The World Cup winner has been tipped to slot right in alongside the Argentina duo up front for the Blaugrana this season <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
New boy Anotine Griezmman will likely settle well alongside Barcelona veterans Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez when the trio link up for the new season, says coach Ernesto Valverde.<\/p>\n
The striker, who arrived from Atletico Madrid as the Blaugrana’s biggest recruit of a busy off-season so far , made his second appearance for the club in Saturday’s 2-0 friendly win against Vissel Kobe in Japan.<\/p>\n
The La Liga champions, who also lost to Chelsea in\u00a0Saitama on their pre-season tour, return to Spain now ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, where they will link up with Argentina duo Messi and Suarez following the duo’s extended post-Copa America break.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The forward\u00a0triumvirate will likely feature for the first time together in August’s\u00a0Joan Gamper Trophy encounter with Arsenal and now Valverde has tipped their partnership to blossom with little difficulty.<\/p>\n
“The good players always understand things easily,” Valverde told the media, addressing how the France international has settled since the switch to Camp Nou.<\/p>\n
“We’ll see later on how well he links up with others. We have a lot of hope with him that it will\u00a0work.<\/p>\n
“He moves quickly and finds space really well. He’s a player we needed.”<\/p>\n
Griezmann became Barca’s joint-most expensive transfer when he signed for\u00a0\u20ac120m\u00a0(\u00a3108m\/$134m) from domestic rivals Atletico and will further travel with the club to the USA for their final preparations following their clash with the Gunners.<\/p>\n
Despite claiming domestic glory last season once more, the Catalan outfit, and coach Valverde in particular, faced criticism for their failings in the Champions League, after they surrendered a 3-0 first leg advantage against eventual winners Liverpool at Anfield .<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Griezmann, who lifted the World Cup in Russia last year however, isn’t being drawn on European focus yet as he instead looks to meet new expectations at Camp Nou.<\/p>\n
“We’re talking about the Champions League because we haven’t won it but La Liga is also a really difficult competition to win,” he stated.<\/p>\n
“I’ve been playing in La Liga since I was 18 and I haven’t won it. It’s really tough. It looks easy because Barca win year after year but it’s really difficult.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n