Barcelona Opinion: Why should there be no place for Luis Suarez?
With the arrival of Antoine Griezmann, Barcelona are now overflowing with quality forwards. It goes without saying that it won’t be happy news for their opponents in the La Liga next season.
Yet, there is a snag when it comes to how Ernesto Valverde will manage his side. The Spaniard manager had a forgettable campaign the last term, as his side suffered a huge Champions League slump and ended with the league title alone.
And the talking point post the 2018/19 season was that the former Athletic club manager was decaying Barca’s established philosophy.
Now, while it remains inevitable that the Spaniard will be in charge for next season, he has been handed a mammoth task of integrating a flock of attackers at Nou Camp.
Dembele – Griezmann – Messi
This is the most optimistic line-up and at the same time, it’s the one which can cause havoc to the opponents.
And there is a significant difference with this formation – it marks the absence of Luis Suarez. Everybody witnessed the Uruguayan’s rustiness and his lack of killer instinct last season.
While it looks clear that the former Liverpool star is in the twilight of his career, someone has to step forward and that’s why Barca signed Griezmann.
The French World Cup winner has been robust over a long time, establishing himself as one of the best forwards in the world while playing for Atletico Madrid and France’s national team.
The intriguing thing is the 28-year-old’s ability to balance his scoring ratio over the past few seasons under Diego Simeone, who always prefers defensive football.
Griezmann is familiar with the auxiliary striker role. He is adept at linking up play and, at the same time, doesn’t get deprived of goals and assists.
Now at Nou Camp, the former Sociedad man will find himself in the middle of the free-flowing attack and deploying him as a centre-forward would be the best option.
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Moreover, the French man can alternate his position along the flanks which would allow either Lionel Messi or Ousmane Dembele to cut inside as true inverted wingers.
One of the important aspects of this line-up would be the rapport he shares with his compatriot Dembele, which would enhance the confidence level of the former Dortmund man. After all, he is yet to play an entire season being fully fit.
Final Verdict
The Blaugrana have splurged on Griezmann to reinforce their attacking unit and he is certainly a safe bet, given his stardom.
Deploying him as a fulcrum in the attacking line-up with Messi and Dembele being the wide players would be the best way for the Catalans to dominate Spain once more.
However, they should never a spare a thought for Suarez.