Barcelona’s quota could help Everton defender pursuit

It’s no surprise that multiple teams have come knocking on Barcelona’s door in recent days for central defender Yerry Mina, especially after his starring performances for Colombia in the World Cup.

The towering centrehalf scored with three headers in three consecutive games against Poland, Senegal and England before Los Cafeteros’ exit from the global showcase. Mina now has an astounding six goals in fifteen international appearances, and Everton are just one of the clubs interested.

Per the report, the Blues have already put in a bid worth €24million (£21m) for the player, who Barcelona have been trying to actively offload because of a La Liga quota. The Spanish league only allows teams in the top division to have three non-EU players, with regulars Paulinho and Philip Coutinho already occupying two spots, Barca are being hindered in signing Brazilian Arthur while Mina is their third registered non-EU player. Lionel Messi is a naturalized Spanish citizen while Luis Suarez has dual Italian nationality through his wife, and even though Coutinho has applied for Portuguese citizenship, it might not be granted in time for this coming season.

Additionally, Barca want to ensure that if the player does come good in England then their first choice is to loan the player out for €2million (£1.8m), but will consider selling him outright if a buyback clause is inserted into the deal, much like they did with winger Gerard Deulofeu.

Mina is 23 years old and played in only six games for Barcelona due to the logjam at the La Liga champions. The 6’4” lanky defender has incredible foot speed which helps him make up ground but still has some development to go before he can be considered a top level centre half.

There has been some chatter that Mina could be used as a makeweight in a deal with Chelsea for Willian, with Liverpool linked with the defender as well.