The rumour circus around Barcelona has already gone into overdrive mode ahead of the club’s transfer ban coming to an end in January, seeing the likes of Paul Pogba and Jesus Navas already linked with moves to the Nou Camp.
Barca’s ban, imposed for breaching rules on the signing of under 18 players, was compounded by the interesting policy of moving those on that were deemed surplus to requirements by manager Luis Enrique. Out the door have gone club legend Xavi Hernandez, home-grown wingers Pedro Rodriguez and Gerard Deulofeu and the disappointing Ibrahim Afellay, while Martin Montoya and the promising Alen Halilovic have both gone out on loan.
These departures leave the first-team squad looking somewhat threadbare, hence the increase in noise surrounding possible arrivals in January. We already know that Atletico Madrid winger Arda Turan and Sevilla’s Aleix Vidal will be arriving, but heading the list of further possible arrivals are Juventus’ star man Paul Pogba – although the highly-rated midfielder has been quick to pour cold water on any exit talk.
At face value, Pogba seems the ideal signing for the Blaugrana – although frankly, he is an ideal talent for any team in world football. The Frenchman would be the perfect foil for playmaker Andres Iniesta, adding much needed drive and scoring ability to the midfield.
One position where Barca do potentially lack depth is out wide, with the departure of Pedro and Afellay leaving youngsters Munir El Haddadi and Sandro Ramirez as the likely backups, or replacements, for Luis Suarez and Neymar. Come January this could well be a position Enrique looks to sure up, despite the pending arrival of Turan.
Transfer talk this week has even suggested a surprise move for Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez. The 24-year-old has been in sparkling form so far this season, scoring four goals in as many matches to be joint-top goalscorer in the Premier League going into the international break. Another wing target could be Navas, who may fancy a return to Spain if his playing time is limited by the arrival of Kevin de Bruyne at Manchester City. The 29-year-old is another player who could flourish in the Blaugrana setup and he has already proven that he can be highly effective against stubborn La Liga defences.
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But for now, Barcelona must stick with what they have and attention will be firmly focused on their huge clash with Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon on Saturday evening. Enrique’s team could be without goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, which would see a La Liga debut for Marc Andre ter Stegen, who could play for the first time since he conceded nine goals in two matches against Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao, in the European and Spanish Super Cups respectively. They will also remain without right-back Dani Alves and the suspended Gerard Pique, but have a full array of attacking options to choose from.
This weekend’s clash is Barca’s first big test of the campaign, after uninspiring 1-0 victories over Bilbao and Malaga. That same result is a likely outcome this weekend, as they recorded the same scoreline at the Vicente Calderon last season, have kept clean sheets on their last two visits to Atletico and have not lost in this fixture since the 2009-10 campaign.
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