One thing about transfers in football is that sometimes, some of the strangest rumours are thrown up and what’s even weirder is, these rumours turn out to be true stories, much to the astonishment of the football world! One such rumour currently doing the rounds is that which links former Chelsea right-back Jose Bosingwa with a move to Barcelona.
Yes, you read that right. Last seen playing his football with Trabzonspor in Turkey, the Portuguese right back certainly put in gritty performances during his stay in England. But surely, a move to Barcelona would be like a dream or a fallacy, even for him. Never too flashy, Bosingwa was brought into English football from Porto by his former national team manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Barcelona are currently in crisis when it comes to options at right back. Midfielder Sergi Roberto has had to fill in on more than one occasion, but the Spaniard, by no means, is effective while getting forward. Having let Dani Alves and Marvin Montoya depart, Barcelona really should’ve done better with bringing in replacements.
Sevilla’s Aleix Vidal was viewed as the ideal replacement for Dani Alves, but the Spaniard has been found wanting on more than one occasion for his defensive play. He is much more suited to a role further forward, rather than a defensive one which he can find quite challenging and hard to deal with. But by no means is Bosingwa an able signing, especially when the team is in need of attacking impetus to a large extent.
For starters, Barcelona have important games upcoming in both the Champions League and the league, where they have some catching up to do. Under such circumstances, a short-term fix like Boswinga really wouldn’t add much to the squad, except some squad depth maybe. But the Catalans aren’t just short of squad depth, they are also in need of some young blood that can bomb forward and get back, in equal measures.
Bosingwa, with all his experience of playing in various leagues, could come in handy, but for some reason, the transfer just doesn’t click or make you think it would be a success for either party. Bosingwa, on the other hand, will indeed love the momentary spotlight he is receiving.
The opportunity to return from his footballing wilderness in Turkey will also excite him, but he should keep in mind that it could be a wrong move that further dents his image, which has already taken a hit following his last few years in the Premier League, the latter of which he spent at QPR.
All in all, it would be a bad move for all parties involved. At 34, Bosingwa doesn’t have much more to offer and could end his career soon and Barcelona would be better of sticking with Aleix Vidal and Sergi Roberto. Perhaps they should look to blood some youngsters from the ‘B’ team, as that would be a safer move than handing someone like Bosingwa a short term contract.