Squad Status : Center Back Position for 2021/22 Season
Engineer to Barcelona’s downfall has always been the center back position the two center back pairing have let us down since 2016 the first time it came again against Juventus defensively they scored too many goals against us and we lost, Then roma same thing happened all over again we had a good lead.
Against Liverpool what happened? everything all over again Lionel Messi give us a great lead you are on to the semi-finals but the defense they couldn’t keep up with Liverpool’s high pace gameplay and strong passes we fell again then against Bayer it’s a great example of tactics we were outclassed tactically and on the pitch it was clearly seen the players had no mentality that day well we cannot blame everything on the center backs but you surely know that Lenglet and pique can’t work together , our fidelity in them defending the team in a 4 at the back has fallen.
What changed in 2020/2021?
In the early 2020-2021 season Pique got injured and Lenglet was at his worst form due to which Koeman went with Ronald Araujo from the B team he was bought from Uruguay a few years ago he was solid and proved to be worthiness and sheer importance to Barcelona’s future. Oscar Mingueza was another player 20 year old who wasn’t even the fourth choice center back at Barcelona B who came and shook the entire scene he played with great intensity and held the 19 games undefeated win streak. Mingueza and Araujo stood up for us this year when they were just in early 20s and kept our title hopes alive till the last weeks.
Stats for Oscar and Ronald
Oscar
- 2 goals
- 2 assists
- 7 clean sheets
- 0.7 interceptions per game
- 1.9 tackles per game
- 0.9 dribbles pass per game
- 1.6 clearances per game
- 2 big chances created
Ronald
- 2 goals
- 1 assist
- 4 clean sheets
- 0.8 interceptions per game
- 0.9 tackles per game
- 0 dribbled past per game.
- 1.8 clearances per game
These statistics clearly show us that both of these 21 to 22 year olds have been class for Barcelona and a key part or aspect to Barcelona’s future in Spain and Europe.
What about player’s like Lenglet, Umtiti, Pique
Pique, Umtiti and Lenglet all three are in somewhat of a shadow to the future. Umtiti has no future at the club unfortunately after the 201Umtiti hasn’t been the same player this can be due to his meniscus problem or any other reasons but the truth is we can’t wait any longer on MDT who is on really high wages when Barcelona’s 110% on budget goes towards wages,
Lenglet has recently stated in an interview that he has no plans to depart from the city this summer the player is confident that his contract is still 2026 and he’ll remain with Barcelona which is looking really likely and it can only change if he was to be swapped within with any other defender Lenglet isn’t on high wages.
Pique has been solid and a great captain at the helm of the defense the 35 year old has shown no signs of slowing down and has been a key part whenever he stays fit. He provides some key experience to the defence which is looking really good at it tender age it will be really surprising if LAPORTA Tries to offload the Catalan as he can still bring a lot to the team.
What about new signings?
Barcelona is in a tricky Economical situation as the depth and wage bill has made Barcelona really unstable. For Barcelona to sign a good defender they will need to sell first or go for the cheaper option or go for a cheaper option.
Some players rumored to be on Barcelona’s radar are –
- Aymeric Laporte
- Lisandro Martinez
Laporte: The former French national who has just switched his nationality to Spanish. He is keen on leaving Manchester City as the form of Diaz and stones limited his game time. Both Catalan media and English media report that Barcelona want to sign Laporte. He would be an option due to Laporte insisting on leaving. He would cost around 40 million euros, but adding a swap player like Lenglet can help.
Martinez- Lisandro Martinez the young Ajax defender, player for the Argentine national team. The Barcelona board see him as a great prospect. He shows great intensity is really versatile he can also help and play in the CDM role. The player lacks experience and has to work on some of his weaknesses but he can be really good signing for Barcelona and can improve the defense. His signing would cost around 20 to 25 million euros
There are also other players rumored to be on Barcelona’s radar like de ligt but the operation to get de ligt is going to be really difficult the asking price wouldn’t be less than €70 million and his enormous wages, embracing Barcelona situation we don’t have that much money to spend.
In conclusion it is highly likely that a player with Eric Garcia joins Barcelona, It may be a solid experienced defender or it may be a young player, it is to be seen what the Barcelona board does and how laporta thinks through but we can be rest assured that Barcelona will give their best to bring a class defender home though it may not be easy.
