5 transfers Barcelona must make to remain LaLiga champions

Through the first nine Matchdays of the 2023-24 LaLiga season, Barcelona are not atop the table. In fact, they aren't even second. At the October international "break", La Blaugrana are third in the Spanish top flight. They are one point behind not-so-Cinderella (because they are owned by Manchester City) story Girona and three points behind eternal rivals Real Madrid.

Last season, Barcelona surprised a lot of fans by dominating LaLiga. They had the best defense in Europe's top five leagues, surrendering an unbelievable 20 goals in 38 matches. Barça won the league by 10 points, wrapping things up early officially. Truthfully, they had the title sealed even before that, as Francke Kessié's Clásico winner ensured the title would be returning to Catalunya.

Mortgaging their future assets to swing for the fences in 2022-23 paid off. Robert Lewandowski was the best striker in LaLiga, but even the free signings paid dividends. Andreas Christensen, for example, changed the game despite not costing a single cent beyond his wages.

So who could La Blaugrana target in the winter transfer window in order to keep up with a Real Madrid side that added the new big superstar in world football, Jude Bellingham? Let's take a look at five key targets for Barcelona in winter 2024.

5. Villarreal RB Juan Foyth

Juan Foyth has been linked to both LaLiga powerhouse clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid for at least a year, yet the experienced defender has never left Villarreal. What Foyth lacks in terms of skill on the ball, he more than makes up for by being a dogged defender and one of the best players in one-on-ones. Just ask Vinícius Júnior. Almost nobody can keep him quiet on that left flank, yet Foyth joined Barça star Ronald Araújo as one of the select few to do just that.

Relentless in the tackle and willing to do the dirty work to support the center backs, Foyth is basically the opposite profile of João Cancelo. He's scrappy, focuses on defending, makes few mistakes, and has near-perfect positioning. Meanwhile, Cancelo is an offensive dynamo with arguably the highest technical level at the position, alongside Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold. He can make positive plays defensively as far as ball-winning goes, but his gambles and aggressive attacking nature leave him prone to back-breaking errors against the world's best wingers.

Barcelona always want to triumph over Real Madrid in LaLiga, but, recently, they've been slacking big-time in the Champions League, including in their otherwise amazing 2022/23 campaign. To go further in the UCL, Barça may need to prioritize a defensive profile like Foyth in order to compete with the world's best left-wingers.