Breaking Down Barcelona's Best Short-Term Options for Munir El Haddadi

Munir El Haddadi watched Sandro Ramirez toil for 56 minutes before stepping onto the pitch to replace him and struggling himself.

The two youngsters are in similar situations. Neither has fully convinced Luis Enrique he deserves to play alongside Neymar and Luis Suarez in the absence of Lionel Messi.

Munir coming on as a substitute for Sandro against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday night was the opposite of Sandro stepping in for him in the previous league clash with Sevilla.

They are different players. Sandro is more physically developed and stronger, while Munir is more slippery and trickier for defenders to track.

Lucho will have his reasons for selecting one ahead of the other in specific games, but the willingness with which he changes them up means he isn't certain about the pair.

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In order to help Munir progress—and Sandro, for that matter—they both need to play more football.

Munir is a more natural pick to replace Messi because of his style of play.

While Sandro can play on either flank, he is more suited physically to a central role similar to that of Suarez.

Munir can beat players in wide positions and give Barcelona width, to some degree.

The coach is keeping his options open with both players, but it makes sense to pick one and give him more opportunities.

Although they are nowhere near the quality of Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema and former Los Blancos hitman Gonzalo Higuain, there are similarities in how they are used.

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It felt like neither of those players was getting a clear shot, and it didn't help either of them.

Despite the even-handed treatment from Lucho of Sandro and Munir, it might not be helpful for their overall development.

If he picks Sandro as the man who can offer Barcelona more now, the other option is to loan out Munir.

That seems like a terrible idea given how short the squad is, but in January, it will be a different story.

Barring any further injury problems, Messi will be back and the famous front-line trident will be sealed.

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On top of that, Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal will both be eligible to play and can fit into the front line.

Arda, the Turkish playmaker signed from Atletico Madrid in the summer, is a natural pick to fill in when needed in the attack.

A versatile attacker, he can replace any of Messi, Neymar, Suarez, Andres Iniesta or Ivan Rakitic in the current Barcelona setup when required.

Vidal is another interesting option. Although signed as a right-back, the former Sevilla man is also able to play as a winger, which means even more competition for places when it comes to Munir's slot.

On top of these two stars, Barcelona could move again in the January market, with Lucho pushing to sign Nolito, per Sport.

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The Asturian boss knows the qualities for the forward firsthand, as he coached him at Celta Vigo before joining Barcelona.

However, it seems the Catalan club's board is more interested in signing a veteran back-up to be the new Henrik Larsson.

Either way, it looks likely that Barcelona will bolster their squad in January, which might make a La Liga loan for Munir a possibility.

Alen Halilovic is blazing a trail with Sporting Gijon, and Barcelona will also have noted how well Real Madrid's Marco Asensio is doing on loan at Espanyol.

Regular football and getting the chance to take more responsibility would be good for Munir, so allowing him to depart on a short-term basis might be the answer.