#360view: No cause for concern at Barcelona in Jan transfer window

Andy West 07:57 04/01/2016
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  • Back in the mix: Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal.

    Barcelona fans need not worry…yet. But the next few weeks will be crucial in determining whether their recent blip becomes a full-blown crisis.

    – Premier League: January transfer window watch

    – Serie A: January transfer window watch
    – Bundesliga: January transfer window watch
    – Ligue 1: January transfer window watch
    – La Liga: January transfer window watch

    The Catalan team have dropped points in three of their last four league outings, drawing against Valencia, Deportivo La Coruna and Espanyol to surrender top spot in La Liga to Atletico Madrid and give arch-rivals Real Madrid a foothold back into the title race.

    But they have not been playing badly, and the trio of win-free encounters can be safely put down as the kind of thing that can sometimes happen in a tough competition like La Liga – except in this case, they’ve happened in quick succession.

    The nature of the three games was very different, starting with a trip to Mestalla which they completely dominated and only failed to win after Valencia scored a late leveller with one of their only shots of the game.

    Then came the 2-2 home draw against Deportivo at the Nou Camp, which presented a rare case of Barca being tactically outmanoeuvred as visiting boss Victor Sanchez reacted to falling two goals behind by adopting a bold and unusual attacking formation which caught the hosts off guard.

    And then came Saturday’s trip to Espanyol, which was a typical example of a full-blooded local derby as Barca’s city rivals played their socks off to preserve a goalless draw – with the help of the woodwork, which was struck by both Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

    If those draws had happened because Barca were playing poorly as a team, or because they were being undone by the same problems every week, there would be a cause for concern. But that has not been the case, so there is no need for last season’s treble-winners to become too worried at the moment.

    Indeed, there is reason for optimism that the team will soon improve because the club’s transfer ban has finally been lifted, meaning that summer signings Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal will finally be able to make their debuts – perhaps as soon as Wednesday’s hasty rematch with Espanyol in the Copa del Rey.

    That is important, because the biggest issue for Barca this season has been a lack of squad depth, especially in attacking positions where youngsters Munir El Haddadi and Sandro Ramirez have notably failed to progress.

    At Espanyol on Saturday, indeed, Enrique only made one substitution – introducing Sergi Roberto for Ivan Rakitic – because he simply did trust any of his other bench players to make any kind of impact.

    Had they been available, it would have been exactly the kind of occasion when Barca could have greatly benefitted from the guile of Turan or the incisiveness of Vidal, and their availability from now onwards will add much-needed variety to Enrique’s attacking options.

    And they will need to make an immediate impact because January is a crucial month, including four cup ties (if Espanyol are beaten) and crucial league encounters with dangerous Athletic Bilbao, Malaga and Atletico Madrid.

    The latter, in fact, could be particularly decisive – never mind April’s Clasico, the way things are going it could be the meeting with Atletico that decides the title race.

    If Barca, reinforced by Turan, Vidal and perhaps another new face or two, come through that period without serious damage, their recent dip will soon be forgotten.

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