The situation
The club’s main requirement is the incorporation of a right-handed winger in the winter market after verifying the defensive shortcomings of Bellerín. Xavi Hernández prioritizes the arrival of a right back this winter to any other position, as we learned . In the coaching staff it is considered that the squad is very unbalanced in this position, especially after verifying that Héctor Bellerín does not quite satisfy all the needs of the team. The former Arsenal player is a player with very few defensive resources and basic deficiencies in highly demanding matches. He was signed as a last option and almost at the last minute, taking into account that he came for free and that he accepted very modest economic conditions, with a record of just over 400,000 euros, the lowest in the squad . However, the passage of time has shown that Bellerín cannot cover the right back position regularly, so the club has already decided not to renew him. The lack of confidence in the youth squad is such that it is even preferred to give the alternative to Alejandro Balde, 19 years old, so that he plays with a changed band, with the problems attached to this circumstance, before giving the title to Bellerín. In addition to the lack of confidence in Bellerín, the other problem is that Sergi Roberto is a midfielder turned right back. While it is true that the man from Reus, until the injury, had been at a more than acceptable level, it is also true that he prefers to play in a more advanced position . Faced with so many problems on the right wing, Xavi has had to use a central defender to cover that demarcation in the most demanding games. This is where Jules Koundé and Ronald Araújo have shown their physical strength and defensive resources, although the team is penalized when it comes to joining as lanes, especially in the case of the Uruguayan central defender, with fewer technical resources than the French.
The details
Given all these circumstances, the sports area has decided to urgently sign a right back, taking advantage of the window that opens in the winter market. We must remember that this summer the arrival of César Azpilicueta was expected, but he got tired of waiting for Barça and ended up renewing for Chelsea. Barça first tried to sign the Villarreal winger, Juan Foyth, but the ‘groguet’ club asked for 30 million for the Argentine, and then Thomas Meunier, from Borussia de Dortmund, who did not end up coming either because of the high claims of the German club . Thus, in the end, Bellerín’s ‘low cost’ operation was chosen, but it indicates that he will have a very short journey at FC Barcelona. Some possible candidates to reinforce the right wing this winter have already left, such as Manchester United’s Portuguese defender, Diogo Dalot, although his contractual situation could be inconvenient , since although it is true that his contract ends this summer, the English club has a unilateral renewal clause that could be executed at any time.