It been a quiet summer for Barcelona on the defensive side of things.
In comparison, Real Madrid has been busy with the signings of Marc Cucurella, Denzel Dumfries, and Ibrahima Konaté. Three big name defenders for a combined price of only 75 million euros, which is less than what Barcelona spent on Anthony Gordon.
Meanwhile, the talk in Catalonia has been around the possibility of bringing in Karim Adeyemi as a new winger.
There’s plenty of time for Barcelona to do business before the September 1st
transfer deadline, but it’s fair to ask the question whether Deco’s priorities are in the right place.
So far, Barcelona are set to bring back João Cancelo for about 10 million euros. It’s an important signing, but it’s not going to move the needle to put the team in a stronger position to win trophies. Cancelo is not a full-back of the future. He is a temporary depth piece who can make a nice impact in certain games and in certain situations.
The question going forward is whether there are moves being cooked up behind close doors that we aren’t privy to.
The Gordon signing came out of nowhere, which is part of what made it successful. There are benefits to keeping big news under wraps.
Let’s hope that’s the case, and that in reality Hansi Flick is making it clear that he needs defensive reinforcements in order to build a team that repeats as Spanish champions, while at the same time getting closer to a Champions League title.
The alternative is doubling down on the theory that Flick simply needs the right attacking players in order to be successful. Good defense comes from being dominant offensively.
Last season, it could be argued that Barcelona had the best defense in Spain. They only surrendered 36 goals, while achieving a goal differential of 59. The only team better defensively were Real Madrid with 35 goals allowed, but their GD was a distance away from the Blaugrana at 42.
The Champions League is a different story. It’s a competition where defense is typically the deciding factor, and in Flick’s first two seasons in charge at Barcelona, the struggles in this area can’t be denied.
The strategy in the boardroom is anyone’s guess, but it seems clear that Barcelona still need an adequate left center-back replacement for Iñigo Martínez. Gerard Martín was commendable last season, but it would be a risk to depend on him so much going forward.
The full-back picture is also far from convincing. Jules Kounde and Eric García are able deputies, but not ideal permanent fits. Alejandro Balde will have a lot to prove in the year ahead after falling off the radar for both Flick and Luis de la Fuente of Spain.
Going forward, let’s hope that the focus turns towards the defense.
It would be amazing to see Barcelona strengthen the forward line by acquiring the services of Karim Adeyemi and Julián Alvarez, but not if it comes at the cost of prioritizing improvements to the backline where trophies are often won and lost.
This is the beginning of the Flick 2.0 era. The first version will always be remembered as a big success, but for it to continue, Barcelona will have to be a more complete team.
Their rivals are getting stronger, and they will be desperate to knock the Blaugrana off the throne. In order to keep their place at the top, Barcelona will have to improve in all areas.
So far so good in the attack, but let’s hope that equal focus is placed where it’s needed most.
Barcelona are just one or two great defenders away from being perhaps the best team in Europe.
