Quique Setien, Barcelona. (Photo by Sonia Canada/Getty Images)
Barcelona will have their eyes on the summer transfer window, as they have a big to-do list to tick off…
With all that’s going on in the world right now, the summer transfer window seems like it will never come. However, it will, and Barcelona needs to be prepared for it.
The Camp Nou faithful will have a lot of trust in Quique Setien to come up with the goods, especially since they had a lacklustre January window.
Barcelona sits top of the La Liga table, although if they want to maintain this pedestal come to the end of the season and into the next, they need to be smart with their decision-making.
Setien will undoubtedly use the time between now and the end of the season to analyse where he needs to improve, but there are already a few names being thrown into the spanner.
Here are the three stories which seem the most prominent…
1. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain)
Neymar needs no introduction to the Barcelona supporters. Having spent many seasons flourishing under Luis Enrique during his time as a manager, the Brazilian really made a name for himself on the big stage.
However, he broke the transfer record by joining Paris Saint-Germain with one goal in mind; to win the Champions League. While PSG stands on good feet in the competition after eliminating Borussia Dortmund, they are never the favourites.
Neymar is an immensely talented player and he is arguably the most skilful in the world. In tight situations, he has incredible footwork and the speed to recover. He is also a fine goal-scorer, so he improves virtually any attack.
The latest report from Marca claims that PSG is expecting Neymar to re-join Barcelona in the summer. That said, Neymar seems like a likely signing Quique Setien could make.
Onto the next.
Marca claims that PSG is expecting Neymar to re-join Barcelona in the summer. That said, Neymar seems like a likely signing Quique Setien could make.</p>
<p>Onto the next.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/03/15/barcelona-3-signings-quique-setien-2020/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 2. Lautaro Martinez </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="850" height="560" class="wp-image-479679 size-large" src=https://playingfor90.com/2020/03/15/barcelona-3-signings-quique-setien-2020/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_560,w_850/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2016%2F04%2F1197381951-850x560.jpeg" alt="<a rel="></p>
<h3>2. Lautaro Martinez (Internazionale)</h3>
<p>The next possible transfer that Quique Setien could make this summer is <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/03/15/barcelona-3-signings-quique-setien-2020/"https://fbref.com/en/players/f7036e1c/Lautaro-Martinez">Lautaro Martinez</a>, of Internazionale. The Argentine forward has been getting a lot of attention this season and rightly so.</p>
<p>Martinez is an exceptional dribbler of the ball and, in many ways, he reminds me of <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/03/15/barcelona-3-signings-quique-setien-2020/"https://fbref.com/en/players/d70ce98e/Lionel-Messi?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Lionel Messi</a>. We all know Messi is superior, I shouldn’t need to say that, but their playing styles are remarkably similar which Barcelona fans will like.</p>
<p>Martinez has a low centre of gravity and incredible touch. He remains calm in sticky situations and he likes to get his teammates involved in the action as much as possible. Given his height, you would think he is not the most physical player but he is surprisingly strong in one-on-one situations.</p>
<p>Martinez would likely come in as a long-term replacement for <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/03/15/barcelona-3-signings-quique-setien-2020/"https://fbref.com/en/players/a6154613/Luis-Suarez?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Luis Suarez</a>. Ageing at 22 years old, he is already racking up the appearances in Italy and there is talk that he could become a first-team star in Barcelona as well.</p>
<p>Quique Setien is a big fan of Lautaro Martinez, as am I. That said, I would love to see him don the Blaugrana jersey.</p>
<p>But who could join Martinez and Neymar? Well, there’s only one man…</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/03/15/barcelona-3-signings-quique-setien-2020/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 3. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="850" height="560" class="wp-image-479680 size-large" src=https://playingfor90.com/2020/03/15/barcelona-3-signings-quique-setien-2020/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_560,w_850/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2016%2F04%2F1203954112-850x560.jpeg" alt="<a rel="></p>
<h3>3. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang</h3>
<p>Do not overlook <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/03/15/barcelona-3-signings-quique-setien-2020/"https://fbref.com/en/players/d5dd5f1f/Pierre-Emerick-Aubameyang">Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang</a> simply because he plays for Arsenal. He is one of, if not the best striker in the Premier League and he doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon.</p>
<p>The <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/03/15/barcelona-3-signings-quique-setien-2020/"https://metro.co.uk/2020/03/15/barcelona-cool-interest-arsenal-striker-pierre-emerick-aubameyang-12399838/">Metro is reporting this morning that Barcelona has cooled their interest in Aubameyang. This is understandable since if they signed Lautaro, they wouldn’t need the Gabon international. However, he’s not a bad back-up option to have.</p>
<p>Either way, Aubameyang is an exceptional team player and he always finds a way to get Arsenal out of a rut. That said, he would truly shine at Barcelona.</p>
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<p>Aubameyang has never really been given the chance to play for a superclub, despite showing the ability to consistently throughout his career. He would bag double figures consecutively with both Dortmund and Arsenal, being the figurehead to their seasons.</p>
<p>Aubameyang is the captain of Arsenal and deservedly so. He sets a positive aura in the training ground and leads by examples with his goals on the pitch.</p>
<p>If he were to come in, he would provide heavy competition with Luis Suarez, although they are both 30 and above so if Barca is thinking more long-term, Aubameyang shouldn’t be their first choice.</p>
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<p>Who do you think Barcelona should sign this summer?</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">