Transfer Rumours V4

windkick wrote:Apparently the club wants to keep Mascherano, but only if he is willing to strictly play the midfield from now on (specifically back up to Buscuits, as the club plans to sell Song). Club plans on signing two center backs so Mascherano will not be needed at center back anymore; if he accepts the role. Smart move by Lucho; should of been done along time ago

Speaking of right backs, what about Hugo Malo? Sure he isn't world class, but if you guys are talking about getting a guy to learn under Alves for at least a year then he could be it. He's been rated highly as a prospect for a long time now and developed well under Enrique at Celta. He's probably around the same caliber as Montoya imo. Just an idea as a under study since Montoya was pretty annoying last season

Also, the clubs plans to loan out Oier this season. That pretty much guarantees Masip will be the back up unless we sign another keeper willing to back up MaTs. Didn't realize Masip was so short btw, he's only 5"10 apparently. That's really short for a keeper

This will be fun. I hope Masche improved in overall Barca's game, cuz he was really bad at replacing Busi when he did that in his first season.

Mascherano doesnt have the intelligence or speed of thought (with the ball) to play as a holding midfielder for a possession oriented team. Never done it and never will.

Its too complex for him, he cant deal with pressure and his passing while improved, is still not of the level required.

windkick wrote:Idk, all I'm saying is that I wasn't aware Masip was so short. I'm also not going to sit here and compare him with what another guy that's slightly taller and so happens to be the one of, if not the greatest goal keeper of our generation can do with a similar height. Thats unfair to Masip.  

Anyways, I'm not GK expert and will let RWO chime in on this if he comes across this thread

Well, as I'm a big fan of another comparatively short goalie (Yann Sommer is 'only' 1.83m, that is, 6ft), I can assure you that size is really not everything. If the goalie has a great jumping power, then you won't really realize that he is not 6'4" or taller - as a matter of fact, a shorter goalie can possibly be faster if he needs to catch balls that come in low.

Oh, and by the way, I'm not a "he"

Twitter says this about the outgoings.

Players Gone Or Sure To Go :-

Valdes
Pinto
Puyol
Dos Santos
Song
Afellay
Tello
Cuenca
Roberto
Oier


Players That Could Go :-

Adriano
Alves
Mascherano
Fabregas
Alexis
Pedro

neuro11 wrote:anyone heard anything about yaya.....according to british papers, his agent said he is unhappy with how he was being treated and would not mind to accept a lower salary to return Barca....

To be honest I don't quite like Yaya's attitude. Yes as a Barca fan it's nice that he says good things about us but ManCity have given him so much, immense amount of money, just the playing position he would like and he has almost become the MVP of the side. He really should show more togetherness with them and gratitude towards them. Otherwise he could become another Tevez.

As for purchasing him thanks but no thanks. That train has long since passed. When he was with us he was awesome and I was a big supporter. However he played as DM then and Busquets has since matured so much. We don't need a box to box midfielder all that much. I don't think such a player fits well with our style. What we need is a deep lying technical midfielder like a Gundogan or a Pogba or a Pjanic. Then there is age. His wages are very high too. Last but not the least he has become too big for his boots. As far as I am concerned throw him in the deep sea before even considering this idea.

You know players like Yaya etc. getting so much and then behaving like jerks reminds me of one man - the maestro Xavi. Can you imagine that Iniesta's salary was recently made higher than his and Neymar was brought on higher wages than him? All this in spite of being the player, arguably even ahead of Messi, around whom the entire best Barca was built. Yet not one word to the press about any kind of discontent. Benched by Tata on a few important occasions. Rumors have suggested that the club is not against letting him go. Still do we get one disparaging comment from him in the media, even one thought expressed that he is not being valued enough. No. Instead Cruyff felt the need to complain on his behalf. A complete team man if there ever was any and for a player so great to be such a team man is very rare. They don't make them like this man any more. The only contemporary player who I like calling Sir. I salute him.

The Franchise wrote:Zabaleta already 29. Piszczek (dont rate him that highly anyway) will be 29 by next season also.

