If all goes according to plans, Lyon forward Memphis Depay will be the first signing for Barcelona’s coach Ronald Koeman.
And this is indeed a welcome development giving the recent form of the 26 year old footballer and his exploits in the last UCL competition where he led Lyon to semifinals,
Defeating Juventus and Manchester City in the round of 16 and quarterfinals respectively.
This is a sensible transfer and a reasonable one for the Catalan side.
After spending $100m+ on individual players that haven’t hit the ground running in Camp Nou- the sole reasons fans are angry at President Bartomeu.
Now with only $25m, they can secure the services of a very lethal attacker who is seen as a replacement for the departing Luis Suarez.
The Problem is where will Depay fit in Barça’s squad:
While many have argued that Koeman’s first signing should be defenders because that’s where they lack depth the most, and surprisingly he’s keeping the defenders in the club.
The blaugrana side has a lot of manpower upfront.
So with Memphis Depay arrival, one or two will give way for him- and it looks like Koeman will start him in every match this season.
Two case scenario:
- Messi can start on the right-wing, and that will leave the left-wing for Depay(who will be preferred over Griezmann) and putting the Frenchman in a false 9 position won’t help as he has been played off wing all through last season.
- Messi can be deployed to the centre; a fit Dembele will be at the left-wing and Depay will do a better job as a striker than Griezmann.
Whatever the case may be, Coutinho, Dembele, Griezmann, Depay and Messi can’t start a match; which means some will be warming the bench for a long time, and it won’t probably be Memphis.
So Barça will be forced to upload some forwards again this season because they still have Ansu Fati, and the newcomer Trinçao.
But Depay is a sensible and reasonable signing and a break away from the big money-wasting which have to characterize the club for the last 3–4 season.
