Barcelona director Deco planning to build ‘fluid’ attacking line following PSG’s blueprint – report | OneFootball

Barcelona had an important task this summer transfer window, which was to replace the outgoing Robert Lewandowski.

The Polish striker left upon the expiry of his contract and moved to MLS to play for Chicago Fire, leaving Barça without a natural number nine.

Lewandowski is a conventional striker profile, but the replacements Blaugrana lined up all seemed to be completely different from the Pole.

Deco had a clear tactical vision

The Catalan club’s dream has been Julian Alvarez, but even their alternatives, Joao Pedro and Eli Junior Kroupi, belong to a particular brand of strikers.

All three players are not profiles one would associate with a conventional number nine. Instead, they are versatile, can play in multiple positions and offer more than just goals.

Deco has a plan. (Photo by Friedemann Vogel/Getty Images)

Now, according to Cadena SER (h/t Carpetas FCB), this was Deco’s tactical plan. The sporting department want Barça to move to a more ‘fluid’ front-three system.

The Catalans’ sporting director wants to build an interchangeable frontline similar to the one Luis Enrique has developed at Paris Saint-Germain.

A key part of that plan involves new signings Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi, both of whom are considered capable of playing through the middle as well as in their natural wide roles.

The idea would allow Barcelona to maintain unpredictability in the final third, with constant movement between the front three making it more difficult for opposing defences to track runners.

PSG have shown that it can work

Luis Enrique’s PSG have often operated without a conventional striker, instead using mobile forwards who interchange positions throughout matches.

This has resulted in them lifting two back-to-back Champions League titles, with Ousmane Dembele the player who has often played through the middle.

Taking a page out of Lucho’s book. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Barcelona see a similar model as a realistic option should their pursuit of Julian Alvarez ultimately prove unsuccessful.

Rather than forcing a signing, the club are prepared to maximise the versatility already available within Flick’s squad.

The system would work even with Alvarez

Even if Barça manage to sign Alvarez from Atletico Madrid, the interchanging system would work perfectly with him in it.

The Argentine has played everywhere across the front line under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and would be more than happy to interchange with Raphinha and Lamine through the course of a game.

Having already recruited Gordon and Adeyemi, the Blaugrana also possess two forwards capable of filling the central role when required, giving Flick greater flexibility.

Whether Barça eventually sign a specialist striker or not, a clear evolution in their tactical plan is expected going forward.

As long as the club manage to retain the existing attacking options in the squad, they can manage even if they do not get Alvarez.