Barcelona endured a horrific night at Paris when they were smashed by a resurgent home side in the UEFA Champions League. The game reminded the world how far the Blaugrana have fallen in recent months as their paper thin defence couldn’t hold on. While there still have some mojo going forward thanks to the likes of Messi, Neymar and Suarez, their defence simply doesn’t exude confidence and every time PSG went forward, they looked like scoring.
This past weekend, an injury to Aleix Vidal further diminished Luis Enrique’s defensive resources. Vidal’s nasty ankle injury means he’ll miss the rest of the season and with Sergi Roberto struggling to hold the fort, Barcelona could look at Martin Caceres to ease the pain. Barca are looking to beat Southampton for his signature, if reports are to be believed.
Caceres did have a spell at Barcelona before but was termed as more of an expensive flop. After failing to nail down a regular place in the team, he moved to quite a few clubs on loan. At 29, he still has a lot of time on his side but his next move will have to be a carefully considered on as he can’t afford to have another bad spell.
Barcelona need someone who is versatile enough and could do a good job anywhere at the back. Caceres has shown in the past that he can be deployed anywhere at the back and even as a defensive minded midfielder. His primary position is at the heart of the defence but thanks to his ability on the ball and burst of pace, he can be used as a full-back to maraud forward and stretch defences.
Since the departure of Dani Alves, Barcelona have struggled to create the same number of chances from the right-hand side. Alves’ combination play with Lionel Messi worked wonders for the team in an attacking sense and neither Roberto nor Vidal have been able to recreate that with Messi. The consistency with which Alves played was immaculate and it was always going to be difficult replacing the Brazilian who was signed from Sevilla.
The Champions League is pretty much gone now as no team has ever come back from a two-goal deficit. The Blaugrana still have the Copa del Rey and the La Liga to play for but if they want to give Real Madrid a real push, they need to pick up the free agent to increase the quality and depth in their squad.
