‘Barca need fresh faces’

Sky Sports pundit Terry Gibson believes Barcelona need to freshen up their squad in the summer to avoid a similar end-of-season burn-out next year.

Luis Enrique’s side were knocked out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid in April before going on a run of defeats in the league that allowed Atletico and Real Madrid back into contention in the La Liga title race.

Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal were the high-profile new faces in the Barcelona squad when the club’s transfer ban was lifted at the turn of the year, but Gibson thinks that Enrique needs more youth to give the squad an edge for next season.

“I’m not sure if Luis Enrique’s trying to make a point to the hierarchy at the club – but he doesn’t have too much faith in too many of the squad players, so he’s constantly relied on the same players time and time again,” Gibson told the La Liga Weekly podcast.

“It’s an advantage to play a consistent team, which he’s been able to do in the last few weeks because of not being in the Champions League. But next season if you looked at those two games against Arsenal, those two games against Atletico Madrid, that’s when he could have done with some extra players.

“I think it’s no secret that their best players are in their late 20s and early 30s. Neymar is 23, there’s Rafinha and …

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