With Xavi Hernandez taking over the reins at FC Barcelona, we can already notice the changes in tactics and transfer strategies. The legendary midfielder-turned-coach revolves his tactical setup around positional play and pure wingers. In short, Xavi has adopted the Cruyff ideology at Barcelona and it has been working for him thus far.
One of the many talking points of Barcelona this season has been their inability to put their games to bed. The former La Liga champions have been struggling to maintain the intensity with which they start their games, across the entire duration of 90 minutes. This has been hurting them in the second half of their games and in the absence of a proper striker or finisher, this problem is bigger than it seems.
The midfield of Barca has been creating chances on a regular basis but without a proper finisher to convert those chances, goals aren’t exactly flowing in for the Blaugrana. Barcelona are looking at Luis Suarez to make a return to Camp Nou, next summer.
The Urugyuanian’s contract with Atletico Madrid will expire this June after the striker struck a deal with the reigning La Liga champions for a period of only two years in the summer of 2019.
Suarez, 34, is not in his prime anymore but has shown that he still has what it takes to finish off games. Suarez was instrumental in Atleti winning the La Liga last season. The 34-year-old scored 21 goals and registered 3 assists from 32 appearances for the Rojiblancos and was the leading goal-scorer for his side. This season, the striker has managed to get on the scoresheet seven times from 19 appearances, and with a lot of time left in this season, we could see the former Barcelona forward matching his previous season’s tally.
Barcelona-Haaland links to impact Luis Suarez transfer decision?
Barcelona have been linked with Erling Haaland as well. Club president Joan Laporta is said to be a huge admirer of the player and he wants the Borussia Dortmund striker to spearhead the Barcelona line next season. With the 21-year-old’s €75 million release clause set to go off next summer, Barca will have to beat the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain on the financial front if they are to sign the highly-rated striker.
With the Blaugrana’s current financial state, it seems next to impossible that they will succeed in signing the Norweigan striker but the atmosphere within the club suggests that they are fairly confident about landing Haaland.
With Barcelona looking to go all-out for Haaland next summer, it remains to be seen if Suarez will be eager to return to the Camp Nou on a Bosman, especially now that Lionel Messi isn’t there anymore. Xavi wants Suarez but given the way he was unceremoniously banished from the club in 2019, one should not be surprised if he decides to keep Barca out of his plans. At the age of 34, Suarez is unlikely to be given the role of leading a line even at Atleti, with Joao Felix stepping up his game in recent weeks.
Will Suarez strike a partnership with Haaland next season?
Perhaps, a Suarez-Haaland partnership is on the cards but only time will tell if Barcelona are even in the position to afford Haaland and his massive wages. This winter window will be the key as the club will look to offload the likes of Umtiti, Neto and possibly, Ousmane Dembele. This would free up the wage bill and inject some much-needed transfer funds.
