Los Blaugranas established the signing of a left-back as one of their priorities ahead of the 2019-20 season. Even though they first acquired Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong, they never forget about strengthening the left side of their defence. And now they have completed a move for their desired transfer target at the position.
This Sunday, FC Barcelona the signing of Junior Firpo. The soon-to-be 23-year-old defender was announced as Barcelona’s new player after signing a five-year deal at the club. This means he will be part of the squad until the end of the 2023-24 season. Barcelona signed Firpo for a €18 million transfer, but they could end up paying up to €30m considering there are €12m more in several add-ons. Plus, the Spain U21 international will have a €200 million release clause.
Firpo is coming off a stellar year at Los Verdiblancos. He finished the 2018-19 season with three goals and four assists in 24 LaLiga appearances. But is he good enough to be the team’s left-back of the future? Because we can’t lose that from the perspective of this signing. Barcelona’s signing of Firpo is a move that should paid more dividends in a few more years, not right now.
Jordi Alba won’t lose the starting left-back job to Firpo, that’s clear. At least, not this season. But the arrival of the former Betis player has a clear reason. Several Barca directors believed Alba did not play at his best last season since there was no player capable to replace him. But the Dominican’s arrival should change that. Firpo already proved last season he is good enough to play at the highest level and, at the moment Alba does not play at his best, Firpo will be more than ready to replace him.
Looking towards the future, however, Barcelona shouldn t worry. Their left side of the defence will be more than covered. Considering Alba is 30 but still has a few years left at the top level and Firpo is only 22, Barcelona should have a top-quality starting left back for the next 10 years at the earliest. And in a position where there aren’t many high-quality players, that should be a huge plus.
