Transfer Rumours V6

This is Marca just writing articles for the sake of writing articles.

Title reads "Laporta certain: Haaland is the priority", as if the other clubs' presidents weren't thinking day and night about signing him as well

I'm sure for Madrid the priority is Mbappe

Haaland is a counterattacking gem, but he won't be suited to Barcelona's style.

Again shows Laporta knows nothing about football. He wanted to sign Beckham for Barça the first time round ffs.

danyjr wrote:Haaland is a counterattacking gem, but he won't be suited to Barcelona's style.

Again shows Laporta knows nothing about football. He wanted to sign Beckham for Barça the first time round ffs.

Yup. He basically did what Cruyff did and that was the source of his success. But Cruyff is no longer around.

alexjanosik wrote:


Disagree that Aguero is a better fit for a current Messi led Barcelona than Suarez. History indicates that very few forwards play well with Messi. Suarez is the exception rather than the norm of forwards who play well with Messi. Ever since Messi changed roles under Pep, the list of forwards who have struggled to play with Messi is long. Zlatan, Villa, Aguero, Higuain (just counting strikers) have all struggled to play with Messi. Villa was a LF with us who occasionally played central but even he struggled.
Suarez is the only striker who has played well with Messi. You mention that Aguero runs in behind better than SUarez. True, not sure that would be better for a current Messi Barca than Suarez and Messi.
Messi is not a traditional number 10 who looks to feed the striker every single time. If that was the case, I would agree. Messi looks for something different in his CF. His run of the mill play, the one he turns to most often and the one he uses most often is the sweeping ball to Alba. And in that play he wants the CF to make the decoy run so he can arrive in the box with space to meet the ball back from Alba. Over the years, Suarez made countless decoy runs to enable the ball back and goal for Messi. Aguero cant do that better than Messi. Other standard play is the give and go around the box with Suarez pushing against the CB's. No running in behind. Just creating that yard of space for Messi. Not sure Aguero can do it better.
Those are just the 2 most standard plays.
Aguero probably closes down better but not by much. History with Argentina also shows that the 2 dont play well together.
On wages, I am not sure he would take a wage cut. Last contract, not sure Aguero would come on less wages than Suarez. Sub part I agree but at Atleti; Suarez gets subbed off quite a bit in the second half.
Overall, for a Messi Barca; Suarez is still the better option than Aguero imo.

Generally (not related to Barca); as great as Aguero has been, Suarez is still a level up. And he continues to prove that this season. Difference between 3rd and Atleti probably winning the league this season. Scoring clutch goal after clutch goal to give Atleti the points. Last game against Bilbao was no exception. Won the penalty with a good piece of skill. Ice cold penalty to help Atleti win.

I agree that previous versions of Suarez was a rare good fit next to Messi and Aguero then, or now, wouldnt be your first choice as a striker. But as a striker coming from the bench or starting in the lesser games, that makes sense to me.

I wouldnt say what your saying is wrong but I think the choice here is with or without a 9. I think it was the Elche game that I would use as evidence of how much better we are with some kind of reference ahead of Messi. In the first half Braithwaite played on the left and there was no space at all for Messi to play in because the midfield and defence could stay close together with nobody to threaten the space behind. In the 2nd half, Dembele came for Pjanic which allowed Braithwaite to play in the center and this took the line of defence just a few meters deeper than previously and the game totally changed with us scoring 3 and the first 2 a direct result of the positioning of Braithwaite (I think he may have got 2 assists) as it gave Messi space to turn in the middle.

Now, if we look at Saurez we are looking at a guy who is so much not a threat to run behind the defence can play as high as they like. The Bayern game was good example of that. Saurez got in behind once, but a quicker striker gets behind 3 or 4 times. The way Alaba and Boateng were able to catch him up was hard to watch. I also saw a Saurez who wasnt at all sharp, his touches were sloppy and inconsistent (still the case today, im watching Atleti v Getafe as I type this) and 1-2s often broke down because of him. yes, he did have good movement to open spaces for others, no doubt about that.

Aguero to me is the more refined technical player so many of those combinations and 1-2s I think work alot better. He also has great movement inside the box so is a good target for low crosses.

I dont put much stock into the Argentina games. I dont recall them today, but i dont recall watching many (any?) Argentina sides who id consider a very organised attacking outfit. Alot of improvisation and individualism is my outstanding recollection of the majority of Messi's Argentina teams. NT football to me doesnt often reflect the club scene.

