Barcelona: 3 reasons why Gabriel Jesus should be signed over Antoine Griezmann

Gabriel Jesus is one of the best young forwards in Europe right now. Currently, he plies his trade at Manchester City, alongside other Brazilians like Ederson, Danilo and Fernandinho.

Back in 2016, when Gabriel Jesus signed for Manchester City, he was touted as the next big thing in European football. However, since then he has faded away and after a disappointing World Cup in Russia, he has played a total of only 1804 minutes this season. In addition to that, there have been many reports claiming that Manchester City are trying to sell Jesus in order to generate sum funds for Rodri's transfer.

Griezmann, the French World Cup winner, has already announced that he will be leaving Atletico Madrid this summer and has been heavily linked to Barcelona in a deal worth around £104 million ever since.

However, Griezmann might not be the perfect choice to become the next no. 9 at Barcelona and here are a few reasons why Gabriel Jesus might be the perfect candidate for that role.

#1)The Age factor

The World Cup winner is already 28 years old

While Antoine Griezmann is a quality player, he is already 28 years old and arguably at the peak of his powers. Right now, he needs to play regular football and most importantly, not play second fiddle to someone.

Although Luis Suarez's exploits are on a decline right now, it is fair enough to say that he still has 1-2 years of football left in him and his telepathic connection with Messi on the field means that it would be very difficult to displace him from the playing XI right now.

This means that Griezmann might have to play second fiddle to Suarez or replace Dembele in the playing XI (who seems to be a part of Barcelona's future) right now, in case he arrives at Barcelona this summer.

Moreover, his age also means that Griezmann might not be a long term option for Barcelona and wouldn't have much time to settle into the team, unlike Gabriel Jesus.

While Gabriel Jesus might not have been as successful as other wonder-kids like Kylian Mbappe or Leroy Sane, he is definitely a promising player. Even though he had a below par season by his standards, he still scored 23 goals in 53 matches at the rate of a goal every 78 minutes which is a good return for a player of his age.

At 22 years of age, he can definitely improve a lot and right now he can be the perfect understudy to Luis Suarez. His young age would give him enough time and allow him to settle into the team perfectly and understand the 'Barca Way' of playing.

#2)The clash of egos and playing styles

Messi and Suarez's stature could hamper Griezmann at Barcelona

At the moment, the Barcelona playing XI is already filled with many senior superstars like Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique. In such a situation, the arrival of Griezmann would add another superstar to the playing XI which could make things complicated from the management point of view.

With too many superstars, especially in the forward line, there is a massive chance that there could be a clash in egos which may not allow Griezmann to play at his best.

With the French national team and previously at Atletico Madrid, he was the main man of the team. While he is a pretty versatile attacker and can play anywhere across the front line, he usually likes to operate behind the main striker as a no.10 to link up the play, organize the attack and score goals or create chances at ease. However, Messi already operates in this role at Barcelona and it could be difficult for both left footers to play together (similar to Dybala's problems whilst operating with Messi).

Meanwhile, Gabriel Jesus is also a pretty versatile attacker and can play anywhere across the front line, and isn't much of a superstar compared to Griezmann.

While Gabriel he is a brilliant finisher, he is also an excellent passer of the ball, has an excellent first touch, can hold up play, can dribble through defences, and even move out wide at times to create space for other attackers. In short, he has all the qualities to become a striker with the 'Barca DNA'.

Moreover, he is still just 22 years old which means that he has enough time to mould himself into a 'Barca type no.9', which is not the same case with Griezmann.

#3)Financial issues

The World Cup winner is one of the highest earners in football right now

While Griezmann is most likely to join Barcelona at the moment, he is being tracked by other clubs like PSG which could raise his asking price. Moreover, his arrival would mean that he would demand high wages from the club which could hamper Barcelona's finances significantly.

While, Gabriel Jesus earns £90,000 per week at Manchester City, Griezmann earns £335,000 per week at Atletico Madrid which is significantly higher than the Brazilian's.

With so many players with high salaries at Barcelona, the board could find it difficult to manage the high wage bill.

Moreover, the addition to Frenkie De Jong and possibly De Ligt to the squad could complicate things further, if Griezmann were to arrive as well.

Bottom Line

While Griezmann is certainly a high quality player, he might find it difficult to adjust to Barcelona straightaway. However, the arrival of Jesus could be less complicated as he has age on his side and has the right amount of quality and time to adjust to the Barcelona style of play.

Edited by Mustafa Ismail