Coach reveals reasons for a major lack of reinforcements in Barcelona.
Club legend, Ronald Koeman, took over Quique Setien’s job as the head coach of Barcelona. The Dutch manager had a lot of work to do in a very short amount of time. The squad he inherited from Setien was predominantly consisting of aging players who lacked chemistry and motivation. Koeman had an idea for a complete overhaul of the club by only promoting the young players and replacing all the older ones, however, due to financial constraints his plans had to come to a halt.
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The ex-Barcelona player allowed players like Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal, and Luis Suarez to leave. He wanted to bring in players like Lautaro Martinez and Memphis Depay to replace the 33-year-old striker, but he could not secure them. He however could bring in Sergino Dest, while also having pre-signed reinforcements like Pedri, Francisco Trinaco, and Miralem Pjanic.
Koeman has revealed that most of the failed transfers are due to the club’s financial crisis as the club announced a loss of 97 million euros and a decrease of 203 million euros in revenue.
In an interview with Bara TV Koeman said,
"“We have tried to improve the squad and in some positions we could, in some others we couldn’t. That was because of the financial situation of the club, so we have to accept it and keep working”Source Goal"
However, things are not all bad as youngster, Ansu Fati, has started the season with bright colors. The talented 17-year-old has already started in three games and has scored three goals. Koeman heaped praises on the young player saying,
"“At that age to play three games in a row at such a high level means he is very good, a great talent”“Now he is with the national team. Right now, there is nobody in the world who is 17 years old to play in such a high-level national team as Spain are.”"
While the former Netherland boss will make most of the players he has available, the transfer talks are far from over with priority targets like Lautaro Martinez, Eric Garcia, and Memphis Depay, continuing to have high hopes for a transfer.
Which positions should Koeman look to bring reinforcements in?