Barcelona’s transition period has lead to a different transition period

T he Camp Nou side is struggling to live up to expectations, with recent changes to the team not yielding the expected results.

Coutinho and Dembele are now Barcelona’s most important transfer targets

B arcelona has been trying to get back into their usual swing for the last few seasons. Having got their fans used to winning important trophies at a constant pace during the “Xavi-Iniesta-Messi” era, everything off that pace is automatically viewed as a disappointment by fans.

And the start of the season has added insult to injury. Barcelona has lost Neymar, one of their top players to PSG, with no power to stop the dealing from going through. The team’s performances in friendlies were underwhelming. Finally, the Camp Nou side lost both legs of their Spanish Supercup encounter against rivals Real Madrid. Worst of all it never looked like a game they could have won.

Club representatives have tried to provide fans with reassurances. With a good amount of cash to spare after Neymar’s sale, Barca’s officials have promised important deals to fill the gap. The club has officially addressed rumors that they were pursuing Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele for transfers and even went so far as to imply that the deals were imminent. Liverpool and Dortmund, the players’ current clubs, however, made it clear they had no intention to sell.

Now Barcelona’s sporting director Robert Fernandez is ready to accept that things have changed in terms of the club’s status and that a difficult period may lie ahead. Fernandez says that transfers for players of this caliber are becoming more difficult for all clubs throughout the world. “Not just Barca but any team looking for top quality players are getting involved in a very difficult situation in this market. Why? Because the market is where clubs like us want to sign top quality players. There’s no buy-out clauses, so that makes things trickier”.

The representative admits Barcelona needs the two players so as to improve for the upcoming season and he is urging the clubs currently employing them to play ball with Barca and allow the players to leave. “Dembele and Coutinho are two important players that we like a lot and have done for a long time. They have the conditions, the right age and could adapt to our football. They would be good to have here. That’s the reality. With respect to Liverpool and Dortmund, when there are negotiations you need time, you need to work things into a favorable situation for players and ourselves.”

What is certain is that Barcelona has not been able to overcome the period of uncertainty of last season. Some changes have been put in place, but the foundation of these are built on ground that is as shaky as it was before. The club seems to be at its best in periods of stability and certainty. It remains to be seen if the club manages to get the players they need, if they manage to get them in due time and if they manage to come up with the strength to defeat their rivals and once again challenge for Europe’s most important trophies. For the time being it looks like an uphill battle for Messi and the rest of the team.