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THREAD: Finding Barcelona a replacement for Luis Suárez to fix their striker issues
(Data Sources: FBRef/StatsBomb, WhoScored, Understat)
RTs appreciated!
(Data Sources: FBRef/StatsBomb, WhoScored, Understat)
RTs appreciated!
As a whole, Luis Suárez' six-year-spell with Barcelona was very successful. A treble winner in 2015, the Uruguayan reached outstanding heights as the greatest striker of the past decade, forming the illustrious MSN-Trio with Messi and Neymar.
Nonetheless, both his attacking output and physical prowess declined over the past years with the club's board failing to find an adequate successor. Whilst Martin Braithwaite simply isn't good enough for Barca, Antoine Griezmann's profile does not suit the team's playing style.
This summer's departure of Suárez has therefore been visible on the pitch as Barca often lacked deep runs and a central focal point in attack. Right now, Messi and Fati are the side's main goal threats but whilst the former is aging, the latter should be used as inverted winger.
In my thread about Busquets, I already mentioned that I'd like to see Barca play a 433 with a midfield of (insert Busquets replacement)/Frenkie de Jong/Puig, Pedri. In attack, FBs should provide width with Messi and Fati shifting. In addition, they need a no. 9.
But what traits should that striker possess? A good start is taking a look at Suárez' stats from last season and one from recent years to evaluate what he provided besides goals. The Uruguayan excelled at link-up play and was able to drift wide too. Barca could do with that now.
But are there similar strikers? Well, finding an identical player is almost impossible but teams who are reminiscent of Barca's style indicate which strikers excel. Therefore, I first looked at sides like Man City, PSG, Atalanta, Sevilla etc.
So, combining Suárez' style with the one of similar strikers resulted in this profile. Barca need to look for a prolific, well-rounded CF who is capable of breaking defences with his runs whilst also drifting wide when necessary.
Unfortunately, Barca missed out on a perfect fit in the form of Timo Werner. The German International's ability to drift and find the right spaces would have been ideal but he joined Chelsea in the summer.
As a consequence, he is unavailable. So are those strikers who are either too old, just moved clubs or seem to remian part of their current clubs for the next years. Knowing that, I filtered out CFs from Europe's top 5 plus the Eredivisie and Liga NOS. This is my top five:
Alexander Isak (Real Sociedad):Equipped with a tremendous ability of finding space, Alexander Isak has gone from strength to strength since joining La Real and he seems destined for more if he keeps improving.
Marcus Thuram (Borussia Mönchengladbach):Son of a former Barcelona star, Marcus Thuram is both versatile and prolific. His link-up play is already impressive and so is his work rate off the ball. From a financial view, the deal seems viable as well.
Donyell Malen (PSV Eindhoven):Fairly similar to Luis Suárez, Donyell Malen is still quite raw and needs to work on his ball control. Nevertheless, the 21-year-old possesses most attributes of a class striker, already scoring on a consistent basis.
Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City):Incredibly well-rounded already, Gabriel Jesus' improvement has rather gone under the radar. Fortunately, the Brazilian is just getting better and better, making him a promising option. Great at linking play, Jesus is great on and off the ball.
Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain):Chased by Real Madrid already, Mbappé has hit new spheres under Thomas Tuchel. Embodiment of everything Barca need in attack, the Frenchman would undoubtedly be very costly but if they can get him, it's a no-brainer.
Thanks for reading!
