A domestic double somehow feels like a letdown to this squad, although it shouldn't. Other than a dip in form following the South America WCQ wherein they lost their UCL tie with Atleti, this team was as good as last year's treble winning squad. Suarez won the Pichichi, Neymar had an incredible first half of the season when Messi was out injured, and Messi put in another ho hum 41 goals across all competitions (Suarez had 62!).
As we swing into the summer tournaments and transfer window, there's some smoke that big mainstays Mascherano and Dani Alves are getting real heat from Juve. Juve has apparently approached Masche about playing DMF, which he loves. Considering that Barca have Bartra, Mathieu, and Vermaelen at CB, this is a real possibility. Two seasons ago, I would've been the first one to tell you that Alves was on the downside of his career. However, last year he outplayed Alba and staved off a challenge from Vidal. While Sergi Roberto showed he belongs, Alves still started in 43 matches across all competitions. I have to think he has one more season at FCB before leaving. I've also read some that Turan may be shipped out after an underwhelming second half of the season (he was unable to play in the first half due to FCB's transfer ban). If this is to bring in Paul Pogba, I can't complain, but otherwise, I think this would be shortsighted. The list of players who recently "struggled" in their first season at FCB includes Thierry Henry, Zlatan, and Neymar. This is a hard squad to integrate into and I think it would be a mistake to sell low on Turan.
On the flip side, the big target this year will be Pogba. It seems unlikely based on finances, but Pogba loves Barca and the feeling is mutual. If Barca decides to sell off some assets, they should be able to balance the acquisition cost or at least mitigate it. Hatim Ben Arfa will also be pursued by every major club and Barca is no different. He will come substantially cheaper than Pogba, but is a substantially lesser player IMHO.
There are other questions of the squad - how to resolve the keeper situation, an increased role for Sergi, etc., but those are minor IMHO compared to those others above.
As we swing into the summer tournaments and transfer window, there's some smoke that big mainstays Mascherano and Dani Alves are getting real heat from Juve. Juve has apparently approached Masche about playing DMF, which he loves. Considering that Barca have Bartra, Mathieu, and Vermaelen at CB, this is a real possibility. Two seasons ago, I would've been the first one to tell you that Alves was on the downside of his career. However, last year he outplayed Alba and staved off a challenge from Vidal. While Sergi Roberto showed he belongs, Alves still started in 43 matches across all competitions. I have to think he has one more season at FCB before leaving. I've also read some that Turan may be shipped out after an underwhelming second half of the season (he was unable to play in the first half due to FCB's transfer ban). If this is to bring in Paul Pogba, I can't complain, but otherwise, I think this would be shortsighted. The list of players who recently "struggled" in their first season at FCB includes Thierry Henry, Zlatan, and Neymar. This is a hard squad to integrate into and I think it would be a mistake to sell low on Turan.
On the flip side, the big target this year will be Pogba. It seems unlikely based on finances, but Pogba loves Barca and the feeling is mutual. If Barca decides to sell off some assets, they should be able to balance the acquisition cost or at least mitigate it. Hatim Ben Arfa will also be pursued by every major club and Barca is no different. He will come substantially cheaper than Pogba, but is a substantially lesser player IMHO.
There are other questions of the squad - how to resolve the keeper situation, an increased role for Sergi, etc., but those are minor IMHO compared to those others above.
