Coutinho, Verratti or Mahrez?

[Pepe Silvia]

Who would you rather get, Coutinho, Verratti or Mahrez and why?

 

[vlad]

i think there was similar poll already, but nevermind, verratti, does that really need explanations? mahrez would not play in first 11, coutinho as iniesta´s replace, not bad, but he is not consistent player and he is injury prone so... about injuries, verrati is not much better, at such a young age he is too much injured.



edit: but yeah, there is no player in the world that would suit to barca more then verrati, since they missed modric.

 

[Aryagorn]

Get some body from Croatia (As a punishment for missing out on Modric) or Netherlands (Tribute to Johann). Spain has lost its mojo of creating class creative mid fielders anyway.

No Brazil coz of the shady stuff that the board would manage with any thing related to Brazil.

Verratti..... I am not too sure if the transfer saga would be worth the hassle what with it involving Paris and his injuries. Let's see if Xavi has still got it in him to help our mid field - Considering his connections with the Qatari

 

[khaled_a_d]

I am not sure why those 3 tbh but for the sake of question:
It All depends on the game plan we have.
If we are sticking to 4-3-3 and Messi is gonna moved back to RW then Coutinho could make the most sense as Iniesta replacement,a creative player in midfield.
If moving to 4-3-3 with Messi as AM so Mahrez as a RW would make sense with Busquets and Rakitic covering for him.
If we are playing 3-4-3 then Verratti makes the most sense.

 

[Aryagorn]

3-4-3 should probably be the primary focus now...... For that it would make sense to get Mahrez, who would still have to rotate with the youngsters.


But we will also need a box-to-box mid fielder, some body like Keitee..... Man we miss him. And the said new guy should be rotating with Alba, who should be moved to mid field

 

[BarçaBarça]

I fear Coutinho will be insanely expensive, and that he has too many long-range goals and too little football intelligence compared to the price..
I would like Bernardo Silva instead.

 

[DonAK]

This is very easy for me.

Attacking Midfielders like Coutinho are dime a dozen. He's a very good player, but not a generational one like Iniesta. There are other options like Coutinho of similar level or better available like Bernardo Silva, Christian Eriksen, Mesut Ozil.

Pure Centre Midfielders like Verratti though are very difficult to find. Players like him under 30 are Kroos, Koke, Thiago. Three players in the same bracket.

I'd personally not sign either Coutinho or Mahrez though. If the objective is to sign an attacking midfielder then I'd sign Bernardo Silva who can play as a RW too. The handicap with Coutinho who I think disappears too often from games until he scores a golazo and is all over social media, is that he's very expensive too, and has his best position as a LW in Neymar's position which is locked for years to come.

Eriksen has been better than Coutinho, but he's a Dane and doesn't score as many great goals like Coutinho so less hype.

 

[khaled_a_d]

This is very easy for me.

Attacking Midfielders like Coutinho are dime a dozen. He's a very good player, but not a generational one like Iniesta. There are other options like Coutinho of similar level or better available like Bernardo Silva, Christian Eriksen, Mesut Ozil.

Pure Centre Midfielders like Verratti though are very difficult to find. Players like him under 30 are Kroos, Koke, Thiago. Three players in the same bracket.

I'd personally not sign either Coutinho or Mahrez though. If the objective is to sign an attacking midfielder then I'd sign Bernardo Silva who can play as a RW too. The handicap with Coutinho who I think disappears too often from games until he scores a golazo and is all over social media, is that he's very expensive too, and has his best position as a LW in Neymar's position which is locked for years to come.

Eriksen has been better than Coutinho, but he's a Dane and doesn't score as many great goals like Coutinho so less hype.

I don't watch Tottenham that much but I would prefer trying to negotiate with Liverpool than Tottenham tbh.
As for AM in dime dozen I am not sure about that tbh, Ozil won't cut it as Barca AM and you know it, B.Silva seem more destined to be RW in our system too. Getting a creative Barca AM is as difficult as getting a CM.
I am not saying I am advocating Coutinho over Verratti,tbh I don't like him that much and I do think that we need to convert Messi to AM as soon as possible and stop pretendin RW which lead to fucking our system.
But you have to consider how the system is gonna be built tbh. If we played 4-3-3 with Messi as AM for example Rakitic or a pure box to box might be better fit for midfield than pure CM and it opens bigger need for a winger than CM.
2 of our last 4 CL title we played with a starting midfield that had no pure CM (Unless you consider Van Bommel and Rakitic as CM) and the other two was under Pep.

