The FC Barcelona transfer window ended on a quieter Tuesday than expected. If many supporters expected a deadline day Lively, with the arrival of a central defender who was considered essential by many fans, this last day was calm, with the presentation of Gabriel Jesus. And nothing else. In the end, FC Barcelona will have recruited six players for its first team, namely Anthony Gordon, Karim Adeyemi, Rodri Hernandez, Dominik Livakovic, Cancelo and the Brazilian striker, in addition to Jesse Bissiwu and Hamza Abdelkarim whose purchase option has been exercised. Two players who will alternate between the first team and the B.
A summer transfer window which still raises real questions. Has this FC Barcelona strengthened itself as it needed? It is clear that the departures of players like Robert Lewandowski, Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford have not necessarily been replaced by guaranteed players. Raphinha seems to be performing well at number 9 for the moment, but Gabriel Jesus, his understudy, remains a gamble. A risk? Yes, but it could be chargeable. The impressive and astonishing performances of Raphinha at the forefront, coupled with a Lamine Yamal who will gradually regain his level and an Anthony Gordon who has launched his Barcelona adventure well, could compensate and make up for this lack of recruitment of a great number 9.
Flick and Deco want to be inspired by the PSG model but…
Especially since according to the Catalan media, Barcelona decision-makers want to be inspired by what Luis Enrique does, who plays without a real number 9, with interchangeable offensive players who swap regularly. Julian Alvarez, whom the Blaugranas coveted so much, is not a real surface player. On the other hand, the defensive sector raises many more doubts, and the team’s weak times against Rayo Vallecano, candidate for relegation, did not reassure many people. Identified as the team’s weak point, whether on an individual or collective level with this fairly high line, Barça’s defense was not strengthened this summer. No central defender has arrived, despite the departures of Ronald Araujo and Alvaro Cortés, and if we assume that Eric Garcia is now a right back, there are only three central defenders in the squad currently: Pau Cubarsi and Gerard Martin, the starting duo in the eyes of Hansi Flick, and Andreas Christensen, on whom it seems difficult to count on for an entire season given his recurring physical problems.
Suffice to say that in big matches, all of this can be very costly for a team which has left Europe for good reason because of individual errors from its defenders in recent years. On the sides, status quo too, with the return of Cancelo, but gaps both on the left and on the right, and the starting full-backs, Xavi Espart (even if Cancelo could pass in front of him) and Eric Garcia, who are not even professional full-backs. As for the midfield, it has been strengthened with the arrival of Rodri, who should allow the team to have a little more control, both with and without the ball. It is therefore difficult to find a negative point there. But it’s obvious, this Barça summer transfer window has strengthened certain positions… But also weakened others…
