Barcelona have dipped into the transfer market this summer by going for Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi, with Julian Alvarez deemed to be the main target of a highly eventful summer transfer window. The question is, if the Alvarez move does not go through, what repercussions could Hansi Flick’s frontline face in the aftermath of Robert Lewandowski’s departure? Let’s have a look.
With two versatile forwards in Gordon and Adeyemi, the plan looks to be not to replicate the forward play of Lewandowski,
but the numbers instead. Rather than banking on one forward to score 40 or 50 goals in a season, the plan seems to be to create a dynamic and versatile attack, where a number of players score 15 or so goals a season. This trait has been a key feature of teams managed by Hansi Flick prior to Barca as well, with his 2014 World Cup-winning Germany side under Joachim Löw and later on with his sextuple-winning Bayern.
The main idea the club is perhaps moving towards is shifting Lamine Yamal into central zones. Lamine himself has already said that he expects to move into a central role at some point in his career. It makes sense too, with a number of teams finding ways to keep him quiet by putting two or three defenders to mark him out of the game. He still ends up dribbling them four or five times, but he can also lose the ball which can kill the attack. For instance, against Belgium at the World Cup, even though Lamine completed four dribbles out of eight attempts, he would dribble himself into a crowd of awaiting defenders and try a wayward shot that would not beat the keeper.
Flick has tried this ‘False 9 Lamine’ idea before, against Betis in a 5-3 win in La Liga. In that game, there were a few things to notice. First, Lamine looked comfortable driving the ball centrally. Second, he could open the play up at either flank, allowing runners from both sides to get on the ball. And third, he struggled to play within the restraints of a CAM. His touches weren’t as sharp as those of Dani Olmo, and he held the ball a little too long for a midfielder. But these are nitpicks from a player who looked very natural in the role. His height and frame slow him down in that position compared to right winger, where he can use his pace to sprint into space and then beat his defender, but his football IQ can shift his playstyle.
Another example that suggests Lamine’s quality in the CAM/CF role is his game against Real Madrid in the Supercopa, where for the first half, it felt like Alvaro Carreras was comfortable dealing with his quick feet and dribbles down the right flank. But in the second half, Lamine changed his approach and started to drive centrally, making Carreras uncomfortable in tracking him and leaving the right side open for others to attack. Maybe this type of role and responsibility would help make a more efficient forward, something that Lionel Messi and Neymar, two superstars at Barcelona, have benefitted from, the latter at PSG.
Last season, Barcelona tried to play Raphinha centrally at CAM, but realised the Brazilian’s contribution down the left side, as the heart of the press, along with his pace, was being underutilised. This time around, Deco and Flick seem to have experimented with a rotational attack, with Adeyemi, Gordon, Rapha and Lamine all being given a licence to force things in the final third. Alvarez being signed would add to the firepower, but the club seems to have created a quality backup plan with the current signings too.
What remains to be seen is how Gordon and Adeyemi, both not particularly known for their goal contributions and more off-the-ball assets, add to the scoring numbers we have come to expect from this team with Lewandowski up top, particularly in Europe, where defences in later stages tend to be very rigid and structural.
Will this frontline fire on all cylinders against the big boys? Or will the Blaugrana have trouble if they don’t replace Lewandowski with a true goalscoring striker?
Tell us what you think in the comments below!
