It’s no secret that Barcelona have had problems at right-back over the last few years. Since Dani Alves left the club at the end of his first spell in 2016, no one has been able to make the position their own, despite numerous players having been signed to fill the Brazilian’s void.
Barcelona had hoped that this would be behind them for this season at least, as Joao Cancelo arrived from Manchester City during the summer. However, the Portuguese has proven himself to be much more useful on the left side, where he has displaced Alejandro Balde in recent weeks.
This has caused Xavi Hernandez to utilise central defenders in the right-back area. Jules Kounde was used there last season, but publicly admitted that he does not like playing out of position. Equally, as Diario AS have reported, Ronald Araujo – who has played there of late – is in the same boat.
As such, Xavi is facing a rather large problem. He does not have a player at his disposal that wants to play at right-back in the way that he wants his team to set up. Kounde is likely to remain there for the time being at least, having impressed there against Atletico Madrid, but Barcelona may well look to the transfer market next summer to address this seemingly never-ending issue.
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