Dont see the point replacing Alves with these players.

Not replacing Alves dani. If Zabaleta is available for cheap should we buy him as a utility player for both right and left back positions. He I think would be interested because in spite of fine performances ManCity are now going to replace him with Sagna.

rwo power wrote:

windkick wrote:Idk, all I'm saying is that I wasn't aware Masip was so short. I'm also not going to sit here and compare him with what another guy that's slightly taller and so happens to be the one of, if not the greatest goal keeper of our generation can do with a similar height. Thats unfair to Masip.  

Anyways, I'm not GK expert and will let RWO chime in on this if he comes across this thread

Well, as I'm a big fan of another comparatively short goalie (Yann Sommer is 'only' 1.83m, that is, 6ft), I can assure you that size is really not everything. If the goalie has a great jumping power, then you won't really realize that he is not 6'4" or taller - as a matter of fact, a shorter goalie can possibly be faster if he needs to catch balls that come in low.

Oh, and by the way, I'm not a "he"

OOooohhh, lol

My apologies I always assumed you were a "he"

Having calmed down after my initial outburst of anger I now seriously ask do you all think we need a box to box midfielder? Do you think such a player fits into our scheme of things? Twitter says Luis Enrique is keen on Arturo Vidal and is willing to part with Alexis Sanchez to make it happen as a part exchange deal.

dont think it be a good idea to use sanchez as a bargaining chip for vidal.. Whos going to cover the right side? Deulofeu??? paaaaleaaseeeeee

-Neymar------Messi--------Pedro
------Iniesta----------Vidal??
---------------Buscuit
-Alba-----CB-------Pique----Alves

wouldn't be so bad to be honest Messi and Neymar not tracking back so much could bo be helped with a strong midfield such as vidal / buscuit and pedro isn't exactly horrible.

I think Pedro had a worse season this year (despite scoring more) because Tata tried making the team less Messi dependednt and added too much pressure to Pedro, he works best in a system where he makes runs, tries to assist and OCCASIONALLY poach when in the right situation.

but i am not fully convinced with vidal's creative ability.

we could also try

------------------Messi
Neymar-----------Iniesta-----------Pedro
---------Buscuit---------Vidal
-Alba------New CB----Pique-------Alves
------------------MAtS

windkick wrote:OOooohhh, lol
My apologies I always assumed you were a "he"

*g* And I thought my crush on Yann Sommer would have given me away

messixaviesta wrote:

To be honest I don't quite like Yaya's attitude. Yes as a Barca fan it's nice that he says good things about us but ManCity have given him so much, immense amount of money, just the playing position he would like and he has almost become the MVP of the side. He really should show more togetherness with them and gratitude towards them. Otherwise he could become another Tevez.

yeah....what you say about him makes sense. I actually liked him and was so disappointed when we sold him. still i follow him in City and i like the way he plays. But true, train has long passed and no point to bring some one back no matter how good he is, it simple wont help us overall.[/quote]

messixaviesta wrote:
You know players like Yaya etc. getting so much and then behaving like jerks reminds me of one man - the maestro Xavi. Can you imagine that Iniesta's salary was recently made higher than his and Neymar was brought on higher wages than him? All this in spite of being the player, arguably even ahead of Messi, around whom the entire best Barca was built. Yet not one word to the press about any kind of discontent. Benched by Tata on a few important occasions. Rumors have suggested that the club is not against letting him go. Still do we get one disparaging comment from him in the media, even one thought expressed that he is not being valued enough. No. Instead Cruyff felt the need to complain on his behalf. A complete team man if there ever was any and for a player so great to be such a team man is very rare. They don't make them like this man any more. The only contemporary player who I like calling Sir. I salute him.

though not a thread realted to, but some excellent comments about Xavi. many of these(if not all) i was thinking during last few games when saw him in the bench. i was trying to read his mind. is he angry?? upset? how is he feeling to be benched ?? specially when this decison really did not make sense other than being just personal choice.
he remained loyal, truly i felt that......

