Barça Femení's window: luxury signings, commitment to youth & unresolved issues
A look at how the transfer window, which is still open, has panned out for Barça's women
They say that the easiest thing is not to get to the top, but to stay there. And also that what already works is best left untouched.
But Barcelona would have been wrong if, after winning the Champions League, La Liga and Super Cup, they had left everything the same.
Because to stay at the top it is necessary to be in constant movement and seek to be better year after year. If you don't do that, you fall behind.
The rest of the European teams are investing heavily -- especially the English ones -- and reinforcing themselves well. They have better and better squads.
The Catalan club has worked hard in the offices, signing off a transfer window that is still open with a good mark so far. Two luxury signings have arrived, a commitment to the youth academy and the departure of players who were not part of the club's plans, with one exception.
The sale of Geyse Ferreira was not part of the planning for the season, but the determination of the player's entourage to leave has ended up leaving €300,000 in the cash box. She was counted on but was not indisputable for the coach and could have left for free next summer when he deal expired.
Of the rest, the transfer of Laia Codina to Arsenal (€100,000) and Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic to Atlético, the rescissions of Nuria Rábano (Wolfsburg) and Emma Ramírez (Real Sociedad), as well as the loan of Maria Pérez to Sevilla, to continue gaining experience in the elite, were anticipated.
The exits will continue to be an unresolved issue. The manners with Nuria and Crnogorcevic were not the best, especially with the Swiss, who found out after the World Cup (at the end of August) that they were not counting on her. And she had to rush to look for a team when most of them had full squads.
On the other hand, Ona Batlle returns home from Manchester Unuted as one of the best full-backs in the world and Esmee Brugts, a promising player and one of the great revelations of the World Cup, joins from PSV.
Coach Jonatan Giráldez asked for a smaller squad to give prominence to the younger players, as they have been doing a great job in the youth system for years and the reserve team won the Second Division last year.
It's time for Jana Fernàndez and Bruna Vilamala but also for Vicky López, Giulia Dragoni, Lucía Corrales, Judit Pujols, Martina Fernández, Júlia Bartel, Alba Caño.... They all deserved a chance and their future starts today.
One signing is missing: a goalscoring centre forward, a 'killer' to convert the chances generated, because in Europe we have suffered from a lack of efficiency at key moments, as in the final phase of the last Champions League. But a large part of the budget will be dedicated to the renewal of key players whose contracts expire next June.
Let's see how Alexia Putellas (who could play as a false '9'), Bruna Vilamala or Salma Paralluelo, as well as Oshoala, respond in this role up front. That said, Barça have an incredible squad, with players who are different in all areas, to fight this year for the coveted top four titles.
