Ronald Koeman finds himself in a strange situation with this Barcelona squad because they have some serious needs which need to be addressed, but they also find themselves bloated in certain areas too.
They are also struggling financially so any activity in the January market will probably be dependent on getting rid of a few faces first, so it will be interesting to see who’s expendable this month.
One area where they do have plenty of numbers is in central midfield – Koeman can currently count on Sergio Busquets, Sergi Roberto, Coutinho, De Jong, Pedri, Puig, Alena, Pjanic and even Trincao who could cover the central areas if needed, so it does look like the most obvious area of the squad which could be cut down to raise funds.
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Carles Alena was a prime candidate to leave because he’s similar to others in the squad but he’s not as good and might not fulfil his early potential, so Barca fans may be pleased to see he’s been confirmed as a loan signing by Getafe this afternoon:
He won’t be one of the highest earners in the squad but it’s still a senior wage they’ve managed to clear off the books, so a signing or two could be possible if they manage to shift a few more players first.