Valverde urges Malcom to meet 'high demands' to break into Barcelona team

Brazilian forward completed his move to the Catalan giants from Bordeaux earlier this week

Malcom poses for photos next to a Barcelona sign following his move to the club. AP Photo

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde has warned new signing Malcom that he will have to meet the "really high" demands of the club if he is to break into the team.

Malcom, 21, completed a €41 million (Dh175.8m) move to Barcelona from French club Bordeaux earlier this week having been on the verge of joining Italian side Roma.

Valverde, who led Barca to the Primera Liga title last season in his first year in charge, has said the Brazilian forward will have to work hard to earn his place in a team packed with attacking talent.

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"We’ve been following him for a while and know him. He can definitely help the team,” Valverde said on Friday. “But [making the starting XI] obviously depends on a day-to-day basis and coach’s decision.

“In Barcelona we not only need to win Champions League, the demand is to win everything we play.

“Playing in Barcelona isn’t easy. The demands are really high on this club. We understand we always have to win and we also have to play well.”

Barcelona will face Tottenham Hotspur in the International Champions Cup on Saturday without many of their key players.

With Barca playing without the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, and Gerard Pique, Valverde said they might deploy different tactics as well as faces.

“We have multiple possibilities to explore regarding the system to use,” Valverde said. “It also depends on the players you have. But we believe we can make variations, especially on defence.”

Barcelona also face Roma and AC Milan at the pre-season tournament, before facing Sevilla in the Spanish Super Cup on August 12.