Despite being blessed with the most fierce attacking triumvirate in world football Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, Barcelona were knocked out from the Champions League last season from the round of 16. Well, winning the biggest silverware every season is an unrealistic demand but the Catalan giants were seeming hurt by the exit and rivals Real Madrid winning the Champions League for the 11th time added further woes to them. It has been evident from Barcelona’s transfer activity that the Blaugrana are looking to add more and more quality in every position but they are yet to get a cover for Luis Suarez up front.
Barcelona spent the whole summer in the hunt for Luciano Vietto and Kevin Gameiro but failed to land either as the two strikers swapped clubs between them. Now The Daily Mail claims that Luis Enrique has turned his attentions towards Valencia forward Paco Alcacer, one of the poster boys for the next generation of Spanish football.
Valencia boasts one of the best football academies in world football producing the world class alumni of players like Juan Mata and David Silva. In the last few years, the glamour of the Spanish giants took a massive dip and the only livewire for them has been provided by talented young forward Paco Alcacer.
Unlike most Spanish footballers, Alcacer is not the most flamboyant player but possesses an impressive determination and swagger. Lethal in front of the goal, the 22-year-old has a gifted positioning sense and his willingness and hunger makes him a trickier customer to deal with.
The Spaniard has everything you want to see from a modern day forward. He can shoot with either foot, can pick out teammates when they are in an advantageous position. The Spaniard, despite his small frame of 5ft 9 1⁄2 in, is decent in the air. Alcacer’s game is all about finding pockets of space behind the defenders and working nonstop for the team to squeeze out opportunities.
The 22-year-old bagged 15 goals and provided eight assists for Valencia last season in all competitions and that is an impressive figure considering how dismal Valencia’s campaign was overall. Still only 22, Alcacer has plenty of time on his hands to work on the only thing he lacks to become a world class striker i.e. consistency.
The Spaniard will be a quality cover for Luis Suarez and will add a Spanish premium to Barcelona. £26m, the fee quoted by The Daily Mail is not at all a big price for a player of his calibre and potential.
