Analysis: Two Barcelona forwards primed to leave as a result of missed opportunities

Barcelona are facing a few choices this summer that they would probably rather not make. As they look to slash their wage bill this summer, the Blaugrana will likely have to make sacrifices in the market, and already there is plenty of talk about who might depart.

Already veterans Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets have decided to exit, which will mark not only the end of an era but a start towards reducing their wage bill.

However there is an acknowledgement that at least one or two major sales will need to be made in order to even out the finances this summer, especially if the Blaugrana want to strengthen in the market. Of course the hardest part may well be persuading those players to leave. As was seen last summer, Frenkie de Jong dug his heels in and ended up winning La Liga as a result.

One player who it seems Barcelona are set on selling is Ansu Fati though. The player who inherited Lionel Messi’s number 10 is now likely to be sacrificed in order to try and bring him back again. As an academy player, he has no costs to be ammortised and thus any sale would be pure profit, meaning Barcelona’s accountants mark him out as a prime candidate to leave. Sport say the decision is ‘irreversible’ in his case.

They claim the same for Ferran Torres, who arrived from Manchester City 18 months ago for a €55m fee. That means his sale would be less beneficial for the club and Jijantes FC claim that Torres will stay, unless Vitor Roque arrives from Brazil, who Barcelona are pursuing as an alternative to Robert Lewandowski.

The reality is that neither player can have too many complaints. Both arguably have gotten more opportunities in a weaker Barcelona squad that they might not have had, and have been unable to take them thus far.

Ansu can claim to have been unfairly used, having rushed back from injury on occasion, only to suffer relapses, but he also rejected their recommended surgery last summer. Fati has not been able to win starts this season, and can protest that without minutes, he has been unable to regain match fitness.

Equally Ferran Torres can dispute that he has been given sufficient game time to make an impact this season. Yet both have had opportunities and have rarely made an impact. At such a large side, they are unlikely to be given a more consistent run of games without performing than they have been this season. With the Blaugrana looking to strengthen this summer, those opportunities are unlikely to increase.

While in another situation, Barcelona may have chosen to wait and see how both develop, such is the financial pressure and the need to win, that the club are forced to look at sales for most of their players, even those with large potential. This season both have arguably been amongst Barcelona’s most disappointing performers, and thus it is no surprise that Joan Laporta is contemplating sales for them.