Again I like Verratti and everything but I think people are kind of overreacting of the influence he would make in Barca in comparison to other potential players specially when the disregard the potential systems we are gonna play. After all he isn't even close to be as good as Xavi.

 

[DonAK]

I don't watch Tottenham that much but I would prefer trying to negotiate with Liverpool than Tottenham tbh.
As for AM in dime dozen I am not sure about that tbh, Ozil won't cut it as Barca AM and you know it, B.Silva seem more destined to be RW in our system too. Getting a creative Barca AM is as difficult as getting a CM.
I am not saying I am advocating Coutinho over Verratti,tbh I don't like him that much and I do think that we need to convert Messi to AM as soon as possible and stop pretendin RW which lead to fucking our system.
But you have to consider how the system is gonna be built tbh. If we played 4-3-3 with Messi as AM for example Rakitic or a pure box to box might be better fit for midfield than pure CM and it opens bigger need for a winger than CM.
2 of our last 4 CL title we played with a starting midfield that had no pure CM (Unless you consider Van Bommel and Rakitic as CM) and the other two was under Pep.

Again I like Verratti and everything but I think people are kind of overreacting of the influence he would make in Barca in comparison to other potential players specially when the disregard the potential systems we are gonna play. After all he isn't even close to be as good as Xavi.

My point was that CMs playing at a very high level are hard to find compared to AMs. I know Ozil won't fit in this team and I don't like him either as he's probably one of the most overrated players in the last decade IMO. Verratti is a very creative midfielder, has created most chances in Ligue 1 this season which for a player playing deeper is quite an achievement. Someone like Thiago who can play further forward too would have been great, but then we sold him and many people don't like him either.

Messi need to play as an AM so a RW would be nice, but Coutinho is not that. Bernardo Silva could suit that role quite well, but he plays as an attacking midfielder for Monaco. Him and Lemar start out wide, but drift in toward the center-left/center-right and try to create chances and plays from there. So while it may seem like he's a right winger or wide midfielder, he isn't.

The influence Verratti can bring is both as a creator and someone who can play a different way to all our midfielders. He's a multi-dimensional midfielder which are rare.

Just a preference really. Every team could use a midfielder like Verratti, Kroos/Modric, Koke, Thiago. These players are able to function with an AM in the team too.

I agree with the bit about negotiating with Spurs as Levy doesn't let any of his players go for less than what he values them at. Neither of Eriksen or Coutinho will cost less than 80m though.

 

[AnfieldEd]

You do realise that Veratti will go for the combined price of Coutinho and Mahrez...........£100m easy for Veratti. £60m for Coutinho and £40m for Mahrez.........

 

[DonAK]

You do realise that Veratti will go for the combined price of Coutinho and Mahrez...........£100m easy for Veratti. £60m for Coutinho and £40m for Mahrez.........

Yes.

Would think Liverpool would demand more than £60m for Coutinho. Contract until 2022. Don't want to sell him. Can easily see that get bumped up to the £70-80m range.

 

[AnfieldEd]

Yes.

Would think Liverpool would demand more than £60m for Coutinho. Contract until 2022. Don't want to sell him. Can easily see that get bumped up to the £70-80m range.

He's not consistent enough to warrant that price tag.

 

[DonAK]

He's not consistent enough to warrant that price tag.

Which is precisely why I would think twice before spending £60m on him too. Especially considering that we might need another type of midfielder to function alongside Busquets if Messi's position is cemented behind the CF like a CAM.

Verratti can retain possession, dominate the center of the field, tempo of the game and is good defensively. Our priority might be a RW rather than an attacking midfielder, and for that role Bernardo Silva or someone like Ousmane Dembele(in 2018 or 2019) suits us better.

 

[FlaFCB]

You do realise that Veratti will go for the combined price of Coutinho and Mahrez...........£100m easy for Veratti. £60m for Coutinho and £40m for Mahrez.........

I'd rather pay 100m for Verratti.

 

[PhilS]

I'd be happy with any of these 3, the team would be improved.