Man City are the only side named in a ‘five-way’ transfer battle for a Barcelona gem, but Liverpool should certainly be involved as FSG look to rebuild.
As things stand, the greatest winners from the financial mess at Barcelona might just be Aston Villa. For all the transfer ‘bargains’ that presented themselves as the Catalans sought to balance the books, the nascent Philippe Coutinho loan switch is the only one that could really be called an unmitigated success so far.
However, that owes much to the fact that Camp Nou departures have still largely been limited to fringe players (a certain Lionel Messi aside). With a young first-team regular now potentially available, Liverpool must join Man City in expressing an interest.
Barcelona clearly do not want to lose Nico González. He was part of a wave of summer 2021 renewals for the ‘untouchables’: those players considered cornerstones of the next generation. The new contract came with a £419m release clause. However, Marca now claims that the ‘ongoing financial issues’ mean the Spaniard’s future is ‘not completely secure’.
González has shot to prominence this season, playing in 20 out of a possible 23 La Liga games for Barcelona. His emergence has not been particularly fruitful on paper, returning two goals and an assist, but his output is not what has reportedly turned the head of Man City. Nor is it why Liverpool would be sensible to enter the transfer race.
The 20-year-old has a curious skillset. He seems to have stumped FBRef, which simultaneously lists Bernardo Silva, Franck Kessié and Jude Bellingham among his top 10 most statistically similar players in Europe’s top leagues. This sums up his dual function as a progressor and a defender.
On the one hand, González is among the top five per cent of midfielders in Europe for progressive carries per 90, and the top seven per cent for pass completion rate. Equally, while his returns have not been glittering for Barcelona, his expected assists per 90 are in the 87th percentile, with his expected goals in the 85th percentile.
On the other hand, he ranks in the 76th percentile for pressures, and the 64th percentile for tackles. The vast majority of those tackles have occurred in the defensive and middle thirds of the pitch. He has turned out as a defensive midfielder for Barcelona on five occasions this season.
Clearly, no side is going to trigger the bumper release clause inserted by Barcelona, but Man City are said to be one of five interested parties. Whether Liverpool are also chasing a transfer remains to be seen, but it would make a lot of sense on paper. In one fell swoop, González could fix two of the remaining issues in the squad.
Firstly, in his primary number eight role, he would play a key part of the FSG rebuilding process. James Milner, 36, is likely to move on at the end of the season. Thiago still hopefully has plenty of years at the top, but he is on the wrong side of 30 too, as is Jordan Henderson. The futures of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keïta are uncertain. There is a partial in-house solution in the shape of Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones, but Liverpool will undoubtedly be looking to inject further youth.
Then there is the issue of Fabinho cover. Anfield is a tough sell for any dedicated holding midfielder, purely because the Brazilian is so immovable as a cornerstone of the Liverpool team. A versatile midfielder capable of sitting deep when necessary is therefore the ideal solution. Klopp did have that in Henderson, but this solution looks less and less convincing as the months go by and that slight yard of pace seems to ebb away. González could be the heir to that role.
The price would have to be right, and Barcelona would need to be countenancing offers in the region of 10 times lower than the release clause before Liverpool really entered the transfer race, but anything is possible at the Camp Nou these days. Xavi will want to continue building a team in his image, and departures will be necessary to fund that: if González is considered expendable, it might be time for Julian Ward to test himself against the might of Man City.
