletico Madrid, but still wasn't enough to feel like this loan move did anything making it a C.

Vitor Roque: F

Vitor Roque was a signing that seemed very logical at the time and was comparable to Real Madrid signing young Brazilian striker Endrick. Roque, who cost Barca 30 million euros, could come in and learn behind the legendary Robert Lewandowski and also occasionally rotate with him. Instead, he ended up playing as a winger almost as many times as he did striker, Xavi clearly didn't trust Roque, and he logged only 353 minutes for Barca. He came in January of 2024 and was quickly loaned out to Betis in the summer of 24.

In the middle of his loan to Betis, he was sold to Palmeiras for a fee around 25 million euros. Despite Barca recouping some of the money they spent, this signing was a complete failure from top to bottom and can't be given anything besides an F.

Pau Victor: C

Pau Victor was officially signed from Girona for a fee of 2.7 million euros. He had impressed in his time with Barca Atletic, leading the team in goals in a campaign they nearly got promoted. He was supposed to come in as a backup option for Lewandowski, but got very sporadic minutes and had a minimal impact on the season. Barcelona may make a profit on him this summer but this signing is a middle of the road signing grading out at a C.

Dani Olmo: B+

Barcelona decided to make one big money signing in the summer of 24 and after getting rejected by Nico WIlliams, they decided to go for La Masia graduate Dani Olmo. Dani Olmo was key in many La Liga games such as scoring the winner against Rayo, winning the pen against Celta Vigo, and cracking open a tight affair against Las Palmas which were key points in Barcelona winning the league title. He also dealt with multiple injuries and left more to be desired in big games as he had little impact in the games against Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, and Inter Milan. He cost around 55 million euros and with Barca's financial situation, he had to be a hit signing.

While I wouldn't call Olmo a hit signing yet, he did have an impacful first season and was key to Barcelona's league winning season. He has his faults and could definitely improve, but he has time still and if he can be continue being impactful than this grade could go up but for now its a B+.

Wojciech Szczesny: B+

Szczesny came in as an emergency goalkeeper signing for the injured ter Stegen and ended up being the permanent starter for the season. He came out of retirement, in a brand new system, and was decent considering the circumstances. His off the field presence clearly was very impactful as Barca renewed him to keep him as the backup goalie for next season showing he made a great impression as a leader and a veteran presence, He didn't light the world on fire, but was servicable and is providing value as a locker room leader making this a B+.

Joan Garcia: A

This signing is the most difficult to asses as he's yet to play a minute for Barcelona. I will be on the optimistic side and believe that this will be a great signing for the club. He was easily one of the two best goalies in La Liga last season and has the age to be Barca's starter for a decade. In a time the club needed to find a long-term solution in the position, they got the best goalie on the market giving this a grade of an A.

Overall

Calculating the overall median grade, it falls between a B- and a C+ for the signings made under Deco. This seems about right as Deco's tenure has been pretty bang average with hits and misses. In a club the size of Barcelona, bang average is not good enough and it seems there is validity to the questioning of Deco's abilities.