Luis Suarez is set to complete his £63 million move to Barcelona by the end of the week.
The Barclays Premier League player of the year is set to leave Liverpool after a troubled three years at the Anfield. Suarez’s fantastic season on the field resulted in a number of suitors looking to sign the Uruguayan.
Yet the infamous biting incident of the Italian Chiellini at this year’s World Cup has put off a number of clubs, including Real Madrid.
Some cynics might say that this incident (and not his first) was used to engineer a move to leave Liverpool; whilst others will say that the Anfield club is doing well to get that much money for a player who has such chequered history.
If this deal goes through then Barcelona would have spent over 220 million euros in the summer in the past two summer transfer windows. The Catalan club has a huge amount of debt which is only being sustained by their sponsorship deals and very lenient banks.
Last year the balance of the Barcelona team was one of the worst of any top team in Europe. With Carlos Puyol being regularly injured, Gerard Pique was their only fully fit and recognizable centre half. Often natural midfield players such as Mascherano or Busquets would find themselves playing in defence. For a team that is supposedly one of the best in Europe, this is not good enough.
One of their biggest problems last year was the struggle to combine Messi and Neymar in the same side. With the inclusion of Luis Suarez into that equation it will certainly be a headache for Luis Enrique.
Once again Barcelona seems to overindulge in the transfer market and all for the wrong reasons. Fans have been crying out for a new dominant centre-back for the past three seasons. Yet the policy of signing a big name or “marquee signing” if Barcelona has a bad season is ill-thought-out. It does not fool any of the fans.
Barcelona are about to sign a player who they cannot afford, cannot fit into their team without a major reshuffle and most importantly has probably one more chance before the world of football turns its back on such a fantastic, yet deeply troubled player. No wonder the Catalan club have looked to insert a “no biting clause”.
For a club who are supposedly meant to be banned from making any transfers, they look to address an area of the field that is certainly not a priority. Its time Barcelona stop acting like a kid in a sweet shop and address their massive squad imbalance.
Source: DSG
