Barcelona FC: La Blaugrana's Urgent Summer Transfer Needs

Despite dealing with something of a financial crisis, Barcelona has managed to scrounge together 50 million euros to blow on transfers this summer.  That’s a lot of cash, and as a Barcelona supporter I’d like to say right now I’m very grateful to be a fan of a club with this sort of spending power.

So where do Barcelona need help?  Up front?  In the back?  Midfield?  Let’s have a look.

Up front, there are three superstars named Messi, Villa and Pedro.  They’ve scored nearly 100 goals this season and have produced some of the most scintillating football the world has ever seen.  Villa may only have two or three top years left in the tank, but Messi and Pedro, aged 23, are just coming into their prime.

Waiting on the bench is 20-year-old Bojan Krikic, who, when given the chance, has proven an excellent scorer and a perfect fit in the Barcelona attack.  There’s also Jeffren Suarez, 23, who absolutely terrorizes the wing when played.  Hmm.  No real need here.

Midfield is where Barcelona is really stacked.  Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets will hold it down for at least two more years, and when it’s time for Xavi to hang up the boots, Thiago Alcantara is the right man to replace him.

At 20 years old, Thiago has proven over the past two La Liga fixtures what every Barcelona expert has been saying: he’s a stud.  He drops dimes like Xavi, pressures like Pedro and out-muscles central defenders for headers like a burly striker.  The sky is the limit with this kid, and he’s pure Blaugrana—technical, smooth and stylish.

When Busquets needs a breather, there’s the captain of Argentina’s national team, Javier Mascherano, ready and willing to fill in.  If Andres Iniesta needs some quality time with his newborn baby, Seydou Keita can come in, win possession like a beast, and smack the ball into the upper ninety.

If there are any leftover minutes, Barcelona’s most recent investment—the 25-year-old Dutch international Ibrahim Afellay—can come in and make some noise of his own.  Why should money be spent on a midfielder?

Lastly, there’s the defense.  Outside of Gerard Pique, Barcelona have some issues here right now.  Carles Puyol, 32, is taking an awfully long time to recover from injuries, and Eric Abidal, 31, just had surgery to remove a tumor from his liver.

Early in the year, these men showed no signs of slowing down (Abidal was playing the best football of his career), but are now absent for Barcelona’s critical stretch run.  Gabi Milito, 30, has looked shaky in their stead, and has been benched in favor of converted midfielder Busquets.

Gerard Pique is the last remaining world-class defender, but he needs help.  So here’s where Barcelona should blow their wad, right?  Let’s go after somebody like Nemanja Vidic?

Au contraire.  Andreu Fontas, 21, is ready to get some time with the A team.  It’s too soon to say for sure, but he very well could be a world-class center back, and, judging by the trajectory of Pique himself, it’s a bad idea to risk losing him to another club.

And I think both Abidal and Puyol will be as good as ever next season.  If there’s any pair of players able to come back from injury it’s these guys.  They’re both extremely dedicated, health-conscious athletes with an undying love for FC Barcelona.  They’ll be back, and any massive new signing will be left on the bench like Chygrynskiy was—hoping Pique and Puyol pick up some yellow cards.

And let’s not forget Martin Caceres.  This guy can absolutely fly up and down the field, and has the guts to take on the world’s best strikers.  On loan to Sevilla, I would love to see him back in a blue and red jersey next year, as he can ably fill in at right, left or center back.

In the end, there are no urgent transfer needs for this club.  Remember when “Los Cuatro Fantasticos” crashed and burned in 2008?  Ronaldinho, Eto’o, Messi and Henry—four of the best players in the world at the time—put together a putrid campaign with more drama off the field than on.

Big name players don’t win titles for Barcelona.  La Cantera wins titles.  The value of knowing the Barcelona system cannot be overestimated.  Outside players need time to adjust, and the way things are clicking in right now, there's no time to spare.

With Barcelona B playing better than half of La Liga, there are more youngsters than ever deserving of a shot on the grand stage.  Every player brought in via transfer means another youth product gone unused, or worse—plucked away by some other club.

But what about the 50 million?  I say give it to Pep.