Barcelona Repeating Their Mistakes in the Transfer Market.

Barcelona will have to splash the cash if they want to be the best team in the world again. But the Board seems to be failing in bringing in new stars.

The 2016-17 season should have been a wake up call for Barcelona. A reminder that the team cannot depend on the brilliance of one man season after season. The club brought in six new players in the previous summer transfer window. Yet only one of them, Samuel Umtiti, can be classified as a success.
The biggest mistake of the club was trying to replace legends with unproven talent. In recent years the club has lost players like Xavi, Puyol and Alves. But the club has failed to find proper replacements for these club legends. Instead of trying to buy one terrific player, the Board has brought in two or three mediocre players to fill in the holes.
This summer though felt different. The club was linked with three world-class players in Verratti, Bellerin and Dembele. It seemed that the Board had learned from its mistakes and turned a new leaf. However, weeks of inactivity have soaked away all that initial positivity. Of course new players will eventually join the club by the end of the summer. But there are fears that these might be average signings similar to last summer.
For the first time in years Barcelona finds itself as the second best team in Spain. Continuous spending is finally paying off for Real Madrid. They have managed to assemble the best squad in Europe with incredible bench depth. Barcelona has to act quick or this gap will only increase further.
They have to start promoting La Masia talents again. In the middle of all the accolades and achievements it is easy to forget about the foundation of the club’s success. La Masia is the stone on which Barcelona was built. Instead of trying to buy players for the bench, these squad places should go to the club’s youth. The only players the club should buy are the ones who will start every game of the season.

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