Scouting Barcelona Transfer Target Luciano Vietto

It has proved difficult for Barcelona to fill the vacant striker slot behind Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.

Manager Luis Enrique wants another hitman to give him a different option and to provide cover when injury befalls one of his star players, but few players fit the combination of being both good enough to play that role and willing to.

After all, any striker considered a viable reserve to the MSN would surely have ambitions of leading the line elsewhere.

Moves for Nolito, Hatem Ben Arfa and Ousmane Dembele came to nothing, with those three forwards moving to Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund respectively.

Francisco Seco/Associated Press

It looked like Barcelona's bid to take Luciano Vietto from Atletico Madrid had failed too, with Sport reporting that Sevilla had convinced him to sign for them.

The paper wrote: "Vietto was convinced by something at Sevilla that Barcelona could not assure him of—minutes on the pitch."

However, Lluis Miguelsanz, for the same newspaper, wrote on Saturday:

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Barca are better placed to sign Vietto after agreeing to buy his economic rights, while Sevilla are, for now, only contemplating whether to go through with the transfer. This has allowed the Catalan club to strike a deal early on with Atletico Madrid, who need finances themselves to sign new players of their own.

The agreement between Barca and Atletico would be closed for 22 million euros plus three million in variables.

Vietto is the only person holding up the deal from being completed, as he continues to continue his pre-season preparations with Los Rojiblancos.

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Vietto did not have a sparkling season for Atletico after signing from Villarreal for around €20 million last summer.

He scored 12 goals in 32 league games for Villarreal in 2014-15, after joining them from Racing Club in Argentina. Vietto scored 20 times in 48 appearances across all competitions, and the Rojiblancos decided to jump in and sign him.

However, he managed a miserable three goals in 28 games for Atletico last season, with just one tally in 19 outings in La Liga.

Rojiblancos boss Diego Simeone was seemingly not overly impressed with his compatriot, playing him for the full 90 minutes on just one occasion in the Spanish top flight.

Armando Franca/Associated Press

Like most players when they join Atletico, the going is tough in pre-season as they adjust to the extreme physical demands the coach places on his men. A video emerged (h/t Richard Innes of the Mirror) of Simeone laughing at Vietto's struggles after a tough workout at the start of last season.

Unfortunately for the star, he never proved to the coach he was much more than the player who couldn't open a bottle of water by himself during his first training session.

But not passing muster under Simeone doesn't mean he isn't a good player or is not fit for Barcelona. His role with the Catalans will be decidedly different than it is with Atletico Madrid.

The attackers are the first line of defence under the Argentinian. At Barcelona, they have largely free rein, although Neymar's work ethic has improved and Suarez naturally likes to harass opponents.

Vietto would also benefit from having two wide men, whereas at Atletico there was only one, if he was lucky, in Yannick Carrasco.

Kerstin Joensson/Associated Press

That was demonstrated in the Champions League group-stage clash with Benfica in Lisbon, Portugal, in December, when Vietto nipped in to convert the Belgian's low cross to effectively win his team the game and help them top the group.

Vietto has the vote of confidence from one of Barcelona's stars in Suarez. He said, when asked about the club's interest in the Argentinian, per Sport: "He is a great player. I liked him a lot when he played at Villarreal. At Atletico he has not had so many opportunities, but his quality is not in doubt. He is a player that would bring a lot here."

Sport went into great detail covering the various reasons why Barcelona want Vietto.

The publication explained how Barcelona have been tracking Vietto for a long time, how he would accept being a back-up to the MSN and take advantage of that to improve his own game, how the fans prefer him to other alternatives and how the 22-year-old admires Messi.

Francisco Seco/Associated Press

His game would also work much better with Barcelona than it does for Atletico. While Suarez is much better aerially, like the Uruguayan, Vietto is a lethal finisher.

His dribbling is strong, and he can leave defenders in a heap. Assuming he is playing his preferred centre-forward role with Neymar and Messi either side, Vietto would be a headache for opposition defenders to track because of his cunning runs and ability to disappear momentarily before popping up in the danger zone.

And although he hasn't scored many goals for Atletico, one of them was crucial. With seconds ticking down at the end of a Madrid derby at the Vicente Calderon last October, Vietto grabbed a crucial equaliser.

Karim Benzema had struck early on before Antoine Griezmann missed a penalty for the home side, but in the 84th minute, Vietto was in the right place at the right time to stab home a loose ball after his French strike partner nudged on a cross.

That looked like it could be the goal to kickstart his season, but a few days later, it was announced Vietto needed surgery for appendicitis. That took him out of action and virtually put him back to square one.

Francisco Seco/Associated Press

It was an uphill struggle after that, and Vietto never found the rhythm required. It is understandable if Atletico want to see the back of him, but the promise he showed during his only season with Villarreal can’t have died in the space of one bad year.

While he has not earned a move to the league champions, it may suit both them and him perfectly. Equally, there is the danger things could go against Vietto.

If Barcelona's first-choice front three stay fit and firing and demand to play all the time, then Vietto is left without much air. Perhaps he would get the odd game in the Copa del Rey, but that wouldn’t be enough to prove anything to anybody.

That is a risk worth taking for Vietto, though. And Barcelona can’t see any better remaining options for their fourth striker slot. And if it backfires, with Vietto continuing to flail, then there’s always Munir El Haddadi.

However, a change of scenery, less taxing demands in terms of work rate and much better supply should combine to give him a new lease of life at Barcelona.