As is the case every summer, plenty of high profile players have been linked to Barcelona already, with the main story in recent times being the possibility of Luis Suarez joining Barcelona – a rumour that was interestingly fueled by the infamous World Cup incident involving Luis Suarez and Chiellini. While the move is obviously a possibility, as long as Barcelona have Lionel Messi, forward signings are never likely to match their hype.
Were he to join Barcelona, Suarez would likely become just the next name in a long list of world class striker signings by Barcelona to be completely overshadowed by Lionel Messi on the pitch – a list that includes the likes of David Villa, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and even Neymar – all of whom arrived to Barcelona with a lot of hype around them but were soon ‘reduced’ to supporting characters in the Messi-show. Messi guarantees goals, not only the ones he scores but also the ones he creates, directly or indirectly; he’s so instrumental that as long as he is in his peak, scoring goals will never be a problem for Barcelona regardless of who his supporting cast is. What this means is, while Suarez might or might not come depending on which sources you believe in, strengthening the attack is, or should be, about the last of Barcelona’s concerns this off-season.
There are much more pressing matters, such as renewing the midfield; Sergio Busquets and AndrAi??s Iniesta are sure starters next season, but there’s another spot left to fill – one that used to be occupied by Xavi Hernandez. With both Xavi and Cesc Fabregas not part of the equation for next season, and Thiago Alcantara having left last summer, a mini-revolution will be operated in the squad’s midfield. Ivan Rakitic’s already confirmed arrival is a good first step of course, but there is likely to be at least one other top quality center midfielder added in this transfer window, with Bayern’s Toni Kroos the most mentioned name.
With Song on his way out as well, getting quality back-up for Busquets will also be on the agenda; despite having two of the world’s best in Busquets and Iniesta, the rest of the club’s current midfield depth isn’t really convincing and is likely to be revamped and improved during the transfer window.
The biggest problems, however, lie at the back. ValdAi??s and Pinto’s exits have already been made up for, with Ter Stegen and Claudio Bravo joining the club, but the back four is still in need of a considerable upgrade. Ai??With Puyol’s retirement, Gerard PiquAi?? and Marc Bartra are the only natural center backs left at the club; several names have been mentioned as possibilities to reinforce that position, viz. PSG’s Marquinhos and Thiago Silva. This has been identified as a necessity for several years now, even more so after Puyol’s retirement, and this summer signing a center back becomes all the more essential.
In the left wing position, Barcelona have Jordi Alba and Adriano, with Daniel Alves and Martin Montoya on the right, so they’re well equipped on that front, the same can’t be said about their central defense though, sorting that up is even more important than doing so with the center midfielder position.
Despite what was widely considered a poor season by the standards Barcelona had set in the recent past, there’s no real need for major tweaks in the squad; it’s still an incredibly talented squad in all areas, spearheaded by the greatest footballer of this generation in Lionel Messi. A few key addition are all it will take for Barcelona to be in the best position possible to compete for La Liga and the Champions League next season.
Suarez has been the most discussed name and of course he’s the sort of player who would improve any team in the world, but for reasons previously discussed his addition would not be likely to have as much an impact as it could appear on paper; the keys for Barcelona this summer are to strengthen their central midfield and especially the central defense, that’d give Luis Enrique all he needs to have a successful first season at the helm of FC Barcelona.
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