The Transfers' Discussion Thread : "Never Say Neymar"

I for one don't find the LB position in dire need. Abidal is IMO probably our best one on one defender and has improved immensely going forward in the last couple of seasons. Plus, he is COLD AS ICE when under pressure. Adriano may not be the most reliable defender, but the effort is always there. Plus, I think he's right behind Messi as the fastest player on the ball when attacking.
Both are certainly aging, but neither seems to be regressing in terms of ability and performance.
Alba would be nice, but given Valencia's recent history as transfer negotiators, we'll probably have to pay above 20m to get him, and I'm not certain he's worth that to us at the moment.

 

Why RVP? He would cost 35mil and isnt even needed, our attack is great. Messi, Villa, Sanchez, Pedro, Afellay, Tello, Cuenca is good enough. Plus dont forget, as good as RVP is, he is a huge douchebag with arrogance oozing out of his ears, nose and every other hole.

Other 2 I agree though lol.

I would like Madrid to get him, complete their douchebag team(excluding casillas, higuain and alonso, although alonso is close to being included). ballerina, di maria, rvp, ozil, khedira, diarra, marcelo, carvalho, ramos, arbeloa, and ofcourse the king of animals, Pepe the alien.

 

Kolarov was mentioned as a option for the LB position too. In Mundo Deportivo.

 

Kolarov is a big guy lol(close to yaya toure height and weight), an okay defender(adriano level) but his crossing, shooting, attacking is great. Though I agree that he would not be for our team.

 

It's one thing making fantasy line-ups dropping Puyi and Villa for Thiago Silva and Robin Van Persie, but when your ideal Barca XI doesn't include Xavi, you kinda have to know you're doing it wrong.

 

I HIGHLY doubt Barca will pursue RVP. If they were, there would already be major gossip swirling around for the next season. Happened with both Ibra and Villa.
IMO, RVP is totally unnecessary. Villa is still in his prime and has seemingly accepted that the central role is Messi's to give away. You think RVP is willingly gonna linger on the left given all the praise he's received this season? Doubt it... Plus, he's expressed interest in playing for LPB, and we're at a point when we don't need to add anyone who would even contemplate playing for them, they're plenty of world-class players out there who openly state their preference for us.

 

Yep Agree. 2 defenders and we are good.(LB and CB)
Midfield: Busquets, Mascherano, Keita, Xavi, Iniesta, Cesc, Thiago, dos Santos, / Extra: Afellay or Adriano
Attack: Messi, Villa, Sanchez, Pedro, Tello, Cuenca, Afellay / Extra: Iniesta, Cesc or Adriano
And then
Defense: Puyol, Pique, Abidal, Alves, Adriano......... Extra: Masherano and Busquets. Though there is Montoya, Fontas and Muniesa.

 

It's true that those guys won't start every match and that "ideal XI" thinking has nothing on "ideal squad" thinking, but, like, Xavi just has to be included like Messi or Iniesta, although obv you are free to disagree. Xavi is our best midfielder and surely he won't "lose it" due to his age in one summer, especially since his style of play isn't based on physical hustling.

As for looking into signing T. Silva and RVP, how do you know we are "actually" looking into signing those?

 

I don't think Van Persie taking that CF spot from Messi will happen.
I think we're good on FW's.. considering Pedro just came back, and Villa ,Affellay will be soon too. Not to mention Cuenca and Tello had shown signs of being great players for the future and need to play.

 

I don't think we need any more forwards. Villa and Afellay will be back and hopefully Pedro will get back in shape and perform like he did last year. Then with this years performances by Cuenca and Tello it's pretty sure that they will be considered as first team players from the beginning of next season.

Rafinha and Deulofeu probably will get some more chances next season as well. Also Sergi Roberto who is a versatile offensive player might get some more minutes.

So I don't see any need to bring in any new forwards from the outside, only if it's something exceptional like Neymar. And that is if he can come for a reasonable price.

Alba would be a good signing IMO, not that expensive and maybe the most talented LB in Spain at the moment. We don't really have any big talents on that spot in the B team either. Grimaldo seems to be the one with the biggest potential, but he is only 16 still and he need to earn a starting spot in Barcelona B first.

On the CB position I think the options are limited but I would really like to see Thiago Silva in the blaugrana shirt. He is one of very few defenders that I think would fit in. If we could bring him in, that would also be great for Mascherano so that he could spend some more time in his natural position.

EDIT: We have to remember that the EURO is coming up as well. The majority of the first team will be there, so that will complicate the pre-season a lot for Pep and the team. So a bigger squad will be necessary.

This article on MD mentions Soldado and Adrián as 2 options, but Neymar remains the top priority.

http://www.mundodeportivo.com/20120314/fc-barcelona/operacion-ataque-barca_54268418859.html

 

Agreed. Would add though that when CBs are talked about, we should give more focus on Javi Martinez than we've done so far. As for EURO, I wouldn't be too worried as it's basically the same with most of our direct rivals: their players go there too.

