4 Barcelona players who must step up their game next season
With Barcelona having ended the 2018/2019 LaLiga campaign on an uninspiring note in a 2-2 draw with Eibar, all attention for the Catalans would now turn to the Copa del Rey final against Valencia.
While an expected victory in the contest would make Barcelona domestic double winners in consecutive seasons, there would still be an air of disappointment around the Camp Nou as the season started with a promise of so much more.
The Champions League was the one trophy which the Blaugrana set their sights on and they were in a commanding position to look ahead to a June 1 showdown with Tottenham, but their infamous capitulation against Liverpool is no longer news.
The current Barcelona team is blessed with an abundance of talent in all departments, but the bottom line is that not all of them pulled up their weight in Gold.
While players like Lionel Messi, Carlos Alena, Arturo Vidal, Marc Andre Ter Stegen but to name a few were largely consistent for the duration of the season, there were a number of others who were found wanting more often than not.
In this piece, we shall be having a rundown of four players who failed to live up to expectation and must step up ahead of next season.
#4 Samuel Umtiti
Umtiti was signed by Barcelona from Olympique Lyon in the summer of 2016 for the sum of €25m after four seasons of stellar displays in Ligue 1.
The Cameroonian-born French international almost instantly became a mainstay in the heart of the Barcelona defence, making 83 appearances in all competitions across his first two seasons at the Nou Camp and going on to lift the World Cup with France in the summer of 2018.
The 25-year-old has constantly been troubled by injuries since arriving Barcelona, having been ruled out for a major chunk of last season through one problem or the other.
However, this season has seen Umtiti hardest hit, as a persistent knee problem saw him miss over four months of action, missing 28 matches for the Blaugrana in that time.
On his return, he was clearly not the same player and was run ragged by opposition attackers, with his shambolic performance in the 4-4 draw with Villareal indicative of just how far his stock has fallen this season.
In total, Samuel Umtiti made just 14 appearances in all competitions this term, as he found himself displaced from the starting 11 by compatriot and summer signing Clement Lenglet and while he might still be one of the best centre-backs in the world on his day, he would be hoping his injury nightmares are behind him so he can stake a claim to being starter next season.
Also see : La Liga Transfer News, Barcelona Transfer News