The transfer market smiles on Barcelona

Happiness is the overriding emotion at the Camp Nou at the moment as Barcelona sit top of LaLiga Santander, they have qualified from their Champions League group, and they have the Supercopa de Espana in their pocket already.

Add to that a team who have taken a step forward without Lionel Messi and you have a Barcelona team where everything is working out better than they could have hoped, even with the summer signings.

After a hesitant start, Malcom became the last to finally have some optimism surround him and now all of their recent arrivals give reason for hope.

Arthur leads the way and the Brazilian is already a key player for Ernesto Valverde's side, as he is a piece that they have been missing and is a belated replacement for Xavi.

Along with him, Clement Lenglet has earned his place in the XI after Samuel Umtiti's injury left the door open for him to enter and the Frenchman has stepped up with some excellent performances.

To a lesser extent, but also with appropriate progression, there is Arturo Vidal, who overcame his critics and doubters to score in the Clasico and with each appearance he seems more comfortable in Barcelona's system.

The only worry had been with Malcom and a combination of physical problems and a lack of trust from Valverde meant he barely played until scoring in Milan on Tuesday.

Gone are the days of doubtful and disappointing signings such as Andre Gomes and Paco Alcacer (2016/17), Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal (2015/16) or Jeremy Mathieu and Thomas Vermaelen (2014/15).

Barcelona have moved well in recent windows and Valverde has reason to believe in his resources.

Finally, there is life beyond Messi.