I don't see a clear position for him in Barca's classical 433.
Not too physical for a lone pivot.
Weird CM (Xavi's position) who gets rid of the ball too fast and is not involved that much in possession.
Not attacking enough for Iniesta's possession in a world after Messi where Barca's midfielders need to take some of a goalscoring burden.
Laplacian compared him with other current midfielders.
He is good.
But other options are:
Frenkie who is also shoehorned into a 433 and doesn't have a clear midfield position where he particularly excels.
Busi, who was done like 5 years ago.
PR machine Puig.
Coutinho who also doesn't have a clear position in 433.
Him being the best or top2 midfielders of ours doesn't say much and might skew the judgement, paired with an eternal need for new kids to raise our hope for the future.
Something similar is saying: Araujo is our best CB, how can you not like him?
When the competition is: done Pique, bad Lenglet, done Umtiti, Barca DNA meh player Eric and so-so wild Mingueza.
I have asked a question about Pedri's position at Barca, I don't think that I got any answers except:
1. Iniesta also wasn't a scorer.
True, but he played with 50-goals per season Messi and technical-sterile in attack CAM was perfect for that lineup (we just needed to keep the ball or eventually pass it to Messi).
2. Or: he plays well for Spain.
True, but Spain just dwells on ball, dominates possession and can't finish any opponent.
I am not sure that Spain is a direction where trophies and football will go in the future.
Pedri has some nice skills, he is young.
But he also has some flaws and my biggest point is: he doesn't excel on any mudfield position in 433 for teams who are shooting for a CL glory (the highest level).
For him to play the same as for Spain, we would need to surround him with possession merchant players who can have 80% of possession.
But again, we have Frenkie and some more direct players and 80% of possession and dwelling on a ball is not a direction in which modern CL winning teams are moving.
So, for now, I still don't see that Pedri's magic for the top-top level.
I know, I know, he is young.
But player's DNA and deadly flaws rarely change.
We get it, you don't like the 4-3-3.
I have asked a question about Pedri's position at Barca, I don't think that I got any answers except:
1. Iniesta also wasn't a scorer.
True, but he played with 50-goals per season Messi and technical-sterile in attack CAM was perfect for that lineup (we just needed to keep the ball or eventually pass it to Messi).
2. Or: he plays well for Spain.
True, but Spain just dwells on ball, dominates possession and can't finish any opponent.
I am not sure that Spain is a direction where trophies and football will go in the future.
Pedri has some nice skills, he is young.
But he also has some flaws and my biggest point is: he doesn't excel on any mudfield position in 433 for teams who are shooting for a CL glory (the highest level).
For him to play the same as for Spain, we would need to surround him with possession merchant players who can have 80% of possession.
But again, we have Frenkie and some more direct players and 80% of possession and dwelling on a ball is not a direction in which modern CL winning teams are moving.
So, for now, I still don't see that Pedri's magic for the top-top level.
I know, I know, he is young.
But player's DNA and deadly flaws rarely change.
He is a midfield playmaker-passer.
In 4-3-3 you need:
1) a DM
2) a midfield playmaker and passer. There's a lot of midfielders who were playmakers and not scorers, nor defenders. Take Pirlo. Not a Kaka in the slightest, not even a Seedorf offensively, not a Gatusso either. He was the guy connecting defense to attack in a more creative way than his midfield partners.
3) a box to box / AM. Think Seydou Keita or Iniesta.
Pedri fits in 2).
But for 2) to actually shine you need a manager that is using midfield combinations a lot, a possession-based manager. Xavi was a sub at the 2006 World Cup because the Spanish manager at the time was a Koeman-type.
Under top possession-based managers the ball is played infield a lot. Under more average ones the ball advances down the line instead, because defending teams ALWAYS concede spaces wide, and crowd central zones, so the crappier managers just take the bait and use wider areas to move the ball.
Guardiola used to even forbid this type of wide progression from fullback to winger because it's a crap progression in terms of quality. In elite possession managers, you even see fullbacks taking more of an inward position acting as pseudo-midfielders. Watch Walker or Zinchenko for City. Or watch Tuchel as well.
Pedri is getting game time from Koeman which is great but to make the next key step he needs a better manager, someone who knows how to set up a midfield. Koeman can't even dictate the game vs freaking Getafe. And unfortunately, Pedri won't be a top box-to-box player able to score goals in the big games. So, if he's not a defender, not a good scorer, and the manager doesn't know how to setup a midfield properly, he's lost.
So, it's not that Pedri is not a 4-3-3 player. It's Koeman who is not a 4-3-3 manager. He is a 4-2-3-1 manager if I ever saw one.
