Koeman sends a transfer message to the Barcelona board

The Barcelona manager has named one key area he needs to strengthen after a narrow victory over Huesca in La Liga.

Ronald Koeman has urged the Barcelona board to bring in a new striker for his attack, despite suggesting he is not optimistic about landing a new No.9 in the January transfer window.

The Dutchman’s announcement came shortly after a slender 1-0 win at Huesca on Sunday. He started the returning Lionel Messi in a three-man attack alongside Martin Braithwaite and Ousmane Dembele, but it was Frenkie de Jong who bagged the match-winner instead.

Despite showing flashes of promise, however, Barcelona disappointed in the attack. They dominated possession and had 20 attempts on goal compared to Huesca’s four, yet only seven of their shots hit the target.

“There’s no need to repeat what we said at the start of the season, that we need someone upfront to have more competition, more goals, and more efficiency. But it depends on a lot of things,” said Koeman as quoted by Diario Sport.

The performance in Huesca was a far cry from the old Barcelona, but Koeman was still satisfied by his side’s overall display.

“Ignoring the last 20 minutes, we were good in our play and it wasn’t easy against such a tight defense,” continued the Blaugrana boss. “We were calm playing on the wings and we scored a great goal.

“In the end, we suffered a little because they tried to create something. They crossed in the ball and we defended it well. If you don’t get two or three goals to kill the game, you always suffer a bit.”