Barça's Transfers and Rumors

[ZenI]

Luiz was a big reason why Chelsea frustrated Bayern for so long in the CL final. He put it in a shift and was emmense defensively. While at times he does have mental lapses (big man syndrome) he always elevates his game on the big occasions.

The fact that at times at Chelsea he has looked better as a DM than a CB is testament to his versatility and quality on the ball.

I would argue that he at times struggled as a CB at Chelsea had more to do with their overall style. He is much more suited to play a high line style while Chelsea always drop deep.

Personally, I think Luiz would is a perfect fit. He is great in the air and is much more athletic than Masch. I think he complements both Bartra and Piqué nicely and could also be deployed as a defensive fullback.

I know a lot of you will disagree with me on Luiz which is fine. I just think he would do well here. Especially since Mou doesn't want him, I say why not?

Nah, I agree with - I've been saying the same for a long time now. I hope I won't have to eat my words if we get him and he turns out to be a disaster.

 

[PhilS]

Unhappy, underused players tend to be most of those who move in January. Barca might have some of these, such as Pedro, Tello, Song or Montoya. Any Barca acquisitions in January may well be matched with Barca player sales. Barca might want to try a different type of forward, a DM/CB flex player, a FB/CB flex player. Add some size and strength.

Luiz is more athletic than almost anyone, and he can play multiple positions. Pep identified him as a Barca target years ago. I'm wondering if this might be Puyol's last year, he might not want to stay on given how his body is holding up.

 

[Zincubus]

Luiz was a big reason why Chelsea frustrated Bayern for so long in the CL final. He put it in a shift and was emmense defensively. While at times he does have mental lapses (big man syndrome) he always elevates his game on the big occasions.

The fact that at times at Chelsea he has looked better as a DM than a CB is testament to his versatility and quality on the ball.

I would argue that he at times struggled as a CB at Chelsea had more to do with their overall style. He is much more suited to play a high line style while Chelsea always drop deep.

Personally, I think Luiz would is a perfect fit. He is great in the air and is much more athletic than Masch. I think he complements both Bartra and Piqué nicely and could also be deployed as a defensive fullback.

I know a lot of you will disagree with me on Luiz which is fine. I just think he would do well here. Especially since Mou doesn't want him, I say why not?

Plus I reckon Puyol would advise him him to improve ..

 

[i_bleed_blaugrana]

Unhappy, underused players tend to be most of those who move in January. Barca might have some of these, such as Pedro, Tello, Song or Montoya. Any Barca acquisitions in January may well be matched with Barca player sales. Barca might want to try a different type of forward, a DM/CB flex player, a FB/CB flex player. Add some size and strength.

Luiz is more athletic than almost anyone, and he can play multiple positions. Pep identified him as a Barca target years ago. I'm wondering if this might be Puyol's last year, he might not want to stay on given how his body is holding up.

Luiz performs both of those functions, but I do agree that we might lose someone if we gain anyone.

In my opinion, Tello and Song are expendable. Particularly if we sign Luiz, we can push Masch back into MF (where with our more direct style he would be fit better as a DM than he did during Pep's era) and Song becomes superfluous. Tello has been too inconsistent and while he didn't get that many chances between Tito and Tata, whenever he did, he failed to impress. I'd argue to Montoya hasn't quite made the cut either but he is the only player who can fill in at RB and we need him for depth atm. With Luiz though, I think he could also succeed as a RB and would allow us to have more height for at the back and give Alba more license to get forward.

I'm still on the fence with Pedro. He is a great player who is great at complementing other players and our style, plus he is clinical when he gets a chance. But with Alexis and Neymar in the squad now and Deulofeu coming back next year, his playing time will continue to be limited. I wouldn't be against necessarily selling Pedro but I'd prefer if we did it during the summer so we have time to find another forward. With Pedro out of the squad, that's when I'd support signing a Lewandowski, Aguero or Reus. But as long as he is in the squad, we really don't need anymore offensive reinforcements. With Messi back, Tata will already have enough of a selection headache and throwing another attacker into the mix will make it worse. Much like in 2008 with Rijkaard's last season, it was really hard to fit four attacking players (Eto'o, Henry, Ronaldinho and Messi) into the same formation and have it be balanced.

