Barcelona approach Arturo Vidal as potential replacement for Paulinho
The Chilean midfielder is attracting plenty of interest across Europe because his future at Bayern Munich is uncertain.
Paulinho surprisingly left Barcelona this summer only a year after joining, and the theory was that Barcelona were shifting back to their roots with the profit from Paulinho’s transfer being a positive assuming Guangzhou Evergrande use the purchase option at the end of his loan spell. Arthur was brought in a transfer window earlier than expected and has basically took his fellow Brazilian’s place in the team while providing a different skillset.
The latest rumour suggests this theory is wrong, though, because Arturo Vidal has been approached by Barcelona, according to Mundo Deportivo. Inter Milan have been heavily linked with him as they seek to build a squad which can challenge Juventus’ domestic dominance, but they are yet to come to an agreement which has provided the Catalans with a chance to sign him.
Vidal is a terrific box-to-box midfielder as shown by his time at Juventus and Bayern Munich. He provides the energy and defensive contributions to control the midfield third and break up opposition attacks. The Chilean is also a dangerous attacking threat due to his late runs into the box, aerial prowess and distance shooting ability.
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A move to Inter suits him a lot more than Barcelona, though. Serie A is a slower league than La Liga so he could have more of an impact there which is important because he is the wrong side of 30 and is starting to be afflicted by injuries.
He could be a key player for i Nerazzurri alongside Radja Nainggolan and Marcelo Brozovic because most teams in Italy would struggle to win a midfield battle against them three.
Barcelona have lost some physical intensity and defensive solidity with Paulinho’s departure. He was also a major goal threat with his late runs and ability to find space in the box. Valverde appears to intend to switch to a 4-3-3, though, which makes it easier for the team to control matches, although that comes at the slight expense of defensive solidity.
Arthur’s creativity and progressive passing from deep as well as whether Malcom or Ousmane Dembele are able to fill the needs of the wide role should play a part in the success of this switch. However, the variety of options at Valverde’s disposal means there will be a lot of competition for places and none of these three are guaranteed a starting spot.
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The change in formation means that Barca don’t need a direct replacement for Paulinho. Vidal isn’t a good choice regardless because of his age and injury history. He may be available at the relatively cheap price of 30 million euros, but a younger alternative would be much more suitable if the club intends to buy a box-to-box midfielder. It would be beneficial to bring in a midfielder like Adrien Rabiot rather than going down this route, though.