Arturo Vidal

[George_Costanza]

Srsly? Sauce?

 

[El Flaco]

[tw]1025307227165532160[/tw]

 

[RMU ReBorn]

The only thing to which i would agree is what you wrote about Arthur. And about Busquets, but only partialy (you are neglecting that he can get exposed if not properly complemented)
Coutinho will not play as a mid, but as a left winger, like last year.
Roberto sure, he knows the team well? What does this has to do with being a member of an elite md?
Vidal sure the b2b that EV wants with similar traits that Paulinho had. How does make him a member of an elite md again?
Rakitic: sorry i have to strongly disagree. It seems only in some Barca fan's mind that Raki is a world class player. Why is he not wanted then by all top clubs in the world like Modric, Kroos, Pogba, Kante etc? Think about it
And of course he would not start ahead of fernandinio because he cannot offer the positional play the no6 in Pep's system has to offer. He would not start ahead of Fabinho Keita in Liverpool, he would start ahead of Jorginho-Kante in Chelsea, he would never replace Pjanic in Juve.
Yeah, he had a couple of great seasons here, andp layed really well alongside Iniesta and Busi as an Xavi's replacement for that period. He never became world class..

Rakitic was wanted by many big clubs. I am sorry to say that you weren't aware of that . Pep was the one who bought Vidal to Bayern and you are saying that Rakitic wouldn't fit in to Pep's system . Rakitic would fit in like a glove to any team that doesn't play stupid possession football with no intent . It's just that Barca don't want to sell him and Rakitic is happy in Barca . World class player and a top athlete , above that a true gentleman

 

[DonAK]

It’s not much in today’s market, digne cost the same amount

Two years of solid production from Vidal are worth the price

Yes, but there's some big risks associated with this transfer too. No one knows how his knee will hold off. For all we know he could still have two good to great years left in the tank, but he might also be done at this level right now. And then you have the issues off the field too which have been talked about a lot already.

All this makes his price drop significantly. We're the only club apart from Inter that have been willing to seriously consider signing him
for a reason.

We could be getting a very good player for our CL campaign or just a body to add for our medical staff.

 

[Sorin]

He's on his last year of contract and has injury concerns. He is 31.
20 mil. is no bargain.

No, but it's a fair fee.

 

[El Gato]

Vidal is actually a great deal for 20M. Even for 2-3 years max.

 

[Joan]

Top notch player? Yes.

World Class and indispensable? I disagree. A soon to be 31 year old player whose best position is at DM for us is not that irreplaceable when we already have a better 31 year old DM in the squad.

We need more dynamism and mobility in our midfield. Rakitic is a great player to have for rotation, but he's enterting his last or second last season for the club and I have a bad feeling Busquets' level will drop off harder than Iniesta or Xavi's did when they got older since he's less mobile than both and he's struggling a bit more defensively lately.

Next few years is going to be tough when it comes to replacing some key players, but it will have to be done. Nothing good will happen if the club have blind faith in ageing players to get better when they age.

See, I do agree with everything you just said. I never thought he was indispensable. Even in my previous post: 'While I'd take a few midfielders over him...' But the discussion started with Birdy claiming our midfield is not good enough and portraying Rakitić as a bad player who wouldn't start over fucking Bakayoko and Khedira.

Valverde has a top notch midfield for the forthcoming season and it shouldn't be used as an excuse.

 

[henias]

Modrić is rated higher than Rakitić simply because he's a better player. Modrić is if not the best, one of the best midfielders in the world. That doesn't mean Rakitić is bad. While I'd take a few midfielders over him since he can't contribute much offensively here, there's no point in denying he's a top notch player.

He's good but has very limited skillset especially when it comes down to playing for Barcelona. Especially with Messi declining and our midfield getting slower, Rakitic is going to turn to a liability than an asset.

But then again, I dont think anyone's ever denied he's a good player.

