What the hell’s going on at Barcelona? No wonder Lingard thinks he’s got a chance

Robin Bairner

• 25 Jan 2024 11:17 GMT
• 2 min read

Jesse Lingard throwing himself at Barcelona has been one of the strangest stories of the January transfer window.

Released by Nottingham Forest in the summer after being deemed not good enough by a club in the lower reaches of the Premier League, Lingard, who spent 11 years at Manchester United, remains a free agent.

His confidence, though, is undiminished. In October, it was reported that Lingard had asked for too much money to join the big-spending Saudi Pro League.

Now he has reportedly told Barcelona that he is available and eager to join the Camp Nou club.

And judging by the manner in which Barca capitulated in their Copa del Rey quarter-final against Athletic Club, it’s little wonder that he feels he has a chance.

The match was less than a minute old when Gorka Guruzeta opened the scoring after a shambolic scramble in the box, setting fire to an already feverish San Mames.

The manner of Barcelona’s equaliser was unusual. It will go down as a Robert Lewandowski goal, yet just how much it will restore the Pole’s confidence is doubtful given that it was a blocked clearance that flew into the net.

Lamine Yamal’s equaliser was a genuine stroke of genius for Barca as they moved into the lead, but after being pegged back early in the second half, they succumbed to extra-time goals from the Williams brothers Inaki and Nico.

The outcome flattered Barca. Despite more than 60% possession, they created 1.08xG while Athletic hit 4.63 in the same metric.

Barca results mask struggles

Recent results show that Barca have won six of their last eight, but Xavi’s crisis is far from over. In this sequence, late goals were required to see off mid-table opponents Real Betis and Las Palmas and two victories arrived in a laboured manner over minnows in the Copa del Rey.

The 4-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the Super Cup paints a more accurate picture of where Barcelona are currently.

Of course, sitting seven points behind Los Blancos in LaLiga, resources are limited to change their fortunes. Despite placing fourth on the Deloitte Money League, Barcelona’s wages still represent a huge portion of their turnover and Financial Fair Play (FFP) means they cannot move to strengthen their ranks easily.

Free agents are one possible route to achieving this, but the pool of quality is limited at this point of the year.

Based upon Barcelona’s recent performances, though, no wonder Lingard is thinking to himself: ‘Why not?’