Rakitić or Vidal: Who should Barcelona offload in January?

Barcelona will offload one midfield in January, but who will it be?

At the beginning of the season, it was said that Barcelona have the best midfield in Europe, with a perfect mix of youth and experience. But as Ernesto Valverde has enjoyed its benefits, the Basque coach has also had to deal with its drawbacks.

Ivan Rakitić, one of Valverde’s most trusted lieutenants, has been mostly relegated to the bench. In recent times, he has made the starting lineup but still lags far behind younger players Arthur and Frenkie de Jong in terms of minutes.

Valverde has been compelled to play De Jong more to aid his adaptation to Barça. The Netherlands international has been a success, but at the cost of Rakitić’s contentedness. The Croatian playmaker’s problem has been compounded by Arturo Vidal’s form.

Vidal was brought in as a replacement for Paulinho, and was a good option coming off the bench last season. But this season, the Chilean box-to-box midfielder has been absolutely fantastic, both as a starter and a substitute.

In 7 league appearances, Vidal has scored 4 goals. He has excelled as a physical force in attack, getting on the end of crosses. On the other hand, Vidal has also contributed to defence, breaking up counter-attacks and making tactical fouls late in matches.

With his performances this season, Vidal has had a stronger claim to a starting berth than Rakitić. But both players have been left disappointed, with Valverde preferring the midfield trio of Arthur, Sergio Busquets and De Jong.

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Vidal and Rakitić have both stated that they want to stay at the club, but will leave in January if they do not get sufficient playing time. It is clear that one of them will leave, making space for the other to compete for minutes with their younger counterparts.

"On this issue, Ernesto Valverde said, “There’s a lot of things going on in January but it’s true that we have a lot of midfielders. Some have played more than others but all of them are needed. And when the January transfer window arrives, we will see what happens.”"

But who do Barça keep? Both players are of similar age, and are past their best. Their market values are declining consistently, and no sale is expected to make a bumper profit. Therefore, commercial considerations matter little in this decision.

But from the results this season, it can be clearly inferred that Vidal has made a bigger impact on games. With his physicality and goalscoring ability, the Chile international has proven himself as an effective player of the modern era.

Although Rakitić has had fewer opportunities, the Croatian playmaker will have less longevity than his Chilean counterpart even if he does stay at Barça. And despite the fact that he functions well in Valverde’s system, Vidal has the numbers on his side.

Therefore, if Barça have to choose between Vidal and Rakitić, Vidal should get the nod. Regardless, Barça should try to hold on to both players till the end of the season, and then let go of Ivan Rakitić in the summer transfer window.

But if that does not happen, Rakitić should be bidding adieu to Barcelona next month.