 

[Ursegor]

I never liked him even in his prime. In the 2015 CL final against us he was having a mare, running around and kicking everything, mentally not prepared at all, the occasion was getting to him visibly and he should have been sent off after 20 minutes already. He won't bring any character into this team just because he's aggressive as a player.

Wouldn't complain as a backup option for € 20M with low wages on a 3 year contract.
25-30 million with high wages and 5 year contract and then playing Rakitic-Vidal-Busquets every game and it will be meh.

 

[FC433]

He left the training.

 

[BarçaBarça]

He has been great in a more defensive role, but we should require our midfielders to do more than that. We need mobility in the midfield and Rakitic loses out there to Vidal.

Won't talk about Arthur. Different profile.

You could argue Roberto has been World Class for us too, but it would serve Barca better to have a more mobile and explosive or creative midfielder than Rakitic and a faster more explosive RB than Roberto to win back the CL again.

Rakitic has a contract until 2021 and should not get an extension so we're in the end game here when it comes to him and other players in the squad that need to be renewed in the upcoming years.

The only player that is indispensable in the current Barcelona team is Messi and arguably MAtS and yes that doesn't include Busquets IMO, who will have a harder decline than Iniesta and Xavi did.

For me, Rakitic and Vidal could rotate, that is fine. Even if Vidal plays more than Rakitic, but some in here argue that we could easily skip him off, and I disagree with that. I just wouldn't let go of Rakitic. He is a bit undervalued, because Suarez/Messi/Iniesta don't bring any pace or 'doing the dirty work' of the midfield/pressure on opponents like Raktic has done. And he is fully capable of doing that for another season or two, imo. Getting Vidal could help him, as he has been played into the ground last season. He has played more than every single player in the world. That can't happen again, and a fresh Rakitic would benefit the team more than playing with Arthur and Alena at the same time, imo.

 

[El Gato]

He won't bring any character into this team just because he's aggressive as a player.

Wouldn't complain as a backup option for € 20M with low wages on a 3 year contract.
25-30 million with high wages and 5 year contract and then playing Rakitic-Vidal-Busquets every game and it will be meh.

Yes he will. Because variety in measured amounts breeds a professional environment than an overcomfortable one. Him being aggressive also gives the newbies a better chance of breaking the cliques in the dressing room since Vidal will be new to it as well and will be as much of a mate for everyone if they're open to his personality.

A good deal if it happens. Short-term and kinda delays the replacement that [MENTION=15376]DonAK[/MENTION] mentions every now and then, but buying a veteran is a good way to make the transition happen at times as well.

More interestingly though, this basically confirms Coutinho onto the wing and a return of 4-3-3. Don't think 4-4-2 is going to happen now. If transfer goes through.

 

[Ursegor]

I don't think 4-4-2 is dead. Coutinho-Busquets-Rakitic-Vidal with Suarez and Messi upfront is something that I can totally see Valverde pulling off.

 

[FCBfan22]

Yes he will. Because variety in measured amounts breeds a professional environment than an overcomfortable one. Him being aggressive also gives the newbies a better chance of breaking the cliques in the dressing room since Vidal will be new to it as well and will be as much of a mate for everyone if they're open to his personality.

A good deal if it happens. Short-term and kinda delays the replacement that [MENTION=15376]DonAK[/MENTION] mentions every now and then, but buying a veteran is a good way to make the transition happen at times as well.

More interestingly though, this basically confirms Coutinho onto the wing and a return of 4-3-3. Don't think 4-4-2 is going to happen now. If transfer goes through.

I think Coutinho will still play LCM, because otherwise there would be no point of getting Malcom this summer, because we have enough wingers if Coutinho is utilized there. Unless Suarez is dropped, which is unlikely.

For Semedo and Roberto's sake, I hope Valverde doesn't experiment with Messi RW.

 

[Joan]

I don't think we'll move away from 4-4-2. Fitting both Messi and Suarez into 4-3-3 still remains an issue.