Griezmann backed to top La Liga goal charts under one condition

Andrea Orlandi believes Antoine Griezmann can finish as La Liga’s highest goalscorer in 2020/21 if Barcelona use him correctly.

Griezmann had a rather underwhelming debut campaign for Barcelona following a €120m transfer from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2019, managing just 15 goals and four assists in 48 outings.

The World Cup winner struggled to fit in alongside Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi in the Blaugrana attack. He eventually lost favor under Quique Setien, starting just three of the club’s last nine La Liga games.

Setien even benched him for Barcelona’s nightmare 8-2 Champions League quarter-final defeat to Bayern Munich, in what proved to be his final match in charge.

Ronald Koeman has since replaced the Spaniard in the dugout and will be bolstered by Messi staying at Camp Nou for at least one more season.

The former Netherlands boss’ plans for Griezmann, however, remain uncertain. He has already shown the door to Suarez, who is reportedly linked to Juventus. Should an exit materialize, it’s unlikely he’ll part with another forward without a replacement at hand.

BREAKING: Barcelona and Juventus are currently agreeing a fee for the sale of Luis Suarez, we can confirm.

Juventus have already reached an agreement with Suarez for a three-year contract worth €10m per season. 🔜 pic.twitter.com/AA0OoYpEGt

— Goal (@goal) September 6, 2020

But Orlandi, who played for Barcelona briefly on loan for the first and second teams, believes Griezmann should operate as a No.10 for his old club rather than look to fill Suarez’s shoes.

The former winger said on Goal: “If you sign Griezmann to play left-wing, then I am surprised at the Barcelona directors for thinking his best position is to play there.

“Especially when you pay that sort of money for a proven world-class player, you need to play him in his best position.

“This is what Koeman has said and this is why I think we will see the best of Antoine Griezmann next season.

“He needs to play off a striker and it could have been Suarez. We saw it in one game against Villarreal in La Liga where Barcelona played really well. Setien then changed his mind for the next two games and we didn’t see it again.

“When you buy a player of that pedigree and money, then you play him in his best position. Griezmann as a No.10 with Messi on the right and someone up-front will benefit Barcelona.”

Griezmann has benefitted from such a role in the past with both Atletico and France. In fact, he chipped in 133 goals and 50 assists in 257 games for the former before joining Barca last year.

Griezmann has really had a rough time at Camp Nou since his big money move from Atletico Madrid. But what's in store for him ahead of the new season? Will he finally be given the opportunity to shine in his preferred role? pic.twitter.com/L97inm6St1

— Stadium Astro (@stadiumastro) September 7, 2020

“I don’t see him as a number nine, he needs a younger number nine to play off. He did it with [Olivier] Giroud, Diego Costa and Fernando Torres,” continued Orlandi.

“He needs that freedom to roam around the box because he is a very clever player. He will keep doing that. He just needs freedom to attack; defensively he will do the job, he will run, he was at left-back sometimes for Barcelona last season so no problem.

“He needs his best position to allow him to be the player he wants to be.

“I always say, [Karim] Benzema will challenge for the Pichichi (La Liga’s top goal-scorer trophy), but Griezmann will be close.

“He scored 15 goals in a bad season for him. He started well but you could see he lost it and he is a player who needs to play with a smile on his face.

“We saw it with Ronaldinho back in the day: when you play without a smile, then this is when you make yourself smaller and smaller. This is what happened last season but I think he will be one of the best players next season.”