'Yes' to Semedo, 'no' to Bellerín
Barcelona completed a deal for Nelson Semedo on Friday, a signing with more nooks and crannies than it seems. The club have taken a bet on a young full-back with great potential and a profile fit for the club, but with little experience. Therefore, there is hope, but there's also the unknown. What is clear is that the arrival of Semedo is the first attempt to heal a wound which opened with the unjustifiable departure of Dani Alves, the mysterious removal of Aleix Vidal and the up and down adaption of Sergi Roberto. The right-back position last year became a black hole and was more and more of a danger zone as the season progressed.
No one can ask Semedo to become Alves, but we can be hope that he will bring back stability to the position and cure the injury which was obvious last season. The express deal closed in Lisbon on Thursday night is also explained by the stalling in talks to sign Hector Bellerin from Arsenal, who was always the club's first choice, until a re-modelling of the club's structure was announced and new general manager Pep Segura called time on the operation. The high demands from Arsenal were considered a barbarity and Barça did well to close the door.
On Thursday, in an interview with SPORT, Xavi put a debate on the Barcelona table when he said: "I would never sign a player that has left Barça," in reference to Bellerin, who decided to leave the club as a teenager. The idea comes with as many nuances as you like and there can be many discussions about it, but without doubt it is a lively conversation within the club. Xavi's phrase explains better than anything else why Barça have signed Semedo and not Bellerin.
