Ben Hayward, Spanish football correspondent for the London Evening Standard, remains pessimistic about the most-talked-about transfer sagas which involve both Antoine Griezmann and Neymar arriving at the Camp Nou stadium. Tribuna.com explain why he thinks these arrivals might not work properly for the Catalans.
Ernesto Valverde will have to switch the Barcelona formation to the 4-2-3-1 system which would accommodate all four attackers - Neymar, Antoine Griezmann, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi.
Barcelona expected starting XI, as per Ben Hayward:
That's where the problems begin: the alleged new line-up lacks balance and looks too much attack-minded for such a conservative coach as Valverde.
Despite the expected double pivot of Sergio Busquets and Frenkie de Jong in midfield, both wingers - Griezmann and Neymar - would still have to track back which doesn't fit into their profiles.
Meanwhile, Jordi Alba and Nelson Semedo could find themselves limited in their movements up front and more stick to the 'defensive discipline'.
Moreover, Barcelona already suffered from a similar 'abundance' of the attacking players back in 2007 when they added Thierry Henry to the established frontline of Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o.
The so-called Fantastic Four didn't work properly
Eventually, the Catalans finished without any trophies and only Ronaldinho's departure saw them finally scooping the Sextuple two years afterwards, in 2009.
Finally, the arrivals of both Griezmann and Neymar wouldn't solve the problems with the 'defensive structure' and 'midfield control' which resulted in the infamous Anfield demolition in the Champions League.
Do you believe Barcelona are right to sign both Griezmann and Neymar for an alleged combined transfer fee of more than 300 million euros?
