Barcelona add Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Nabil Fekir to list of potential transfer targets
The list of potential transfer targets continues to grow for the Catalans.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Milinkovic-Savic and Fekir have been watched by the club for a while, but Barcelona are considering stepping up their interest this summer as they look to upgrade their attack. Both are currently at the World Cup with Serbia and France respectively. Milinkovic-Savic is the main driving force behind Serbia’s attack while Fekir has solely been used as a substitute.
The Serbian was the standout star in an exciting Lazio team as well as being one of the best players in Serie A last season. He combines a large physical frame with a high standard of technical ability, which makes him a unique blend.
Simone Inzaghi often played him as the most advanced midfielder in a midfield three as part of a 3-5-1-1 formation because he could act as an outlet as well as having the quality to break open a defence.
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He is capable of defence-splitting passes, driving runs from deep, clinical finishes as well as being an aerial threat. This is supported by his 12 goals and three assists in the league as well as 2.9 aerial duels, 1.5 key passes and 1.6 dribbles on average per game. Therefore, he is hard for opposition defences to deal with due to his all-round threat.
Fekir was the chief playmaker for Lyon in a variety of different formations, although the 4-2-3-1 was most common. He comes to life in the final third because he scored 18 goals and provided eight assists in 2481 league minutes.
Ligue 1 isn’t the best judge of talent because it is of a lower quality than the other top five European leagues. However, he did also score three and assist one in 660 Europa League minutes.
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Who would suit Barcelona more?
They are both supremely talented individuals who are key players in their current teams. However, Fekir would be a better fit for Barcelona’s style out of the two. The issue is whether there would be a suitable role in the team for him.
Milinkovic-Savic would be a useful weapon to break down compact defences with his direct dribbling and physicality. Although he probably wouldn’t suit Barcelona’s patient possession play, which is reliant on intelligent positioning in all phases. Lazio are willing to be a lot more direct than Barca’s style, which suits him a lot more. Therefore, his skillset wouldn’t be made best use of by the Catalans.
Barcelona need someone to fill Andres Iniesta’s role, but that is probably too deep for Fekir. He would want to be more heavily involved in the final third, which could unbalance the team. Playing him as one of the front three could work either on the left or on the right if Messi plays centrally.
The second option would only work if there was a player stretching the opposition vertically such as Ousmane Dembele. He could play in the role Antoine Griezmann was intended for, but it’s dependent on whether he could form a good understanding with Lionel Messi. The Argentine is the chief playmaker, so Fekir would have to adapt to having a lesser role. However, having Coutinho, Fekir and Messi in the same team means they wouldn’t struggle to create chances. His goalscoring threat would be a useful asset as well.