The Truth About Pepe Reina's Loan Move

It might seem a little strange, but allow me to explain. A very bizarre and seemingly unconnected series of transfer events began with Victor Valdes announcing his intention to leave Barcelona and continues with Pepe Reina moving on loan to Napoli.
I’ll give my account of this series of events and predict what will happen in the future, while giving a little afterthought.
 
Valdes to leave Barcelona
Midway through last season, Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes announces his intention to leave the club. Let’s face it, he’s not had an awful lot of goalkeeping to do in the past five years or so; he’s probably celebrated more goals in that time than he has made saves. Without him giving a definite reason, it’s understandable why he might want to move; even if everyone might not do the same thing. He hasn’t established himself fully for the national team and many question his ability given the stature of the club that he plays for, playing for another team gives him a chance challenge himself and show his ability. This then leads on to.
Liverpool sign Mignolet
Rumours are circling as to who Barcelona will sign as their replacement. Of course a lot goes on behind the scenes which we don’t know about, and Liverpool’s signing of Sunderland’s Simon Mignolet is a strong indication that Reina has been selected as Barcelona’s replacement. Of course the issue is that Valdes isn’t leaving until his contract runs out, 12 months from now. If Reina is to be Valdes’ replacement, he is left in limbo for a season. If he joins Barcelona, he competes with Valdes for his final season. If he stays at Liverpool, he competes with Mignolet; Brendan Rodgers’ signing.
Liverpool’s decision to act and sign Mignolet now suggests that moving Reina on was in their minds regardless of Barcelona interest. High wages and average performances have left many at Liverpool questioning how necessary he is. It is highly possible that Reina was always set to leave Liverpool this summer, but the next development confirms his ultimate destination.
Reina joins Napoli on loan
If Liverpool have replaced Pepe Reina and no longer need him, why would they allow him to leave on loan? Sure, part of his wages are covered by Napoli and they may receive some sort of fee for him but it is nowhere near as financially viable as selling him outright. Rodgers may preach financial reasons for the necessity of the loan move, but don’t ignore the fact that Reina returns from his loan at the same time that Valdes leaves Barcelona and the Spanish club are needing a new goalkeeper. Spending a year in Italy with the man who initially brought him to Liverpool, Rafa Benitez, nicely works out – at least partially – for both Liverpool and Barcelona. I wouldn’t bet against an agreement already being made for the 2014 summer transfer window.
All this seems relatively routine. The only question which I would raise is…
Why would Barcelona want Pepe Reina?
As one of the biggest clubs in the world, Barcelona wouldn’t exactly be short of choices when it came for a search for a new player. With regards to replacing Victor Valdes probably the only goalkeepers unavailable are Iker Casillas, Manuel Neuer, Petr Cech, Joe Hart and David De Gea due to their clubs not wanting to sell and being able to say no to Barcelona. Taking these players out of the equation, is Reina the next best player? Many would say that he isn’t, at least Hugo Lloris and Thibaut Courtois have played better recently (and they are also younger). There is also an argument for many other goalkeepers being better options.
Possibly the only thing in Reina’s favour is that he spent time at Barcelona’s youth academy, La Maisa, before leaving in 2002. His style of play also favours Barcelona’s; distribution and ball playing are his strong points, yet it could be argued that other goalkeepers can also do this well. His former association with Barcelona cannot be ignored. Along with a new style of play, Pep Guardiola brought a focus on home grown players to Barcelona when he was installed as manager. From the ‘B’ team, Pedro and Sergio Busquets were brought in and became important players. Transfers were also focused on bringing back ex-academy players. At great expense, Cesc Fabregas, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba have been purchased. Bringing Reina back seems a continuation of this.
Does this transfer policy compromise the quality of the team?
If Barcelona are pursuing a player that does not seem to be the best available option purely because he is a graduate of their youth academy; are they compromising the quality of their team? Or, conversely, are they putting the structure and style of the team ahead of the ability of individual players? Looking at their appointment of Gerardo Martino, it seems that big names and big reputations aren’t what the club prioritise. Barcelona are an almost unique club because of the style they employ; the players have to be suited to short passing and constant, clever movement.
Because their playing style is different, maybe their transfer policy has to be unique as well.
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