Earlier this season, Barcelona’s sporting director Mateu Alemany made it clear that the club would thoroughly search for low-cost options in the summer transfer market. One such market could be Canadian footballers.
Back in 2018, Bayern Munich snapped Alphonso Davies up from Vancouver Whitecaps, paying €14m for someone who's now worth 5x that price. Think about it.
For all the hype around Canada ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, their stars are still relatively unknown with a few rare exceptions. This means they can be real bargains at the time when La Liga president Javier Tebas is having a campaign against Barca, counting every penny we spend.
Football in Canada is fast developing while their talented footballers play in both MLS and Europe’s top-5 leagues. A big thank you to our friends at FBET.com for inspiring us to dig deeper into the world of Canadian players whose profiles Barca should study ahead of a busy transfer campaign.
Although Barca’s midfield seems well-packed, the club still thinks of adding one or two players of this position to their roster.
20-year-old Ismael Kone is one to keep an eye on: young, versatile, skillful.
In just 10 months, Kone made his professional debut, lit MLS up with CF Montreal, played for Canada at the World Cup and got sold for a club record £8.8m to Watford FC.
Kone shares the most similarities with Franck Kessie — and not just because both were born in Cote d’Ivoire. Ismael is also a box-to-box midfielder but he rather tends to move the ball upfield with his dribbling after winning it back for his team.
At Montreal, Kone scored four and assisted five from 32 appearances in the central midfield. He’s yet to add numbers to his game in England but don’t be surprised to see him break through soon enough in a ‘destroy-and-progress’ kind of role.
We’re sure some of you remember Paulinho – the Brazilian midfielder Barcelona streets will never forget for his attitude, commitment and a keen eye for goal. Now imagine Paulinho with a much lower asking price than €40m – this is who Jonathan Osorio can be for Barca.
The 30-year-old chipped in 9 goals and 4 assists in 23 MLS appearances for Toronto FC last season — all while playing in central midfield. He loves a long-range strike and is one of the league’s leaders in non-penalty expected goals.
But what makes him Barca material is his passing which is a joy to watch. With an average accuracy rate of 89.9 per cent, the Canadian was among the league’s best passers last season while maintaining his goalscoring levels on top. His long-distance passing is particularly impressive – you’d feel you’re seeing prime Sergio Busquets while watching some of Osorio’s highlights.
Osorio might be what Barca are missing in games against well-disciplined defensive teams. His passing and dribbling are capable of winning games while he can also act as an extra forward when needed.
One of the most consistent goalscorers in Ligue 1 over the past years is a big Barca fan. Here is Jonathan David, increasing his goal tally with each new season with Lille. The two-footed Canadian has scored 19 league goals so far this season (21 in all competitions) and tops the rankings alongside Kylian Mbappe.
David could be Lewandowski’s ideal back-up and apprentice. He could also be the perfect replacement for Ansu Fati – and a much more prolific one.
According to some reports, David’s price tag will drop below €50m this summer as his current deal with Lille expires in 2 years. If Fati leaves, this is the money Barca could generate from the sale and reinforce the position straight away.
The 23-year-old Canadian seems to perfectly suit Barca’s needs — that’s why we have profiled him in a separate article.
It is not necessary to splash €50m to land a quality forward though.
27-year-old Cyle Larin is firing in La Liga for Valladolid, scoring 5 goals in his first 8 games following a January transfer. His conversion rate is particularly impressive — every fourth strike he takes ends up as a goal. Prior to that, he found the net 39 times in 109 appearances for Besiktas.
Larin also delivers for Canada. With 25 goals in 57 caps, he is the country’s top scorer, although Jonathan David is close with 22 goals as it stands.
Among Larin’s strengths is his aerial ability — he has scored 25 headers in his professional career. In this sense may be a new Luuk de Jong for Barca.
Valladolid have an obligatory option to buy the striker out at the end of the season should certain performance metrics be met. If not, Barca could pick up a quality impact sub in a few months.
You may watch all of these players in action down below:
While Barca is expected to take a look at those Canadian players, we would suggest that you already join FBET.com to get up to 300 CAD (!) as a new customer in sports betting.
