Barca also signed KPB, Ousmane Dembele, Samuel Umtiti, and Nelson Semedo in the last five years. The summer they signed Henry, they also signed Eric Abidal and Yaya Toure. Their behavior is markedly different from that of Real Madrid.
For the last week we have been linked heavily to Ryan Fraser from Bournemouth. Has popped up enough in the media that both Fraser and Eddie Howe have been asked about the links in interviews. Fraser's contract expires in 2020 so the idea is that we could get a good deal. On top of that he is a speedy, hard working and versatile winger that generates a good number of chances with his crosses. Haven't seen the source interview but have seen quotes claiming that Emery has said he would like to make a Virgil van Dijk type signing at CB this summer. That may give some legitimacy to the claims that we are after Umtiti. Adding to Umtiti claims... A) Umtiti says he would like to stay at Barca but not as a backup B) Rumors claiming that situation with Umtiti is getting tense in the Barca locker room C) Claim earlier this week and that we offered a loan to buy (5m Euro fee, 40-45m Euro buy option). If Barca agrees to a loan they would want obligation to buy. Arsenal want loan to make sure Umtiti's knee is good. Speculation that we may agree to an obligation based on number of games played.
Assuming the Umtiti loan bid is true... I could see Barca being gun shy if we do not buy Denis Suarez. So would you guys be ok buying Suarez if that were a condition of Barca approving the Umtiti deal? That likely means we wouldn't have cash for another player (winger???) that Emery wants this summer.
For me that would depend on the other possible moves. If they're keeping AND planning to use Ozil (in light of Ramsey's departure) then I'd be okay with keeping Suarez if we can otherwise upgrade the defense. I'm confident the midfield and attack can at least be slightly better with the same players simply by having experience under Emery. Defense needs the talent with which to improve. But that's just me.
Seeing reports that we are intent on signing 1 winger and as of right now the primary candidates are Ryan Fraser, Leandro Trossard or Cristian Pavon.
Might wanna tell some Real fans about Henry was "aged" while he was still scoring goals against them.
Case closed mate if you're only counting barca signings and ignoring Madrid's. Again if you count the difference isn't polarizing but whatever makes you sleep at night. Can't partake in a one sided biased view. Barca sign some weird players that work for them. Henry had 2 peak years there. Have no clue what Song and KPB were doing there. Either way your options were Henry vs a young Benz and CR with a revived Raul/RvN on bench. The latter clearly yielded more for Madrid trophywise than Barca . Case closed on to transfers.
Reports coming out that we have a buy-back clause on Ismael Bennacer whom has started 25 games for Empoli this season as a DLP CM. Napoli is rumored to have offered 14m euro for him. Maybe someone we should be looking to buy back and see if they pair with Duzy. Or maybe buy back and loan back to Empoli?
From the Guardian's Rumor Mill: "Well, this is interesting. Word on the street was that Ander Herrera’s free transfer to PSG in exchange for a mere £200,000-a-week wage was all wrapped up - but wait! According to L’Equipe, a gazumper has emerged in the shape of Arsenal. Ho! Apparently they will swoop in with a similar offer because Unai Emery is a big fan of the Spaniard, and of course they could do with a replacement for the Juventus-bound Aaron Ramsey. Logical to a point, but you can’t escape the feeling that this would be classic Arsenal: giving the money they probably should have given Ramsey to someone slightly older and slightly worse. Textbook." Emphasis added. If true, enough said.
We're not going to be able to replace Ramsey, end of. That's why withdrawing his contract is so ********ing dumb, especially with how good he's been playing
We will only feel better if he misses half of next season due to soft tissue injuries. Sad to have to write that.
On the whole I agree but let's remember his negotiations fell apart before this spell. It's the combination of this deal with the offer made to Ozil that is confounding, because those stand in stark contrast to one another and thus we fans (and surely the players, too) are confused about where the club wants to go. In other words as an individual move losing Ramsey is regrettable but survivable, but coupled with other moves reveals the club to have a glaring lack of vision and cohesive design at the front office. Says I, anyway.