Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland, the two players who look the most likely to take over the crown which Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi will leave when they eventually hang up their boots. Several clubs have their eyes on both players - Real Madrid and Barcelona among them. But former Barça player Albert Ferrer (who also spent time in the Premier League with Chelsea), has given his musings on whether one or both of the strikers would fit in at Camp Nou.
"I still think Barcelona can challenge for trophies even now but I believe they need a striker that makes the difference. If you look at the big clubs, most of them have a top forward who scores 20 goals every season - and that is something that Barça lack right now. Let's see how it turns out with Memphis Depay but he's not really a No.9. Don't forget, Barça lost Messi and Luis Suárez in two years..." he explained in an interview with The Mirror.
"... that's an average of 50 goals per season. To realistically win things they possibly need a top striker. ", he added. At the moments, the only out-and-out centre-forwards in Koeman's squad are Luuk de Jong and Kun Agüero - the latter who is only just back from injury. The Dutch striker has just one goal under his belt so far, and while Agüero brought an edge to the side in El Clásico, Chapi Ferrer thinks they still need that something extra.
Time to focus on my recovery. I’ll be back stronger! pic.twitter.com/G5Ez5bohTv
Ferrer understands that there are a lot of pros and cons to consider when it comes to signing players and you have to take the team's character and style of play into account, not just how much the player costs. "The way they play is very particular and you have to put that into consideration. They will always have around 70% of possession, and that means the opponents will sit back and not leave any space. I'm not saying that Mbappé or Haaland wouldn't fit in, but they may not play the game they feel comfortable with - running into space against a high defence. They need a striker, but let's pay attention to the kind of striker they need considering the circumstances and philosophy," he ended.
