During Barcelona's recent run of four draws in five games, including three consecutive La Liga stalemates, the midfield's contribution came into question. An injury to Andres Iniesta left them without one of the flag-bearers of their style and the lack of control in the middle of the pitch was obvious.

Luis Enrique's pick to replace his captain was Andre Gomes. The Portuguese midfielder has a range of qualities -- many of which he's not yet exhibited since making a summer switch from Valencia -- but few of them encompass what Iniesta and Xavi did so well for club and country for the best part of a decade.

Replacing Iniesta, and belatedly Xavi, externally in a man-for-man way is a difficult task, though. There are so few players at that level with that particular skill set available. Replacing them internally, then, with the players currently at the club, could be viewed as impossible.

Ivan Rakitic effectively took Xavi's place in the side but as good as he's been, he's helped facilitate the shift in focus from midfield to attack, where Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar have ran riot in recent seasons. The Croatian, like Gomes, has not taken on the torch lit by Xavi and Iniesta and brought to the world's attention in the Pep Guardiola years.

Perhaps Luis Enrique is merely working with the players he has. Why stick to a certain style when it's apparent his squad's strengths lie elsewhere? That's fine, although it seems to be a problem for fans and the local media when results suffer and midfield authority disappears.

With Xavi in Qatar and Iniesta now 32, the concern, in the long-term, is how do Barca maintain possession? Allowing Thiago Alcantara to slip away to Bayern Munich without much of a fight looks increasingly like a blunder, but maybe they could find the answer in Denis Suarez.

Xavi, at least, certainly thinks so. Diario Sport journalist Javier Giraldo reports the two are in frequent contact and that the World Cup winner sees Suarez as his eventual successor. After all, he has already taken on the No. 6 shirt.

Andres Iniesta has endured a stop-start campaign so far. Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images

"Xavi liked that I was able to take on his number," the 22-year-old said of the player he labelled an idol at his June presentation.

He added: "It was Xaxi that said I would return to Barcelona when I left [on loan] for Sevilla. When I [speak with] him he always says he's delighted I'm back, for me it's fantastic that he takes an interest in me."

Until now, Suarez's involvement has been limited. Although maybe that's because Luis Enrique has a plan. To ask for too much, too soon from the young midfielder could backfire. Lauding him, publicly or privately, to be Xavi's heir may weigh heavy on his young shoulders.

Instead he's been used sparingly, given time to acclimatise to life back in Catalonia. His appearance against Borussia Monchengladbach this week was his first in the Champions League and it was also the first time he'd lined up alongside Iniesta. The two had only previously played together for 15 minutes at Celta Vigo, almost helping Barca come back from three goals down.

"Andres and I can play together," Suarez insisted after completing 88 of 101 passes in the Gladbach win -- the Blaugrana made 1,029 passes in total, a Champions League high, completing 930 of them.

As Luis Enrique continues to fight back against critics who say he's ditched the side's style, his response may eventually lie in Suarez. If not his, then the next coach's.

Iniesta's return in the second half against Madrid and from the start against Gladbach has helped cool fears of an immediate cession of possession, but longer term doubts naturally remain.

If Xavi and Iniesta are placing their faith in Suarez, though, Barca fans may be happy to do so as well.