I just really question whether any other attacker can have the same impact as both Alexis and Pedro. Combined, both have 22 goals this season and I highly doubt any of the attackers we are being linked to could be more productive than those two, and I combine those two because buying Lukaku, Aguero, Lewandowski etc. means that Pedro and Alexis won't start due to Messi and Neymar locking down two forward positions. Considering this and our other more pressing needs that we will need to go to the market to resolve, I would like us to try and keep Pedro. Lets just splash the cash on Luiz, Ter Stegen, Reina and perhaps a defensive fullback and lock down our defense.

With Alexis, Pedro and Deulofeu competing for the third spot next season and Dongou as our traditional CF, we would have both offensive depth and tactical flexibility to run a 4-3-3 with both a false 9 and a traditional 9. What I am not saying is that other attackers wouldn't benefit the team or saying that individually Pedro and Alexis are better than the forwards we have been linked to. But for what this team needs, we already have 85% of what we need. All Tata needs to do is figure out which players work best with one another and rotate these different connections so we are harder to predict. Alexis and Dongou are more suited to a more direct style (which is why I think Cesc should always start in the MF when Alexis starts) while Pedro, Messi and potentially Deulofeu are better with the tiki-taka approach and should play whenever we have Iniesta and Xavi.

If we can solidify our defense and have multiple attacking schemes, opponents will not be able to simply "park the bus" and will have to play more open, allowing us to play tiki-taka. That's why Tata is trying hard to get us to adopt this more direct approach because by doing that, it will eventually allow us to go back to playing tiki-taka. Its a very solid strategy, and once the team finds this balance, I'm convinced the only team that can compete with us is Bayern, (Its funny, they are going through the exact same transition that we are, just they are going from direct to possession) and since we are the OG possession team (at least in the Modern era), there is no reason why we can't beat them as well.

 

[KingMessi]

Luiz performs both of those functions, but I do agree that we might lose someone if we gain anyone.

In my opinion, Tello and Song are expendable. Particularly if we sign Luiz, we can push Masch back into MF (where with our more direct style he would be fit better as a DM than he did during Pep's era) and Song becomes superfluous. Tello has been too inconsistent and while he didn't get that many chances between Tito and Tata, whenever he did, he failed to impress. I'd argue to Montoya hasn't quite made the cut either but he is the only player who can fill in at RB and we need him for depth atm. With Luiz though, I think he could also succeed as a RB and would allow us to have more height for at the back and give Alba more license to get forward.

I'm still on the fence with Pedro. He is a great player who is great at complementing other players and our style, plus he is clinical when he gets a chance. But with Alexis and Neymar in the squad now and Deulofeu coming back next year, his playing time will continue to be limited. I wouldn't be against necessarily selling Pedro but I'd prefer if we did it during the summer so we have time to find another forward. With Pedro out of the squad, that's when I'd support signing a Lewandowski, Aguero or Reus. But as long as he is in the squad, we really don't need anymore offensive reinforcements. With Messi back, Tata will already have enough of a selection headache and throwing another attacker into the mix will make it worse. Much like in 2008 with Rijkaard's last season, it was really hard to fit four attacking players (Eto'o, Henry, Ronaldinho and Messi) into the same formation and have it be balanced.

I just really question whether any other attacker can have the same impact as both Alexis and Pedro. Combined, both have 22 goals this season and I highly doubt any of the attackers we are being linked to could be more productive than those two, and I combine those two because buying Lukaku, Aguero, Lewandowski etc. means that Pedro and Alexis won't start due to Messi and Neymar locking down two forward positions. Considering this and our other more pressing needs that we will need to go to the market to resolve, I would like us to try and keep Pedro. Lets just splash the cash on Luiz, Ter Stegen, Reina and perhaps a defensive fullback and lock down our defense.

With Alexis, Pedro and Deulofeu competing for the third spot next season and Dongou as our traditional CF, we would have both offensive depth and tactical flexibility to run a 4-3-3 with both a false 9 and a traditional 9. What I am not saying is that other attackers wouldn't benefit the team or saying that individually Pedro and Alexis are better than the forwards we have been linked to. But for what this team needs, we already have 85% of what we need. All Tata needs to do is figure out which players work best with one another and rotate these different connections so we are harder to predict. Alexis and Dongou are more suited to a more direct style (which is why I think Cesc should always start in the MF when Alexis starts) while Pedro, Messi and potentially Deulofeu are better with the tiki-taka approach and should play whenever we have Iniesta and Xavi.

