Alen Halilovic, ter Stegen, Ivan Rakitic, Claudio Bravo, Luis Suarez? Juan Cuadrado?

It's turning into quite a summer for Barcelona fans, with the club making some big calls regarding player signings and sales. We've already seen Cesc Fabregas leave the Spanish giants, but reports are suggesting Alexis Sanchez will be the next one to go.

With Luis Suarez's arrival said to be imminent, Barça could have another signing on the way straight after it. It's been widely reported that Cuadrado's agent is in Barcelona today, putting the final touches on a deal to take the Colombian to the Camp Nou.

Cuadrado was outstanding in Brazil this summer, setting a number of clubs on red alert in the race for his signature. He's been linked with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Man Utd throughout the summer and it's no wonder as to why, he's quick, skilful, good with the ball, and his end product is always impressive too. He's got all the attributes to become a truly great player, and it's expected that Fiorentina won't be able to keep hold of their man, despite the club purchasing full ownership of the player during the World Cup, from Udinese.

It is rumoured that it'll take an offer of around £20-25m for Fiorentina to part with their star attacker. And if reports in Spain are to be believed, Barça have already offered this amount. It was just a matter of where the player wanted to go. That's also been answered by the Spanish press, who have reported that it's Cuadrado's desire to join Barcelona, over any other club.

If Cuadrado moves to Barcelona, there will be a large debate of where he will fit in and also the position he will play. At the beginning of the summer, it was expected that Barça would attempt to sign Cuadrado, to replace Dani Alves - who was expected to leave for PSG. However, since then PSG have pulled out of any possible deal, and it appears Alves is staying put. Many fans therefore are now asking, well, where's he going to play? In an attacking role, where we saw him for Colombia. Cuadrado will be signed as an attacking player for sure. Possibly to replace Alexis Sanchez. There's a reason he's being signed though. He's different, he's unique, and he'll give Barça something they don't really have. Cuadrado is lightening quick, he's direct and he plays differently to the way Barça do. You may be thinking, well, why are they signing him then? Different is good. Luis Enrique wants to build a team of different sorts of players. That's why we saw Fabregas depart, and Rakitic joining. Enrique needs to have a number of different players at his disposal, ready for different types of matches. 

For instance, there were a number of ocassions last season where Barcelona simply could not break down their opposition. Teams would come to the Camp Nou, play two banks of four, and just sit tight for the entire match. They were happy for Barça to play slow, possession football in front of them. This is where Cuadrado comes in nicely. You cannot defend against someone with pace, you cannot continue to be compact if a player is consistantly dragging you wide and opening up the pitch. I'm not saying Cuadrado will start every match, but he'll always be there to play a part, to influence a match. Enrique needs these players to help him adopt different sorts of styles, for different sorts of ocassions

However, in the same sense, Iniesta, Busquets, Xavi etc will still be perfect for Barça's style. These players will still play a huge part in Barcelona's matches next season. The fast-flowing counter attacking, quick-passing and aggressive pressing from the Barcelona of old will still be needed and that's why Enrique will keep a number of the "old guard". Everyone will play a part next season and Barça will have the strength in depth to slightly tweek their style of play to open up defences, or to counter attack with pace. You've got to remember, this is a new era.

Change is needed at Barçelona, and that's exactly what you're seeing this summer and exactly what you'll continue to see next season.

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