4 players Barcelona must get rid of before the transfer window shuts
Following their disappointing end to last season, Barcelona would be looking to rebuild from that and preparations have begun in earnest for the task ahead.
The immediate target for next season would be to retain their league title, while the prized cherry would undoubtedly be the Champions League which has not been at the Nou Camp since the club’s treble triumph in 2015.
In light of this, player recruitment was penciled down as a priority and so far, the Blaugrana have made a couple of additions to their squad, with Antoine Griezmann being the marquee arrival, while Frenkie de Jong, and Neto would also be donning the Barcelona colors for the first time.
Despite this, the Blaugrana are still being linked with a number of other players and having seen their pursuit of Matthijs de Ligt end with the Dutch international signing for Juventus, their attention would turn to other players with Neymar’s name top of the wishlist, while a backup to Jordi Alba at left-back is also a priority.
However, to not fall foul of FFP rules and create space for any potential new additions, Barcelona would, as a matter of priority, need to sell off some players.
In this piece, we shall be having a rundown of four players that Barcelona need to get rid of as soon as possible.
#4 Malcom
Malcom made a name for himself as one of the most sought-after youngsters in Europe following his displays with Bordeaux in the French Ligue 1 and had several top European clubs battling it out for his signature.
As it happened, this was a battle that went on till the very last second, as despite already agreeing terms with Roma and seemingly on his way to finalizing his move, Barcelona entered the fray, hijacking the move and leaving Roma hanging with their tails between their legs.
In three seasons at Bordeaux, Malcom made 84 league appearances, missing just three league games in his last two seasons in France combined.
At Barcelona, that number dropped significantly to 15 out of 38 fixtures, with most of those appearances coming off the bench as Malcom failed to make any sort of impact in Barcelona in his debut season.
This is not in any way a slight on his abilities, as the 22-year-old is an extremely gifted footballer and showed signs of his capabilities on occasion last season. However, he was very much a victim of circumstance, as the presence of superior players within the ranks of Barcelona meant Malcom always had his work cut out from the onset.
Following Griezmann’s arrival, Malcom has been pushed even further down the pecking order in attack and with Neymar’s transfer being worked out; the former Corinthians man is all but certain to not have a future at Camp Nou.
He has seemingly recognized as much, as new reports have emanated that he wants to leave the club and with some Sere A clubs including Inter, Milan and Napoli all said to be interested, the coast seems set for Malcom to ply his trade in Italy a year after spurning the opportunity.