We tell you all about the biggest reason we believe FC Barcelona doesn’t need to sign a central defender during the summer transfer window.
When the previous season was about to end for FC Barcelona, there were rumors linking the Catalan club to Matthijs de Ligt as their new central defender.
The Spanish giants have suffered quite a bit during previous seasons due to a lack of world-class players in this position.
Gerard Pique hasn’t been enough for them to believe they can fight for the Champions League, the inclusion of Clement Lenglet or Samuel Umtiti hasn’t been enough.
By the start of last season, Samu suffered an unexpected injury that kept him out of any competition for the rest of the season.
The club decided to bring Clement Lenglet to replace Umtiti and his arrival did improve the squad in La Liga.
The problem came during the crucial match of the season at Anfield Road, Liverpool completely ran over the Catalan club’s defense with Lenglet and Pique as the main defenders.
The biggest problem for manager Ernesto Valverde in regards to defensive players, was that he didn’t have enough fit elements who could be considered reliable.
Out of the four central defenders he had, only two of them were at a top level of performance and the rest were either injured or still below average.
Thomas Vermaelen finally left this summer, he is one of the worst investments that the Catalan club made in recent years.
#NoticiaSPORT | Valverde, encantado con Todibo y Araújo https://t.co/h3ZtQ7ptjO pic.twitter.com/D7AqxZqmiD
— Diario SPORT (@sport) July 29, 2019
New blood after failing to sign De Ligt.
Manager Ernesto Valverde decided to go forward with two specific transfers, he brought Jean-Clair Todibo and Ronald Araujo.
Both of these centre-backs are still very young, they were considered to reinforce FC Barcelona B for the upcoming season.
The initial plan was to bring Matthijs de Ligt from AFC Ajax, but this transfer miserably failed as Juventus scooped in to sign this Dutch prodigy.
Valverde’s plan needed to change as time went by, his technical staff decided to give a chance to those two young defenders and the results have been overwhelming.
Both players are considered to be the reinforcements for next season, Valverde himself already spoke to the club’s board to tell them he doesn’t want to sign any new players in that position.
The plan is to keep Todibo in the first squad, and let Araujo play a few matches with the reserves team.
This makes five competitive centre-backs for Barcelona’s new season, the two youngsters will join the already existing players within the squad.
Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, and Samuel Umtiti will remain at the club as the main players for those two spots.
Todibo will be considered the fourth centre-back, and Araujo will wait for his opportunity as the fifth. Both youngsters will train with the senior squad on a regular basis.
https://twitter.com/EternFCB/status/1153295668267638784
Barcelona’s weekend schedule.
Ahead of the annual Gamper Trophy, FC Barcelona will train during the whole week before facing Arsenal at Camp Nou on Sunday.
The Catalan giants expect their Copa America players to return this week, they have to be part of that first match at Camp Nou on the weekend.
The most expected player is Lionel Messi, the captain had to extend his holiday due to the activity he had with the Argentina National Team.
It is expected that he will return to training with his teammates this week, people are impatiently waiting for his encounter with Antoine Griezmann.
Other players who were also part of this group that is still on vacation are Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho, Arthur Melo, and Arturo Vidal.
There is a chance that they could return before the date that was agreed, but they are within their right to return whenever they please before this date.
Messi was spotted enjoying his holiday with the likes of Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba, and Cesc Fabregas in Ibiza.
All of these players were accompanied by their families last weekend, there are many images of them having a great time of the final days of their vacation.
What are you expecting from FC Barcelona this season? Please share your opinion in the comment section down below.