FC Barcelona are four points ahead of their nearest rivals Valencia in La Liga, current champions Real Madrid are a full ten points behind the league leaders.

Barca boss Ernesto Valverde will no doubt want to strengthen in the next transfer window in a bid to keep clear of the chasing pack.

With that in mind I’ve come up with five players that might be on the Spaniard’s transfer wish-list.

PHILIPPE COUTINHO

We all know that the Catalan giants went in big for the Brazilian in the summer and couldn’t agree a deal with Liverpool.

They will no doubt try again this January and will hope that they can finally get their man.

Andres Iniesta isn’t getting any younger and the veteran has scored just once and failed to create an assist in the Spanish top flight so far this term.

Croatian international Ivan Rakitic turns thirty in March and it’s thought that he could be the one who drops out if Coutinho comes in. The Croat hasn’t scored in La Liga but he has created three assists.

After ‘injury issues’ kept Philippe out of the Liverpool team in August, the playmaker has returned to score five in all competitions and create four assists.

The South American’s potential arrival at the Camp Nou would be welcomed by Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Messi wants a world class creator in behind him and wants Barca to make some statement signings in the transfer market. Coutinho’s craft and vision could add even more goals to Messi’s game.

While Suarez knows all about Coutinho’s ability having played with him at Anfield.

Interestingly Suarez told Gerrard that Coutinho would be the Reds next top star:

“Before Luis Suarez left Liverpool’s training ground for the last time he spoke to me about Philippe Coutinho. ‘Make sure you look after him,’ Luis said of Philippe,”

 “That told me how much Suarez rated Coutinho as a player. I knew they were close, because all the South Americans and Spaniards loved Luis.”

So you wouldn’t be surprised if Suarez was telling everyone at the Camp Nou to sign the Brazilian maestro.

Will Liverpool sell in this winter window or will they hold tight again? I think Coutinho’s displays of late will convince Jurgen Klopp and the Liverpool hierarchy that they need to keep him at least until the summer.

PAULO DYBALA

“I can’t promise I will stay at Juventus forever,”  

“It does not depend on me but I don’t even want to say that this will be my last season here. I want to win everything now, football is strange you never really know what will happen in the future.”

This recent statement from Juventus forward Paulo Dybala will have set alarm bells ringing for the Bianconeri. It will have also cause every major European club to sit up and take notice.

The Argentine forward has grabbed twelve goals in just ten Serie A starts. The twenty-four year old also has two assists to his name.

Can play as an all out forward or as an attacking midfielder. The player wants to prove himself as one of the best footballers in the world and what better place to prove yourself than at Barcelona?

Dybala has been constantly compared to Messi but I think his finishing ability and his pace remind me more of a younger Sergio Aguero. Although Dybala’s dribbling at speed is very Messi like.

Would be interesting to see Paulo linking up with and interchanging with Lionel Messi in the same forward line.

If Valverde is looking for a long term replacement for Suarez then Dybala could be the man. The young Argentine put Barca to the sword with two crackers in last season’s Champions League, so they know what a dangerous talent he is!

KALIDOU KOULIBALY

The Napoli defender has won many an admirer with his strong, physical displays in recent years.

The twenty-six year old is very smart at judging when to pick a forward’s pocket and make a clean tackle. His aerial presence and pace would also be an advantageous to any team that managed to persuade him to leave Naples in the near or distant future.

The central defensive position could be one that Ernesto wants to add more strength and depth in. Many have questioned Javier Mascherano’s long term future at the club.

Senegalese international Koulibaly has an impressive 92.3% passing success rate in Serie A this season and that’s better than Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti have managed in La Liga. The Napoli defender also has a better tackling ratio than his Barcelona counterparts.

Might struggle to get him in January but that could see Mascherano stay on for six months before being replaced by the fantastic African defender. Although it should be noted that he’ll cost, with a €50m fee being reported.

Would Barca pay that for a defender?

ANTOINE GRIEZMANN

FC Barcelona haven’t really replaced Neymar in their starting line-up.

£96m summer signing Ousmane Dembele was meant to be the player that could have taken up some of the attacking load but the young Frenchman has been unlucky with a serious hamstring injury.

No doubt Dembele will be back but can twenty year old give the Catalans the same consistency Neymar offered?

Fellow French internationalist Antoine Griezmann could give Barca an added extra factor up-top, if he decides that it’s now the right time leave Atletico Madrid.

He can play anywhere in the forward line and that could see him easily playing with a combination including Messi, Suarez and/or Dembele.

The forward certainly has the flamboyance and confidence to make it with Blaugrana.

Antoine was heavily linked with a move to Manchester United in the summer but committed himself to Atleti’s cause when it was announced that they had to complete their transfer ban.

The twenty six year hasn’t had the strongest of starts to the current campaign but in total he has scored sixty-two La Liga goals in 120 appearances to Atletico.

Seems to be playing with his mind elsewhere and could be ready to move on. Barca fans would love a fluid front three that they’d have with Griezmann in the team.

VIRGIL VAN DIJK 

Barcelona could really upset Liverpool if they decide to chase Reds target Virgil van Dijk.

The Dutchman has already stated that he wants to leave Southampton and the Premier League club could be more inclined to sell him to a foreign superpower rather than fellow English side Liverpool.

It should be noted that Los Cules have a rich tradition in supporting fine Dutch defenders at the Camp Nou; Frank de Boer, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Michael Reiziger and Ronald Koeman instantly spring to mind.

Van Djik is good with the ball at his feet and terrific in the air at both ends of the field. He would also add extra height into the Barca team. His distribution from the back is in keeping with the Dutch and Barcelona style. He has also already had experience playing in the Champions League.

Supposedly Barcelona were put off from bidding for Virgil in the summer given his expensive price tag, I’m not sure if they will have changed their mind given his performances from the Saints this term.

Maybe a deal can be struck with a player or two going in the opposite direction to St Mary’s.

 

Posted on November 23rd, 2017 by scott
Filed under: Article