Diaz, Rashford and Nkunku: An incisive dribbler, a driving winger and a poacher. Who should Barcelona sign?

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Even by Barcelona’s standards, the summer transfer window has got off to a dramatic start.

A deal seemed to be in place for Athletic Club and Spanish national team winger Nico Williams earlier this month, before a disagreement surrounding an exit clause — in case the Catalan club could not register him in time for the new season — saw everything collapse over night.

It means that Barcelona have to pivot their attention to other targets, with three Premier League names under serious consideration. As reported by The Athletic in the DealSheet today, Luis Diaz remains the No 1 choice, with Marcus Rashford close behind as a back-up. Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku has also emerged as a target, although it’s unclear how likely they are to move for the Frenchman at this early stage of their interest.

Each player brings a different skill set to the table, but which should Barcelona pursue?

On the face of it, Hansi Flick’s team look well-stocked across the front line — Raphinha scored 34 times and assisted a further 22 throughout an incredible 2024-25 campaign, while Ferran Torres can fill in out wide too, as well as offer support for Robert Lewandowski up front.

That said, Flick and sporting director Deco have identified the left-winger position as an area to add quality and depth, with sources close to the club suggesting that the manager felt short of options for a crucial stretch of games towards the end of last season. 

After Lewandowski strained his hamstring in late April, a front three of Raphinha, Torres and Lamine Yamal started the Copa del Rey final with Real Madrid, and both Champions League semi-final ties with Inter in the space of 10 days, without the realistic option of making any major tweaks or rotations.

One injury forced the manager’s hand, and it’s something that could easily happen again, given that Lewandowski will turn 37 in August. The club want to be prepared in the case that his availability, or indeed his output, begins to decline, with no guarantee that Raphinha will maintain his electric form either.

Firepower is needed if the reigning La Liga champions want to push on while they are ahead.

For that reason, Barcelona are looking for a versatile attacking player on the left. Flick would be happy to play Raphinha more centrally going forward, so a player who can rotate in and out of the centre-forward spot, and is able to drop deeper to link up with midfielders like the Brazilian did last season, would increase fluidity and unpredictability across the front line.

It’s why Diaz, 28, stands out as an option, Deco’s No 1 choice for the role. As we can see from the position map below, the Colombian is naturally a touchline-hugging winger, but has been effective through the middle under Arne Slot, to allow Cody Gakpo to play out wide.

He’s also happy to drift into pockets of space in a left-sided No 8 role, able to receive line-breaking passes under pressure and wriggle away with the ball — thanks to his dribbling ability.

Diaz scored 17 goals in all competitions last campaign, the best single-season return of his career. Many of those came from close range, making penetrative runs through the middle against both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur to get on the end of cut-backs and crosses from the right.

It’s a development in his game that we can see from his shot evolution map. While he took fewer Premier League shots per game, there is greater clustering around the six-yard line, with a higher expected goals (xG) per shot value of 0.17 suggesting that the average quality of chance falling his way is much greater than when he would cut inside and shoot from his wider role.

Like Raphinha, Diaz is comfortable both dropping deep to pick up the ball and darting in behind. He tends to be quite direct when he finds himself with space between the lines, as we can see with the finish below against West Ham.

Receiving the pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold, his first thought is to drive towards the box, and while he is fortunate to see his attempted through pass bounce back into his path, Diaz finishes emphatically, a chance created from his own endeavour and forward drive.

It’s the kind of explosiveness Barcelona are looking for against more compact defences, particularly as they ran into problems midway through last season when teams such as Leganes and Las Palmas defended narrowly against them, nullifying the threat of their creative players through the middle.

But Diaz can also pick up the ball from wide and dribble inside, more of a natural winger than Raphinha and Torres on the left. That ability to take defenders on and drive into the box is a facet of Williams’ game that Barcelona appreciated, often overreliant on Yamal on the opposite side to come up with a moment of inspiration against compact defensive shapes.

Here against Everton, for example, Diaz pulls wide to pick up the ball and instantly squares up to Jake O’Brien, before finding space in a packed penalty area with a clipped ball into Mohamed Salah.

