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Why Barcelona must definitely do away with tibia injury victim David Villa

Angela Asante, December 15 2011,
The latest news from Barcelona’s camp is that David Villa will be sidelined for a long period of time. What impact will this info have on the club’s January transfer window plans?
It looks like the season is over for David Villa.
It looks like the season is over for David Villa.
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Related Articles: Barcelona, David Villa, Neymar, Pep Guardiola, Transfer
The 30-year-old striker is believed to have fractured his tibia during Barca’s semi-final game against Al Sadd on Thursday. Villa was part of Guardiola’s starting XI for this 2011 FIFA World Club Cup encounter. He had to quit the field of play after 39 minutes only due to his leg injury.

David Villa’s prolonged absence will leave a hole in Pep Guardiola’s squad. Why should Barcelona deprive themselves from strengthening their attack whereas the transfer window is just around the corner?

Earlier this week, Spanish news source Marca claimed that the Catalans have opened the door for Villa to join the highest-bidding team from the English Premier League. But upon hearing this report, coach Guardiola categorically refuted it by stating loud and clear:

“They are lying.”

David Villa is aging and the arrival of younger lads, Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas, have restricted his playing time on the field at Barca. With Valencia, scoring was El Guaje’s habit. Under Guardiola, the player has struggled to find the net.

David Villa’s statistics are poor, this season. In 23 appearances in all competition, the Spaniard scored 9 times and provided only 2 assists. With this tibia injury, Villa may not be able to add anything to his tally before the end of the season.

The wounded star could paralyze Barcelona’s chances of moving forward as a team. Meanwhile, fresh talents like Neymar – against whom the club will play in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup final – are out there. Neymar, who is publicly fond of Barcelona, could turn out to be a great addition at the Camp Nou.

It looks like David Villa needs Barcelona more than Barcelona need Villa. The Catalans have money of which they could make very good use in the upcoming transfer window.

However, the situation seems more delicate for Villa. At this point, it may be difficult to have a big club knocking at Barca’s door with big sums of money for the services of the €40M signing. How many top teams would risk buying a 30-year-old player physically unfit?

Possibly, Barcelona will keep David Villa at the club until next summer when he’d have fully recovered. With or without a new striker, Guardiola may still manage to get his team scoring goals. Cesc Fabregas, Alexis Sanchez and Isaac Cuenca are all there to make things work in attack.

The main point here is not about David Villa’s absence, but about his presence. Barcelona surely have enough options to deal without the Spaniard, but what good would it make to keep a €40M player struggling for fitness and playing time?

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