It’s fair to say that the Barcelona fans will have expected the club to sign a new striker this summer, but they will probably be hoping that this isn’t their only signing.
Luis Suarez is injury prone and getting older so a long term replacement is needed, so it’s interesting to note that they have completed a forward signing for next season.
According to a report from Mundo Deportivo, they had an agreement with Santos where they could sign Thiago Maia for a fee of €3.5m, and they’ve decided to take up that option.
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While he certainly sounds like a promising player, it’s important to note that he hasn’t actually made a first team appearance for Santos yet, so that should indicate that he won’t be part of the first team picture in Barcelona either.
He’s a diminutive forward who’s described as someone who can score but also likes to look for the pass, so that suggests he might end up in a wider role rather than being deployed as a number nine.
It’s not a giant fee in the grand scheme of things so there won’t be any pressure for the manager to get him into the team, but it will be interesting to see if he gets a chance.