Barcelona will reportedly look to strengthen their squad in two key departments this year, with a string of potential targets touted as well.
Things are going relatively well again for the Catalan giants this season, as they lead the way in La Liga, remain in contention for domestic trophies and are still in the hunt in the Champions League.
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However, they’ve also experienced their fair share of setbacks over the last two years, and with the squad continuing to age with stalwarts creeping well over the 30 mark, it will be time to bring in further reinforcements sooner rather than later.
According to AS, that process could kick into action this year, as it’s suggested that a long-term replacement for Gerard Pique and up to two attacking players could be targeted in 2020.
Further, Andreas Christensen, Nikola Milenkovic and Diego Carlos are mentioned as possible defensive targets, while Dani Olmo, Neymar and Lautaro Martinez are specifically mentioned for the attack to complement Ansu Fati who is seemingly being prepared for a big role.
In turn, it should be an exciting time for Barcelona as they look to build a new cycle, while the likes of Frenkie de Jong, Arthur and others will all hope to be major parts of it too.
The positive aspect in the short term is that stalwarts such as Pique, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez do still appear to have plenty left in the tank, and so it’s not time to panic over finding replacements just yet.
That said, the sensible strategy would be to find replacements now who can be eased into the side and learn from their predecessors, and so bringing in targets this year could be the smartest business that Barcelona do in the coming years.