Luis Suarez Gives Barcelona an Edge but Transfer from Liverpool Comes at a Cost

Luis Suarez's transfer to Barcelona has finally been confirmed but the cost of the deal remains unknown.

Not the specific financial details, but the impact that it could have on the club in a variety of different ways.

Let's talk about the upside of the deal first.

Suarez is one of the very best players in the world at this moment in time.

Last season for Liverpool, he was virtually unstoppable in the Premier League, picking up the Golden Boot with no other contenders in sight.

He notched 31 goals in just 33 games, having missed the first five fixtures of the season.

For Barcelona, he is likely to play from the right channel and this should work perfectly with Lionel Messi's movement.

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The Argentine likes dropping off from his nominal striker's starting role, leaving plenty of room for Suarez to move into.

He is a tricky, clever player and it won't be long before he is on the same wavelength as Messi.

With Neymar providing a threat from the left, it can be argued that Barcelona now have the most dangerous frontline in world football.

However, there are some negatives that surround the Suarez deal.

For one, unless his four-month global ban gets reduced on appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, then he will miss the start of the season.

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With Neymar's injury sustained against Colombia, Barcelona could start the season with the more ordinary attacking trio of Pedro, Messi and Gerard Deulofeu.

The youngster will be incorporated into the squad next season and, with Alexis Sanchez now an Arsenal player, be required to fill in when needed.

Barcelona funded the Suarez deal by selling Alexis to Arsenal and Cesc Fabregas to Chelsea.

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That may be one of the ways the deal could prove harmful, in that they have traded two top-class players, covering different positions, for one.

Of course, Barcelona can still buy a new central midfielder and already have Ivan Rakitic on the books.

Javier Mascherano is expected to step up and play in midfield under Luis Enrique next season too.

But the club could still do with a new addition in midfield, with Xavi potentially leaving and, at 34, too old to rely on week in, week out.

They also need to reinforce by adding at least one new centre-back to the squad.

Spending all the Alexis and Fabregas revenue on a striker means they won't be able to spend too big at the back.

The likes of Thiago Silva and Marquinhos have been touted as targets, per David Boti at Sport.

However, as the article says, Silva would likely cost around 50 million euros.

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One other cost of Suarez's move to Barcelona is the reflection on them as a club.

For a long time, they were viewed as holier-than-thou, with their Unicef sponsorship deal and their adherence to brilliant, entertaining football.

Suarez is compulsive to watch, but his imperfections and personality defects are well documented.

For the club which sacked an employee for racist behaviour to then hire a player banned for several games for racially abusing an opponent can be seen as hypocritical.

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Suarez has now also bitten three players and despite putting out an apology, has shown little remorse.

That he argued he "fell" into Chiellini in the first place, when he clearly deliberately moved to bite the Italian, shows how he is willing to try and take the world for suckers.

Barcelona want Suarez to add bite to their attack, but knowing him, he could end up biting the hand that feeds him.