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Barcelona has been quite busy in this transfer window. With the departure of Andreas Iniesta, Paulinho and Digne, they have brought in Lenglet and Malcom from Sevilla and Roma respectively. Along with these acquisitions, Barcelona has now announced the signing of Arturo Vidal from Bayern Munich for a fee of around €30 million on a three-year contract.
There were speculations doing the rounds during the week that Vidal would leave Munich in this transfer window. These rumors have now proved to be true with Barcelona winning the race against other top clubs in Europe such as Manchester United.
With the addition of Vidal, the Blaugrana have strengthened their already formidable midfield and have filled the void left by the abrupt departure of Iniesta in this transfer window. With players like Mina, Gomes, and Alcacer likely to leave before the transfer window ends, Barcelona could also sign at least one more player.
Barcelona has become the dominant force in La Liga with the arrival of Vidal and departure of Ronaldo from Real Madrid to Juventus. They are now expected to mount a serious challenge to win the Champions League this season.
Let us have a look at 3 reasons why Vidal will be successful at Barcelona.
#3 Fill the void left by the departure of Iniesta
Iniesta, having played for almost 16 years with full dedication has left Barcelona in this transfer window. Being the best Spanish footballer of all time with 33 trophies, he left the Nou Camp this summer to find a new challenge and joined the Japanese club, Vissel Kobe.
With the departure of a player who had such a legendary stature, it will be an enormous task for any player who is trying to fill his shoes. Barcelona has opted for Arturo Vidal to fill this vacancy.
Except for Iniesta's flair, Vidal has all the skills which a creative midfielder should possess. Having played in different leagues across Europe such as Serie A and the Bundesliga, Vidal is a veteran who is still in his prime. So his experience of playing with Europe's best players will be a valuable asset for Barcelona.
There is no denying the fact that a player of Vidal's caliber will find it difficult to replace Iniesta and hence Barcelona will have to be patient with him.
#2 Stopping deadly counter-attacks
Barcelona's main weakness over the years has been from deadly counter-attacks by opponents who have invited them to play possession football and then pounced when Barcelona have lost possession, using the pace of their attackers to comfortably break the Barca defense.
Barcelona has gradually learned to overcome such situation and nowadays like to defend much better against counter-attack football. With the addition of Vidal, Barcelona will further strengthen this area due to his defensive capabilities.
Being an excellent tackler, Vidal has got the rare ability to break the opposition's counter-attack. He is a hard-working player who has got a tremendous amount of pace and stamina to track back and help the defense during opposition's counter-attacks. His vigor to win the ball back after giving away possession is second to none.
Hence, Vidal will prove to be an insurance cover for Barcelona's defense.
#1 Further strengthen Barcelona's formidable midfield
Barcelona's midfield is probably one of the best in Europe. Sergio Busquets' calmness and composure, Rakitic's dribbling skills, Coutinho's wonderful passing abilities and the frequent use of Sergio Roberto help Barcelona to win the midfield battle in crucial games.
With the departure of Iniesta to Kobe and Paulinho on loan to Guangzhou Evergrande, there is a gap to be filled in the midfield as these two players were crucial and regular starters for Barcelona last season. Vidal's arrival has filled the void left by the departure of these two players.
His phenomenal pace, distribution of the ball and the ability to shoot from distance are key attributes which will be greatly valued at Barcelona. He adds to Barcelona's bench strength and is also a perfect cover for Rakitic. Vidal is also a goal threat for the opposition and an excellent penalty kick taker.
Hence, he will strengthen the already formidable midfield of Barcelona with his experience and abilities.