Donuts wrote:-Neymar------Messi--------Pedro
------Iniesta----------Vidal??
---------------Buscuit
-Alba-----CB-------Pique----Alves

wouldn't be so bad to be honest Messi and Neymar not tracking back so much could bo be helped with a strong midfield such as vidal / buscuit and pedro isn't exactly horrible.

I think Pedro had a worse season this year (despite scoring more) because Tata tried making the team less Messi dependednt and added too much pressure to Pedro, he works best in a system where he makes runs, tries to assist and OCCASIONALLY poach when in the right situation.

but i am not fully convinced with vidal's creative ability.

we could also try

------------------Messi
Neymar-----------Iniesta-----------Pedro
---------Buscuit---------Vidal
-Alba------New CB----Pique-------Alves
------------------MAtS

If just to get Vidal we sell Alexis and play Pedro on the right that means we are imrpoving mid to make our wing weak or weakest....pedro when inform how many goals he scored from the right side. other than making himself tired with some useless runs i dont see any use of him. The guy cant dribble past a player if i am not wrong. if you pass the ball back every single time you do not desrve to be a winger.

after this year people still want to sell alexis???
do people not watch football after all?

@JD dont you think Adriano fills Zabeleta's potential role just as easily? Plus he seemed less injury prone this season.

Regarding Yaya;

I think we do need a box to box midfielder, well not exactly, but someone with that kind of all around dynamic ability.


@Billy. It is bizzare to me too. I feel like people have simply made up their minds and him and thats the end of it. Everyone knows he isnt some technical genius or even a special player, but I dont see how anyone can really question his overall effectiveness or function.

billy_gr wrote:after this year people still want to sell alexis???
do people not watch football after all?

The people you should refer to here is our great board.

The Franchise wrote:@JD dont you think Adriano fills Zabeleta's potential role just as easily? Plus he seemed less injury prone this season.

Regarding Yaya;

I think we do need a box to box midfielder, well not exactly, but someone with that kind of all around dynamic ability.

Hmm dani didn't think of Adriano right away when I wrote that. Last summer I remember some wanted to sell him due to his injury proneness. You make a good point that this season he was more fit. So it does not make much sense to sell him. Still for whatever reason he is being listed among the players likely to be sold just as Alexis. So if we sell him then we will need this sort of player. I understand that if we have to purchase a right back it should be someone really young who can slowly grow into the Alves role. Maybe we can continue to trust Montoya then. Right back and for that matter left back are not there on the supposed agenda of our board for this summer. Then again the rumours of Alves leaving are reasonably strong. It's not all adding up. Time will make things clearer. Also I wouldn't be against selling Alba and having all of Alves, Adriano and Zabaleta instead. This won't be a long term solution though. Its basically a moot point since as of today Alba is not on the market, one of the very few players in the current squad who is considered safe for whatever reasons.

As for your second comment I think if we were to play in our style we will need that deeper lying midfielder who is very comfortable on the ball, has great vision and can spray passes all around including long passes. A box to box midfielder will rarely have those qualities and the kind of player I am suggesting will rarely have that all around dynamic ability. Can you think of anyone who would really be able to combine these qualities? Come to think of it Vidal may have been very much a Tata Martino kind of player. If he had been purchased last summer then Tata could have even done a better job given the style he was preferring but that is only if the board was not pressurizing him to play all of Xavi, Iniesta and Fabregas together.

neuro11 wrote:

messixaviesta wrote:
You know players like Yaya etc. getting so much and then behaving like jerks reminds me of one man - the maestro Xavi. Can you imagine that Iniesta's salary was recently made higher than his and Neymar was brought on higher wages than him? All this in spite of being the player, arguably even ahead of Messi, around whom the entire best Barca was built. Yet not one word to the press about any kind of discontent. Benched by Tata on a few important occasions. Rumors have suggested that the club is not against letting him go. Still do we get one disparaging comment from him in the media, even one thought expressed that he is not being valued enough. No. Instead Cruyff felt the need to complain on his behalf. A complete team man if there ever was any and for a player so great to be such a team man is very rare. They don't make them like this man any more. The only contemporary player who I like calling Sir. I salute him.

though not a thread realted to, but some excellent comments about Xavi. many of these(if not all) i was thinking during last few games when saw him in the bench. i was trying to read his mind. is he angry?? upset? how is he feeling to be benched ?? specially when this decison really did not make sense other than being just personal choice.
he remained loyal, truly i felt that......

