It’s still not clear if it will be Ernesto Valverde’s decision to make, but whoever takes charge of Barcelona’s next few games is going to have to find someone to play in the number 9 role.
AS reported that Xavi has been offered the job as Valverde’s position looks to be under increasing threat, but he’s still in the job for now.
READ MORE: Ernesto Valverde’s future unclear as club legend set to decide on offer to replace him
It’s been clear that Luis Suarez hasn’t been at his best over the past few weeks, and Sport recently reported that was due to an ongoing injury that he was playing through.
They say that his right knee is bad enough that it needs surgery and that will probably keep him out for several weeks. We’ve seen before that Suarez needs some time to get back up to full speed after an absence.
The report goes on to suggest that Barca will need to re-shuffle their attack to find a solution, but it’s not clear what that will be for now. It’s also possible that they might make a signing with the January window being open.
The most obvious solution would be putting Antoine Griezmann into his favoured central role, which could suit him perfectly. It could even be interesting to see what happens if plays well. Suarez and Messi have a great partnership and understanding, but the Frenchman could make himself un-dropable if he goes on a fine run.
That could give Ansu Fati a run in the team on the left flank, so it will be interesting to see how they line up in their next game.