Transfer Rumours V6

Sounds like Wijnaldum will not join. PSG offered him double the salary says Fabrizio.


Barcelona want to sign another centre-back this summer, and have set their sights on Aymeric Laporte (27) of Manchester City. The English side are open to negotiating. Sergi Roberto could enter the operation. [sport]

Valencia left-back José Gayá (26)  has many doubts about his continuity. Barça's interest in the player is getting more serious. [superdeporte]


Wijnaldum deal is off. Obviously he won't refuse 2x the salary at PSG.

Not at all disappointed by the Wijnaldum news. Though, I feel like he was a signing because he was a free transfer rather than a sporting plan that we need a midfielder.

I think we do need a midfielder, but I dont think upon losing Wijnaldum we will now go and target another player.

Still feel Van De Beek could be had on some kind of deal. Man Utd obviously do not value him and might take even a swap deal with Pjanic for example, going the other direction.

Myesyats wrote:Valencia left-back José Gayá (26)  has many doubts about his continuity. Barça's interest in the player is getting more serious. [superdeporte]

Would rather have Guerreiro at Dortmund.

Or is Gaya a free transfer?

Nope Gaya has a contract until 2023. I don't imagine he'd very expensive though

Agreed. Wijnaldum is already 30 so like you say the only reason he was an attractive option was him being a free agent.

He can rot in Paris for all you care.

PSG are offering Wijnaldum 9.5 million euros per season. Barça's offer was 3.5 million. [tv3]


10m salary to wijnaldum?

Plus 10m (PSG) v 6m (us) variables I believe.

Crazy talk.

We've been linked a ton of City players these past week. Apperently have been in talks with Gundo and see Fernadinho as Wijnaldum replacement. Also linked to Laporte and Jesus.

Yeah, even linked to Sterling and Bernando.

Laporte and/or Gundo are the 2 that I would absolutely want but I feel neither are at all realistic.

Man City arent giving them up for the minimal amounts we can afford to pay.

Id be content with them taking Sergi Roberto off our hands.

They could agree to include players in the deal. Bernardo, Laporte and Gundo are welcome.

Jesus no, and Fernandinho is freaking 36

Who'd City want though?

Laporte for Roberto and money? What value does Roberto have? Even with the inclusion, can we afford it?

Barcelona want to sign Laporte. Lenglet and Umtiti would leave to make room. [as]

de Ligt and Kounde among other options

The Franchise wrote:Who'd City want though?

Laporte for Roberto and money? What value does Roberto have? Even with the inclusion, can we afford it?

Some papers say Pep wants Roberto. IDK what for

Im sure we could afford Laporte if we sell Umtiti, Lenglet, Roberto, Pjanic, Firpo.... for a start.

Well, I hope so. I think we need a left sided CB for sure and I have always felt Laporte is one of the very best in the world.

Kounde, Torres and a couple others are also very good overall so if we could get one of them I think that would be great.

Lenglet has not convinced me, at any point. Even at his best, I didnt think he was near Umtiti in his best days. Not a bad player but we have to raise our standards instead of settling.

I feel exits should be priority before we think of bringing players in.
We have a number of semi retired/retired players on the books who are bleeding us dry financially.
Likes of Pique, Umtiti, Coutinho etc. Priority should be given to phasing them out so that we can reduce the wage bill.
What we will instead get is more of the shady accounting. If anyone expected Laporta to bring in transparency, they would be disappointed. Case in point is the proposed Messi deal. I suspect we will see more of those with the other retirees on the squad. Try to pass off a 10 year contract (where they only play 2 years) as some masterstroke and pay cut.

In an ideal world, we would phase out all of the seniors in this transfer window. Finish what we started last summer when we let go Suarez, Rakitic and Vidal.
That means letting go of Messi, Alba, Busquets, Pique, Umitit, Coutinho etc. Would have freed up $350m in wages which could have been used for transfers. Could have easily brought in a WC CB and a WC DM for less than half of that.
Leaving the striker for next transfer wondow.

Apparently Pique has a agreed to drastically cut his wages and add incentives.

Also, Juve has offered a better contract to Depay, one in which he will be paid 3m a year more.

The Franchise wrote:Apparently Pique has a agreed to drastically cut his wages and add incentives.

Also, Juve has offered a better contract to Depay, one in which he will be paid 3m a year more.

