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FC Barcelona Femení added to their already impressive team with three new signings so far this transfer season. Ingrid Engen and Fridolina Rolfö both signed from VfL Wolfsburg Frauen and Irene Paredes, the Spain captain, has joined from Paris Saint-Germain Féminine. Engen, Rolfö, and Paredes have all signed on until 2023, letting the club acquire three great players without having to spend a cent on a transfer fee as they were out of contract at their former clubs. All signings were rumored before new coach, Jonatan Giráldez, was announced. Giráldez, who was an assistant under Lluis Cortés for two and a half years, officially took over as head coach on July 2nd.
It goes without saying that Barcelona have an incredible team already and it will be interesting to see if the new signings can make their way into the starting eleven. The three players each play in different postions; defense, midfield and forward.
Ingrid Engen plays mostly as a central midfielder who goes box to box and should fit into the Barcelona style pretty well, considering both enjoy having a lot of the ball.
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Engen had been with Wolfsburg since 2019 but was loaned out that year to LSK Kvinner. The Norwegian then went on made 54 appearances for the German club scoring eight goals. Engen has a decent shot of getting playing time with the departures of midfielders Vicky Losado and Kheira Hamraoui.
Fridolina Rolfö is a 27-year-old striker from Sweden. Rolfö has incredible speed which usually uses up and down the left side, but she can play centrally as well. She joined Wolfsburg in 2019, making 34 appearances scoring 12 goals.
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Barcelona already has a wealth of goal scorers, particularly with Lieke Martens finding her form again on the left side of Jenni Hermoso. Martens has struggled with injury in recent years, but this year she stayed healthy and scored 20 goals in the Primera Divison and the Champions League. Rolfö and Martens will hopefully be able to combine for a lot of production down the left flank.
Irene Paredes is a 30-year-old center-back who was crucial for PSG. PSG’s defense only allowed four league goals on their way to winning the Division 1 Féminine title. Paredes will likely easily slot into the backline next to Mapi León, given their partnership for the Spanish National Team.
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Paredes spent five years at PSG, winning her first league title in 2021. Paredes is familiar with a number of Barca players through the Spanish National Team for whom she has made 77 appearances. Barcelona only allowed 15 league goals during the 2020/2021 and that number could get even lower with Paredes in the backline next season.
Barcelona had one of the most impressive seasons you will see. They lost one league game on their way to winning the treble. It’s hard to imagine the side getting better after they dominated last season, but with these new signings they could be starting a dynasty. Others teams have a lot of work to do if they want to stop Barcelona from repeating.