Barcelona were actively pursuing Philippe Coutinho and Marco Verratti in the summer, but is a playmaker signing necessary?
The much-hyped chases of Philippe Coutinho and Marco Verratti ended in failure. The club failed to negotiate a deal for either of these players. But does the squad really need a new playmaker?
The current squad consists of 9 midfielders, of which at least 5 are playmakers. And all of them are extremely talented. The likes Andrés Iniesta, André Gomes, Denis Suárez, Rafinha and Sergi Roberto cannot be underestimated.
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But the problem Barcelona is looking to solve is that of the successor of Andrés Iniesta. The veteran Spaniard is ageing and the club needs to find a player who can replace him on the first-team when he hangs up his boots.
But the problem can easily be solved internally. The club signed Denis Suárez and André Gomes with the motive of them becoming successors to Iniesta. Both of them are very talented and have lots of potential.
They just have not been able to display it till now. But they performed well for their former clubs, i.e, Valencia and Villareal, which leaves no doubts about their ability. But the board has decided to judge the pair on their performance in a single season.
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Ideally, Barcelona should give André Gomes and Denis Suárez another shot instead of running after bigger names. The legacy of Barcelona is to develop players internally. But the board should look to preserve that legacy instead of trying to become Real Madrid.