Drastically cut his wage with an extension of years probably.
On Depay, indifferent. He is another square peg in round hole who will suck playing with Messi. We would be looking to offload after a season when we figure out that he doesnt work with Messi.

Do you think there are any forwards (who are even remotely attainable) who would play well with Messi?

The only positivie side with Messi signing for 2 years is we will be able to enjoy the long pathetic post of the crybaby week in weak out By the way, I saw a post made by total Barca that Dembele earns more money than De Jong. is it true? The guy can't stand on a pitch for a whole season, knows one trick and fail miserably vs any decent team. We should offload him for good numbers.

"Emerson driving his agents crazy as they negotiate with Inter."..Holla...who should cry?

And so we status is confirmed, no longer being to able to compete for top talents. Cant even get a 30yo Winajdum who Koeman actually wanted last summer iirc, the terrible transfers handling continues...

The Franchise wrote:Do you think there are any forwards (who are even remotely attainable) who would play well with Messi?

Nope. If you look at post 2012 Messi, no forward bar Suarez and Neymar for maybe 2015 has played close to their level.
And thats the case for a prime Messi. No chance a forward will excel playing with Messi now.
If I think about a player who could potentially work, it would have to be someone who plays predominantly on the left side of the forward line. He should be primarily an off the ball player, fast, willing to offer runs all game.
Who can combine well with Alba.
I look around Europe and the options are limited. I dont watch a lot of mid table teams so cant comment on forwards/talents in such teams.
If I look at the top teams, few options come to my mind. None of whom are remotely attainable.

Best option would be Son from Tottenham. Probably the best forward out there who could work with Messi. Levy would demand a king's ransom so out of our reach. Even if we were to get him, I dont think he would be anywhere near as good with us. Cause Messi is a very selfish player who never does anything for the other forwards all the while expecting other forwards to do all the donkeys work for him. Very hard for a forward to shine with such a selfish player.
I like Jesus from City. He has been sidelines by Pep this season so maybe attainable. He fits the bill of a forward who could work with Messi. He has played centrally for City and occasionally on the wings but I believe he could play LF for us. He is primarily an off the ball player, hard worker, makes great runs.
Rashford from United. More skilled than Jesus and plays more on the ball but I could see him playing on our left wing. Extremely fast, great runs, can finish. But no chance we get him.
Last but not least Mbappe. He plays on the left for PSG. Electric pace, physical, can finish and can play disciplined. Again not gettable since he seems RM bound.

So, out of the 4 listed Jesus I guess. All options assuming we play 4 at the back and not 3. Curious to hear your thoughts on forwards who could work with Messi.

Its a difficult one because I think its a tactical issue with cannot be easily resolved.

On one hand, if you have a legit 9 who cant distract CB's via movement or traditional hold up, back to the goal play this should create space for Messi to operate in. But on the other hand, forwards of this type arent also willing to even able to recover in the 2nd defensive line if we in our defensive organization. Essentially, this means such a player alongside Messi permantely fixes us into a 442/532 defensive shape which I dont think works at all well regardless of the coach. Barca dont and never will have the profile of players to maximum this type of defensive principle in my opinion.

So, then it leaves only what you mentioned. A left sided player who offers depth and movement from "outside to inside" of the fullback.

The 4 you named fit this profile and as you said, only Jesus is even remotely possible.

That being said I would take Jesus over Rashford. You are right, Rash is more skilled but I dont like his off ball movement any more and I am alarmed by how often he comes across as a cheap imitation of Neymar by taking extra unneeded touched in front of 2 lines of defenders. He started off more like Cristiano, someone who made less complex moves but could shift the ball quickly and cannon a powerful strike. I am seeing less and less of this Rashford.

Jesus I like because he is so good in terms of high pressing. He might be the very best in the world at that. I also think he isnt the most outrageous dribbler but he has sharp cuts in turns inside the box.

Who else?

I would have said Mane not long ago, but I am starting to see the first signs of decline in his game.

Kingsley Coman is an interesting one now he has added more goals to his game. Apparently though, he is leaving Bayern due to wage demands so thats out of the question too.

I think Pedro Neto is and will be an amazing player, should have signed him over Trincao for sure.

The Franchise wrote:Its a difficult one because I think its a tactical issue with cannot be easily resolved.

