The international break gave coach Ronald Koeman and the new president Joan Laporta the first opportunity to discuss planning for the next season in peace. Barça has a lot of construction sites and question marks. What will the individual parts of the team look like and what impact will Messi’s decision have on the new season?
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After exhausting months with many games and a postponed presidential election, FC Barcelona used the international break to discuss and advance the plans for the coming season. Even before the international break, coach Ronald Koeman made a statement at a press conference that they would finally sit down in the two weeks: “We will talk about the team and which new signings are needed.”
Continuity in the coaching position
Koeman himself would like to continue as Barça coach and repeatedly stresses that his contract will run until summer 2022. Laporta respected the work of the former Bondscoach at all times and most recently stated during his inaugural speech that Koeman enjoyed his trust.
Thanks to the team’s good performance recently, the Dutchman was able to convince and cement his position – even if Laporta has not yet made any public statements that Koeman will remain 100 percent coach of the Blaugrana beyond the summer, everything currently indicates that that there will be continuity in the coaching position at Barça.
So it is now a matter of setting the course for the future together and gradually planning the squad – because there are lots of construction sites and question marks in the Catalans’ squad.
Salary savings through youth keepers
Marc-André ter Stegen, who extended his contract to 2025 last October, remains the clear number one goal for the Catalans. However, there should be a change in the back-up position. Neto should be given a suitable offer in order to save his salary – and because the Brazilian is dissatisfied with his role and wants to change and has already told the club about this in the past.
Koeman is therefore considering bringing up Barça B’s goalkeeping talents. Iñaki Peña and Arnau Tenas would fight for second place in the Blaugrana goalkeeping hierarchy.
Looking for a new left-back
The upcoming free transfer signing of ManCity center-back Eric Garcia is an open secret. But there is more to be done in central defense, as Samuel Umtiti is at the top of the sales list. The Catalans are also looking for a new left-back as they are said to be dissatisfied with Junior Firpo.
As a versatile player, David Alaba from FC Bayern Munich would be ideal for both positions, but is also too expensive for Barça’s tight coffers. According to media reports, Mateu Alemany, the new strong man under Laporta, is said to have Valencia captain José Gayá on his note for the Blaugrana left defense. Alemany knows the 25-year-old from his time as the sports director of the bats. Juan Miranda, currently on loan to Betis, could also provide the back-up behind Alba in the future – but it is not known how Barça assesses his development.
Any new signings in defense are dependent on whether Junior Firpo and Samuel Umtiti leave the club – Barça is looking for buyers for the two players. Clément Lenglet’s future at FC Barcelona is also uncertain. With a suitable offer, one would certainly not be averse to letting go of the 25-year-old, who had meanwhile lost his regular place at Ronald Koeman and repeatedly drew attention to himself this season with abstruse dropouts in negative ways.
Will Koeman get his dream player for midfield?
In midfield, Koeman is still calling for a physical box-to-box midfielder, his favorite being Georginio Wijnaldum from Liverpool FC. In the last summer and winter transfer period, the 58-year-old wanted to guide his former protégé from the Dutch national team to Catalonia. With his contract expiring, the 2019 Champions League winner is free of charge. The new management of the Blaugrana club is not entirely convinced of the 30-year-old midfield engine, especially because Ilaix Moriba has established himself among the professionals in the last few weeks and months and is exactly playing the role of Wijnaldum.
The question that is now being asked in the club is: Do the Liverpool players even need it when Moriba has a very talented and much cheaper La Masia youngster with this profile in the squad?
Meanwhile, the first sales candidate in midfield is Philippe Coutinho, who is currently having his knee injury treated in Brazil and may not even appear for Barcelona – at least this season. Coutinho no longer has a future at Barça, customers are desperately looking for.
Miralem Pjanic also hardly has a future at Koeman, but the Bosnian wants to assert himself at Blaugrana according to his own statements – Juventus Turin’s summer signing is not even thinking of leaving the Catalans after just one season.
Offers for the two players and Carles Aleña, who is currently on loan to Getafe FC, will be accepted and evaluated. The regular middle field, consisting of Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong and Pedri, on the other hand, is not for sale and will remain for the next season – or be supplemented by Wijnaldum.
Haaland transfer dependent on Messi’s decision
The planning of the offensive is shaped by a decision: will captain Lionel Messi remain at Barça? The meetings between La Pulga and the new President Laporta will determine whether the Argentine world star will stay with FC Barcelona or not. Whatever the decision of the six-time world footballer, Koeman would like to sign a new striker for the next season. At the top of the wish list is Erling Haaland, who is ensnared by many clubs.
Haaland’s advisor Mino Raiola and his father Alf-Inge were even in Barcelona for the first exploratory talks on Thursday. Barça will be able to afford the Norwegian this summer, however, is rather unlikely given the one billion debts that plague the club. In addition, according to BVB sports director Zorc, Haaland is not even for sale. In 2022, however, his release clause would be “only” 75 million – a much more affordable amount for Barcelona.
Attackers Memphis Depay from Olympique Lyon and Sergio Aguero from Manchester City, who are free of charge in the summer, come into focus. Depay is Koeman’s express wish transfer, the Dutchman wanted to sign him before the season, when they reached an agreement with Depay and Lyon, but the transfer failed due to La Liga’s regulations because Barça’s salary expenses were too high.
For the coming summer, La Liga has even lowered the upper salary limit of FC Barcelona by 35 million, so it will be even more difficult to sign expensive stars like Wijnaldum, Aguero, Alaba or Depay – even if they are free of charge.
Laporta, Alemany and Co. still have a lot of work to do in the next few months when planning their squad.
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Patryk Kubocz / Alex Truica
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