This is my proposed roster if we get Coutinho. I believe we are going with a 4-3-3 formation:
Goalies:
Ter Stegen; Cillegsen (2)
Back four:
Alba/Digne; Umtiti/Mascherano; Pique/Vermalen; Semedo/Vidal (8)
Midfield:
Busquets/Paulinho; Roberto/Paulinho; Iniesta/Coutinho; Denis Suarez; Gomes; Rakitic (8)
Offense:
Dembele/Deulofeu; Messi/Coutinho; Luis Suarez/Alcacer (5)
That would be a total of 23 players. Only 18 will be called for a given game; five will be left out. However, that would be a very strong team that will challenge for La Liga, King’s Cup, and the Champions League. The players that will be left out could typically be Vermalen, Gomes, Rakitic, Denis Suarez and a fifth one. The decision might not be that hard since we will have injuries. They have to understand what their roles would be and do what is appropriate for their careers.
Players that would have to go to other teams might be Turan, Munir, Rafinha, and Douglas. I’m not including Malcron and Rafinha, because we might be over the 3 limit for non EU players. I believe that the 3 places are going to Coutinho, Paulinho, and Luis Suarez. I really hate to transfer Rafinha.
A typical starting lineup might be:
Ter Stegen; Alba, Umtiti, Pique, and Semedo; Busquets, Roberto, and Iniesta; Dembele, Messi, and Suarez.
On the bench:
Cillegsen, Coutinho, Paulinho, Digne, Vidal, Mascherano, Deulefeu. The problem here is that we might have spent €170M (Coutinho, Paulinho, and Deulefeu) to be on the bench. However what if Messi, Iniesta, L. Suarez, Roberto, or Dembele get hurt? We need Coutinho and I would send Alcacer to another team. In other words, Coutinho would be the super-sub. We do not need Alcacer. I would use Coutinho or Dembélé as a "9," if we need to.
The above team is a very strong one and does not take a back seat to Real Madrid.
Please, we do not need more mid fielders. We have them coming out of our elbows.
