Barcelona Transfer News: Pedro Sale Lamented, Latest Alex Song Rumours

Barcelona defender Marc Bartra has admitted that Pedro is a player who will be missed this season, after the winger completed his move to Chelsea.

The Blaugrana begin their La Liga campaign away to Athletic Club on Sunday without the La Masia starlet and long-standing midfield stalwart Xavi Hernandez. But as reported by Reuters (h/t the MailOnline) Bartra has insisted that while the Catalans will feel the loss of the pair, they have other players capable of making a difference:

"

They (Pedro and Xavi) gave us a great deal, and we will miss them.

Teams like Barca have this advantage: Very good players leave and others arrive who adapt to help us in competition, and so that we have a good level.

When you have effective academy graduates together with the best in the world from outside, the level is unbeatable.

"

Doug Benc/Associated Press

Although Bartra is correct in his assessment of the Barca academy, there’s no denying that the Blaugrana do look a little light in some areas. After all, Pedro was the man who would step in to fill the void should any of Luis Suarez, Neymar or Lionel Messi get injured or suspended. His sale has robbed manager Luis Enrique of that safety blanket.

As noted here by sports journalist Rafael Hernandez, given the tough run of fixtures that Barcelona have before the new year, selling Pedro could be viewed as something of a gamble:

Granted, it will mean opportunities for young players, with Rafinha and Munir El Haddadi likely to get chances. But should Barca toil in the opening stages of the season—a 5-1 aggregate loss to Athletic Club in the Super Cup suggests that they might—then they may not have the thoroughbred options that are needed to spark this side into life.

Pedro needed a move and will be delighted to have joined a club that will give him the first-team minutes he craves. But from a Barcelona perspective, the sale may leave them short before the likes of Aleix Vidal and Arda Turan join the squad in January. 

Three-Way Tussle for Alex Song

Christopher Lee/Getty Images

Despite West Ham United looking poised to complete a deal to sign Alex Song from Barcelona, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur have made late moves to lure him to their respective sides.

That’s according to Sky Sports (h/t Mollie Bennett of Metro), who claim that the two clubs are plotting a late swoop for the Cameroon international, who left Barcelona on loan to join the Hammers last season. The piece notes that West Ham may have to gamble on the player not having a medical in order to stave off competition for his signature.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

As noted here via the West Ham Twitter account, Hammers boss Slaven Bilic has revealed terms that had previously been agreed between the player and the London club:

Here’s a closer look at how the ex-Arsenal man fared in the Premier League last season in direct comparison to some of the other top holding midfield men:

	Song	Matic	Coquelin	Schneiderlin
Apps (Sub)	25 (3)	35 (1)	19 (3)	24 (2)
Goals	0	1	0	4
Assists	3	3	0	1
Passes per game	43.5	63.8	45.5	61.2
Passing accuracy	76.7%	86.4%	85.8%	89.3%
Tackles per game	3.3	5.8	3.2	3.7
Interceptions per game	1.5	1.8	3.7	2.6

There’s certainly no future for Song at Barcelona, and at first glance, a permanent deal with West Ham makes perfect sense. After all, he would most likely return and become a key cog in the club’s midfield in familiar surroundings, whereas Everton currently have plenty more options in this particular area of the pitch.

It’s a massive decision for the player at a critical point in his career. There’s no denying Song has the talent to thrive at a very high level, and if he can rediscover his best form at West Ham, they’ll definitely be a team to keep an eye on in the Premier League for the remainder of this season. At this juncture, it'd be a surprise if he ended up anywhere else.