Who is Carlos Soler and why Barcelona needs to sign him?
Carlos Soler has emerged as a hot prospect at Valencia
In recent years, Valencia has termed as La Masia because of the number of players Barcelona signed from Los Che. The club has signed players like David Villa, Paco Alcácer and André Gomes from Valencia in the last decade, with Villa being the most successful at the Camp Nou.
The club has been linked with many other Valencia players in the past, most notably David Silva, Dani Parejo and José Gayà. Now, Éric Abidal should consider scouting Valencia for yet another attacker, in 21-year old winger Carlos Soler.
Abidal is in negotiations with Corinthians over 20-year old Brazilian winger Pedrinho. But despite the fact that his non-EU status will not affect squad selection, he will take a lot of time to adapt to Europe, especially considering that he is uncapped at youth level.
But Carlos Soler would be a much better option. He broke into the Valencia first-team last season under Marcelino, making 34 appearances in all competitions. This season, he has made his Champions League debut, doing well against Juventus.
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Soler is very well-suited to the Spanish top-flight, having made 53 appearances in the La Liga already. He is yet to make his debut for the national team, but has starred at various youth levels. He was named in the preliminary squad for the World Cup, but didn’t make the final cut.
Carlos Soler will be very expensive compared to Pedrinho, but is a safer option. While the club has to negotiate down from €25 million for Pedrinho, Carlos Soler has a market value of €30 million and has attracted attention from around Europe.
But he can be a short-term solution to the lack of wingers in the squad, while Pedrinho would take to settle in. Éric Abidal is looking for a player who can play on the wings, and who would complete the squad in the attacking department.
Currently, the squad has 3 wingers in the form of Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembélé and Malcom. If Messi were a couple of years younger, it wouldn’t be a problem. But for all his stamina, Ernesto Valverde will have to pick his sides such that Messi is fully rested for the most important games.
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In that case, a winger could come in handy. Carlos Soler would be the perfect reinforcement for the flanks. The club will need to spend in order to sign him, but other than an inexperienced, albeit talented Brazilian, he is the only plausible option.