Mateo Kovačić

[Jombi]

Pogba is very quick player .and he is right now way better than Kovacic .probably only here along may be Inter & Croatian forum this will be an argument .the difference in level is clear
And Pogba is perfectly fit in the LM role .he is almost playing that position with Juve also .he has all the tools minus the exceptional passes .I would take Pogba for 80-85M over Kovacic for 25M any day of the week .A club like Barcelona should always go for the special player even if we had to overpay a little and not settle for the good one .we settle we get Sanchez .we spend big we get Neymar & Suarez
That said if Pogba really goes for 85M or just sold to another club I would be ok with Kovacic .there should be a limit for what we pay as there will be a need for other signings

If we spend big we also get the special Zlatan, and if we buy smart we also get Yaya Toure.

What is important IMO is not who is considered special, but who fits our team best. I do agree that Pogba is a better player atm, but it could be Zlatan 2.0 all over again if we decide to splash big after winning the treble, and ruin the following season like we did in 2009.

 

[khaled_a_d]

But we are Barcelona, shouldn't we be looking for players with exceptional passing abilities to play in our midfield? We already have a player like Pogba in Rakitic so i don't know why we are chasing after him

Well ,for one Rakitic and Pogba are very different players .Rakitic has better passing btw and right now I would say he is good enough for Barca midfield in terms of passing
Pogba can improve his passing ,his other qualities are exceptional and his passing isn't bad in general but to our standards it is .
And tbh I can understand that his passing can make us skeptical .But the question is what Lucho really wants
For one our CM/AM combo has now turned into more LM/RM with more direct approach but Iniesta is sharing a bit of controlling tempo duties with Busquets .Xavi has been also used a lot
So does LE wants a more direct LM ? or a CM shifting a bit to left side? the answer can make world of difference tbh .if it is the 1st Pogba is the perfect man for the job .if it is the second he will be more risky

 

[khaled_a_d]

If we spend big we also get the special Zlatan, and if we buy smart we also get Yaya Toure.

What is important IMO is not who is considered special, but who fits our team best. I do agree that Pogba is a better player atm, but it could be Zlatan 2.0 all over again if we decide to splash big after winning the treble, and ruin the following season like we did in 2009.

Well ,comparisons can go both sides I guess .it is true we can go full retard with signing big .but Pogba has nothing to do with Zlatan IMO .he is younger player who could change his game for the team ,no personal ego like Zlatan who basically threw the towel at the end of the season when he had to get out of his comfort zone for Messi
People forget that early on rumors said that Lucho actually want Pogba ,if it is true I think after such a season he should get what he want .If the board is forcing the player on him then I am against it

 

[Jombi]

Well ,comparisons can go both sides I guess .it is true we can go full retard with signing big .but Pogba has nothing to do with Zlatan IMO .he is younger player who could change his game for the team ,no personal ego like Zlatan who basically threw the towel at the end of the season when he had to get out of his comfort zone for Messi
People forget that early on rumors said that Lucho actually want Pogba ,if it is true I think after such a season he should get what he want .If the board is forcing the player on him then I am against it

But that's what happened in 2009 when Pep won the treble and was considered a deity. He was given a free reign in the transfer market after that season and we ended up with 25m euros Chygrynskiy, off-loading Eto'o for 20m and buying Zlatan for 70m. It was a pure disaster. I think we need to have other people in our club with better knowledge of what is on the market for us, and not just let the coach choose players he has seen.

 

[Ini8]

But that's what happened in 2009 when Pep won the treble and was considered a deity. He was given a free reign in the transfer market after that season and we ended up with 25m euros Chygrynskiy, off-loading Eto'o for 20m and buying Zlatan for 70m. It was a pure disaster. I think we need to have other people in our club with better knowledge of what is on the market for us, and not just let the coach choose players he has seen.

Lucho has been spot on with his transfers so far.

 

[Stric]

Lucho has been spot on with his transfers so far.

A big part of last summer's transfers was the fact that the club was spending big because they knew there'd be no transfers this summer.

 

[khaled_a_d]

But that's what happened in 2009 when Pep won the treble and was considered a deity. He was given a free reign in the transfer market after that season and we ended up with 25m euros Chygrynskiy, off-loading Eto'o for 20m and buying Zlatan for 70m. It was a pure disaster. I think we need to have other people in our club with better knowledge of what is on the market for us, and not just let the coach choose players he has seen.

Pep didn't renew until Chygrynskiy and Ibra deals was done ,They were bad deals but without it we could have lost Pepin 2010
Sometimes you should roll with what a successful coach want to keep him .remember Lucho is still Vague about his future
And he gave us no reason to doubt his transfers yet ,Suarez was signed with his request for example

 

[10Rivaldo]

Get this guy if it means we don't spend 100 million on Pogba

 

[Ini8]

A big part of last summer's transfers was the fact that the club was spending big because they knew there'd be no transfers this summer.

I know. Our budget was €120m if I'm not mistaken. I believe we still have some money leftover from last summer.

