Barcelona successfully retained their La Liga crown last season as well as the Copa del Rey but were ousted of the Champions League from the quarter-finals. Winning a treble each and every season is not at all realistic but Barcelona were deeply hurt by being knocked out from the elite competition of Europe so early and arch rivals Real Madrid winning it probably added more woes to them. Barcelona’s intent was pretty loud and clear as they absolutely stormed the transfer market.
Almost every department was reinforced by the Catalan giants this summer as Enrique went for adding depth to his squad as well as quality. Barcelona fans should be happy with the business their beloved team have done this summer. Let us have a quick review of Barcelona’s activity in the transfer market.
Ins
Andre Gomes from Valencia for 35,00 Mill. €
Paco Alcacer from Valencia for 30,00 Mill. €
Samuel Umtiti from Olympique Lyonnais for 25,00 Mill. €
Lucas Digne from Paris Saint-Germain for 16,50 Mill. €
Jasper Cillessen from Ajax for 13,00 Mill. €
Denis Suarez from Villareal for 3,25 Mill. €
All fees quoted from Transfermarkt
Outs
Claudio Bravo to Manchester City for 18,00 Mill. €
Marc Bartra to Borussia Dortmund for 8,00 Mill. €
Alen Halilovic to Hamburger SV for 5,00 Mill. €
Adriano to Besiktas for 600 Th. €
Christian Tello to Fiorentina on loan
Sandro Ramirez to Malaga for free
Douglas to Sporting Gijon on loan
Alex Song to Rubin Kazan for free
Thomas Vermaelen to Roma on loan
Sergi Samper to Granada on loan
Dani Alves to Juventus for free
Martin Montoya to Valencia for free
Munir El Haddadi to Valencia on loan
All fees quoted from Transfermarkt
Where Enrique got it right
It was the best transfer window in many years for Barcelona. Enrique has ensured that even the best players will have to fend off competition for starting roles which will benefit the team big time. Andre Gomes, a Euro Cup winner with Portugal this summer, bolsters Barcelona’s midfield ranks as well Denis Suarez. Paco Alcacer will be a solid deputy to Luis Suarez up front while Samuel Umtiti can be a long-term feature at the heart of Barcelona defence.
Lucas Digne, a young left-back signed from PSG, can be a long-term successor of Jordi Alba. We had seen Alba playing every game week in week out but with Digne on board, Enrique can offer Alba some rest which he deserves. Jasper Cillessen is a keeper with bags of experience for both club and country and the Dutchman can challenge Ter Stegen for a start under the bar.
Areas That Are Still Weak
Barcelona have a solid depth in every department now. Quality was always there but Enrique added more and it was mostly young players with huge potential. This might be a strong claim but the Catalan giants have no such weakness right now.
Remarks
We give Barcelona nine out of ten for their amazing transfer activity.
