Barcelona have taken one big step toward rebuilding the post-Neymar attack by completing the signing of Borussia Dortmund's Ousmane Dembele, but most fans—and surely new coach Ernesto Valverde—both want and expect further names to follow.
The Catalan club have been tracking Philippe Coutinho of Liverpool all summer and have been knocked back at every approach—three bids rejected at the last count, per BBC Sport—with the price tag rising higher at every turn.
With
Thursday's transfer deadline drawing closer, Barca have to decide
whether to pursue the Coutinho deal with greater finances, hoping to
tempt the Reds to sell, or to look elsewhere for inspiration.
We've
spoken with four Barca influencers of different types—social accounts,
journalists and supporters—to find out what direction they'd prefer the
board to look if it came down to the last day and jumping in on other
potential deals was the only route left to take.
Break records, start fires
Now,
Barcelona aren't a club who can just go out and hijack any potential
move going; not for financial reasons but because there are only limited
numbers of players who might improve the squad, let alone the XI.
But
sometimes such players switch clubs, even the best in the world do
that, as the recent departure of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain showed.
And social fan account @totalBarca knows exactly where they'd go as a result.
"@totalBarca
would cackle with glee if Barcelona was able to hijack the deal between
PSG and Monaco for Kylian Mbappe," Dave S. from the site told us.
"Nasser Al-Khelaifi's PSG now vies with Real Madrid as Barcelona's mortal enemy.
"The
way he seduced Neymar is still an open wound with Barca fans and, to
add insult to injury, the Paris club is rumoured to have scuttled the
deal between Barcelona and Nice midfielder Jean Michael Seri. Revenge: a dish best served with Cava.
"Plus,
can you imagine an attack including Mbappe, [Luis] Suarez and Dembele,
with [Lionel] Messi orchestrating from midfield? It would be
mind-blowing!"
With
the Seri deal off the cards—partly thanks to PSG attempting to drive
the price up without real intent to sign the midfielder, as reported by the Guardian—Barca's midfield may still need restructuring, but it doesn't have to be a central option who fills the void.
Messi
has become more playmaker and less centre-forward over the past three
seasons, and giving him a free, roving role in behind an attack which
provides goals and movement will certainly appeal to some.
It's a big departure from Barca's 4-3-3 template, but closer to Valverde's own usual 4-2-3-1.
Clearly,
there is animosity over back-and-forth negotiations with the French
club, not just with Neymar and Seri but longer-lasting with Marco
Verratti, too, and it wouldn't be the biggest surprise to hear fans
would like to see the Parisian club come off second-best in transfer
dealings with one of the world's most talented youngsters.
Mbappe was also a big Real Madrid target over the summer, per Marca,
and Barca would dearly love to come out on deadline day showing off a
prized asset who was so coveted by their biggest domestic
challengers—and they'll have to move fast to head off a loan-to-buy move
from Monaco to PSG, per Sky Sports.
Feuds all over
PSG
and Real Madrid aren't the only clubs Barcelona have struggled with
this summer, with Liverpool refusing to negotiate on the Coutinho bid.
Goal.com's Melissa Reddy reports, "Barcelona
will find no receding in Liverpool’s resolve not to sell Philippe
Coutinho this summer," so perhaps the alternative is to jump in on
targets the Reds have identified.
That's the path that social account @WeAreMessi chose, identifying another Ligue 1-based talent as being one Barca should look to.
"Having
missed out on Seri and maybe Coutinho, if there was one deal which we
could hijack then it can be Liverpool's target Thomas Lemar." Lemar,
part of the midfield quartet that lifted the French league title for
Monaco last season, is the subject of a club-record bid from the Premier
League side, per the Telegraph's Jason Burt.
"A
player who can play on both wings and in the centre at times will
complement Messi well, who tends to play deeper when the team needs him.
"Also,
Lemar's impressive season for Monaco last year does talking for sure.
With all the Di Marias that the board may want to bring in, it's best to
invest in young, dynamic players."
Lemar
would fit that template, with the strong and quick attacker capable of
doing his work in the channels or roving from central, and the current
price tag—the Reds' bid is estimated at around €70 million—is well
within Barca's reach.
Sergio
Busquets, Ivan Rakitic and Thomas Lemar, with Paulinho and Andres
Iniesta as further options in midfield? It doesn't sound the worst,
that's for sure.
Shopping on a higher shelf
One
problem with Barca looking for players, as mentioned, is that there are
few who fit the bill in terms of cost, availability
and—importantly—ability.
Journalist Alex Truica doesn't
believe any of the players rumoured to be on the move to other clubs
before deadline day are good enough or present reasonable value—and
includes the Liverpool No. 10 in that regard.
"Coutinho
is heavily overpriced, someone else should hijack that move!" he said.
"I wouldn't want Barca to hijack any currently ongoing rumours."
Truica
notes that many of the players meant to be pressing for transfers
simply don't have the profile for Barcelona, or are out of the market
value...a market value that has, of course, been heavily distorted by
Barca's own sale of Neymar.
But that's also an area to exploit, as Truica goes on.
"Also,
since it looks like PSG will indeed get Mbappe and therefore they have
to sell players to avoid financial fair play troubles, I'd try to get
either Julian Draxler or Angel Di Maria off their payroll—but by playing
hardball, offering €30 million to €40 million, because now PSG are in a bad position to negotiate, since they need to sell."
What goes around comes around, perhaps? Or maybe it's lessons learned?
Either way, limited time and limited players who fit the bill mean Barcelona's choices are limited.
Back to the future
What about those who have left the club previously? Barca fan Dale Anders believes
that might be the way to go, even if it means a reasonably short-term
measure compared to signing the likes of Lemar or Mbappe.
"I would probably go with Alexis Sanchez," Anders opined. "I
know it's not the primary area we need strengthening, but the gap
between our starting front three and our backup forwards will again be
huge.
"But
with the added problem that Suarez will probably need to be rested more
this season, it would also give the coach a lot more options because
Sanchez is so versatile.
"Also,
with Messi playing false nine at times, we only have two natural
wingers in Gerard Deulofeu and Dembele; adding a third wouldn't be a bad
idea at all."
Alexis, out of contract in a year at Arsenal and linked with Manchester City this summer, is to be the target of a late-window bid from Pep Guardiola's side, per Goal.com's Chris Wheatley.
The
Chilean previously left Barcelona because of a lack of guaranteed game
time; would that now be addressed with Neymar gone and Dembele in?
Perhaps, as he'd be a more senior figure—but it would mean a big outlay,
high wages and the need for an instant impact.
Again
it's a pointer to the fact there are few players who could genuinely
impact for Barcelona, and returning to those who starred previously
might not be the worst idea in the final days of the window.
Either
way, they desperately need to ensure one or two more faces come in
before Valverde is left to challenge Madrid with a side in need of
regeneration and relying on Dembele to become a star from day one at the
Camp Nou.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless stated.
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