4 cheaper alternatives to Antoine Griezmann that Barcelona should consider
With the 2018/2019 footballing season all but over in most of the major leagues, the attention of fans around the world would turn to the transfer window.
An ever-increasing influx of money into the game of football means that another summer of heavy spending is to be expected, with clubs seeking to augment their squads ahead of next season.
One major club which is anticipated to be busy this summer is Barcelona, as the Catalan club attempts to build on from the disappointment of the recently concluded season.
The Blaugrana have been linked with a host of names in the transfer tabloids, but perhaps none more so than that of Antoine Griezmann.
Barcelona had seen a concrete offer for the French international turned down last summer, with the 28-year-old instead signing a new contract at the Wanda Metropolitano. However, his announcement that this would be his last season with Diego Simeone’s men once more puts him in the market, and the Nou Camp has been identified as his most likely destination.
Given his status as a bonafide world-class player and the obscene amounts bandied about in today’s market, it can be expected that Griezmann would not come cheap, with the former Real Sociedad man valued at a price of €150m and having a release clause worth a reported €125m.
Barcelona as a club made a name for themselves in the past as a hub for the development of players, with their famed La Masia academy acting as a supply line for the first team, with the core of the squad which brought about its golden age being academy graduates.
However, in recent seasons, the club seems to have departed from this modus operandi, falling to the temptations of the modern game and spending huge sums of money to bring players to the club at the expense of homegrown talent.
This has not always worked out for them, as though some big money signings like Neymar and Luis Suarez went on to achieve greatness at the club, more often than not, most of these marquee arrivals have not lived up to expectations, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Philippe Coutinho, and Ousmane Dembele being prime examples of this.
There is every possibility of Griezmann falling into the latter category if Barcelona activates his release clause and as such, the club must consider cheaper alternatives. In this piece, we shall be having a rundown of four cheaper and younger alternatives Barcelona should consider to Antoine Griezmann.
#4 Richarlison
Richarlison de Andrade arrived in the Premier League as a relative unknown in the summer of 2017 when he signed for Watford from Fluminense for a sum of £11.2m. He impressed significantly enough in his sole season at Vicarage Road to convince the Everton board to sanction his signing for a club record fee of £50m, reuniting him with his former Watford manager Marco Silva.
The 21-year-old scored a brace on his Everton debut and that was a sign of things to come, as he absolutely blew everyone away with his displays in his first season at Goodison Park.
His form did not go unnoticed, as he was called up to the Brazilian squad in August 2018, scoring his first pair of international goals in just his second match for the Samba Boys.
In total, he ended his first season at Everton with 13 goals from 35 Premier League matches, and earned praise for his technique and direct style of play and was deservedly included in Tite’s 23-man squad for the 2019 Copa America to be staged on home soil.
Richarlison is currently valued at €45m and at 21, potentially, still has his best years in front of him.