The discussion on "the right price" for Neymar is interesting. It's difficult to put a tag on him. I suppose something around 60 could see him move, but dunno if it would be smart to pay such money. He isn't THAT good and we aren't exactly in a desperate negotiation situation as we have a pretty good team with or without him. If ManCity or LPB goes nuts the price could get higher, but - for some reason - I'm under the impression that Neymar would prefer Barca, could be just empty rumours and guessing though.

 

Source? If true, sounds like us buying Neymar sooner or later is pretty likely.

 

Eww but it is what it is.

Also RVP? Come on. Arsenal is not going to sell it's 2 best players and captains
to Barca one season after the other. And considering how he's carrying them and the way he's playing his price would be astronomical.

 

in our system i think mascherano's natural position is in the back line, he has been amazing there, whereas he never looks as comfortable in midfield (the few times he has played there).

i'd be very happy if we just signed alba and t.silva/j.martinez. i'd prefer t.silva over j.martinez only because i'd really like to see bilbao keep their team together, i suspect that we might even be able to sign t.silva for less than it would cost to sign martinez, because we have some good leverage with milan after practically giving them zlatan (don't they still owe us money for that?) and we have a few players that we could offer them to sweeten the deal, plus he's a better player. neymar would also be a very interesting bonus signing, but then we'd have to sell at least one of our forwards for that to make sense. i'm not worried about how much neymar would cost, because he is very marketable and the club would probably be able to turn a profit with him through shirt sales etc.

 

Smart move by Rossel there, add it to Neymar's personal wish to come to Barca and its a matter of time.
I read a lot also that the club wants him this summer. Im against bringing forwards but Neymar would be just amazing, the sooner we get him the better he'll adapt to our system.

 

Agreed on your first paragraph, also, as many have said (including Keita and Cesc who know first hand), it takes longer for a midfielder to fit in at Barca. Masch has adapted so well to CB and his on the ball skills are what Barca/Pep want from CBs.

Because I count Masch as a CB now, I was leery of buying an expensive new one this summer. Sadly the news of Abidal's liver transplant makes me think we really do need a new one - lest we count too much on Fontas, Bartra and Muniesa (or Botia whom we have a cheap buy back option on) out of the gate. Martinez is 3 years younger (24) and 3 inches taller than Silva though at 6 foot Silva would still be plenty tall by Barca standards; Hummels is similar - 4 years younger and 3 inches taller. Of course at Barca reading the game and skill on the ball seem most paramount, then speed, only then height.

Frankly, we have so much youth at CB that it might behoove us to strike a deal of say Botia sold/exchanged outright, plus Fontas or Muniesa or Bartra on loan (or sold/exchanged but with a buy back option for Barca) to Milan, Bilbao or Werder as partial payment. I really do not want to lose Keita to Milan (unless Keita requests that move).

As for Neymar I think that the "option" is really just a rumor. It is true that he will help sell jerseys but IF Villa recovers well we do not need a forward this summer. Best for Neymar to stay in Brazil till the World Cup then join us in 2014. If he cannot wait then so be it.

 

am I the only one not in the slightest bit bothered about Neymar? For all the money and fuss it would cost to bring him over, I don't think it's worth it. he's good, but he's not that good. just seems like a "star" signing for the sake of it. we've not had one of those in ages (I'm pretending the whole Zlatan thing didn't happen)

 

Well there was also David Villa.

You're probably not that only one feeling that way, but he's a good player. Has the potential to be a top 3 player in the world in 2-3 years. And he wants to play for Barca. Given those facts, it's hard not to be interested in him if you're Barca.

 

How is he not *that* good? He definitely looks better than Tello, Pedro, Cuenca, Delofeu, Affellay, and even Villa playing wide. The only way he could be better for Barca is if he'd gone through La Masia indoctrination from a young age. The only question is his ego and attitude.

 

I kinda agree, although I don't think his ego & attitude are the biggest problem as I believe he will mature just fine, especially in an environment where he won't be "the big fish in small pond". I think the big challenge is whether he can do other stuff than just attack well enough, although I suppose he can grow to play football the Barca way just fine.

 

he does look better than them, obviously, but they're free and he's not. how much would he cost to bring over? £40-50m? furthermore, he's a #9 (unless I'm mistaken) and Barca is a #9 graveyard for as long as Messi is a 50-goal-a-season player.

 

I don't think he's a 9. He already plays out where Guardiola put Villa.

He is expensive, and now Abidal needs to be replaced, but he's potentially the best outsider fit with the team since Dani Alves. I'm worried about his personality though, with how humble and dedicated he would be, and for how long.