Barcelona’s season hasn’t panned out as it usually does. The Catalans have failed to reproduce the kind of form they displayed in the last season. Barring a few, most of the recent arrivals have not been able to perform to their abilities for what they were brought to the Nou Camp.
The quality of the famous La Masia academy has also downgraded and that’s why the Catalans have spent so heavily to bring players across from the globe. Added to that, Luis Enrique’s vision seems to be at loggerheads with Barcelona’s philosophy. The ex-Barcelona midfielder doesn’t have any vision for a longer prospect and he has often been accused of buying players of average quality. Apart from Neymar, Luis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic, no other player has been able to raise their standards after their transfer.
If Barcelona is to achieve the success they need to get rid of a number of players. Let us take a look at three players who could be offloaded in this summer.
Aleix Vidal
One of the most overhyped transfers by Barcelona off late. Dani Alves decided to join Juventus from Barcelona and in a move to replace him the Spanish giants decided to rope in Aleix Vidal from Sevilla. But the player hasn’t been able to show the kind of form he used to have at Sevilla.
Vidal signed for Barcelona in 2015 but had to be inactive from playing for them due to a transfer imposed upon Barcelona. That could be one of the reasons why the right-back has struggled to clinch a spot in the starting lineup.
Enrique was so unimpressed with his from that he had to use Sergi Roberto on the right side as a makeshift right back and he has done much better than Vidal so far.
Andre Gomes
When Barcelona signed him he was supposed to be the long term successor of Andres Iniesta but instead of replacing the Spanish stalwart, Gomes himself hasn’t been able to prove his mettle in the midfield.
Gomes was introduced in the second half of the Champions League in the 3-0 loss against Juventus in a hope to pit some solidity to the Barcelona midfield. But the player barely had a forward pass in the attacking third as his miserable form continued. Barcelona paid a whopping €55 m and would be looking to recoup a large amount of that money by selling him.
Jeremy Mathieu
He has been more of a reserve bench player rather than a squad player. Samuel Umtiti’s arrival has put a final nail in the coffin for him. Mathieu has played handful number of games for Barcelona and he has been used mostly as a bit part player this season.
