I don't understand how people can say that the top priority this summer is Masche's replacement knowing that he has probably been our best player during the second part of the season and by far the best defender we've had this season.
Mascherano is gr8 ,and he will probably remain our starting CB next season
But as once said in the transfer thread ,this club need to act not to react
We have 2 CBs who are rarely used and have one leg out in Bartra (need to cash on him b4 his contract is over) and Vermaelen (had a healthy season ,still has his reputation in England so now is the time to get rid of him)
Those are our youngest CBs out of 5 ,Mascherano (32) ,Pique(29) and Mathieu (32 ,33 by October) .there is a need for a younger CB anyway as a priority
Back to Mascherano himself ,while he is probably remain good enough next season ,he isn't a natural CB but rather a guy who relies a lot on his quickness,aggressiveness & athleticism . that fits our team perfectly btw but those usually gone very quickly by age
It would be really hard to see him retain those qualities beyond a season or two .Knowing that Alves is probably playing his last season next year that mean we might need to replace half of our starting defense in one year ,
Perfectly this summer we will get someone who would rotate with Pique& Mascherano then replaces Mascherano in the starting lineup after one more year .
Samething can about Iniesta ,but the midfield for now is complete and the team will have to give Arda a bigger try next year .
We will also have to see what guys like Kaptoum,Samper,Alena,halilovic,Denis,Roberto & Rafinha is made of . may be one of them will be able to cut it as our future midfield . if not then you will expect CM being our top priority signing in 2017 summer along a new RB (unless Vidal/Roberto proved themselves)