I see Aguero playing the Henrick Larrson role and as that, if reasonably affordable, this sounds like a positive add. Saurez to me, had become far too comfortable and lost the sharpness. I recently watched games from Pep's first season and Enrique's first season and the difference of attitude of both Messi (under Pep) and Saurez (under Enrique) is so vast. By the end, I had lost absolutely all patience with Saurez. I know he is a favorite of yours and when he was younger, I rated him very highly too. Even today he is still very effective, but his partnership with Messi was a cancer to the team and I wish it ended 2 years sooner.

Finally, I agree Messi is not a pass first number 10 and his passes are of a specific variety so that creates some complications. But like we saw Fati finding spaces inside the box and finishing ruthlessly, i would expect similar from Aguero. Of course Fati can play on the flanks and at this stage is more dangerous in the 1v1, but between De Jong, Pedri and Busquets, I can see the value of a box oriented 9 like Aguero.

Sorry but hows Suarez + Messi partnership a cancer to the team? They both basically carried the scoring load for us. This forth and back with you 2 are a bit worrying lool....

I’m guessing it’s because both don’t play defense and both at their current age don’t move off the ball at all. And both have high dispossession rates, messi due to high risk actions and Suarez due to awful first touch and age

BarcaLearning wrote:Sorry but hows Suarez + Messi partnership a cancer to the team? They both basically carried the scoring load for us. This forth and back with you 2 are a bit worrying lool....

Just as Fox said above.

Together, you have 2 players who contribute nothing defensively. Especially bad is both remain high up the field while the remaining 8 outfields have to work overtime as the opponents can keep possession for longer, higher on the field and therefore we go longer periods of games without possession than normal.

I also think, as many goals as those two have combined to score, they have rarely been in the most important matches where we really need them. That's is the direct on field impact.

Saurez himself has absolutely no athletic ability left and is zero threat in transition attacks. In more organised possession, his inconsistent touches are a cause for turnovers and he was simply missing in too many moments.

Finally, they have huge voices in the team. A giant influence which they hold over teammates and the team as a collective. This to me is a problem when things go wrong and they are part of the reason for it going wrong.

If your ship is heading towards an iceberg and the captains

A. Cannot steer out of the way.
B. Tell everyone else to increase the speed

What is the solution? Nobody is in the position to criticize and nobody can change course.

There will also be no mutiny because the crew on board arent even on deck, they cant even see the iceberg. In fact, when they hit the iceberg they convince themselves it didnt actually happen. That is Barca under the leadership of Messi, Suarez, Pique, Alba and co and that is why it should have been broken up a long time ago.

If these guys arent going to settle on a reduced capacity in the team, then they need to be thrown overboard to continue this analogy. Saurez got thrown overboard. I wish it happened in a different way and not to Atleti though, that much is true. But once he came out in public refusing to leave I have to admit my sympathy pretty much evaporated.


And dont worry about the back and forth

Me and Alex have agreed on 90% of things, its only normal to see some minor things slightly differently.

Okies

Yep, it was clear to see Suarez have declined massively, I guess at Atletico his teammates shares so much of it and hes able to succeed there still. Pique seems physically done as well, but at times when hes in still looks the best our of out CB which is a bit of a joke situation. Alba Im glad looks like still can go up and down all game which is amazing. Messi still has it too, and definitely his benefit still far weight out the bad, so its gonna be continuing transition into the younger team as we are in the middle of it.

Our young CBs im not really convinced yet, hope im wrong, otherwise we will need to get another one in. Then a replacement for Busquets unless De Jong will be the new pivot and we bring in someone like Wijnaldum which I keep reading occasionally for the box-box? And hopefully a new no.9 whos an upgrade on Braithwaite

Well Atleti play a different game. They dont really intend on keeping ball possession for as long as us, they are far more vertical and more likely to put early crosses into the box. So I am not surprised Saurez is still scoring goals for them. But there is no way he would be playing this effectively with us.

Plus his ego was damaged but being discarded by us and I see him very motivated and working harder than the last couple seasons.

I am happy with our young defenders, Mingueza, Dest and Araujo especially are fantastic. Eric Garcia we have to wait and see. Pique has done well and we need his leadership to some degree, but Araujo is skill for skill the better defender today in my view.

