Griezmann can be the solution for Barça
Antoine Griezmann is a player full of qualities to play for Barcelona. He's a top player, one of the best in the world. The issue is where to put him. I wonder if he would start as the second striker. He's an elite player: he can play, he can pass and he scores. What will Ernesto Valverde do with him?
The France forward comes to strengthen an idea which the club have tried with Philippe Coutinho, even though the Brazilian has noto adapted to the team and performed as expected. If I had to choose, I would prefer Griezmann as a striker, in the area where he's most lethal.
Something else to analyse is that even though he's elite, how will he adapt to Barça's game. Teams give Barça less space and he's someone who is lethal on the counter. Even with France, he plays with more space than he will get in Blaugrana, but his technical quality is obvious and he's showed he can even play deeper, getting involved in the build up play.
For me, Barça's problem is they have four midfielders who don't score enough. Not Busquets, nor Arthur, Rakitic or Vidal have that quality. And Coutinho has been off and Dembele has had injuries. But if Griezmann joins, Barça will have an excellentn squad. Although since Iniesta left, they've lost that creativity in midfield.
I must confess, I though Arthur could do that, but he's now shown it yet. Without that type of midfielder, the dependence on Messi grows. In this sense, the signing of Griezmann will also help with the creation of chances, with Suarez taking them in the area.
Atletico Madrid lose a huge player. Excluding Messi, Griezmann's the best player in the Spanish league. But I insist: I want to see how he adapts to Barça's game. He was comfortable under Diego Simeone now he will join a side with big name players. He has experience, he's competitive, he's a world champion... Barça will get a player with a lot still to give the game, too.
In a team so dependent on the goals of Messi and Suarez, his presence will bring new life. The secret is that he strikes up an understanding with Messi like Neymar did.
