Five players FC Barcelona should look to sell in the summer

The Spanish giants must look to offload several players in hopes of changing their fortunes. 

FC Barcelona are undergoing a phase where there needs to be a change in the culture and approach at the club. With several long-time servants reaching the latter stages of their career, the Blaugrana need to make several changes to the squad and sell some of the under-performing players.

Recent history in terms of recruitment has not been up to the mark, with careless spending and incompetence in selling. Case in point, Luis Suarez, who was allowed to join rivals Atletico Madrid. 

With a squad revamp in the offing and the need to stay ahead of their rivals, FC Barcelona should look to sell the following five players in the summer:

5. Samuel Umtiti

Samuel Umtiti has been very unlucky with injuries since his move to the La Liga giants back in 2016. Since then, the center-back has only made 129 appearances in five years, which is a very low number for a defender who has won the 2018 FIFA World Cup and must be a regular starter.

Ronald Koeman’s ideal center-back partnership of Clement Lenglet and Gerard Pique does not give Umtiti enough opportunities and his slow decline can be observed as a result. It would be best for both parties to part ways.

4. Ousmane Dembele

Ousmane Dembele is another figure who has had a terrible time with injuries. The club paid €135m for the winger back in 2017, hoping that he would fill in the shoes of Neymar. However, the expectations turned into despair with the player spending more and more time on the sidelines.

The Frenchman has only featured in 107 games, with 27 goals and 20 assists to speak of. That is a very underwhelming output from a player who has world-class potential. While the 23-year-old has been in good health of late, FCB should cash in on the player and cut their losses.

3. Martin Braithwaite

When Martin Braithwaite was announced as a FC Barcelona player, it raised a lot of eyebrows. Prior to joining the four-time Champions League winners, the forward played for Middlesbrough and CD Leganes. 

With all due respect to those teams and the player himself, the move did not make any sense for fans who expect only the best players in the world to don the jersey. Since making the move, the Danish international has merely scored seven goals in 34 games. Barcelona must offload the striker and find a replacement that can fill the gap left by the departure of Luis Suarez. 

2. Sergio Busquets

Sergio Busquets has had an exceptional career at FC Barcelona. The defensive midfielder has been central to their success in the last decade, playing exceptionally alongside the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and more. Unfortunately, age is not on his side.

The Spaniard has clearly lost pace and the ability to dominate midfield, like he used to a few years ago. Barca must offload their long-time servant and instill fresh energy in the middle of the park. They need a player who can emulate the role of a pivot to allow players like Frenkie de Jong and the likes to perform their creative duties with ease.

1. Antoine Griezmann

Antoine Griezmann has been a very expensive mistake. His signing epitomizes everything wrong with the recent way of doing business at the club. The club splashed out a whopping €120m to secure his services, but have not seen the kind of output from him that would justify the price tag.

Keeping the ongoing season in mind, Griezmann has merely scored 12 goals in 38 games, which is below-par considering his standards. The Frenchman still seems like an odd piece in Barcelona’s style of play and hasn’t been able to play as a wide forward or a target man. His market value has reduced to €60.00m and the club must relax their wage bill by cashing in on him.

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