As long as Suarez has room to pull the trigger he is world class. His shooting, especially from distance and volleys is absolutely mental. Lots of other parts of his game are declining fast but he’s still an effective poacher. Man though, his first touch is just awful and he can’t hold up the ball for shit anymore.

This is what a poacher looks like in the flesh.

The Franchise wrote:Well Atleti play a different game. They dont really intend on keeping ball possession for as long as us, they are far more vertical and more likely to put early crosses into the box. So I am not surprised Saurez is still scoring goals for them. But there is no way he would be playing this effectively with us.

Plus his ego was damaged but being discarded by us and I see him very motivated and working harder than the last couple seasons.

I am happy with our young defenders, Mingueza, Dest and Araujo especially are fantastic. Eric Garcia we have to wait and see. Pique has done well and we need his leadership to some degree, but Araujo is skill for skill the better defender today in my view.

Araujo is better yes. Not sure about skill for skill. Pique is still much better on the ball. Araujo is very limited on the ball. That's not a dig as I think highly of Araujo but he needs to improve a lot on the ball.
I also feel Pique is better defending setpieces, especially corners and balls into the box from freekicks. I feel more confident in our ability to clear balls into the box from setpieces with Pique defending. Pique has an uncanny abaility to head the ball away while defending corners and setpieces. Araujo is good here but feel Pique is better.
Not a fan of Garcia. He is slow, weak and short. And he has not played for a year. Want an experienced CB general to partner Araujo or another elite upcoming CB. Garcia is neither.
If money was not of concern, who would you want to get to partner Araujo? Obviously, someone like Diaz is not gettable. Any other names?

Before we think of signings, the priority should be exits. Get rid of the oldies and other deadwood on obscene wages. This should ensure that we have a sustainable financial model moving forward. Get rid of Coutinho, Pjanic, Busquets, Umtiti, Messi and potentially Griezman too. That should reduce our wage bill by 2/3 rds. I said Griezmann potentially in case we dont bring a CF. And then put a freaking wage structure in place so that players are no longer able to bring us to the brink of financial ruin.
That's my wish. In reality, only 1 or 2 might leave.

alexjanosik wrote:

The Franchise wrote:Well Atleti play a different game. They dont really intend on keeping ball possession for as long as us, they are far more vertical and more likely to put early crosses into the box. So I am not surprised Saurez is still scoring goals for them. But there is no way he would be playing this effectively with us.

Plus his ego was damaged but being discarded by us and I see him very motivated and working harder than the last couple seasons.

I am happy with our young defenders, Mingueza, Dest and Araujo especially are fantastic. Eric Garcia we have to wait and see. Pique has done well and we need his leadership to some degree, but Araujo is skill for skill the better defender today in my view.

Araujo is better yes. Not sure about skill for skill. Pique is still much better on the ball. Araujo is very limited on the ball. That's not a dig as I think highly of Araujo but he needs to improve a lot on the ball.
I also feel Pique is better defending setpieces, especially corners and balls into the box from freekicks. I feel more confident in our ability to clear balls into the box from setpieces with Pique defending. Pique has an uncanny abaility to head the ball away while defending corners and setpieces. Araujo is good here but feel Pique is better.
Not a fan of Garcia. He is slow, weak and short. And he has not played for a year. Want an experienced CB general to partner Araujo or another elite upcoming CB. Garcia is neither.
If money was not of concern, who would you want to get to partner Araujo? Obviously, someone like Diaz is not gettable. Any other names?

Skill for skill is probably not the right term. But I mean the overall defensive level right now. Araujo is better physically, both in a battle of strength and foot races. In fact, foot races its not even remotely close. He also is far less foul prone, mostly because Pique has to resort to such methods because he has no ability to recover. I dont think Mbappe could do what he did to Pique, to Araujo.

I also think Araujo is just the sharper, less worn down player and has more resilience at this point. So I see far more recover blocks and challenges whereas once Pique is out of a play, he is truly out of the play.

Pique is the better ball player as you said, so that's why skill for skill isnt the right term but I consider Araujo as the more reliable defender today. I think in the air he is more than match for Pique, he dominated Cristiano in that match up and generally is often the man who clears the box. They average the same number of clearances per game for example.

I have no opinion on Eric Garcia yet. He played in the center of the back 3 every time I saw him, didnt look particularly fast but Pep did seem to have total faith in him. We will have to see, as a free signing I am ok but I believe we need a real CB as you say.

Dias? From City? Yes, not gettable at all.

