It was always expected that Ronald Koeman would shake things up after taking over at Barcelona, but it’s a bit of a surprise to see him going after Jordi Alba.
He is 31 so he’ll need to be replaced in the next few years, but his attacking qualities and pace have always been a big part of how Barcelona play, especially when the options on the other side are average at best.
A report from CCMA has indicated that Koeman wants to get rid of Junior Firpo who’s been underwhelming, while he wants to replace him with someone who’ll challenge Alba for his spot.
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As a result, Jorge Mendes has offered Porto defender Alex Telles to Barca, and you would certainly fancy him to push for a starting spot.
He’s been excellent for Porto over the past couple of seasons and he’s even managed to break into the Brazil team, although there are questions about his ability to defend.
He’s 27 years old so he would be an option for now rather than a long term solution to the position, but his quality on the ball and from set pieces would bring another option to Barca’s attack.
It sounds like Firpo might need to leave first so that could be an issue, but it’s clear that Koeman isn’t willing to stick with the stalwarts at all.
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