FC Barcelona have their transfer ban lifted from 1st January onwards, allowing them to register their new signings Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal. We look at four ways the duo can help the Club World Cup winners and Spanish League leaders to scale even bigger heights in the new year.
FC Barcelona is expected, as always, to challenge for all the three trophies as the season draws to a close in May. We look at how the addition of the two players can aid the Blaugrana in their quest for silverware.
1. More consistency
FC Barcelona’s transfer ban has seen the club give a chance to a lot of youngsters, including Munir El Haddadi, Sandro and Rafinha Alcantara in the attacking areas, and Sergi Roberto in the defensive area.
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While Rafinha has grabbed this chance with both hands alongside Roberto, Sandro and Munir have been somewhat hit and miss.
With the ban now lifted, summer signings Aleix Vidal and Arda Turan will be available to be registered and will start playing for the club, thereby reducing the pressure on the youngsters whose tender age means not all of them can perform on the same level week in week out.
2. More depth
The addition of the two players will add much needed depth to the Barcelona squad, who will be having games thick and fast as they chase any treble. The sale of Pedro and injury to Rafinha for the rest of the season meant the only cover the Blaugrana had for the front three was Sandro and Munir.
Turan’s availability will go a long way in filling some portion of the gap left behind by the any of the front three, with the youngsters still some level off the trio.
Aleix Vidal’s ability to play the role of an attacking right wing back means he will prove to be a huge challenge for the aging Dani Alves, thereby adding much needed depth to the right-side of the Blaugrana defence.
Injuries to Dani Alves and Lionel Messi had made apparent the lack of depth in those two positions for the Bluagrana and the duo’s availability will add depth to the squad.
3. Higher work rate
While Neymar and Messi are fantastic attackers, they need a Luis Suarez, who besides being a quality player, is also one of the most hard-working members of the squad.
The ability of Arda Turan to not only provide quality in the final third, but to also work hard is what made him a perfect FC Barcelona player. The Turkish international has a tendency to press rigorously, having played under Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid. And he would be a perfect fit as a substitute or a squad player to replace the front three.
Vidal meanwhile, is a wing-back who much like Dani Alves has the tendency to go up and down the flanks. While it is difficult for anyone to match the intensity of Dani Alves, Vidal will give the aging Brazil star a run for his money.
4. More width
Turan, it is fair to say, is the only traditional winger in the FC Barcelona squad. The Turkish international has the tendency to stick to the touchline and go to the by-line before crossing the ball in the box. With FC Barcelona hardly playing the crossing system, it will be interesting to see how Turan copes up with the style of play. However, Turan’s style of play could be a useful weapon for FC Barcelona from the bench at times.
Vidal, much like Alves, bombs forward on regular intervals, joining the attackers to make an impact up front. His addition in the full-back department means Barcelona will at the very least maintain the attacking thrust that Dani Alves was able to provide, at least to some extent if not completely so.