I think we need a left footed CB, or someone who is very comfortable playing there. I dont know what we can afford, but my choices would be either Laporte, Kounde or Fofana. Another name people talk about is Pau Torres, but he hasnt convinced me at all but despite him being a good ball player and a lefty.

alexjanosik wrote:Before we think of signings, the priority should be exits. Get rid of the oldies and other deadwood on obscene wages. This should ensure that we have a sustainable financial model moving forward. Get rid of Coutinho, Pjanic, Busquets, Umtiti, Messi and potentially Griezman too. That should reduce our wage bill by 2/3 rds. I said Griezmann potentially in case we dont bring a CF. And then put a freaking wage structure in place so that players are no longer able to bring us to the brink of financial ruin.
That's my wish. In reality, only 1 or 2 might leave.

I hope we have a mass exodus but like you, I dont believe it will happen because many clubs will not be buyers this summer to the degree they have been.

The below I want gone.

Alba, Coutinho, Umititi, Braithwaite, Neto, Firpo, Alena, Lenglet, Griezmann, Roberto and Pjanic.

I am aware that not even half of these guys will leave, but these would be my choices.

Why do you want Busquets out? Dont you feel his performances lately have been good? I think since the change to 3-2 in rest defence has been far more solid defensively and especially good in the counter press.

Alba has been our 2nd best player this season. Why on earth would you want him to leave... Cant disagree with the rest

The Franchise wrote:

alexjanosik wrote:Before we think of signings, the priority should be exits. Get rid of the oldies and other deadwood on obscene wages. This should ensure that we have a sustainable financial model moving forward. Get rid of Coutinho, Pjanic, Busquets, Umtiti, Messi and potentially Griezman too. That should reduce our wage bill by 2/3 rds. I said Griezmann potentially in case we dont bring a CF. And then put a freaking wage structure in place so that players are no longer able to bring us to the brink of financial ruin.
That's my wish. In reality, only 1 or 2 might leave.

I hope we have a mass exodus but like you, I dont believe it will happen because many clubs will not be buyers this summer to the degree they have been.

The below I want gone.

Alba, Coutinho, Umititi, Braithwaite, Neto, Firpo, Alena, Lenglet, Griezmann, Roberto and Pjanic.

I am aware that not even half of these guys will leave, but these would be my choices.

Why do you want Busquets out? Dont you feel his performances lately have been good? I think since the change to 3-2 in rest defence has been far more solid defensively and especially good in the counter press.

Busquets has played well but he is part of the spine which has consistently been exposed as weak(physically and mentally) in the CL. The spine of Messi, Pique and Busquets. Cant play with that spine and expect to compete in the CL. I want all 3 gone. You are right we have been better since we switched systems, but 2 questions arise.
Do we want to continue playing 3 at the back to accomodate weak players like Busquets, Messi?
Will the system hold up against really strong sides? The system has not been tested against really strong sides. Granted we played well against PSG second leg but that was a dead game. I believe the real test will be against Madrid and Atletico; especially against Madrid.
I doubt we will play as well. The spine of Messi, Busquets and Pique(if he plays) will struggle in the 2 crunch games. Will be pleasantly surprised if they dont.
Surprised that you dont want Messi gone.

Alba has been out 2nd best player because he scores goals? Really? I strongly disagree

De Jong has been far better. As has Pedri, Araujo whenever he has played and Ter Stegan. Alba is on the next rung down with guys who have good moments and bad moments.

Anyway, I am sick of Alba and have been for years, maybe half a decade now and getting on the scoresheet more frequently wont change my opinion on him.

His defensive work is terrible, he mentally quits when things get tough and he loses too many balls with sloppy build up.

I recognise he is piling goals at a higher rate than usual, but this isnt what I look for in a fullback.

If he was a back up to a legit leftback I would accept him staying, other than that I am all for carting him off.

alexjanosik wrote:

Busquets has played well but he is part of the spine which has consistently been exposed as weak(physically and mentally) in the CL. The spine of Messi, Pique and Busquets. Cant play with that spine and expect to compete in the CL. I want all 3 gone. You are right we have been better since we switched systems, but 2 questions arise.
Do we want to continue playing 3 at the back to accomodate weak players like Busquets, Messi?
The system has not been tested against really strong sides. Granted we played well against PSG second leg but that was a dead game. I believe the real test will be against Madrid and Atletico; especially against Madrid.
I doubt we will play as well. The spine of Messi, Busquets and Pique(if he plays) will struggle in the 2 crunch games. Will be pleasantly surprised if they dont.
Surprised that you dont want Messi gone.

