Barcelona are prepared to hand Antoine Griezmann a huge responsibility
Barcelona have hired Ronald Koeman to make big changes. His arrival should give Antoine Griezmann a chance to lead the club’s attack next season.
A lot of big-name players are tipped to leave Barcelona this summer. Ronald Koeman has certainly been given the license to remake the squad in his own image. The possible departure of Luis Suarez will leave a giant hole in the club’s front line. That opens up a huge opportunity for Antoine Griezmann to seize a more important role for the La Liga giants.
It’s a bit surprising that Griezmann was mentioned by club president Josep Maria Bartomeu as one of seven players who would not be leaving Camp Nou in the current transfer window. The talented Frenchman has enjoyed a few moments of greatness at Barcelona, but overall, he’s lacked the consistency required to live up to his giant transfer price tag.
What changes for Antoine Griezmann if Luis Suarez is gone?
Removing Suarez from the starting XI opens up the possibility that Griezmann could actually lead Barcelona’s line next season. He lacks the classic size required to play as a stand-alone striker in most formations, but Koeman should stick with the front three that’s served the club so well in the past. That kind of formation depends more on movement and interchange to create scoring opportunities. Those are the qualities that allow Griezmann to be such a dangerous goal scorer.
It’s still a massive gamble by Barcelona to heap such responsibility onto a player that’s really struggled during his time at the club. In particular, Griezmann’s inability to handle criticism with any real measure of maturity makes him a combustible personality at a club that’s always under intense scrutiny. The question of how he will respond to a goal-scoring drought of four or five games must be considered carefully by the higher-ups at the club.
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Even at his best, Griezmann hasn’t been able to score the rate that Suarez has during his career. He’ll need to overcome that disadvantage by creating more opportunities for his teammates. It’s a delicate line that Griezmann must walk for the club next season. His success in leading the line could easily determine Koeman’s success or failure as the Barcelona manager.