Barcelona made a huge mistake for letting Ferran Jutgla leave and allowing Ferran Torres stay.
The two Ferrans’ striking disparities appear to be working against Barcelona. Ferran Torres and a certain Ferran Jutgla are the players in discussion here.
Jutgla, in particular, has already drawn attention with his dazzling exploits since joining Belgian club Club Brugge last summer on a five-year, €5 million deal. In just 11 appearances across all competitions, he has scored six goals and provided four assists.
On the other side, Torres has lost his spot in the starting XI in addition to not playing regularly this year. The former Manchester City attacker has made just two starts for Barcelona so far, contributing to one goal and two assists.
This raises the question of whether Barcelona made the proper decision to cut ties with Juventus in the first place. Yes, most likely.
Before drawing any conclusions, it is important to realize that the aforementioned players have various playstyles. Jutgla is a more naturally occurring number 9 who prefers to take advantage of the small gaps in the box.
The 23-year-old center forward is quick, loves to dribble, and poses a serious aerial danger. None of the aforementioned qualities are lacking in Torres, but it is undeniable that his lack of goals is harming his reputation.
It’s more accurate to say that the issue is the frequent passing up of opportunities rather than the inability to locate the net. In just 18 league games last season, the Spaniard lost eight “huge chances.”
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Since Torres hasn’t scored in La Liga yet this year, there is simply no way to compare their goal totals. On the other hand, Jutgla is scoring five goals in eight games, averaging a goal per 111 minutes in the Belgian league.
Jutgla most recently assisted on one goal and scored once against Porto in the Champions League. He received the Man of the Match award in recognition of his outstanding performance.
Since the two play different positions, there might be some disagreement here, but the former Barcelona player has proven to be a capable team player as well, contributing four assists across all competitions. Remember that he has played center forward in each of his 10 games for Club Brugge.
Even though Torres is a natural goal scorer and is accruing more fouls per game (1.5 in the league) than Jutgla (1), the latter’s return of 1.6 key passes in the league is significantly higher than the former.
Ferran Jutgla would have been a tremendous asset for Barcelona, given they currently only have Robert Lewandowski as their center-forward, if it weren’t for the move that was approved in the summer.
Furthermore, Barcelona is now much more open to attack as a result of the sale of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Chelsea. Memphis Depay, who is once again not a natural number nine, will be the team from Catalonia’s backup forward in the event that the Poland forward gets injured.
Had Barcelona chosen the incorrect Ferran? Could be. Or maybe it was a mistake to sell the 23-year-old in the first place. Torres is only 22 and has more than enough time and the required talents to thrive in either scenario. Fans will need to exercise patience.
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