Recent reports have revealed that Tata Martino is eyeing up a summer move for Arturo Vidal. He is looking to bring the Chilean international to Barcelona in the hope of adding a new dimension of play to the current system, but would it work? Well there are many factors you need to take into account when looking at this, who would he replace, can he adjust to the style and would he himself even join Barcelona? With all the hype around the player and reported interest from rivals Real Madrid and Manchester United, Barcelona may just have the edge in the form of Alexis Sanchez to capture their man. There have been many cases in world football where a fellow countryman has persuaded a player to join their club and with the World Cup this summer, could Alexis work his magic? 

With Alex Song looking set to move out in the summer this opens up a space in the midfield of Barcelona. However Vidal wouldn't join if he was going to be on the bench therefore Tata would have to sacrifice one of the current starting XI. No mean feat when you look at their current crop of Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets. The obvious choice too many would be Busquets, but he is the unsung hero of Barcelona and a main cog in their team, he does the work that goes unnoticed and unpraised yet you still see him in the starting XI every week and for good reason. Del Bosque the manager of Spain puts it best by saying that 'If you look the game, you don’t see Busquets but if you look Busquets, you see the whole game'. Iniesta is a completely different player to Vidal and so is safe from the axe, Xavi however would be the most likely. The Catalan legend is 34 now and Barcelona need to be looking for a replacement. Tata has benched him a few times this season already and so he could become a rotation player next season rather the integral part we are used to seeing him be. For many the opinion is that Vidal would thrive in this role, using his power to make forward runs and yet still track back and make tackles; he is also renowned for his work rate and stamina, which would go a long way to help stop Barcelona’s biggest problem of being counter attacked.

With so many men forward a lot of the time Barça are caught out on the break and they usually only have Pique, Busquets and Mascherano as cover but with the addition of Vidal he would help out in these times where they are susceptible. Another big problem for Barcelona is their height and vulnerability from set pieces, Vidal would also strengthen this area up, he has won 32 aerial duels this season more than any other Barcelona midfielder and is a known presence in the game. Revered as one of the hardest tacklers in the world Arturo would also help to inject physicality back in to Barça, this was a big problem for them last year especially in the games against Bayern Munich, where they were easily over powered and out muscled. Vidal has won 84 tackles this season with Barça’s next highest Busquets managing just 45. That is quite an incredible statistic, if they are lacking in this area now, with the arrival of the Turin warrior they certainly won’t be. However saying that, Vidal has committed a staggering 53 fouls this season as opposed to Xavi who has committed just 2, with Barcelona's weakness being in set pieces could this be an area of his game he needs to adapt to suit Barcelona’s style?

The Chilean has also registered a pass completion rate of 84% so far this season which is by no means a low number for any other team but when you look at Barcelona whose whole style is based around the possession of the ball this is a poor figure. Xavi and Busquets are sitting on 93% this season and Iniesta is on 91% so again this is something Vidal will have to improve on if he is going to stand any chance of knocking one of the current midfielders off their perch. A figure that might surprise many though would be the chances created statistic with Arturo topping the standings by some way with 43 whilst Iniesta, the next highest is on 32, this may go some way to explaining his pass completion rate as to create a chance you usually have to play a more risky pass. 

Defensively as briefly mentioned earlier, Vidal is a real juggernaut, winning 84 tackles and 32 aerial duels but to couple this he has made 35 interceptions and 16 clearances. Therefore with him and Busquets providing defensive cover it will allow Iniesta to concentrate more on attacking which is where he is truly dangerous. So not only would the arrival of Vidal benefit the team as a whole it would help individual players improve their game too. For all of the talk of Vidal being a defensive powerhouse let’s not forget he has scored 11 goals this season which is seven more than the current midfield trio combined. His goal scoring ability may too take some of the burden off Messi as he is the first person the finger is pointed at when Barcelona lack goals. To summarise Arturo is a player who is of all round brilliance, I for one would love to see Vidal at Barcelona I think he would add a real presence to the side and would help to stop many of their problems at the minute. If Barcelona can also add a centre back in the summer I can see them getting right back to where they belong, as the best team in the world.