On one hand, if you have a legit 9 who cant distract CB's via movement or traditional hold up, back to the goal play this should create space for Messi to operate in. But on the other hand, forwards of this type arent also willing to even able to recover in the 2nd defensive line if we in our defensive organization. Essentially, this means such a player alongside Messi permantely fixes us into a 442/532 defensive shape which I dont think works at all well regardless of the coach. Barca dont and never will have the profile of players to maximum this type of defensive principle in my opinion.

So, then it leaves only what you mentioned. A left sided player who offers depth and movement from "outside to inside" of the fullback.

The 4 you named fit this profile and as you said, only Jesus is even remotely possible.

That being said I would take Jesus over Rashford. You are right, Rash is more skilled but I dont like his off ball movement any more and I am alarmed by how often he comes across as a cheap imitation of Neymar by taking extra unneeded touched in front of 2 lines of defenders. He started off more like Cristiano, someone who made less complex moves but could shift the ball quickly and cannon a powerful strike. I am seeing less and less of this Rashford.

Jesus I like because he is so good in terms of high pressing. He might be the very best in the world at that. I also think he isnt the most outrageous dribbler but he has sharp cuts in turns inside the box.

Who else?

I would have said Mane not long ago, but I am starting to see the first signs of decline in his game.

Kingsley Coman is an interesting one now he has added more goals to his game. Apparently though, he is leaving Bayern due to wage demands so thats out of the question too.

I think Pedro Neto is and will be an amazing player, should have signed him over Trincao for sure.

I did think of a striker ahead of Messi as well. But your question was who would play well with Messi? If the question was who would bring the best out of Messi, I would have gone for a striker option. As it is, it would be incredibly difficult for a striker to play well with Messi.
I think a LF with the characteristics mentioned above would find it easier to play well with Messi. Opens up Messi's primary passing option. From the right, the long pass to the left over and between the RB and CB.

Interesting take on Rashford. Yes, he has become more individualistic. Still like him as a player cause he has some very good raw attributes. Blistering pace, athleticism and decent technique to boot. Something we lack in our forward line.

Did consider Mane but I have observed the same decline in his game as you have. Coman is an interesting suggestion and one I had not thought of. Problem there would be injuries although Bayern might be more willing to sell because of the injury concerns. If we are talking Bayern players, would prefer Gnabry over Coman as I think he is more of a goalscorer. Zero chance of getting him though.

Neto is an interesting one. I watch Wolves highlights occasionally because of Traore. Trincao is another square peg in a round hole. The signing makes no sense. A left footed player who cuts in from the right. What could go wrong in Messi's Barca?

That is true, which is also why I also didnt mention any out and out 9s. Someone coming from the left who is somewhere between a winger and goalscorer surely is the kind of player who more likely could function with Messi, but also the collective would still make tactical sense. Whereas a 9 may help Messi individually, but certaintly not the collective tactically and I am unsure about which 9's would actually thrive playing that role.

I dont disagree about Rashford really, but this trend in his game concerns me considering the player I felt like he was going to become.

You are correct about Gnabry too, certainly better finisher than Coman. Not sure why I didnt mention him at all. Perhaps just because he usually doesnt play from the left (though he obviously could).

Trincao would have only made some sense to me if he was a truly otherworldly talent who when Messi leaves, could thrive. Almost like Joao Felix for example. I have big doubts he'd thrive playing with Messi, but I think he is so talented it eventually would work itself out upon Messi's departure. I dont think Trincao is that level of talent.

I do think Neto might be closer to that though, he has a great attitude and I think more and more this needs to be considered. I dont believe he would  defer to Messi the way many of our players do and he has physical qualities I really like too. He reminds me of a less chaotic, quicker version of Tevez albeit it with slightly less finishing instinct.

Generally speaking, perhaps on a tangent here but I cant help but notice that physically we are a very poor team and I think La Liga and Spanish football really are falling short on the physical area. It has always been the case, but I think tactically and technically there has been a gap to make up for this. Technically, Spain/La Liga still have outstanding talents and even the CB's have superior technical skills to midfielders from other leagues. But I believe tactically, other teams/leagues have caught up and in many cases surpassed and this exposes more the physical fragility.

I dont know about you, but seeing the medicals and looking at the physical state of Aguero and then comparing to some of our players, its a huge difference. He is far more well built than any of our CB's outside of Araujo. I just say all this to say, I think we need to improve on this and most certainly we need forwards who have this physical aspect.