Barcelona may be turning a blind eye to their biggest issue this summer window – Analysis | OneFootball

FC Barcelona are moving like a club that believes the next leap is hidden in the final third.

Anthony Gordon has already arrived from Newcastle United on a five-year deal. Karim Adeyemi is now on his way, after the club secured an agreement worth €22 million plus add-ons with Borussia Dortmund.

Julian Alvarez, meanwhile, is the dream at No. 9. He has made his desire to leave Atletico Madrid public, although Barça are not the only club interested.

It is glamorous. It is ambitious. It is also slightly dangerous.

Because, for all the noise around firepower, Barcelona’s biggest issue may still be staring at them from the backline.

The attack is not the emergency

There is no mystery around why Barcelona are tempted. Gordon gives pace, directness and intensity. Adeyemi offers speed in open grass, 1v1 threat and the kind of verticality Hansi Flick has always valued.

With Robert Lewandowski no longer at the club, Alvarez is the complete forward fantasy: pressing, movement, finishing, sacrifice.

More importantly, all three players are excellent out of possession.

However, Barça are not a blunt team searching for a spark. They won La Liga in 2025-26 with 95 goals in 38 matches, the best attacking record in the division by a distance.

The Catalans recorded a +59 goal difference and a title-winning 94 points. This is not a side unable to score.

So the question is not whether Gordon, Adeyemi or Alvarez would improve Barcelona – they certainly would.

The question is whether they solve the problem most likely to threaten Barça’s season.

The numbers point backwards

On the surface, Barcelona’s 2025-26 league defensive numbers are not disastrous. They conceded 36 goals in La Liga, second only to Real Madrid’s 35.

Joan Garcia had a brilliant first season at the Catalan club, keeping 15 clean sheets and also winning the Zamora Trophy.

However, that is exactly where the danger lies. The numbers are good enough to hide the problem, not strong enough to silence it.

This is no longer Xavi’s 2022-23 Barcelona, the side that conceded just 20 league goals and built the title on control, rest defence and clean-sheet obsession.

Under Flick, Barcelona’s football is more explosive, more transitional, more open. It scores more. It also exposes more. And in Europe, that trade-off has repeatedly turned cruel.

Barcelona conceded 24 goals in 14 Champions League games during 2024-26, including seven across the semi-final against Inter Milan from only ten shots on target.

A year later, the pattern still left scars. Barcelona exited the 2025-26 Champions League quarter-finals against Atletico Madrid after losing 2-0 at home and winning 2-1 away, another tie where the margin was not talent, but defensive control.

Flick’s style of play leaves the defence exposed. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

The centre-back issue is structural

This is not about blaming one defender. Pau Cubarsi is elite for his age. Ronald Araujo offers pace and physicality. Andreas Christensen and Eric Garcia offer excellent passing options.

Gerard Martin has been a revelation since he moved over to central defence, finishing last season as Cubarsi’s first-choice partner.

However, although Barcelona have the bodies and the profiles, they have not come together as a cohesive unit, especially last season.

Flick’s system asks centre-backs to defend large spaces, survive transitions, win duels facing their own goal and keep their nerve when the press breaks.

That demands more than just technical security. It demands world-class defenders.

Another winger can stretch the pitch. Another striker can finish the move. However, another central defender can transform the team’s Champions League prospects.

Barcelona should not stop chasing attacking excellence. That is part of their identity. However, it certainly cannot come at the cost of a defensive addition this summer.

The next great Barça may need Gordon, Adeyemi and Alvarez. What it also needs is a ceiling-raising central defender.

There were strong links to Alessandro Bastoni not very long ago, but things have gone quiet in recent weeks when it comes to Barcelona’s plans to sign a new defender.

By not looking into reinforcing the position, the Blaugrana could be risking turning a blind eye to this problem.