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Barcelona debating full-backs again amid doubts over Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde
The familiar, nagging anxiety over full-back positions has resurfaced at FC Barcelona with a vengeance, casting a shadow over the Camp Nou as doubts solidify around the form of both Alejandro Balde and Jules Koundé. According to reports from Mundo Deportivo, a palpable sense of concern is brewing within the club's hierarchy, as neither player has managed to recapture the blistering form that once made them seem like long-term solutions.Balde, the explosive La Masia graduate, has seen his electrifying runs and defensive solidity dip alarmingly, a shadow of the player who so thrillingly evoked comparisons to a young Jordi Alba with his lung-busting overlaps. Simultaneously, Koundé, the French international who has been deployed with notable success on the right flank, appears less assured, his performances lacking the composed dominance that made his transition from world-class centre-back so effective.This dual dip in form exposes a critical lack of depth that is frankly alarming for a club of Barça’s stature; the perceived backups, Gerard Martín and Jofre Torrents, are not considered genuine, week-in, week-out options to shoulder the immense pressure of a title race or a Champions League knockout tie. This recurring full-back dilemma feels like a haunting echo of the post-Dani Alves era, a problem the club has cyclically failed to solve, and it has forced the sporting department back to the drawing board.Their gaze has inevitably turned to the transfer market, where dream targets like PSG’s dynamic Nuno Mendes and Manchester City’s formidable Josko Gvardiol are admired but ultimately viewed as financially unattainable, locked down on long-term contracts with their wealthy current employers. More realistic, yet equally telling, is the renewed interest in Alejandro Grimaldo, the former La Masia product who has blossomed into a Bundesliga-winning force at Bayer Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso.His story of rejection and triumphant return would be a poetic one, but it underscores a pattern of Barça potentially seeking external fixes for internal development gaps. Adding another layer to this strategic puzzle is Crystal Palace’s Daniel Muñoz, a Colombia international who has openly expressed his ambition to leap to a elite club, a declaration that will not have gone unnoticed.The underlying analytics reveal a troubling trend: Barça’s attacking width and chance creation from wide areas have statistically suffered this season, a direct correlation to the full-backs' diminished output. When you compare the current situation to the golden era of Alves and Alba, the drop-off in assists, progressive carries, and final-third entries is stark, highlighting how modern football’s tactical evolution has made these positions more critical than ever.For manager Xavi Hernández, a legendary midfielder who understood the geometry of the pitch better than most, this is a fundamental tactical headache that threatens his preferred system. The coming months will be a crucial audit of these players, a test of their mentality to fight through this dip, because if they cannot, the club will be forced into a costly and complex market operation—another chapter in the seemingly endless search for defensive stability on the flanks.
#Barcelona
#full-backs
#Jules Kounde
#Alejandro Balde
#transfer targets
#Nuno Mendes
#Josko Gvardiol
#featured
