Is Alexia Putellas Barcelona’s new starting striker?
When Barcelona spent a world record transfer fee on Keira Walsh last summer, anyone with even a cursory interest in the 2023/24 season might have raised an eyebrow. Midfield is not an area where Barcelona have been short on options and whilst they were heading into 2022/23 without Alexia Putellas, she was not going to be unavailable for ever. £350,000 seemed like a lot of money to spend on a year’s worth of midfield cover. What would Barcelona do once they had all four of Walsh, Alexia, Aitana Bonmati and Patri Guijarro available?
Some assumed that one would be discarded - potentially Walsh. After all, it was the combination of Alexia, Aitana and Patri that had elevated Barcelona to the undisputed best women’s football team. Until knees got in the way, it was unthinkable that the trio would not play in midfield together. Once Alexia returned to full fitness, surely Patri would reprise her role at the base of midfield with Aitana as the slightly less advanced right hand side 8? Why tinker with a perfect formula?
The decision to spend that money on Walsh was particularly surprising given that Barcelona looked to have more pressing concerns when it came to squad building. They refused to meet Manchester United’s valuation of fullback Ona Batlle - more understandable given she arrived on a free 12 months on - whilst Jenni Hermoso’s exit left a vacancy up top. They did move in that market, gazumping Arsenal to the signing of Geyse Ferreira. Yet one year on, Geyse is playing for Manchester United. Asisat Oshoala remains at the club but both her injury record and performances have turned her into more of a bench player. Once again, Barcelona are missing a definitive striker.
Since pre-season Jonatan Giraldez has been using Alexia in the role. Often when midfielders are used up front, there is a reflex to refer to them as ‘false 9s’, simply because they have not previously been strikers. However, in terms of what Alexia is currently doing for Barcelona, she very much looks like an out and out striker. She leads the press, she occupies the last line of defence, and only occasionally within matches so far is she dropping into the midfield.
In Barcelona’s opening match against Madrid CFF, Alexia sort of looked like she was trying to do her best impression of what a striker should be. The opposition defence was sat quite deep and she found herself situated between the two centre-backs, desperately trying to win headers as crosses came in. Playing with her back to goal, it was too easy for defenders to get tight to her and Barcelona struggled to get balls into her feet. She looked quite isolated in a match where her team as a whole did not really get going. It was a different prospect, however, against Valencia.
Instead of playing with Claudia Pina on the wing, Esmee Brugts was used on the left. Ever since the advent of Fridolina Rolfö at the left back, Barcelona have been happy to keep that whole channel vacated for her. The left winger has licence to either drop into the midfield or to pick up more dangerous positions inside the box. It is no different with Ona Batlle currently playing there and Brugts quickly found herself also on that last line of defenders. This meant that Valencia’s defence could not just focus on marking Alexia. With more space and less attention, she looked more confident than she had before, constantly demanding the ball to her feet. A welcome effect of the Valencia defensive line being higher was that she was also finding herself on the edge of the penalty area rather than the edge of the six yard box.
Similar to in the Valencia match, against Real Sociedad, Claudia Pina pushed high and central to be another option. Alexia was able to drop - just a little bit - whilst the defence stayed pinned. What has been clear in these matches so far that much of Alexia’s success as a striker will depend on how the players around her support her. There is a reason why Alexia Putellas is a two time Ballon D’Or winner - she could probably play anywhere on the pitch pretty successfully. Playing her up top does open her up to being more insistently marked than when she was able to drift and find pockets of space in midfield. Being supported by Barcelona’s other threats though becomes a win-win. Either the defence follows Alexia and other players fill those gaps which open up, or they focus on the other options and Alexia runs riot.
One thing that has been noticeable with Alexia as a central striker, however, is how much she wants the ball into her feet. At times, there has been a clear option to play the ball in over the top but Alexia does not have her body set up to turn and run. This does not have to be a problem; after all, most defences are going to sit fairly deep against Barcelona. But it does take away some potential variety in Barcelona’s play.
Speaking about his decision to play Alexia as a 9, Jonatan Giraldez said:
“She is a player who is able to play with her back to goal and her final ball is incredible. She also scores many goals.”
“The position is not so much about the number that we give her or where on the pitch she plays, but about the role that we give her.”
“For me, the key is to surround her with the elements that permit her to participate in the zones that I think she has to participate in.”
There is no doubt that if you put Alexia in dangerous areas, she will score goals. She has scored more than ten goals in each of her past seven seasons (prior to her ACL), and against Real Sociedad at the weekend she equalled Jenni Hermoso’s record as Barcelona’s all-time top scorer. Whilst it is only early days, the numbers indicate her increased attacking presence within the Barcelona team.
It has been suggested that this plan to play Alexia up front was concocted a while back, when Walsh was originally signed. The decision to bring in Geyse at the time makes me a bit sceptical of that idea, and I don’t think Barcelona need to pretend this was all part of some grand plan. It seems much more plausible that given all the pieces now at his disposal, Jonatan Giraldez thinks right now Alexia is his best option to play there. Walsh is yet to start a match this season due to injury so how it will shake out with all four of them on the pitch remains to be seen, and the use of Alexia as a 9 does not answer all of the questions posed by her signing. Is Patri Guijarro truly better in a more advanced role than she is at the base of a midfield, for example?
There should be competition with Alexia as a striker. Salma Paralluelo was a revelation for Spain as the central striker at the World Cup and is currently unavailable through injury. There have also been bids put in for Lyon striker Ada Hegerberg, whose contract expires at the end of this season. It has been a slow return to form for the Barcelona star after her ACL injury but there are glimpses of the player she was prior. There are also glimpses of a very effective number 9 there. Success will not come overnight however. If Giraldez really was planning this, the amount of time he sticks with it will likely be the most revealing proof.