Barcelona’s summer plans for Luke Shaw seems to have hit a brick wall with just weeks left in the regular season. The out-of-favour Manchester United left-back was heavily linked with the La Liga giants going into the next transfer window but have been placed with higher odds of signing with Valencia.
It looks like a domino effect has ensued which is a bit similar to that of the Aubameyang-Giroud-Batshuayi trade which took place in January. The Red Devils are ready to sell Shaw to open up the space for Juventus’ Alex Sandro. However, the Brazilian will only make the switch to Old Trafford if the Serie A side gets Filipe Luis from Atletico Madrid.
In retrospect, this leaves Barcelona without a hand in any of the transfers and are seemingly the losing party for missing out on the 22-year-old’s signature. Whether they needed Shaw in the first place is up for debate but we still have to measure the consequences.
Barcelona currently have Jordi Alba and Lucas Digne in the left-back position, both of whom are contracted to the side for another 2 seasons at least. Ernesto Valverde’s men have just been knocked out of the Champions League against a seemingly weaker Italian outfit, AS Roma.
Their domestic campaigns are pretty much tied up with the League title and the Copa Del Rey final appearance against Sevilla which is set take place on 22nd April.
As far as the current season goes, the fans at Camp Nou might demand summer investments in order to improve upon their performances at the European stage. Since Shaw’s transfer possibility has lowered in recent weeks here are a few replacements Valverde should consider ahead of the 2018/19 season.
Marcos Alonso
The Chelsea full-back did get linked with the Blaugrana in recent times. He might just have impressed the Catalan side enough in the Round Of 16 Champions League tie across both legs to have earned a call-up. Alonso was all over the Barcelona defence and had some of the best chances for his team including a freekick which got denied by the post.
David Alaba
A shocking rumour about the Bayern Munich left-back wanting to leave the Bundesliga champions surfaced earlier in the year. It was reported that Alaba was looking for greener pastures and more challenges in his football career.
Read More: La Liga Attacking Superstar Denies Barcelona Links: Huge Blow For Valverde’s Plans?
Jose Luis Gaya
A tit-for-tat attempt could be made with Valencia if the Shaw transfer does end up falling through. Gaya is of similar age and has proven to be a top-pedigree fullback in the La Liga.