With end product and dynamism from a wide role, as well as increasing potency in front of goal through the middle, it’s clear to see why Deco values Diaz so highly. Barcelona believe they would be able to tempt the player, but they have already seen an initial approach rebuffed by Liverpool, while the financial side of a potential deal could prove to be a stretch. Other options may need to be explored.

Manchester United would be more open to negotiations when it comes to Rashford. The 27-year-old is keen to join Barcelona, and senior figures at the club believe that they can wait it out to secure a better deal for him, either on loan or permanently.

Another left-winger who can play down the middle, Rashford recently revealed that he is feeling “more comfortable, more natural” as a No 9. He offers pace and direct running out wide, and can pack a punch with his long-distance shooting, having overperformed his xG in four of the last five Premier League seasons.

There are no doubts over his goalscoring ability when offered space to attack on the flanks — he scored 30 goals in all competitions in 2022-23. Things have not gone so smoothly more recently, but his goal against Porto in the Champions League last season showcased the incision he can bring on the counter, chopping inside and striking through the ball with venom after picking it up out wide.

Sensational footwork from Marcus Rashford 😍

Man United take the lead in Porto 💪

📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/sY7EAU8poN

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 3, 2024

As explored recently by The Athletic’s Conor O’Neill, Rashford tends to be more prolific off the left, but he looked sharp across the front line in a loan spell at Aston Villa last season. He convinced Unai Emery to give him a chance in a striker’s role after scoring twice in a 3-0 win over Preston in the FA Cup, before storming through the middle against Brighton to finish off a quick counter-attack three days later.

His most compelling performance as a No 9 came in a 3-2 win over eventual European champions Paris Saint-Germain, popping up across the width of the attacking third. He stung the palms of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma with a powerful shot after driving inside from the left, before producing a fine piece of skill to set up Ezri Konsa with a cut-back pass on the right.

Rashford playing for Aston Villa last season (Warren Little/Getty Images)

With confidence, Rashford can add real zip to Barcelona’s front line. He is capable of breaking down low blocks with his ball-striking ability and forward drive. What he doesn’t bring so much is back-to-goal play; he is much more of a destructive attacking player who enjoys exploiting space behind an opposition defensive line than someone who can drop into midfield and link up play with clever passing and an ability to retain the ball under pressure.

Still, if Barcelona are looking for impact and individualism to match what Yamal can provide from the right, the sparks that fly from Rashford could help to ignite the stodgier games in which Flick’s side can occasionally get bogged down in.

Further down Barcelona’s list is Nkunku, more of a striker or a No 10 than Diaz, Rashford or indeed Williams. The Frenchman often hangs wide in the build-up, but he is not the kind of winger you can keep pumping the ball out to and expect to beat his man, instead preferring to work his way into the box with one-twos or off-ball movement.

Though his time at Chelsea has been fragmented in terms of game time, Nkunku, 27, has shown that he can score the scrappy goals, on top of the sweeping finishes upon which he built his reputation at RB Leipzig. He threw himself at the ball to open the scoring against Southampton in February from a set piece, and produced a brilliant back-heel flick to grab his second against Barrow, his instinct between the posts shining though whenever the ball breaks in the penalty area.

Chelsea’s Nkunku (Luke Hales/Getty Images)

He showed his robustness and presence of mind in the penalty area as he scored a late winner early on in the season against Bournemouth, his ability to bounce off defenders with upper body strength something that he can use in the box and out wide.

Three players around him but that doesn’t bother Christopher Nkunku who’s come off the bench to possibly win it late for Chelsea at Bournemouth… 🎈

📽️ @SkySportsPL pic.twitter.com/ZoW0Iymj9b

— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) September 14, 2024

There are question marks surrounding his effectiveness against deeper defences, often looking slightly clunky when tasked with moving the ball into tight spaces and picking out the final pass — but with the freedom to drift into central areas and find space inside the box, Nkunku’s instinct often kicks in, with a respectable return of 16 goals in just over 30 full games for Chelsea highlighting his goalscoring ability.

Barcelona are not short of options, but the varying profiles in their early shortlists serves to underline the task at hand when it comes to player recruitment.

There’s the fleet-footed dribbler, the high-power winger, or the poacher; which way they choose to go could change the direction in which the new season twists and turns.

This news was originally published on this post .

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