5 players Barcelona should have bought in the summer

FC Barcelona have had a wonderful start to their La Liga campaign, having won all 6 games so far after scoring 20 goals and conceding just 2. Their Champions League opener against Juventus was not any less spectacular, as they crushed the champions of Italy with a scoreline of 3-0 at the Camp Nou.

However, the reality is that this Juve side was far weaker than the one they faced last season, with many keep players missing. As a matter of fact, the Catalans are yet to collide with any big Spanish powerhouses in local games so far. In the Supercup final, they suffered two straight defeats against Real Madrid, a total of 5-1 on aggregate. It was then that Gerard Piqué famously declared that he felt being on the inferior side during an El Clasico encounter, for the first time in his career. Having said that, it is still early days to predict what will happen at the end of the season.

But one thing is sure, Barça could have improved their squad with better transfer business in the summer. Here are the top 5 players they should have signed:

#5 - José Luis Gayà:

José Luis Gayà is one of the finest rising left backs in Spanish football as he has displayed on numerous occasions for Valencia. He has an affinity for making forward runs to support the attack, but he can also contribute with his defensive interventions. To put things into perspective, the 22-year old averaged 2.8 tackles. 1.5 interceptions and 1.4 clearances in La Liga action last season.

The Spaniard still has a lot of room for development in his game, and would have been a good backup option to Jordi Alba, and could possibly cause him serious competition, as opposed to what we have seen from Lucas Digne so far.

#4 - Jorginho:

Midfield partnerships have always been fundamental to Barcelona's success, and besides being defensively fragile, it is precisely the downgrade in the quality of the midfield that was one of the major reasons for FC Barcelona's downfall. There is no doubt that Sergio Busquets is still world class, despite having an inconsistent 2016/2017 season, but the 29-year old is not getting any younger.

Busquets is extremely vital in Barça's setup, and they cannot afford to lose him for injury or suspension, in any crucial game. Jorginho, on the other hand, is 25 years old and arguably already the best regista in the Italian league. He would be the perfect fit in Barcelona's system, thanks to his amazing technical ability and deep-lying play-making skills. A midfielder who can dictate play is what Barcelona have missed since Xavi's retirement.

The Italian international can either rotate with Busquets for the holding midfielder role, or even operate as a no. 6, a role Xavi used to play. Jorginho is still a hidden gem for all the quality that he offers, it is weird that no European giant has approached him, which would help Barcelona get him at a not-so elevated price, due to lack of competition.

Here is one fascinating stat about the Italian: he averages 101 successful passes in Serie, with a pass success of 91.2%. He is in brief, Barça material.

#3 - Davinson Sánchez:

Ajax v Manchester United - UEFA Europa League Final

Tottenham Hotspur made one of the smartest buys of the summer transfer window by acquiring the services of Ajax sensation Davinson Sánchez. The Colombian international is rock solid at the back as some of his defensive stats from Europa league action suggest. As a matter of fact, the 21-year old managed to average 3.3 successful tackles, 2.6 interceptions and 6.5 clearances per game, in the European competition.

And if that's not enough, Davinson scored 6 goals and mustered 2 assists in the Dutch league last season. With Barcelona pretty much relying on Gerard Piqué and Samuel Umtiti, any potential injury of the two ahead of a decisive fixture could signal trouble for the Catalans. The first replacement who comes up to mind is Javier Mascherano who is edging closer to his mid-thirties and is no longer the beast he once was during his peak times. It would have been a smart decision to invest in young blood, especially looking at the quality that Sánchez is already capable of providing.

#2 - Jean Seri:

Barcelona have been reportedly chasing Jean Seri throughout the whole summer, so it was rather disappointing news for their fans when the transfer market ended without the deal being completed.

What Barcelona's midfield needs is a controller to succeed Xavi's legacy, but what the club signed is a 29-year old box to box midfielder in Paulinho, so it was understandable that many die-hard fans were, and still are, totally frustrated. The best case scenario would have been signing both of them, but the fan-favourite was the Ivorian. As a matter of fact, the Nice midfielder averaged 83.4 passes with a success rate 90% in Ligue 1 last season. In addition to that, he added 7 goals and 9 assists, which proves why Seri is a controller and a box to box midfielder at the same time.

The 26-year old can really do it all, so would have been an upgrade to Barcelona's midfield.

#1 - Philippe Coutinho:

Liverpool FC v FC Sion - UEFA Europa League

Yes, we all know that Barcelona tried absolutely everything possible in order to acquire the services of Philippe Coutinho, but that does not prevent him from featuring on this list at first spot. The Brazilian has reinvented his game from left winger (or wide-play-maker, for more precision) to a creative force in central midfield.

Liverpool and Brazil national team managers, Jurgen Klopp and Tite have both used him as a midfielder in the last couple of games, and the 25-year old has impressed more than ever, following this change. With Ousmane Dembélé picking up an injury that could keep him on the sidelines for up to 3 months, Barça badly wished they could rely on Coutinho's brilliance in that wide position, as he would have certainly been an upgrade over what they currently have in Gerard Deulofeu.

The Liverpool star was involved in a total of 27 goals for both club and country last season (17 goals and 10 assists), which proves just how decisive he can be in the final third. So whether they used him on the left or in the Iniesta role, Coutinho would have still done the job. Andrès is a couple of months away from reaching 34 years of age, and with the club failing to secure a Xavi replacement, they would certainly not want to waste another opportunity to secure Iniesta's.

For all these reasons, Coutinho would have been the most important signing. And if there was any doubt about his ability to operate in midfield, we leave you with this video so you can watch and judge for yourself.