Barcelona Are Gambling by Letting Martin Montoya Leave in January

Martin Montoya is not wanted at Barcelona, that much has been made clear in the past few days. However, letting him leave in January is a risk.

Per Barcelona-based newspaper Sport, the right-back has asked to depart the club in the winter transfer window. They say his agent, Juan de Dios Carrasco, met with the club on Thursday to discuss his exit.

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Barcelona met with Martin Montoya's agent Juan de Dios Carrasco at the Ciutat Esportiva Barcelona to decide the future of the player, now it is clear that he is not needed by manager Luis Enrique. SPORT know that Montoya has asked to leave Barcelona in the winter transfer window, so teams are free to contact the club and try to arrange a transfer for the player.

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The same newspaper also explained that there is no disagreement between the player and the club, it's a decision being taken purely for football reasons. Montoya's agent told radio station SER (h/t Sport):

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It's a very complex situation. The club appreciates him, but the reality is they don't have confidence in him. It's all a football theme, there has been no friction or bad words. It's to do with the system and scheme that Luis Enrique wants.

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Given how little Montoya has featured for Barcelona this season, it's easy to believe that Enrique has no faith in him.

This was highlighted by the squad that the Asturian coach picked for Barcelona's clash with Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night.

With first-choice right-back Dani Alves suspended, Enrique still refused to pick Montoya in the squad, along with Brazilian Douglas.

The latter player was signed in the summer and has not played much this season, either. He was, however, selected ahead of Montoya for the Copa del Rey clash against Huesca.

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

That in essence makes the Spaniard the third-choice right-back at Barcelona and signifies that he really needs to leave for the good of his own footballing development.

The 23-year-old has only featured in one La Liga game this season, the 2-0 home triumph over Athletic Bilbao.

However, just because Dani Alves has not missed many games so far, it doesn't mean that Barcelona should assume that will be the case from January onward. He's 31 and no spring chicken.

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

Should they sell Montoya in January and Alves later suffer an injury, Barcelona will have three options.

The first is Douglas, although he has not impressed in his two games to date. What's more, Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu recently told BeIn Sports (h/t Sport) that Douglas was not signed for this season. Rather, he was signed with next season and the looming transfer ban in mind.

Bartomeu said:

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The coach and the staff considered that we would be missing a player on the right hand side of defence, if we could not sign next year. Douglas was not ready to perform this season. He has come to acclimatize and slowly enter the dynamics of the team for next season.

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The second is playing Marc Bartra or Pedro out of position at right-back. Neither is a good long-term solution but would work for the odd game or two.

Then there's the possibility of changing the team's shape. This third way is exactly how Barcelona coped with Alves' absence against PSG in the Champions League game they won 3-1.

Barcelona picked three at the back, with a double pivot ahead of them and Neymar and Pedro patrolling the flanks.

Emilio Morenatti/Associated Press

A potential fourth option is available, should the transfer ban be lifted by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The club could target Fiorentina's Juan Cuadrado, who was constantly linked with the Catalan outfit last summer.

He would slot in the right-wing-back position in the 3-2-3-2 used against PSG, and playing with Dani Alves in a flat back four would become the second option. That would be the best solution.

However, until we know how Barcelona's appeal against their transfer ban is resolved, the approaching departure of Montoya looks like a gamble.