Transfer Rumors

Tbh, I really can't see us reaching the levels we hope of this team without Dani Alves. If he goes, then I might very well consider it to be the end of a cycle.

BarrileteCosmico wrote:Are we actually linked to Dede or is Dani just wanting him?

Free asked about him, I dont know if I want him or not. Im not knowledgable enough to have an opinion.

I know I would prefer him to guys who wont work or arent worth it though.

I agree about Alves... Myself and Franchise mentioned it in another thread... if we lose him, in one season we've made an unprecedented downgrade in our fullbacks department.

On Dede, yes we are linked to him, but we are linked with a lot of players...

Main ones atm:
Javi, David Luiz, Sakho, Hummels, Vertonghen, Vermaelen, Dede, N'Koulou

Hummels recently renewed until 2017 having refused interest from an unnamed club, so I think you can safely rule him out Kizz.

dostoevsky wrote:Hummels recently renewed until 2017 having refused interest from an unnamed club, so I think you can safely rule him out Kizz.

I'm just saying names we are linked with. You could rule plenty of names out on that basis. eg. David Luiz won't happen either.

Javi Martínez - Converted midfielder but he has lots to learn to become a world class CB.
David Luiz - Prone to mistakes and lapses of concentration. Remember Gabi Milito?
Sakho - Was good before his injury but hasn't found form and barely played last season. Probably not cheap either.
Hummels - Just renewed with Dortmund.
Vertonghen - Close to signing with Spurs at the moment.
Vermaelen - Will be expensive. Great defender nonetheless and can play left back too. Has had injury problems in the past.
Dedé - Don't know much about him. He could become a beast in defence though. Unproven in a top tier league.
N'Koulou - Good defender in Ligue 1. A bit aggressive (think Mascherano). Unproven in a top tier league.

Personally I would take a gamble and sign a couple of lesser known players. Yaya Touré and Abidal were world class players but were unproven in a top tier league like England or Spain.

Surely there's someone within La Liga who could suffice, you're essentially after a vice-Pique rather than a starter given Mascherano's performances, am I correct?

dostoevsky wrote:Surely there's someone within La Liga who could suffice, you're essentially after a vice-Pique rather than a starter given Mascherano's performances, am I correct?

Wrong.We are not after a vice Pique.We are after someone who will put Pique in his rightful place,the bench(based on his form over the past year and a half).
Hummels is the perfect CB for us.I have no doubt that he would be brilliant with us.The best passer out of the back I have seen since Rafa Marquez and a better CB than him.Has all the ingredients and more to play for us.
Unfortunately wont happen.

BarcaKizz wrote:My hope is someone at this Euros stands up and puts his hand up to play for us. Otherwise I hope at the end of it we start looking at different options (like the Arsenal pair).

Just read the Dede rumours. Sounds interesting.

Its kind of annoying Thiago Silva might actually move now, but to PSG...

Has anyone seen the interest in Sergi Roberto? Apparently Milan, Atleti and Chelsea are all after him and Chelsea are willing to offer 10m. It wouldn't surprise me as he's quite a bit like Lampard. Barca and the player don't want him to leave, which I'm happy with. I think he deserves a chance, could be a useful player.

Oh and Mino is about to go to Mallorca.

You rate Roberto the most on here and he is also thought of highly by Pep and Xavi.Also 10 mil for a B teamer is a lot.So there must be something about the kid that I dont see.

Do you not believe that Pique will return to playing at his potential when put under pressure or do you think that he and Hummels could co-exist if Pique's form once demanded a starting place? I personally don't believe they compliment each other sufficiently, however you might have a different opinion.

BarrileteCosmico wrote:Are we actually linked to Dede or is Dani just wanting him?

Sport claimed it's an option yesterday.

dostoevsky wrote:Do you not believe that Pique will return to playing at his potential when put under pressure or do you think that he and Hummels could co-exist if Pique's form once demanded a starting place? I personally don't believe they compliment each other sufficiently, however you might have a different opinion.