 

[Co0ter]

Pogba is very quick player .and he is right now way better than Kovacic .probably only here along may be Inter & Croatian forum this will be an argument .the difference in level is clear
And Pogba is perfectly fit in the LM role .he is almost playing that position with Juve also .he has all the tools minus the exceptional passes .I would take Pogba for 80-85M over Kovacic for 25M any day of the week .A club like Barcelona should always go for the special player even if we had to overpay a little and not settle for the good one .we settle we get Sanchez .we spend big we get Neymar & Suarez
That said if Pogba really goes for 85M or just sold to another club I would be ok with Kovacic .there should be a limit for what we pay as there will be a need for other signings

We can agree to disagree. I think Pogba is a great young player. He is fast for his height (has nowhere near the acceleration Kovacic has), strong on the ball, has great ball control and is a decent dribbler. He also has a pretty good shot for a midfielder (a few golazos a season doesn't make him a great finisher).

However, his passing isnt what it should be to play for Barca. Also, his movement on and off the ball isnt the best either. Kovacic has much better both short and long passing and his movement is made for Barca. He has a knack for finding space and making himself available for his teammates- he has that clever intuition for give and go's too. I can picture him exactly in Iniesta's role for us this season (which clearly has worked wonders along with Rakitic in his role) but have that ability to burst through multiple players in midfield and laying off a pass to MSN as he draws the defenders to him.

Pogba has some great qualities and for most teams, I agree he is the better player. For Barcelona, Kovacic is much better and for those key reasons I listed above.

 

[BBZ8800]

Pogba is very quick player .and he is right now way better than Kovacic .probably only here along may be Inter & Croatian forum this will be an argument .the difference in level is clear
And Pogba is perfectly fit in the LM role .he is almost playing that position with Juve also .he has all the tools minus the exceptional passes .I would take Pogba for 80-85M over Kovacic for 25M any day of the week .A club like Barcelona should always go for the special player even if we had to overpay a little and not settle for the good one .we settle we get Sanchez .we spend big we get Neymar & Suarez
That said if Pogba really goes for 85M or just sold to another club I would be ok with Kovacic .there should be a limit for what we pay as there will be a need for other signings

We settled, we got Deco, Van Bronckhorst, Marquez, Rakitic, for example.
We paid big, we got Cesc, Zlatan.

It is not that simple.
We have good and bad examples on both sides of a story.
Imo, Kovacic is not worse than Verratti or Isco in the moment when they were bought by Real/Psg.

Sometimes you buy 20-30M players who can turn into 50-80M players.
And in other times, you don't want to risk with them and then you just try to buy them AFTER they turn into world class (like Varratti and Isco now).

Kovacic could easily turn into our Verratti/Isco.
Or, he could easily turn into someone else's Verratti/Isco whom we will try to sign in 2-3 years for 60 Millions.

 

[BBZ8800]

If we spend big we also get the special Zlatan, and if we buy smart we also get Yaya Toure.

What is important IMO is not who is considered special, but who fits our team best. I do agree that Pogba is a better player atm, but it could be Zlatan 2.0 all over again if we decide to splash big after winning the treble, and ruin the following season like we did in 2009.

Mascherano would probably be a better Dmc than Busi for 90% teams in the world, except for Barca, Spain and a few other teams.

Imagine Busi in Man. Utd, Chelsea or Juventus...
He would be a disaster of a Dmc for those teams.
But Masch, he would be awesome in those teams.

Pogba is a better player currently.
But again, skills which Pogba possess aren't exactly the most important skills for our style of play.

 

[Hamzah]

How would he be a disaster? Many consider him to be the best dm in the world. Very very smart player and good on the ball which gives him a huge advantage over others in his position.

 

[Icarium]

Chelsea? maybe. United? i think he would improve their team immensely. Now that carrick is past his prime, they seriously lack a player of similar build and lvg is trying to make them play possession football. He would be awesome for united, psg and every other team who rely on possession.

 

[khaled_a_d]

We settled, we got Deco, Van Bronckhorst, Marquez, Rakitic, for example.
We paid big, we got Cesc, Zlatan.

It is not that simple.
We have good and bad examples on both sides of a story.
Imo, Kovacic is not worse than Verratti or Isco in the moment when they were bought by Real/Psg.

Sometimes you buy 20-30M players who can turn into 50-80M players.
And in other times, you don't want to risk with them and then you just try to buy them AFTER they turn into world class (like Varratti and Isco now).

Kovacic could easily turn into our Verratti/Isco.
Or, he could easily turn into someone else's Verratti/Isco whom we will try to sign in 2-3 years for 60 Millions.

All the examples of good cheap players were in Laporta Txiki era ,And we didn't settle for either Rakitic or Deco .it was good negotiation to get them for fair price .but they were gr8 players for any team
Ad it is different era now ,players like Van Bronckhorst won't cut it in the team right now .the standards are way higher since Pep era
That Rijkaard team ,even though it is my all time favorite won't look as good as it was right now .
Kovacic is a bit overrated by you guys tbh ,And Isco was much better than him when he joined RM .Verratti was younger when he joined PSG too
He could very well end up being a bench player and we need to get a new starter in a couple of years for same position

Mascherano would probably be a better Dmc than Busi for 90% teams in the world, except for Barca, Spain and a few other teams.

Imagine Busi in Man. Utd, Chelsea or Juventus...
He would be a disaster of a Dmc for those teams.
But Masch, he would be awesome in those teams.

Pogba is a better player currently.
But again, skills which Pogba possess aren't exactly the most important skills for our style of play.

Busquets would start in any team of the world ,Chelsea and Manu already made an offer b4 his renewal .he would be dream addition for any team .and would start over Mascherano in any team