At Barcelona, beyond the sporting arena, there is a lot of work to be done in the boardroom. The financial situation, with a salary cap that has been exceeded, greatly complicates the club’s approach to the transfer market. With no room to sign anyone, it is time to juggle the squad, let players go, and hope that the great season will be enough to convince players with competition for their signature.
The two priority targets for the Azulgranas are both full-backs. On the right, the main man is Jules Koundé, who is currently injured but has more than proven himself to be indispensable thanks to his excellent performances. The French player picked up an injury in his 53rd game of the season, his 50th as a starter. His heavy workload is largely due to the lack of a reliable replacement, which is why the club wants to turn to the market.
The same is true of the left-back position. Balde is the incumbent there. Balde has been injured for the last month but has been training in recent days to be available for Sunday’s Clásico. In his absence, academy player Gerard Martín has had to step up and has done a great job. In the match against Inter, with two assists for Dani Olmo and Eric García and a more than acceptable defensive performance, he has established himself, putting the need for a left-back on hold given the club’s financial situation.
The same is true in attack. Barça have been scouring the market for months in search of a replacement for Robert Lewandowski. However, the solution could be closer to home. In the absence of the Polish striker through injury, Ferran Torres has stepped up to the plate and proved himself more than capable throughout the season.
This season, the Valencian’s best as a Barça player, the Foios native has played a total of 1,832 minutes, 1,012 in La Liga, 419 in the Champions League, 373 in the Copa del Rey, and 28 in the Spanish Super Cup. The striker only failed to score in the tournament in Riyadh, finding the net in all other competitions. Specifically, he has scored 10 goals in La Liga, 3 in the Champions League and 6 in the Copa del Rey, where he was the top scorer in the tournament.
That’s 19 goals in all competitions, giving him an average of one goal every 96 minutes. These figures have made him Hansi Flick’s best plan B and could make Laporta, who not long ago wanted to sell him, consider the player as Barça’s future number 9.
A few months ago, the Valencian striker was already putting himself forward for the position. The former Valencia player took advantage of media day to accept the challenge of replacing Robert Lewandowski. “I can be Barça’s starting center forward,” he said. ‘I have confidence in myself and I can be FC Barcelona’s starting center forward, why not?’ he asked rhetorically. ‘If the club thinks it has to look for someone else, fine, welcome, but I’m very good at competition,’ he emphasized.