With only three days to go until Luis Suarez makes his Barcelona debut in El Clasico against eternal rivals, Real Madrid, we open the discussion about how the Uruguayan striker will fit in with his Barcelona teammates, Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Last season's European golden boot winner sees his four-month ban expire on Friday, and he will enter the Barcelona team at a point where his South American teammates have finally reached an understanding on the pitch that they couldn't do in the 2013/14 season.
Neymar arrived at Barcelona in the summer of 2013 with a lot of hype surrounding his ability, but failed to click with the four-time Ballon D'Or winner, Messi at the initial stages of his Barcelona career. Both players possess a similar style and, as Johan Cruyff argued, their styles clashed on the pitch. A year on, however, things have changed.
Now, with Suarez entering the lethal combination up front, many will be asking how the player, who scored 31 Premier League goals last season, can possibly improve upon the Messi-Neymar partnership.
Is it possible that Suarez will disrupt the equilibrium that has been found? Or can he become the same prolific goal scorer that he was at Liverpool, and perhaps improve with the added support?
Suarez is an out and out "number 9", with the ability to poach goals, but is also capable of playing outside of the box and scoring from distance. In last season's Premier League, four of Suarez's goals were scored from within the six yard box, 21 came from within the penalty area and six came from outside the box. This shows that Suarez has the dynamism that will be necessary to fulfil whatever role is required of him at Barcelona…
Whether Luis Enrique wants him to be a goal poacher and to be on the end of one of Lionel Messi's typically sublime passes, adding the kind of "one-dimensional" forward play that Barcelona have been missing since Samuel Eto'o's departure, or if he wants him to be the kind of ruthless power forward that Cristiano Ronaldo is at Real Madrid; or if he just wants him to play like Messi and Neymar do currently, Suarez has the capability of doing whatever is needed of him.
So, unless Luis Enrique, himself, has not been able to identify exactly what he wants from Suarez yet, the controversial striker should find it easy to adapt to life at Barcelona and click with Messi and Neymar.
Do you think Luis Suarez will fit in at Barcelona? Have your say in the comments section below.
