Could defensive injuries change Barcelona’s January transfer strategy?
Barcelona suffered multiple setbacks in Granada on Saturday besides the dropping of two valuable points. During their 1-1 draw, they lost Eric García to a hamstring injury at the start of the second half and that’s a major concern for Xavi given that Ronald Araújo just went for surgery this week on a fractured wrist.
Although Araújo could soon return and play with a covering, the García loss is a blow and even more so when considering that Gerard Piqué is turning 35 in three weeks, with the veteran centre-back unable to play 90 minutes week in week out anymore.
LATEST NEWS | @ericgm3 has right hamstring discomfort. He will undergo further tests tomorrow to find out the exact extent of the discomfort. pic.twitter.com/KJmJuvwW2A
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 8, 2022
Could, then, these injuries at central defence force Barcelona to alter their January transfer strategy? So far, they’ve brought in Dani Alves and Ferran Torres, even if the latter can’t yet be registered. But, Xavi reportedly wants another striker and Barça have been linked with Álvaro Morata and Edinson Cavani.
The issues in defence and the fact that Luuk de Jong has scored in consecutive LaLiga Santander games to start off 2022 might see priorities shift at the Camp Nou. They could look to bolster central defence by making a signing in this position or the injury problems could see the board decide to keep both Samuel Umtiti and Clément Lenglet, even though both had been lined up for potential January departures.
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The need for centre-backs for Xavi’s back three
Making centre-back even more of a priority is the fact that Xavi has occasionally used a back three. Over his 11 matches as coach, Barça have lined up in some variation of a back three formation in three of them.
If Xavi is going to opt for this system on occasion then there’s a need for a deep pool of central defensive talent. Right now, Barcelona do have six centre-backs in their first-team squad, with Piqué, García, Araújo, Umtiti, Lenglet and Óscar Mingueza. But, only the first three appear to have the full confidence of their coach.
Barcelona’s registration problems
If Barcelona were to decide that bringing in another centre-back is a winter priority, they’d face even more difficulties in terms of meeting LaLiga’s strict financial limits. Already they are struggling to register new signing Ferran Torres, so any other arrival would bring similar problems.
Perhaps in an ideal world Barcelona would dip into the market and bring in another centre-back. But, their current financial issues might make that impossible.
