Getafe game shows how far Denis Suarez has fallen at Barcelona

Denis Suarez looks set for another frustrating afternoon on Sunday as the midfielder has once again been left out of Ernesto Valverde’s squad for the game against Getafe.

The 24-year-old’s last start for Barcelona came in the 1-0 Copa del Rey defeat to Espanyol, when he missed a glorious opportunity to score and was substituted late on for Rafinha.

Since then Suarez has not seen a single minute of first-team action and the arrival of Philippe Coutinho obviously has not helped his chances.

Suarez has struggled to even make the squad since the turn of the year, he was included in the squad for both Copa del Rey semi-finals games against Valencia but did not appear.

It’s all a far cry from the start of the season and particularly the game at Getafe in September.

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In that match Barcelona has gone behind in the first half after Gaku Shibasaki has netted a stunner and had also lost Ousmane Dembele to injury.

With his team toiling, Valverde sent on Denis at half-time, for Andres Iniesta, and he scored the equaliser as Barca went on to win 2-1.

That was part of a good spell for Denis who also scored and assisted in the 6-1 win over Eibar, but since then has managed just two assists in his last 11 outings.

Denis is clearly not doing enough to impress Valverde at the moment, and having missed out on the squad to face Getafe you wonder when his next opportunity may come.

The season is starting to reach its business end and with crucial fixtures ahead, Denis may have few chances to impress.

Last summer there were plenty of rumors linking Denis with a move away, and that will probably the same again this summer, particularly if he continues to struggle for game time.