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Barcelona’s frustration shows in choice of striker targets

By Chiranjib Ghosh

Fernando Llorente of Tottenham during the Group B match of the UEFA Champions League between Tottenham Hotspurs and FC Barcelona at Wembley Stadium on October 03, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jose Breton/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Fernando Llorente of Tottenham during the Group B match of the UEFA Champions League between Tottenham Hotspurs and FC Barcelona at Wembley Stadium on October 03, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Jose Breton/NurPhoto via Getty Images) /
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Barcelona are targeting players who are just not up to the mark

In a frankly greedy move, Barcelona have offloaded Munir for a paltry transfer fee of €1.05 million. It would serve the club better if the young centre-forward acted as backup to Luis Suárez till the end of the season before leaving upon expiry of his contract.

But what is done is done. The club are clearly frustrated at the development, with Éric Abidal going after replacements who are simply inadequate. Currently, other than Álvaro Morata, the club is targeting Nigeria international Odion Ighalo and Tottenham striker Fernando Llorente.

While Ighalo is looking for a way out of Changchun Yatai, Ernesto Valverde wants the club to sign Llorente. The Basque coach worked with the 33-year old Spaniard when he was at Athletic Bilbao, and is a big fan of the towering centre-forward.

Odion Ighalo might have been prolific in the Chinese Super League, but those statistics cannot be used to judge a player. In 55 appearances in the CSL, he has scored 36 goals and has provided 8 assists. The only that can be said in his favour is his experience in the La Liga.

In a total of 78 appearances in the La Liga and the Copa del Rey, the 29-year old speedster scored 16 goals and provided provided 6 assists. At Watford, he was a one-season wonder where he scored scored 18 goals and provided 5 assists in 42 appearances in all competitions.

Ighalo is an experienced international, but he is far from a starter in the Nigerian national team. In other words, he is not good enough to play at a club like Barcelona. Even Paulinho had experience at a top European side and was a starter for Brazil at the international level.

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Moreover, Ighalo wants to leave Changchun Yatai on a permanent basis, and a loan move at this stage of his career would do him no good, especially considering that he would be warming the bench half the time.

The club’s other target, Fernando Llorente used to one of the most lethal strikers in Europe but is way past his prime. He is a legend at Athletic, but has declined considerably since he left Juventus. Llorente’s career looked set for a resurgence at Swansea, but it is in its twilight.

This season, the 33-year old former Spain international has made just 12 appearances for Tottenham in all competitions. He has 4 goals, of which 3 were scored in a 7-0 demolition of minnows Tranmere Rovers in the FA Cup.

Also, Llorente is not the kind of player the squad needs. He is very physical, and is one of the best headers of the ball in Europe. But Barça are a team who do not depend on crosses for goals, and he would struggle to fit in with the likes of Ousmane Dembélé.

Next. Barça let go of Munir for next to nothing. dark

The average standard of these targets simply show Barcelona’s poor state of affairs with respect to transfers. Now, Éric Abidal should try to sign Álvaro Morata, now that Sevilla have exited the race for the signature of the Chelsea frontman.