Philippe Coutinho, Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele: How Barcelona will line up next season
Catalan giants will lose their lethal MSN attacking trio when Neymar joins PSG
THIS summer has definitely not gone how Barcelona would have wanted it.
The Catalans have lost Neymar against their will, with Paris Saint-Germain meeting his £198million release clause, and failed to bring Marco Verratti to the Camp Nou.
And with only a couple of weeks until the start of the new La Liga season, Ernesto Valverde’s first campaign in charge is already in a bit of a crisis.
The club will have to spend big to appease the Barcelona fans, who are upset and disappointed with Neymar’s departure.
But at least they will have a huge sum of money from which to find a replacement.
So how could Barcelona line-up come the start of the league campaign? Our friends at Football Whispers answer that question.
Barcelona: 4-3-3
Goalkeeper: Marc-Andre ter Stegen
After Claudio Bravo’s departure last summer, ter Stegen established himself as the first-choice keeper for Luis Enrique in the league.
And there’s no reason or suggestion that Valverde will swap the German for back-up option Jasper Cillessen.
The 25-year-old started all but two of Barca’s La Liga games last season – Bravo kept goal in one game before departing for Manchester City while Cillessen started the other, a 2-1 loss to Alaves.
Only Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak (15) kept more clean sheets than ter Stegen’s 13, while his average record of 3.29 saves per goal is decent too. It would be a surprise if he wasn’t No.1 this term.
Right-back: Nelson Semedo
Right-back has been a problem for Barcelona since Dani Alves departed in the summer of 2016.
Sergi Roberto wasn’t a natural in the position while Aleix Vidal barely got on the pitch last season. And when he did, he ended up dislocating his ankle and missing nearly four months of the campaign.
It was expected Barcelona would dip into the transfer market this summer for someone to play right-back, and they did just that by bringing in Semedo from Benfica.
The 23-year-old Portuguese defender’s most notable contribution since arriving at Barcelona has been having a training ground bust-up with Neymar after a strong tackle. He will hope that is quickly forgotten once the season gets underway.
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Centre-back: Gerard Pique
The leader of Barca’s backline, Pique has won everything in the game and is first name on the team-sheet in defence.
His long-term partnership with Javier Mascherano was broken up last season, but he looks just as comfortable playing alongside Samuel Umtiti.
The 30-year-old will have egg on his face after Neymar’s departure though. He posted a picture last week on social media alongside the Brazilian, with the caption ‘he’s staying’. It’s turned out to be a premature statement.
Centre-back: Samuel Umtiti
It wasn’t easy to displace Mascherano as a first-choice defender for Barcelona but Umtiti did just that last season after he arrived from Lyon.
The Frenchman fitted perfectly into the Blaugrana set up and actually had the best passing accuracy of any player at the club – 92.9 per cent.
At 23, the France international still has a long career in front of him and has the potential to become one of the best in the world in his position.
Left-back: Jordi Alba
The 2016/17 season was a rocky one for Alba, with him being dropped by Enrique when the Spaniard’s temporarily switched to 3–4-3.
Speaking in March, the left-back suggested he didn’t feel his boss trusted him: “I feel the total confidence of the boss here [in the Spain camp], which for me is a compliment and something that fills me with confidence.
“It's something I'm not having at Barcelona and that I'd maybe like to have,” he said while on international duty.
But with a fresh start under Valverde, it’s likely the 28-year-old will see off competition from Lucas Digne to be the club’s first-choice left-back.
Central midfielder: Sergio Busquets
The base of Barcelona’s midfield triangle, Busquets is one of the world’s best in the position.
He may not get many goals but he is crucial to how Barca play and Valverde will surely have him as one of the first names on the team-sheet.
The 29-year-old has spent all of his career at the Catalan club and it will be a surprise if he doesn’t replicate the likes of Andres Iniesta and play for them until retirement.
Central midfielder: Ivan Rakitic
Rakitic had been linked with a move away from the Camp Nou if No.1 Barcelona transfer target Verratti joined during the transfer window.
But after the Neymar deal, the chances of the Catalan side dealing with PSG are next to nothing, so it looks like the Croatian midfielder’s place in the team is safe.
He scored nine times in 51 games in all competitions last season and, unless Andre Gomes or Rafinha step up this season, he’ll be a regular in the side.
Central midfielder: Philippe Coutinho
It’s not every day a Barcelona team doesn’t feature Andres Iniesta. But at 33, he can’t go on forever.
That is why Liverpool star Coutinho is on their shopping list this summer. Not only can he play in Barcelona’s midfield three, taking some of the pressure off the ageing Iniesta, he can also play further forward on the left wing if required.
Catalonia-based newspaper Mundo Deportivo claim the Liverpool man has already agreed terms with Barcelona but the difficulty could be convincing his current side to sell.
They believe an £89million bid could be enough to tempt Jurgen Klopp though, who has previously told the La Liga side to “save their energy” in their hunt for the Brazilian.
Right-sided forward: Lionel Messi
There is no question Messi is going to play every week.
Arguably the world’s greatest ever player, the Argentine has returned to the right wing since the arrival of Luis Suarez, but has still proven himself to be unstoppable, notching 37 league goals last season.
That won him the golden boot in Spain, as he averaged a goal every 77 minutes.
Centre forward: Luis Suarez
Messi’s closest challenger to the top scorer honour in La Liga was Suarez, whose 29 goals worked out at one every 99 minutes.
The MSN front line could be one of the greatest we’ve seen in our lifetime, and the Uruguayan frontman will be hoping whoever replaces Neymar will help him and Messi continue their great form.
He now has 121 goals in 147 games at Barcelona, which is more than he managed at his previous clubs. He struck 111 in 158 at Ajax, 82 in 133 at Liverpool and 14 in 36 at Groningen.
Left-sided forward: Ousmane Dembele
The Catalan press seem to think the man chosen to replace Neymar on the left side of the front three is Borussia Dortmund’s Dembele.
He’s already been tipped to be the best in the world, with former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves praising the 20-year-old, who scored 10 goals last season for the German side.
“I think he has the potential [to win the Ballon d’Or]. I think he’s going to be there,” the pundit told BT Sport in April. “He’s magnificent with both feet and so quick, so powerful. Eventually, he’s going to be in that Ballon d’Or conversation.
“He’s that good a player. Everybody in Germany has been impressed by how talented a player he is at the stage of his career.”
The winger largely played on the right during his debut season with Dortmund but is more than capable of switching flanks.
Barcelona would have to fork out most of Neymar’s fee to bring him and Coutinho in, and they might also have to act fast. Mundo Deportivo report the Frenchman is also a Real Madrid transfer target.
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