Rumor: Mission Impossible: Replacing Infinito ∞ | The 2018-19 Transfer Thread

Griezmann would be a superb signing, he's a complete player, just what Barca need.

 

Confirmed by BBC. 120me.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/48275997

 

Surely the right back situation must be addressed next? If Semedo is not trusted then another right back must come in as Sergi Roberto is absolutely not the answer.

 

dembele is injured so coutinho will go

 

Yeah, but need Coutinho for CdR final with Suarez and maybe Dembele out.

 

I still feel we need a more attack-minded midfielder in the Iniesta mold who can also bang in some goals. Hoped Coutinho would have been that for us, but we all know how that turned out. Now we will likely sign Griezmann who Lord knows where he's gonna fit in, we have signed Frenkie, who seems to be the successor of Busquets even though he likes to roam forward more. Arthur is also more of a holding mid in the Xavi mold.

At some point in the future my wish is that Puig will assume that role, he reminds me so much of Iniesta when he plays. Don't know how much further Alena is than Puig tbh. When both have been on the pitch the latter always seems to overshadow former. Can't help but think Puig needs to hit the gym a bit more though, or maybe he just still needs to grow a bit. I mean, Messi and Iniesta are not the biggest players either and at Barcelona we love those little, nimble players, but Puig looks like a twig. He's a beast in the making though so don't get it twisted.

Next season will mark the beginning of what will turn out to be my midfield of dreams in the future: Puig - Frenkie - Arthur...

 

I feel bad for Coutinho.
Even if he single handedly wins the CdR he still needs to go. Bad waste of money...
AG will be solid

 

Why would you feel bad for him? He's had more than enough opportunities to impress, and he simply fell short. I think he realizes this as well. Maybe he would have done better in his favored position, but he knew what he was getting himself into when he decided to join us. That's my main worry if Griezmann comes our way too. If he fails as well that'll be a massive embarrassment for us. Our first and second most expensive transfers would have both failed...

 

I’m actually hyped that we’re signing de Ligt. A 19 year old lad with such commanding presence is like once in a lifetime player. I could see this dude lift the WC one day.

 

Are we 100% cool, or a little unsure about the age/career phase situation of our midfield?

I mean, we have wily veterans (Busquets, Rakitic, Vidal) and young guns (De Jong, Arthur, Alena, Puig) but very few players who are neither "past-their-best" or "not-yet-at-their-best". It's not ideal. Not to mention there isn't a ton of depth, especially if/when we sell Rakitic. Of course we have S. Roberto, who is good, but hardly super great.

I know the standard of Xavi-Iniesta-Busquets is near impossible, and I think De Jong and Arthur have a real chance of growing to be real powerhouses, but just thinking about, say, the next season: we always ask a lot of our players, that's cool, but I think we are close to asking too much from our midfielders.

Great coaching is crucial in this. I think the club understood this, and tried Coutinho to be this one prime-age mid, too bad he hasn't delivered (at least yet).

 

Hopefully that deal gets done and soon but I still can’t believe we managed to get FDJ .. truly amazing

 

How did he know what he was getting himself into ??

I don’t even think the other players could have expected the decisions and tactics dreamt up by Valverde..

Pretty sure Coutinho started his dream move way out of position on the RIGHT WING and played quite a few games there ..
When he settled in he did have s decent spell of great play and some screamers Messi would have been proud of ..

 

Quite a few reports suggesting that PSG have now entered the race for AG ...

 

Yeah, I was just about to ask that what is the reason we think he goes to Barca as opposed to, say, PSG?

Good situation for us either way: we sign Griezmann, who is not perfect but is a top quality attacker that would make any team stronger, or we don't sign him, which is cool also, he isn't horrible-to-lose good.

 

PSG looks an obvious fit for him .. going home in his last big move .. playing good football each week .

Why on earth would he chose to come to the current Barca ?

 

Yes, should go to PSG because they're great and he is French, and Barca is ****.

 

He knew that we weren't going to change our whole system just so he could play in his preferred position. That we was going to have to adapt.

 

Chill. I'm not a fan of Griezmann coming here but I'm not sure I agree with the whole "current Barca" insinuation. Our only "issue", and granted, it's a big one, is the Champions League. I would love to see us play "the Barca way" or "the way Cruyff intended" however, you can't argue with the results Valverde put up in the domestic league and the Copa. People act like we're some kinda shit club just cause we can't seem to get the CL formula right. It's frustrating, yes, but I'd rather not win CL and win the double every year than really be a shit club and not win anything every year.

 

My main gripe is that but only are we not playing the ‘Barca’ way we are not even playing attractive football .. plus winning La Liga twice against two poor Madrid teams is no great achievement in my book

 

PSG is rumored with pretty much every available player atm, which is why I think AG ends up at Barca.

And, yes, if given the option every player would rather play for Barca alongside Messi than play in relative obscurity in Ligue 1, where stars like Neymar and Mbappe could leave you behind next summer.

And since its a buyout situation, its just down to what AG prefers.