Dont know whether he will regain form.I thought he would regain form too but its been too long.A world class player entering his prime years doesnt go off form for one and a half years.
So if Hummels does come and is given a fair chance,I fully expect him to bench Pique.
If Pique does regain form,dont see why the 2 cant play together.Pique and Marquez were a very successful partnership for us and both are very similar players,ball playing CB's.
For Milan Maldini and Nesta formed a good partnership and they were both similar.
Nesta and Thiago Silva formed an excellent partnership and they are both similar players.Granted Thiago Silva is very athletic but still similar mold of player.
Hummels and Badstuber play for Germany and they are both similar,ball playing CB's from the back.
I think sometimes there is too much of a fixation on CB's complimenting each other with their styles,that one has to be a bulldog stopper and the other an elegant sweeper.Dont think that necessarily has to the case.
If 2 CB's are good enough then they can play together successfully.

dostoevsky wrote:Surely there's someone within La Liga who could suffice, you're essentially after a vice-Pique rather than a starter given Mascherano's performances, am I correct?

Masche was immense for us throughout the league season, but when the stakes got big his performances diminished. Pique was the exact opposite: he was unreliable all season, but when the stakes got big he was his usual self. This to me means a problem of motivation and lack of competition for the spot, so I personally advocate for a vice-Pique. However, there are plenty that want a world-class CB to replace Masche, who as I previously said was found wanting in some big games, or Pique if his slump continues.

I don't think Pique's has been bad for 1,5 years at all.

He was very important for us in 2010/11 season, one of the most important players in the team (our last CB). He was a bit inconsistent that season, but generally good and extremely important.

The 2011/12 season, he really has been very poor in some games, but he hasn't been poor every game he has played. In the end, we lost vs. Madrid and Chelsea, the defining moments of the season, more because of 343 and because Pique wasn't playing than anything else. Mascherano has been great the whole season, and bluffer terribly in those matches...

Also, Pique had a great Cup final and I'm pretty sure he'll have a good Eurocup.

I agree about your considerations about CB pairings.

BarrileteCosmico wrote:

dostoevsky wrote:Surely there's someone within La Liga who could suffice, you're essentially after a vice-Pique rather than a starter given Mascherano's performances, am I correct?

Masche was immense for us throughout the league season, but when the stakes got big his performances diminished. Pique was the exact opposite: he was unreliable all season, but when the stakes got big he was his usual self. This to me means a problem of motivation and lack of competition for the spot, so I personally advocate for a vice-Pique. However, there are plenty that want a world-class CB to replace Masche, who as I previously said was found wanting in some big games, or Pique if his slump continues.

Agree on the Masch part.Before we went into that crucial week wouldnt have doubted Masch.But those 3 encounters he showed that he is not aWC CB and we cant go into next season depending on Masch.
Dont agree on Pique that he stepped up for the big games.Simple reason that he didnt play our 3 biggest games,one against Madrid and 2 against Chelsea(played a few minutes in the second leg).

It has to be mentioned that when Pique and Puyol were both playing together Pique looked much better than usual. The fact that both of them were injured so often and rarely got the chance to play together affected both of their usual performances.

The partnership of Badstuber and Hummels that you mentioned in particular motivated my comments upon the matter, as before the Portugal game Mats has always tended to perform in sub-par performances for Germany and the collection of partners he's had in the national team brought the issue to mind for me. I agree that he's a wonderful player, however I still believe more time is required to judge their partnership.

One thing in the partnership's favour I believe is Badstuber's ability to be the strong personality on the field, something that is within Hummels but which hasn't been brought out for Germany yet, hence Badstuber's pivotal role in Loew's line-up. The issue of leadership if he became part of Barcelona might be less of an issue with time though and Mascherano's ability to force the issue. I believe Hummels is a marvellous centre-back, however whether he's the best for bringing Pique back is another question, because I do believe that he'll return to his peak performances.

If the transfer was possible, which I don't believe it is unfortunately for you, game time wouldn't be an issue at the very least given the flexibility his presence would provide and even an ability to step into midfield as a cover.

free_cat wrote:I don't think Pique's has been bad for 1,5 years at all.

He was very important for us in 2010/11 season, one of the most important players in the team (our last CB). He was a bit inconsistent that season, but generally good and extremely important.

