This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
The new 2019/20 La Liga season has brought many changes to Barcelona as some new faces were introduced to the squad. As a result, some first-teamers lost their spot and among them, in some instances at least, was Sergio Busquets.
On the chalkboard
Last season, Busquets was among the players with the most games played at Barcelona with a total of 54. The Octopus of Badia was an integral part of the team throughout the campaign and rarely lost his spot. But if the start of the new 2019/20 La Liga season is any indication, the 31-year-old midfielder might also become one of the victims of a team reshuffle.
So far, in the three games Barcelona played, Busquets was on the pitch for 164 minutes, sitting out the curtain-raiser completely and was subbed off in the clash against Real Betis later on in the game.
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This might be a really abrupt change and despite Frenkie de Jong having the predispositions to be Barcelona’s anchor in absence of Busquets, it doesn’t feel right to discard the Spaniard just yet.
Midfield general
Seeing how Sergi Roberto has been moved to midfield this summer and with the arrival of De Jong, it seemed reasonable for the old guard to take a backseat and let the younger crop of players take over. But Barcelona struggled immensely in two out of their three games played and as a result, they lost one and drew the other.
Saying they missed Busquets’ presence in that defeat would not really be such a stretch. In fact, in 2018/19, Barcelona won 70% of all of their games in which Busquets was present. On the flip side, they only won 54% of the ones in which he was absent. And in the two games he played in this season, he already tallied 1.5 key passes per game and offered 89.5% passing accuracy.
But he offers so much more than just control. His 3.5 tackles per game this season would put many defenders to shame and not to mention that he also tallied one assist in the process too. Granted, Barcelona did draw the game against Osasuna with him in the starting lineup but he made his presence well known with 94 touches, third-highest in the team, three tackles and one interception.
All of that suggests that the 31-year-old veteran is still heavily involved in all the proceedings within the squad and Valverde should leave him in the starting lineup and use his skills while he still can.
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