Valverde takes on a new challenge in the transfer market

Posted Monday, June 05, 2017 by Marca.com

It has been a whirlwind week for Ernesto Valverde as the 53-year-old was appointed coach of Barcelona and takes on a new challenge in the transfer market, following a hugely successful spell with Athletic Club.

He arrives at the Camp Nou with the club in a moment of transition, but the fact remains that they will provide him with the kind of resources he has never before been able to work with.

Seven days into the job is barely enough time to stamp your mark on a club and, as such, Valverde has been adjusting to his new surroundings before an onslaught on the transfer market begins.

Barcelona remain on the hunt for players in several positions, particularly in midfield and at right-back, with those in power at the club determined to re-energise a team that faltered in LaLiga this term.

Athletic Club had a transfer budget that is not even in the same conversation as that of Barcelona, with the Basque club having had to look for cost efficient options when adding to their team, in addition to abiding by their Basque-only policy.

With that said, Barcelona are not in the position of financial comfort that both Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United enjoy, with the club needing to assess every future purchase carefully.

Throughout his entire career Valverde has only spent around 85 million euros on 27 signings, over the course of 14 years coaching at the top level.

This is comparatively low to many other coaches and it could well be the case that the Blaugrana surpass this in his first transfer window in charge.

Every summer the transfer market becomes inflated even further and, thus far, Manchester City have set the tone by spending around 50 million euros on Bernardo Silva.

As a result, it seems likely that the Catalan giants will have to set aside a fee up to around 80 million euros in order to bring in a marquee midfield signing.

Valverde will be entrusted with giving his opinion on targets for the club, one which is aiming to vastly improve the team and return them to the pinnacle of both Spanish and European football.