Kessie and Christensen captures show Barca mean business

Sometimes plumbing the depths isn’t such a bad thing after all.

When you’ve gone so far down that there’s nowhere realistically left to go, the only way is up.

Moreover, in Barcelona’s case it has allowed them to recalibrate and forced them to make some tough decisions to steady the ship through some very choppy waters.

To the credit of Joan Laporta and his board, slowly but surely, culers are beginning to see the old Barca coming back.

Little by little and piece by piece, Xavi’s squad is getting better and business off the pitch is looking as healthy as it’s done for some while.

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Of course, not everyone is going to agree with certain decisions, nor the direction that the club ultimately appear to be heading in.

However, at this stage culers can have no real complaints.

I read some comments earlier that were, for all intents and purposes, dismissive.

Dismissive of the work gone into hiring Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie, as well as of the players themselves.

As if, in some way, Barca should be aiming their sights higher.

In case anyone has short memories, Christensen is a fully paid-up member of the Danish national team and has years left in him at the top level. Silky smooth on the ball, he is an excellent acquisition.

Kessie joins from the Serie A champions after a season in which he played the fullest part.

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Comparisons with Yaya Toure aren’t too wide of the mark, and the fact that the man himself has given his blessing should be more than enough of an endorsement of Kessie’s skill set.

Both players have signed on four-year deals and, all being well, they’ll both be here far beyond that given that Kessie is only 25 and Christensen 26.

If there’s one area of concern at this stage, it’s the somewhat perennial issue of the ‘deadwood’ not acquiescing to a move away, Clement Lenglet excepted.

Although I’d expect the club to have a reasonably decent transfer window thanks to the financial levers being actioned, there’s little doubt the financial position would be healthier still with the likes of Umtiti, Puig, Braithwaite and Neto et al off the books.

Still, let’s not wallow in our own self pity. Improvements are now evident and that’s a big step in the right direction for a club that was on its knees two years ago.