If we can solidify our defense and have multiple attacking schemes, opponents will not be able to simply "park the bus" and will have to play more open, allowing us to play tiki-taka. That's why Tata is trying hard to get us to adopt this more direct approach because by doing that, it will eventually allow us to go back to playing tiki-taka. Its a very solid strategy, and once the team finds this balance, I'm convinced the only team that can compete with us is Bayern, (Its funny, they are going through the exact same transition that we are, just they are going from direct to possession) and since we are the OG possession team (at least in the Modern era), there is no reason why we can't beat them as well.

That was beautiful.

I'm curious to hear your opinions on the midfield for next season though, what with Rafinha coming back and Denis getting automatically promoted.

 

[Barcilliant]

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOLL! This section is called Barca's Transfers and Rumours but it should be called Barca's Rumours. All rumours and no facts. I guess when we get dumped from the CL in the round of 16 then Zubi might wake up. Clean out is required. Aguero should not even be considered. Too short and we have enough of those players. We should have bought Aguero 2 years ago instead of Alexis. I'd rather we go for a proper striker, a big, skilled midfielder, a CB and 2 goalkeepers. Out goes Tello, Pedro. Xavi retires, Puyol too. Mascherano is sold for a decent fee.

The problem is Pep left a squad which was a bunch of midgets. We need more height and physicality.

 

[Howes]

Luiz was a big reason why Chelsea frustrated Bayern for so long in the CL final. He put it in a shift and was emmense defensively. While at times he does have mental lapses (big man syndrome) he always elevates his game on the big occasions.

The fact that at times at Chelsea he has looked better as a DM than a CB is testament to his versatility and quality on the ball.

I would argue that he at times struggled as a CB at Chelsea had more to do with their overall style. He is much more suited to play a high line style while Chelsea always drop deep.

Personally, I think Luiz would is a perfect fit. He is great in the air and is much more athletic than Masch. I think he complements both Bartra and Piqué nicely and could also be deployed as a defensive fullback.

I know a lot of you will disagree with me on Luiz which is fine. I just think he would do well here. Especially since Mou doesn't want him, I say why not?

100% agree, I really do think he's what Barcelona are missing and I think it's the perfect time for Barca to move for him. Out of favour and in the prime of his career. The guys a tank (especially compared to Barcelona players), also not really noted is his goal scoring record for Chelsea, surprisingly good for a centre back. Luiz for under £20mil January or even The summer if we have to wait would be totally worth it

 

[barca1899]

Borussia Monchengladbach goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen (21) will soon confirm that he will join Barcelona. [md]

 

[Antimadridista1]

Ter Stegen, David Luiz and Aguero and we'll be at the top for next season.

 

[Aryagorn]

And David Luiz would be a good defensive full back too playing the bad cop for Alves' atttacking minded good cop(I know Luiz does attack a lot too, but he seemed to be really disciplined playing as a full back). The combination of Alba & Adriano could rotate with the combination of Alves & Alba.

 

[Howes]

Ter Stegen and David Luiz would be perfect for Barcelona, I'd be happy with just those two coming in and maybe 1 or 2 leaving to raise funds for both transfers. Mascherano out ? For a player to come in I'd expect to see someone leave

 

[barca1899]

Barcelona are considering to sign a centre back in January. Martino will decide. Options: David Luiz, Vergini, Hummels, Agger, Balanta [md]

Bring Sideshow home!

 

[Aryagorn]

Balanta please...

"And David Luiz would be a good defensive full back too playing the bad cop for Alves' atttacking minded good cop(I know Luiz does attack a lot too, but he seemed to be really disciplined playing as a full back). The combination of Alba & Adriano could rotate with the combination of Alves & Alba."

This is even more valid for Balanta And he would be cheap... eligible for CL too

 

[Zincubus]

Ter Stegen and David Luiz would be perfect for Barcelona, I'd be happy with just those two coming in and maybe 1 or 2 leaving to raise funds for both transfers. Mascherano out ? For a player to come in I'd expect to see someone leave

Maybe we should try and sign Wenger seeing that he's managed to get a squad together at a fraction of the price of ours and they are playing the Barca way better than we are . Last night they were mind blowing to watch

 

[linetty]

Barcelona are considering to sign a centre back in January. Martino will decide. Options: David Luiz, Vergini, Hummels, Agger, Balanta [md]

Bring Sideshow home!