Alex Baena has issued a public come-and-get-me plea to Barcelona.
The attacking midfielder has been on fire for Villarreal this term, notching a pretty impressive 16 assists and five goals in 41 appearances across all competitions so far. The versatile 22-year-old, who can also feature on the wing, starred against Rayo Vallecano at the weekend with a hattrick of assists.
After the game, Baena quite openly expressed his admiration for Barcelona, insisting that it would be a dream to play for them, though he eventually backtracked somewhat by stating that he is happy at Villarreal. “Who wouldn’t like to play for Barça? Playing for Barça would be one of my biggest dreams as a footballer, it is the best team in the world,” he told Carrusel.
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A torrent of transfer rumours has since followed in the Catalan press and the playmaker only fuelled the fire by also confirming that he has a €60 million release clause in his contract. However, a move to Barcelona makes little sense.
He’s just trolling out there 💀 pic.twitter.com/sYwCD5wg62
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) April 29, 2024
Baena’s ideal next clubs
At least that is according to data provided by analytics firm SciSports. Using their Career Advice tool, we can see that Barcelona would not at all be a good option for the Spaniard. There are many questions about what role he would have in the team and there is also the more straightforward issue of the Blaugrana being tight on money.
Though it is clear that some major signings were part of the package that ultimately convinced head coach Xavi to stay, spending €60m on a player who perhaps wouldn’t fit into the team seems quite foolish.
Alex Baena’s top-five best-suited clubs
| Team | Club Fit |
|---|---|
| Inter | 74 |
| West Ham | 72 |
| Liverpool | 72 |
| Aston Villa | 72 |
| AS Roma | 72 |
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Despite his lack of suitability for Barcelona, SciSports do rate Baena quite highly and believe that would be well-advised to head to greener pastures. SciSports analyse hundreds of data points to calculate a Club Fit rating and there are six teams with a higher score than his current side Villarreal.
Among them are several interesting options. Top spot belongs to new Serie A champions Inter, with West Ham, Liverpool, Aston Villa and AS Roma close behind. Newcastle also make the list, illustrating that Baena would be better off moving to the Premier League instead of Catalunya.
