Three Players That Can Replace Pedro At Barca
The advent of Luis Saurez to Barcelona in the penultimate season saw Luiz Enrique moved Lionel Messi to right flank and the aforementioned players’ partnership with Neymar Junior formed what has been termed the best triumvirate in the history of football.
Their prowess ( Messi, Neymar and Suarez) in front of goal and understanding on the pitch forced the diminutive but silky Pedro Rodriguez to play most of the matches from the bench. He was left with no choice than to make the switch to the Champions of England, Chelsea.
Even though Pedro played second fiddle football to Messi and Neymar for the most part of the immediate past season, his important to the squad cannot be over-emphasized as his departure is now tantamount to a void in the team. Pedro who has now joined Chelsea will be greatly missed by Barca.
However, Barcelona have successfully landed Turkish winger Ardan Turan and Aleix Vidal but they are ineligible to play until January because of the transfer ban handed to Bareclona – The transfer Ban meant they players signed on cannot be registered until January.
Notwithstanding, we take a swipe at a replacement from within for the Canary Island departed man, Pedro was such a hardworking substitute for Messi, Saurez or Neymar. He scored the crucial winning goal that earned the Catalan club their UEFA Super cup in a thrilling encounter.
Rafinha Alcantra
A proud product of the La Mesia academy like his older brother of the Bundesliga Champions, Thiago Alcantra, Rafinha is expected to break into the biggest scene of football.
When Pedro was obviously on the verge of departing the Camp Nou, Rafinha was played in the match against Athletic Bilbao ahead of Pedro on the left wing. However, Rafinha prefers playing from the middle of the pack, where he will have the burden of creativity. He has been described as a player with great vision.
He found it difficult to impose himself on game but with regular playing time, he will be more fruitful and would have adjusted to playing from the flanks.
Sandro Ramirez
The Spanish youngster has featured scantily for Barcelona but is impact player. Known for his pace and trickery, Ramirez can play on any of the front three positions, making him more versatile than Pedro.
The down side of his game is his inconsistency which might cost him his place to Munir or Rafinha. At the senior level, he has scored 4 goals in 17 games for Barcelona.
Munir El Haddadi
Munir was drafted into the senior team of Barcelona upon the appointment of Luis Enrique. Munir had stellar performances to reward the faith invested in him by the manager. He was subsequently nominated as the Best Young Player in Europe.
He’s known for his tons of pace and sharp dribbling skills but he was returned to the Barcelona B side when Saurez returned from suspension. Meanwhile, the exit of Pedro might be the reason to draft him back into the team.
The aforementioned trio appears to be the only realistic prospect to take the place of Pedro in the interim.