The 2011/12 season, he really has been very poor in some games, but he hasn't been poor every game he has played. In the end, we lost vs. Madrid and Chelsea, the defining moments of the season, more because of 343 and because Pique wasn't playing than anything else. Mascherano has been great the whole season, and bluffer terribly in those matches...

Also, Pique had a great Cup final and I'm pretty sure he'll have a good Eurocup.

I agree about your considerations about CB pairings.

He has been inconsistent since January last.We discussed Pique's poor form a lot during the tail end of last season.I am sure the threads are still there.
But he stepped up in the big games.
This season he has been very poor.At one point he got yellow cards in 6 consecutive games.Dont care if they were soft,6 in a row is just unacceptable.
So an entire season and the second half of last season.Its too long and we just cant afford his punk act next season.

dostoevsky wrote:The partnership of Badstuber and Hummels that you mentioned in particular motivated my comments upon the matter, as before the Portugal game Mats has always tended to perform in sub-par performances for Germany and the collection of partners he's had in the national team brought the issue to mind for me. I agree that he's a wonderful player, however I still believe more time is required to judge their partnership.

One thing in the partnership's favour I believe is Badstuber's ability to be the strong personality on the field, something that is within Hummels but which hasn't been brought out for Germany yet, hence Badstuber's pivotal role in Loew's line-up. The issue of leadership if he became part of Barcelona might be less of an issue with time though and Mascherano's ability to force the issue. I believe Hummels is a marvellous centre-back, however whether he's the best for bringing Pique back is another question, because I do believe that he'll return to his peak performances.

If the transfer was possible, which I don't believe it is unfortunately for you, game time wouldn't be an issue at the very least given the flexibility his presence would provide and even an ability to step into midfield as a cover.

Interesting.I think one season playing with Puyol would help Hummels immensely in the leadership department.And yes if the transfer did happen he wouldnt lack for gametime as he is a versatile player.
Just a question.Now that Thiago Silva is almsot gone,would you take Hummels at Milan(improbable though the transfer might be).

"Our financial situation is bad, there is nothing I can do about Thiago," he is quoted by La Stampa as saying.

"I have been offered €46 million."

Berlusconi.


So, there goes the untouchable Thiago Silva myth....

Not saying we should spend 46m on him, not at all...but there goes a world class centerback and we havent done squat.

For all we know Rosell might have bid for him but we were outbid by PSG, and due to their finances they would only consider selling to the highest bidder. In fact, it's probably likely, we were linked to him an awful lot.

I would be absolutely ecstatic if Hummels were to replace Thiago Silva, however it's about as likely as Thiago staying with us at this point in time. I've admired Hummels for a long time, however we've not yet shown an interest in sourcing players from Germany and I believe such a trend shall continue unfortunately. The point you brought out about Puyol's ability to help Hummels is important actually, even if it's only on the training ground.

Also Dani I'm actually disappointed that Barcelona didn't push harder for Silva in the end. I was honestly under the impression that he was unsellable, however not only has this happened, it's happened so suddenly and with no honesty whatsoever from our management, Braida even tried to deny it yesterday. I'd be quite willing to sell Thiago Silva to you for a lower fee if Alcantara were included in the deal, though I'm sure everyone here would be very reluctant to see such a genuinely fantastic midfielder lost in the deal.

Possibly..but I doubt it.

If Thiago Silva was aware we were offering (in this hypothetical situation) he would very much likely say, it doesnt matter what PSG offer, im not going.

Accept the Barca deal if you want any money out of me.

If anyone wants Hummels he will cost a ridiculous amount of money he just signed a new contract with BVB till 2017.

The Franchise wrote:"Our financial situation is bad, there is nothing I can do about Thiago," he is quoted by La Stampa as saying.

"I have been offered €46 million."

Berlusconi.


So, there goes the untouchable Thiago Silva myth....

Not saying we should spend 46m on him, not at all...but there goes a world class centerback and we havent done squat.

Wouldn't say we did squat. I'm sure we discussed it with them and tried to contact the agent. We offered 30m reportedly... we just don't have the cash PSG has.