Luis Suarez left Barcelona during the summer transfer window as he sealed his move to La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid for 6 million euros. The 33-year-old was not happy about his abrupt exit from CampNou and broke down during his final press conference as a Barcelona player.
Luis Suarez’s replacement: not found
The board was heavily criticized for letting Suarez leave who has contributed a lot to the club in the past 6 years since his arrival from Liverpool. Club captain Lionel Messi took the prospect to social media as he posted a picture bidding the Uruguayan bye and offering best wishes at his new destination.
Leo also targeted the board for not providing a proper farewell for the veteran striker. Suarez is the third-highest goalscorer for Barca history which makes his empty spot vital. Ronald Koeman also did not want the player to leave in the summer transfer break. Instead, he provoked Suarez to stay and prove his worth. Losing the main striker from the first-team, Koeman targetted Memphis Depay to fill-in the position and launched a generous bid with the funds allocated after the sale of Nelson Semedo to Wolverhampton Wolves.
Depay signing: a stepping stone for Barcelona
Barcelona and Olympique Lyon reached an agreement on the deadline day but failed to complete the transfer with the salary cap objection laid out by La Liga authorities. The Durch gaffer was disappointed with the failure of his transfer strategy and is currently without a first-team quality striker. There remains an unvisited option to play martin Braithwaite to feature regularly but it seems extremely unlikely considering his below-par form and goal scoring average. The former Leganes striker could be useful in some other way like providing some boost in the transfer budget upon his sale in the January transfer window.
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The Blaugrana is desperate to snap up the Netherlands International with his contract running out in the summer of 2021. There are other suitors for Memphis Depay from across Europe with AC Milan being one of them. The Serie A giants have selected him to succeed Zlatan Ibrahimovic at San Siro the following year. Depay has spoken highly of Barca and wishes to join the Catalan outfit, as per Marca. However, the other deal ensures a greater role in the club and more playtime. Barcelona needs to sell Martin Braithwaite in order to sign Depay as a result of a domino effect.
