Barca Scouting Report: Left Backs
By Jim James
With Barcelona’s left back search getting more heated, they have a series of Left Back targets, one of which will be signed. Today I will review and make a comprehensive scouting report on all the left-backs linked with FC Barcelona in recent times.
Table of Contents
Marcos Alonso
Javi Galan
Angelino
Johan Mojica
Marcos Alonso
Age: 31
Club: Chelsea
Fee: 5-10m
Strengths: Really Good Free-Kick Option, Corner Threat, Good for getting headers outside the box, Can go on for days, Great Tackler, Great at advancing play, has a family winning gene, well-rounded player
Weaknesses: Not Agile and Very Slow, almost fatal for a full-back’s game, skillset fits a Center-Back, but has only played 2.3% of his games there. He’s focused on being well-rounded to the detriment of his overall ability and longevity, he’s on the decline, and one of the most expensive options.
Jim’s thoughts: While he would be the 38th player to play for both El Clasico sides if he joined, he would be the first in my spell as a fan, which would be exciting. However, even with that fact, you can’t disregard the negative signs, the worst being lack of pace. I wouldn’t recommend this signing, not over some of the other targets to be discussed later on.
Final Scout Grade: C-
Javi Galan
Age: 27
Club: Celta Vigo
Fee: 10-20m
Strengths: He’s really improving and could further improve at Barca, he’s very quick, he’ll start play well, he’s a great dribbler, can run for days.
Weaknesses: Not quite at Barca level yet, he was shown to not cope well with fast players when facing Dembele at the Camp Nou, a below-average defender, and he isn’t proven.
Jim’s Thoughts: This is the mystery option. He’s the most expensive option, and I’m not sure on him. I do like this option more than Alonso though.
Final Scout Grade: B-
Angelino
Age: 25
Club: RB Leipzig
Fee: Loan
Strengths: A great dribbler, above average in pace, an offensive threat as well as a defensive one, the only one here who has an actual shot at replacing Jordi Alba, and will last the whole 90 minutes. He’s also a good defender.
Weaknesses: He won’t get you any goals, he isn’t versatile having only ever played as a LB and LM, and he’s prone to losing his temper every so often.
Jim’s Thoughts: This is my first choice option, 100%. With a potential acquisition of Jose Gaya on a free next summer, we have options for who we want to be our left back going into 2022-23. This also provides a good rotation of left-backs going into the new year, with a rotation of Angelino and Jordi Alba doing even more to our unpredictability and range of XIs.
Final Scout Grade: A
Those are all the realistic options for FC Barcelona at left-back next season. A short post, but one that I thought was necessary. We’ll see what the next month has to bring. I’m Jim James, Until Next Time!