Barcelona appear to have no desire to sell Samper this summer.
According to Mundo Deportivo, the 23-year-old will be involved in Barcelona’s pre-season fixtures, once again. He spent last season on loan with Las Palmas, but broke his leg not long after winning a first-team place which ruled him out for the rest of the season. His loan spell the season before wasn’t much better due to structural instability at Granada.
He has been part of the Barcelona set-up since he was six-years-old. Therefore, he has Barcelona DNA coursing through him from his long spell at La Masia. Some see him as a long-term successor for Busquets, but his development has stagnated in recent seasons. This is unfortunate for him because it was a crucial time for him. However, he isn’t a lost hope because he still has a long career ahead of him.
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It appeared as if he was going to be involved in the first-team set-up last season due to pre-season appearances. However, Valverde wasn’t sufficiently impressed and didn’t opt to use him as back-up for Sergio Busquets because he sent him away on loan. This was a strange decision considering the lack of cover in that area, which eventually hurt Barcelona when fatigue started to creep into Busquets’ game.
Squad role
Oriol Busquets will ascend from Barcelona B next season if he has sufficiently recovered from his major injury. He is now seen as the most likely candidate to be a long-term replacement for his namesake. Keeping Samper could just be a short-term solution while Busquets recovers from his injury.
Next: Barcelona B drop to Segunda Division B
This is likely to be a summer of change for Barca with multiple outgoings. Therefore, Samper adds a known quantity to the team as well as depth in a key position which frees up other players for the midfield roles. Barcelona will also struggle to find an external solution as back-up for Busquets due to the tough nature of the role; this means looking internally is the best solution with Samper and Oriol Busquets being the best candidates.
Samper deserves a shot at the first-team based on how patient he has been. He’s also had to suffer rotten luck as well as poor loan spells while staying loyalty to the club. There is also the significant issue of depth and an over-reliance on certain players. Therefore, he seems like an obvious solution until the younger Busquets adjusts to the first-team conditions. However, this could be the right time for Samper to prove his worth with Valverde being the kind of manager to reward that.