They have all had mins, no one has exactly lit up the pitch bar Vin in the last game, Ceballos and Endrick don't occupy the same space on the pitch therefore not in contention with each other for mins, but you know that, and Endrick is not going to sit Kylian, I don't see Arda getting on the pitch before Brahim, with Rodry down Arda may see more playing time, Tchou has done well playing CB, Raul did well with his chance at home vs Osasuna with the team performing well and not under much pressure.
Lukeba will cost close to 90 ME in the summer. If we spend that much, it will be a watershed moment just like when Bayern signed Lucas Hernandez for 80 ME several years back. Our highest outlay for a defender so far is 50 ME for Militao. Lukeba was sold by Lyon for 35 ME in 2023. Would say rather weak scouting effort if we have to spend 90 ME after RB move when we could have got him from Lyon for way cheaper.
Rafa Marin hasn't played a single minute in Serie A for Napoli. He played 5-0 win in Copa Italia and that's it. Conte has a set partnership of Rrahmani and Buongiorno. Wonder if Marin will be available for loan in January.
I'm actually okay with Sergio Ramos returning. He's a free agent. Probably wont cost as much on salary. He'll be happy to be on a roster. Raul Asencio starting every game will be okay, but Ramos would be a good insurance policy.
Ramos was drunk out there at the UFC event during the Clasico, I think his love for the game isn't there any more. By the time he'd be in game shape it won't matter any more.
So funny. Yet when a Barca fan posts an observation clicking that report button yelling "dad, mom, it's my turn on the xbox".
❗️Breaking: Real Madrid's plan is the youth team. They will now use players from La Fabrica.— @jpedrerol pic.twitter.com/ATZIK8onnc— Madrid Universal (@MadridUniversal) November 11, 2024
nice way to say we are not signing anyone in january as usual and not strengthening the squad even if we have a milion ACLs
Then don't read it. We are basically out of centrebacks and fullbacks (because who needs depth), consistently play like crap, our star signing (who we had to eat tons of shit in order to finally bring here) looks like Space Jam aliens stole his ability, and all you do is the broken record of how we won titles in the last ten years. Jesus ********ing Christ talk about being out of touch.
Vendes a Tchouameni por 60 millones.Y fichas a Zubimendi. pic.twitter.com/87AeeZ4rZV— Marito 🐢 (@MarioHurtado5) November 10, 2024 Honest Opinion: Would u prefer Zubimendi over Tchu?
I mean... that's all nice and well, but we've seen these unsubstantiated claims all the time from these twitter accounts many times before. They really don't have a clue about what the club is actually thinking. Fabrizio Romano just had a video naming TAA as our transfer target 1, 2, and 3 for the next summer. He is also saying we're looking at Lukeba, and Yorel Hato (a young CB from Ayax).
Laporte makes 24.5 M Euros a year, and will have 1.5 years left by January. What would Madrid potentially offer, half that salary for 3.5 years? Rudiger/Militao make $14.5 M a year. He would have to leave 15 M on the table. And then the Saudi club will want a transfer fee on top of that? I don't think a move for Laporte is fathomable before the summer. He just leaves too much money on the table to come to Madrid. With a year left, maybe you get him at a low transfer fee and he accepts a pay cut if he gets a 3 year deal.
I have always been a Zubmendi fan so I am biased. But I don't think it is one or the other, because Tchouameni is now a starting CB.
You know I share your sentiment of we can't win them all, but the problem I have is that the club was in a position to take us on a bit of a continuous run and instead kneecapped the squad and Carlo by acting like a hedge fund investor.
This would make a ton of sense as alternative if we can’t identify a long term CB/RB or a cheap temporary solution. Ticks a lot of boxes. For starters, it wouldn’t be an emergency/desperation move as such and would be a good long term addition that we probably should be looking to make in the summer anyway (I personally think we lack this profile). It would also add instant depth to RB (Valverde/Lucas/Fortea) and CB (Tchouameni/Asencio/Alaba/CB) while adding quality to the middle of the park. Needless to say, La Liga proven, played at the highest level (sort of) and has a buyout clause. But even if this was an option, I would still add a CB as an insurance policy. Alas, makes too much sense, therefore not likely to happen.
Tchouameni is not an adequate CB, far from it. The same issues that he showcased this season (we may disagree on reasons and solutions) won't magically disappear if Carlo slots him in defense. Temporary solution because of the club's squad management failure? Sure. Full-time CB? Fvck no.
Does anyone actually rate him very highly? serious question, I haven't seen in a bit but I don't recall every being enamored with him as a player.
It’s a hypothetical scenario and would obviously be a temporary solution. As I clearly indicated, I would prioritise signing a CB, but if the club feel the right long term one is not attainable in January or can’t identify an adequate and affordable temporary solution, then pushing back Tchouameni to CB for the remainder of the season isn’t the worst idea. I also firmly believe that Tchouameni is an adequate CB and may actually be better than anyone we can get mid season (this is key), but that’s just my opinion. But then you have a depth issue in midfield, hence Zubimendi. I also added that I’d still go for a CB regardless but might settle for a depth option in this case, I.e. an ex canterano, like Gila or Marin for example. So you would have a CB chart of Rudiger, Tchouameni, Alaba, Asencio and said additional CB. This would address our depth issue for the remainder of the season. We can re-assess the situation come June. Having said that, it’s a long shot and we’re not even remotely linked to him so really a pointless discussion, but thought it was an interesting suggestion.
Gila has been one of the top CBs in Serie A this season and his team is in the title race, don't think he'd settle for a depth role here.