Alex Telles on the list of reinforcements from Barcelona
With the break in competition, several clubs have been reflecting on their priorities for the coming season and it seems that the county club is considering hiring a left back to compete with Jordi Alba. Quique Setien will have signaled Porto defender Alex Telles as his target …
Barcelona seeks to enrich options on the left side
Jordi Alba has been the owner and lord on the left side of the defensive Blaugrana for the past eight seasons and remains a guarantee of offensive quality and a lot of fighting spirit in each match, however, at the age of 31 the Spanish player starts to show greater difficulties to keep in high rotation during a complete season.
In this sense, and given the lack of alternatives for that area of the field, Quique Setien and the technical direction of Barcelona are considering hiring a good left back for next season that, not only offers a good alternative to the Spanish, but that it also warns that it will try to remain at the highest competitive level, otherwise it will lose its title.
Alba has been an example of football strength for almost a decade with the Barcelona shirt, but I also believe it can be beneficial for the club to find a real alternative that allows for better physical management of a player who has been in great demand.
Can Alex Telles fit the Setien model?
The left defender of FC Porto has been a prominent figure in the Liga NOS and is today one of the most valuable and coveted players in Portugal. At the age of 27, Telles is now a mature full-back and in the fullness of his faculties, so he would arrive in Barcelona at the ideal time to expose all his football on one of the biggest stages in the world – the Camp Nou.
But does the Brazilian player have a profile suitable for Quique Setien’s new game model? I think that can be a little doubtful considering that Telles is worth a lot for his ability to pass and cross, something that I would not do very regularly with the Blaugrana jersey.
Barcelona has a game system much more focused on short passes and progression on the ground with the ball, so perhaps some of the player’s greatest virtues would be somewhat opaque in that system. Anyway, Alex Telles is also capable of good forays into the left flank in the style of Jordi Alba, and then has a much better shot ability than the Spaniard so it could be another important offensive asset for the Catalan team.
Impressive statistical data
Since joining FC Porto from the Turks of Galatasaray, Alex Telles has quickly become a reference player for the Porto club and also for national football. With about 180 official matches played in blue and white, Telles has more than 50 assists and more than 20 goals in really stratospheric numbers for a left defender.
For comparison, another of the good left backs of our football Aléx Grimaldo has only 11 goals and 30 assists after practically 160 matches with the Benfica shirt, that is, even though he is a high quality football player national level, it remains some levels below Alex Telles in terms of offensive productivity.
In a way, Barcelona will have identified the player for all that he can do in attacking terms, and there are currently few left-backs capable of replicating those numbers. On the other hand, the Brazilian full-back is equally competent in defensive terms, showing a very interesting physical availability that can be an advantage in comparison with Jordi Alba.
40 Million clause will not be an impediment
The FC Porto player is protected by a € 40 million clause that Barcelona should not have too many problems paying, however, the Portuguese team knows that Alex Telles ends his contract in June 2021, so he needs to negotiate the player this summer under penalty of letting him escape at zero cost in January 2021.
With that in mind, Barcelona may consider a proposal that is inferior to the clause that Porto cannot refuse due to the limitations already mentioned. In a way, I believe that the deal can be made between 30 and 35 million euros.
To reinforce the idea that it should not be too difficult to reach an agreement between the three parties, we have two more explanations: first, Porto is experiencing an unhealthy financial situation and there are those who question its compliance with the financial fair play of UEFA, so the whole fit will be important. And second, because obviously Alex Telles would love to join a club the size of Barcelona, regardless of the affection you may have for the Porto team. In short, there is the possibility that the sides of Barcelona next season will be formed by players from the Portuguese League, as Nélson Semedo is today the owner of the right side of the Blaugrana defense.
