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The summer transfer window produced a lot of high-profile moves. One of them saw former Atletico Madrid hitman, Antoine Griezmann quit the Wanda Metropolitano to sign a deal with La Liga champions, FC Barcelona.
The attacker flirted with a move to Camp Nou last year only to end up delivering a public snub to the Blaugrana. However, in a shocking turn of events this summer, he finally decided it was time to swap Atletico Madrid in favour of Barcelona.
After arriving for a mammoth €120 million fee, Barcelona fans put huge expectations on the shoulders of their new signing. However, despite scoring three goals for Ernesto Valverde's side so far, it doesn't look like the Frenchman will have an easy ride in his debut campaign in Catalonia.
Here's why Griezmann could find it difficult to meet expectations at Camp Nou this season.
#4 Slow adaptation to Barca's system
Given his immense talent and experience in the La Liga, Antoine Griezmann was expected by many to be an instant hit upon switching to Barcelona this summer. While those factors will, without doubt, be helpful to his progress, the attacker still has a mountain to climb with regards to switching up his style of play to suit the club's system.
That is one of the areas where he has struggled following his arrival at the Nou Camp. Griezmann is yet to get accustomed to Barcelona's style of play. His adaptation to the Blaugrana's system has been very slow as we've witnessed in recent games where he was left deserted.
Adjusting to Barcelona's system takes a long time for many players when they make the move to Catalonia. Considering the Frenchman's rate of progress so far, it appears he would surely take some time before he can blend in with the team effortlessly. With that in mind, his debut campaign with the Blaugrana might not produce a whole lot of sparks.
#3 Playing out of position
Although Antoine Griezmann's versatility and dynamism allow him to be deployed across any position in the offensive zones, his natural role, nevertheless, is to play behind the centre forward, whether as a secondary striker or an attacking midfielder.
That enables him to produce his best performances on the pitch just as we witnessed during his time with Atletico Madrid as well as his World Cup outing with France in Russia last year. Unfortunately for the Frenchman, there's no such role at Barcelona currently.
Griezmann has been forced to play mostly on the left flank since he joined the Blaugrana this season. His output from that side of the pitch is very low. While he performed slightly better as a center forward during Luis Suarez's injury lay-off, the return of the Uruguayan means that he would continue to feature on the flanks. Playing out of position would surely limit the impact of the ex-Atletico Madrid sharpshooter.
#2 Difficulties building a good connection with Lionel Messi
Barcelona's objective for Antoine Griezmann is clear - to add more firepower to the attack and help inspire the team to success especially in the big games. To get that done, he would need to first establish a good relationship with Barcelona's chief attacker - Lionel Messi. Obviously, that is proving difficult for the Frenchman.
Griezmann's chemistry with the playmaker so far is not exactly encouraging. In a recent interview ahead of Barcelona's UEFA Champions League encounter with Inter Milan, the Frenchman admitted that he is struggling to get along with his Argentine teammate.
We all know that forging a decent link-up with Messi is key to achieving success at Camp Nou in the current times. The likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alexis Sanchez, and Philippe Coutinho can all testify to the fact that it isn't all that easy to do. With Griezmann finding it very difficult to establish decent chemistry with Messi, impressing in Catalonia will be a tough task for him this season unless that changes.
#1 Competition for a starting spot
Another factor that could limit Antoine Griezmann's efforts at Camp Nou this season is the fact that his place in the starting line-up isn't guaranteed on a weekly basis. That is as a result of the level of competition present in the Blaugrana's squad at the moment.
Even though he has appeared nine times for the Blaugrana across all competitions so far this season, it doesn't look like he'd have it all his way at Camp Nou. With Ousmane Dembele and teenage sensation Ansu Fati both fighting for opportunities up front, Griezmann isn't guaranteed to make the starting line-up every week.
The attacker was dropped for Ousmane Dembele during the last game against Sevilla, who put on a stellar display and bagged a brilliant goal to boot. That was a hint that Valverde could want some rotation between the attackers as the season progresses.