I think Busquets is the exception to the others. His problem is space around him, he will never defend large spaces and we have asked him to.

I think as a rotation player rather than full time starter, he still has a place.

I think Sevilla's games should also count as significant in terms of the system. I want it to stay because I advocated this kind of switch long before Koeman put in place. I was calling for a 3 defenders as long ago as the start of last season.

I didnt include Messi because it is so impossible. He isn't going anywhere unless he says so.

The Franchise wrote:

alexjanosik wrote:

Busquets has played well but he is part of the spine which has consistently been exposed as weak(physically and mentally) in the CL. The spine of Messi, Pique and Busquets. Cant play with that spine and expect to compete in the CL. I want all 3 gone. You are right we have been better since we switched systems, but 2 questions arise.
Do we want to continue playing 3 at the back to accomodate weak players like Busquets, Messi?
The system has not been tested against really strong sides. Granted we played well against PSG second leg but that was a dead game. I believe the real test will be against Madrid and Atletico; especially against Madrid.
I doubt we will play as well. The spine of Messi, Busquets and Pique(if he plays) will struggle in the 2 crunch games. Will be pleasantly surprised if they dont.
Surprised that you dont want Messi gone.

I think Busquets is the exception to the others. His problem is space around him, he will never defend large spaces and we have asked him to.

I think as a rotation player rather than full time starter, he still has a place.

I think Sevilla's games should also count as significant in terms of the system. I want it to stay because I advocated this kind of switch long before Koeman put in place. I was calling for a 3 defenders as long ago as the start of last season.

I didnt include Messi because it is so impossible. He isn't going anywhere unless he says so.

Sevilla games yes. That was the best I had seen us play against a good, physically strong team in a really long time. Still want more samples against good tough teams in crunch games.
That aside, from a style perspective, not a huge fan of the system for a variety of reasons. So, I dont want it to be our default system long term. And Busquets it seems can only be accomodated in such a system. Hence why I want him gone. As a rotation player, he is good. But then, do we want to keep such an expensive rotation player when we are trying to cut costs.
I would want to try Roberto at DM and switch back to 4-3-3. He is a lot more mobile and athletic than Busquets. Roberto with Nico from the B as an understudy. He is a CM but has played DM in the absence of Orellano. I like the profile. Tall, strong, athletic.
Broader point. I want the old spine gone. They have served us well but they have also been the reason for our humiliations in the CL. Getting all of them out would help us turn a new chapter and really allow some of the youngsters to flourish.
I fear that Messi stays as well which would be disastrous financially and bad on the sporting side as well.

I understand the sentiment for the old spine gone, I also feel the same way. But on that note, you didnt include Alba who is surely a bigger culprit than Busquets. He has had moments going back to the original Bayern humiliation.

But the only difference for me is I dont feel those guys neccesarily have to go, they just should not be mainstays of the team. They should be doing what Puyol, Milito, Silvinho and co. did in their last years. Coming from the bench in some situations, playing when options are limited and I am sure Busi and Pique would accept reduced roles and reduced wages to stay.


The tactical side of things are a more interesting discussion though.

Why do you want to go back to 433?

I think you can achieve the same things I think we both want to see, but without the need for that particular structure.

But maybe there is more to it than that, what are your thoughts?

I want Alba gone as well as he is mentally weak. I didnt include him for one reason. For the others, I feel we have good replacement options. Inexperienced but good young options. If we let Alba go this season, we need a replacement. And a good replacement costs money which we dont have. There is Balde in the B who looks a prospect but he is 16.
So, for now maybe we stick with Alba. But yes, I want him gone as he is part of the same core which has been humiliated multiple times now.

On the shape, there are 2 scenarios. A Messi Barca scenario (which seems more and more likely now) and a Messi less Barca.
For a Messi Barca, I agree that the current system probably works best. It helps us immensely building out with 3 at the back. Not a coincidence that the buildup has been better since we moved to 3 at the back. It is defensively better. Plays to the Alba-Messi connection which is our main attacking outlet right now. Drawback is just 2 attackers. And asks a lot of Demeble to provide all the movement up front. Has worked till now but I feel teams will get used to it and the chances will start drying up. The 2nd half against PSG, we didnt create as many chances.