Well said. I agree. Even if he is angry he is so classy as to not let his feelings out to the media and destabilize the team. He is that one player who I can hardly ever remember having spoken to the media asking for something for himself or complaining about something he was not getting. For him it's always about the team. That's what he invariably talks about. It's quite incredible. In contrast the player who is often compared to him Andrea Pirlo comes off as that much more self centred. Anyway let's get on with the topic of the thread.

messixaviesta wrote:.Can you think of anyone who would really be able to combine these qualities?

Thiago



Though seriously, on his game alone, Yaya. Watching him for City forced me to realise we misused him aswell as didnt play him enough in that final 1.5 years.

He could easily play further forward, just on a technical level. I think we improved him and he has become a very good passer or the ball; both in terms of final passes, or just the safer high % ball and the choice if which ball to play at which time.

The problem I have with him now, funny enough, is his defensive game. I dont know if he has it in him to press in the midfield and still recover in defensive transitions effectively.

The Franchise wrote:

messixaviesta wrote:.Can you think of anyone who would really be able to combine these qualities?

Thiago



Though seriously, on his game alone, Yaya. Watching him for City forced me to realise we misused him aswell as didnt play him enough in that final 1.5 years.

He could easily play further forward, just on a technical level. I think we improved him and he has become a very good passer or the ball; both in terms of final passes, or just the safer high % ball and the choice if which ball to play at which time.

The problem I have with him now, funny enough, is his defensive game. I dont know if he has it in him to press in the midfield and still recover in defensive transitions effectively.

Ironically the minute I posted this the first name that came to my mind is that of Thiago.

As for Yaya we may have limited his forward abilities then but we needed him to be a DM until Busquets was fully ready to take over. I agree that he has become too big a star now to do the dirty defensive work. Also I am not sure if the team structure and dynamics would work out that well with him now. The way he plays now he needs to go more and more into the box and thrives even more when the team plays in a counter attacking style. I think we need a player who will play a sort of understated role that would allow our three forwards and Iniesta to function best. He may be technically good but does he seem the sort of player who will play those quick short passes to keep things in circulation. His style is so much more about running from box to box. I think we need more of an orchestrator. Gundogan, Pogba and perhaps Pjanic are the names in my mind right now apart from Thiago but let's not go there after all the fracas. I would also bring up the age argument. We need to look at long term solutions and thus younger players. All things considered he is not a terrible option but not all that well suited either the way I see it.

Thiago is made of glass. Now his other knee is blown out. Shame; I hope it doesnt affect his game too much

So Masip and D. Suarez are officially promoted?

Can this be suggestive? The launch of the new kit includes only those first team players who we believe are an integral part of the future of Barcelona. The club seems open to at least listen to offers for the rest.

http://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spain/2014/05/21/4831802/wheres-fabregas-in-barcelona-kit-launch-photo?ICID=OP

I pointed that out in the kit thread.

Maybe I should work for Goal.com

windkick wrote:Thiago is made of glass. Now his other knee is blown out. Shame; I hope it doesnt affect his game too much

Well, if there is a doc who can fix him, it is Dr.Müller-Wohlfahrt. He fixed Arjen Robben, too. There has been a fight between Dr.Müller-Wohlfahrt and Pep as Pep allowed Thiogo (before his last injury) to go to Spain for treatment, while Müller-Wohlfahrt told Pep that he didn't like this idea as he would expect another injury if Thiago wouldn't stay under his care. The result? Pep let Thiago go and Thiago in fact got injured. That's why Pep mentioned recently that he considers it his (Pep's) fault that Thiago got injured again.

rwo, very interesting. I must say progress in Robben's physical fitness is impressive.