Four Players Barcelona should look to buy next summer

It may not be entirely wrong to say that FC Barcelona, one of the biggest clubs in Europe, is going through a period of transition. While the Catalan Giants were always considered a top team, the 2008-09 season turned them to a Football Powerhouse. An inexperienced and young Manager took over the reins from Frank Rijkaard in July 2018 and the rest, as they say, is history. Josep Guardiola, or Pep as he is popularly known, was not a front-runner to manage Barcelona. Jose Mourinho (Believe it or not) was one among the favorites to take over from Rijkaard only for the Barcelona board to change their mind at the very last minute and appoint Pep as Rijkaard’s successor.

Upon being appointed, Pep Guardiola sent shockwaves through the Camp Now faithful when he announced that Deco, Gianluca Zambrotta, Giovani dos Santos, and the fan favorite Ronaldinho would be off-loaded. Pep signed Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, and Seydou Keita, and promoted Pedro and Sergio Busquets from the B team to replace the outgoing players. It didn’t take much time for the Camp Nou faithful to jump on the Pep bandwagon as Pep’s team combined talent and skill with near flawless execution, marching their way to glory. A new era had begun and tiki-taka was the talk of the town.

Now, six years after Pep left Barcelona, most of the members of Pep’s all-conquering team have either moved on or retired and the ones who remain are well into their thirties. Yes, Barca still has one of the greatest players of all time, Lionel Messi and the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Marc Andre ter Stegen are still world class players, but few concerns remain.

La Masia, FC Barcelona’s youth academy, do not produce as many world class players as it used to, forcing the club to buy their way out of trouble. Talking of buying players, many players whom Barcelona bought in recent years are still struggling to adapt to life at Camp Nou. It is evident that FC Barcelona needs to reinvent themselves and build for the future and also to prepare for the inevitable – The day Messi leaves Barcelona.

Here is a look at the players FC Barcelona should look to buy next summer, to ensure they remain in contention for years to come:

#4 Left Back: Jose Gaya/Alex Grimaldo

Make no mistake, Jordi Alba is an excellent player and is one of the best left backs in the world at the moment. Alba’s almost telepathic connection with Lionel Messi has been instrumental in Barcelona’s domestic success last season and is still going strong. Having said that, it would be almost impossible to expect Jordi Alba to maintain his fitness and performance levels for the whole of the season. Therefore, a backup to Jordi Alba should be a priority in Barcelona’s transfer plans, given Marc Cucurella, the other Left Back in the squad is relatively inexperienced and is an unknown quantity. While FC Barcelona does not seem to be actively looking for a Left Back (going by the lack of rumors), Jose Gaya and Alex Grimaldo present themselves as interesting options for Barcelona.

Jose Gaya has been on the radar of some of the biggest clubs for some time now, and it wouldn’t be long before he moves on from Valencia. Gaya is a pace merchant and has been impressive playing on the left of Valencia’s back line. Gaya’s impressive form led to Spain National Team coach, Luis Enrique calling him up for UEFA Nations League match against Croatia, where the fullback impressed with his direct running and attacking intent.

Alex Grimaldo, a La Masia product, is an equally exciting prospect. Grimaldo, 23, plies his trade in Portugal and has been impressive for Benfica. Grimaldo’s familiarity with Barcelona’s philosophy and his superb passing skills make him an ideal option for Barcelona should they feel the need to strengthen the left side of their defense.

Transfer Probability: 3/10

#3 Striker: Timo Werner

AS Monaco v RB Leipzig - UEFA Champions League

Barcelona has one of the best strikers of the current generation, in Luis Suarez. In his three seasons in Spain, Suarez scored 121 goals at a rate of 0.82 goals/match. Suarez’s decline started in the 2017-18 season, in which he scored 31 goals at 0.6 goals/match and this season, the Uruguayan has managed to score only 3 goals at 0.27 goals/match. While Suarez is still crucial to the Barcelona side and offers a lot to Barca’s style of play with his off the ball movement, the fact remains that his primary responsibility is to score goals.

Barcelona needs a goal scorer to take the pressure off Messi and it probably is time to look beyond Luis Suarez. Barcelona does have Paco Alcacer, who is on loan and has performed exceptionally well for Dortmund this season. But the Spaniard thrives on balls being played to his feet and does not entirely fit into Barcelona’s possession-based system.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Timo Werner is the best young striker in the world at the moment, in spite of his no-show at the World Cup 2018. When on song, Timo Werner is a nightmare to play against for the opposition defense, as evidenced by his 46 goals playing for RB Leipzig. Werner’s willingness to make runs which opens up space for himself and others and his exquisite technique makes him a really good option for Barcelona. The German is also comfortable drifting wide, which should help Messi make those late runs into the box as he has always done while playing with Suarez.

Transfer Possibility: 6/10

#2 Central Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong

FC Barcelona had the best midfield in the world for a large of part of the last decade. Xavi, Iniesta, and Busquets combining to make the opposition run in circles was a common sight during the Pep era. Xavi and Iniesta have moved on and that has understandably left Barcelona midfield weaker. While Busquets is still one of the best holding midfielders in the modern game, the famed midfield of Barcelona does no longer look as threatening as it used to.

Ivan Rakitic and Arturo Vidal are top class players, but creativity is not one of their strongest suits. Even though Arthur, the 21 years old Brazilian has shown glimpses of his quality and his almost Xavi-esque silky passing style should provide some relief to the Camp Nou faithful, he is relatively inexperienced at this level.

Enter Frenkie de Jong, 21-year-old Dutch starlet who plies his trade in Amsterdam. Although de Jong is a Midfielder, he has featured predominantly as a center-back for Ajax. de Jong likes to make darting runs through the middle and his passing technique is second to none. FC Barcelona needs a midfielder who can open up defenses with a defense-splitting pass or draw defenders out of position with a darting run, something the ‘Little Magician’ Andres Iniesta used to do so efficiently. Rumor mills were abuzz with stories of how close Barcelona was to signing de Jong in the last summer only for the transfer to never materialize. Frenkie de Jong is rumored to be open to the move and a transfer looks imminent.

Transfer Possibility: 8/10

#1 Central Defender: Matthijs de Ligt

Ajax v Royal Standard de Liege - UEFA Champions League

From one Ajax teenager to another. Matthijs de Ligt, 19-year-old Dutch defender has been touted as the next big thing for some time now. To put it lightly, Barcelona’s current central defense situation looks terrible. Samuel Umtiti could be out for months due to a serious knee injury and Thomas Vermaelen picked up ‘yet another’ injury and could be out for close to two months, leaving Barcelona with only two fit central defenders in Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet. Gerard Pique’s early season form has been abysmal and Lenglet is yet to fully adapt to life at Camp Nou.

All of this could force Barcelona to make a move for de Ligt in the upcoming winter transfer window. de Ligt, a Right-footed central defender, is an interesting option for Barcelona as Gerard Pique is the only right-footed central defender in Barcelona’s current squad. Also, the fact that de Ligt is excellent at bringing the ball out of defense will help him fit in easily into Barcelona’s system. A defender with 87% passing accuracy, aerial ability, and technical ability is not easy to come by and Barcelona should go all-out to acquire his services.

Transfer Possibility: 9/10

Edited by Deepanshu Sharma