Second scenario is a Messi less Barca. Definitely prefer 4-3-3. For one, aggressive pressing with 3 up top. You can still press with the 3-5-2 but might leave more gaps. With 3 up top and the fullbacks support, better options in attack. And then the midfield. More of a flat midfield as opposed to the classical 4-3-3 which has the triangle 1-2. The latter just enables better passing in midfield to advance the ball. Those are some of my initial thoughts on why I prefer 4-3-3.

alexjanosik wrote:I want Alba gone as well as he is mentally weak. I didnt include him for one reason. For the others, I feel we have good replacement options. Inexperienced but good young options. If we let Alba go this season, we need a replacement. And a good replacement costs money which we dont have.

You just need to add an "a" in the middle, and it would come on a free transfer too. High wages though.

Hapless_Hans wrote:

alexjanosik wrote:I want Alba gone as well as he is mentally weak. I didnt include him for one reason. For the others, I feel we have good replacement options. Inexperienced but good young options. If we let Alba go this season, we need a replacement. And a good replacement costs money which we dont have.

You just need to add an "a" in the middle, and it would come on a free transfer too. High wages though.

Totally forgot. Can he still play LB? Nevertheless, good option to cover LCB and LB. Issue is wages. Hopefully, we put a wage structure in place. If Alaba can be accommodated in that; then yes an excellent option.

alexjanosik wrote:

Hapless_Hans wrote:

alexjanosik wrote:I want Alba gone as well as he is mentally weak. I didnt include him for one reason. For the others, I feel we have good replacement options. Inexperienced but good young options. If we let Alba go this season, we need a replacement. And a good replacement costs money which we dont have.

You just need to add an "a" in the middle, and it would come on a free transfer too. High wages though.

Totally forgot. Can he still play LB? Nevertheless, good option to cover LCB and LB. Issue is wages. Hopefully, we put a wage structure in place. If Alaba can be accommodated in that; then yes an excellent option.

Of course, why couldn't he.

@Alex

Interesting. The thing is, I believe there is a way to include another forward in the team with the same shape. It just depends on the creativity of Koeman. I will make a case for keeping the same system.

Think of it like this.

Lets define it as 3-2-4-1 in possession because thats how I see it rather than the 352 it is often thought of as.

-------------Dembele----------------

Alba------Pedri--------Messi-------Dest
   
----------De Jong------Busi------------    

----Lenglet------Araujo-------Mingueza          


Of course Griezmann has recently played the Pedri role here, with Pedri where De Jong is and De Jong at CB. But the basic structure if the same.

Now when we press the build up, it is more like this if teams use the common back 4 and 1 pivot build (Sevilla, PSG)

-----------X--------------X------------

X------Dembele-------Messi--------X
--------------------X-------------------

Alba-------------Pedri--------------Dest
               
 -----------De Jong-----Busi-------------
-----Lenglet ----------------Mingueza---
------------------Araujo-----------------


Alba and Dest jumping to fullbacks, if the ball goes to our right, Mingueza goes aggressive to the winger (Mbappe) while Lenglet joins Araujo as other CB and ignores the winger as the ball is too far to reach him. Same on the left with Lenglet going tight and Mingueza covering around.

Finally, if we have to go into defensive organisation and we cannot press.

Against Sevilla and PSG we dropped into a back 5. But against Hueca, we dropped into a back 4 quite often with a defender (De Jong) jumping into midfield. For me, this was because we didnt need 5 players to deal with 3 forwards.

I think we could do this more often, especially because in this system we are having far better ball possession. I dont know about the numbers, but by better ball possession I mean in areas higher in the field and therefore we are able to counter press better as everyone is already there. Against Sevilla, PSG especially and Huesca we rarely had to defend in a back 4/5 because we won the balls back so quickly and had to stop only transitions. Because we playing this game of possession and counter press, Dest and Alba seldom found themselves in the traditional leftback spot in these games. They are acting almost exclusively as players who jump forward to press fullbacks.

So I say all this to say, we can fit in another forward and keep the same system.

--------------Fati--------------------------        

Alba-----Pedri-------Messi-------Dembele
               
 ----------De Jong----Busi-----------------

----Lenglet--------Araujo-----Mingueza---



If we cannot press, we can drop into:

-----------------Messi------------------
-----Fati--------Pedri---------Dembele
---------De Jong------Busi-------------
Alba----Lenglet-------Araujo-----Mingueza



City have their own version of this, but it is by no means something overly complex or specific to them.