4 Barcelona players who need to step up this season

Barcelona v Girona - La Liga
Ousmane Dembele

With ease Spanish champions Barcelona strolled to the La Liga title last season. They also claimed the Copa Del Rey trophy, with the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Ivan Rakitic running riot in another successful campaign for La Blaugrana.

Having offloaded the likes of Andres Iniesta, Paulinho, and Lucas Digne to make way for the likes of Malcolm, Arturo Vidal, Arthur Melo and Clement Lenglet - It is clear that the Catalans are eyeing another successful campaign this season. While some of these new faces showed promising signs in the International Champions Cup recently, only time will tell how influential they will become in the Catalan capital.

We are all confident of seeing another set of brilliant displays from players like Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Samuel Umtiti, Sergio Busquets and Philippe Coutinho, but there is another category who must work hard and elevate their game when the campaign begins this term.

Therefore, lets quickly take a look at 4 Barca players that need to step up and improve their performances this season.


#4 Rafinha Alcantara

Granada CF v FC Barcelona - La Liga
Rafinha needs to improve his game this season

Rafinha is the brother of former Barcelona superstar, Thiago Alcantara. The 25 year old was one of the youngsters who impressed in the Barcelona youth system and was called into the senior team in 2009. However, he has failed to cement his place in the starting lineup ever since he made his debut appearance for the club.

After spending last season on loan at Inter Milan, the midfielder departed Serie A in order to link up with his teammates at Barcelona. He was one of the standout performers for the Catalan giants during the International Champions Cup this summer.

Rafinha is a highly talented and decent midfielder with a lot of potential. He only needs to work hard in order to convince Ernesto Valverde of his ability.

With the manager willing to give more opportunities to Barcelona's products this season, the 25 year old must step up and improve his performances to earn a more active role in the squad.

#3 Denis Suarez

Celta de Vigo v Barcelona - Copa Del Rey
Denis Suarez must fight for his place in the Barcelona squad this season

Denis Suarez is a highly talented youngster with immense skills, one who has earned constant comparisons with Barcelona legends - Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez.

Just like Rafinha, the 24-year-old is also a product of Barcelona's famous La Masia academy. He also got promotion into the senior team before going on a loan spell at Villareal. Following an impressive outing with the La Liga outfit, the youngster was recalled into the Barcelona team, but he has failed to establish himself ever since he returned to the club in 2016.

Suarez is a typical Barcelona midfielder, with his decent passing, nice vision, incredible dribbling skills and the ability to control the game from the middle of the pitch. With his huge potential, there is no doubt he will succeed at Barcelona. However, he needs to step up and showcase his amazing talent for the world to see this season.

#2 Nelson Semedo

Barcelona v Real Betis - La Liga
The Portuguese needs to settle down at Camp Nou this season

A fast player and an incredible ball playing defender, Nelson Semedo was signed by Barcelona in the summer of 2017. Following a brilliant season with Benfica during the 2016-17 campaign, La Blaugrana felt convinced of the youngster's abilities and quickly lured him to Camp Nou.

He had his first season with the Catalans last term, sharing the right-back position with the versatile Sergi Roberto. Although he did put up a couple of decent performances during the campaign, he is yet to fully establish himself at the club.

Semedo is one of the few superstars that must improve their performances in order to gain Ernesto Valverde's trust this term. After spending his first season in Catalonia adapting to Barcelona's system, more will be expected of the Portuguese this season.

#1 Ousmane Dembele

Barcelona v Espanyol - La Liga
The attacker must justify his price-tag this season

Barcelona suffered a huge loss when their star player Neymar departed the Nou Camp during the summer of 2017. The Brazilian left the Spanish giants in a world record deal to join French Champions - Paris Saint Germain.

Therefore, the Catalans decided to sign Borussia Dortmund starlet Ousmane Dembele as a replacement for the departed winger. Much was expected of their record signing, but two terrible injuries were enough to disrupt his progress at the club.

Although the attacker did show some promising signs later, he couldn't have much influence on the team as the campaign came to an end shortly after his recovery.

Now is the time for Dembele to finally prove his class and reward the trust of his employers. Following a successful World Cup campaign with France in Russia, all eyes will be on him to steer Barcelona to greater heights this season.

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Edited by Anthony Akatugba Jr.