Transfers and Rumours - old thread

[KluivertsBoots]

1 CB could be enough (though there's no doubt that we need at least one). With Pique, the new CB, Puyol, Masch, Bartra and maybe Abidal, that's 5-6 players for 2 positions. We should be good to go with that IMO. Then again, I wouldn't mind if we got 2 CBs, just in case.

If the 1 CB is Vincent Kompany, it is enough. It all depends on Puyol's ability to bounce back and be a regular player. If the club isn't confident, two players are needed. I believe Bartra is ready to step forward as the extra man, and do not think another transfer is necessary in this case. Mascherano/Puyol (hopefully) could back up Pique/Kompany, and Bartra can be groomed in league matches.

 

[KluivertsBoots]

I also don't see him in the DM role, I've been quite impressed with Song when he's played this role when Busquets has been rested.

Song= Busquets' 25 million euro water boy

Great business that /rolleyes. I've no idea why Song accepted, as he doesn't appear to have been hoodwinked, but it is no less baffling to mere mortals such as myself.

Arsenal Football Club must really suck. That's all I can come up with.

 

[khaled_a_d]

If de Gea is not experienced, what is ter Stegen then?

Inexperienced too? there is just 2 years difference between the 2 anyway
And btw ,VV became regular starter in 2003-2004 season at the age of 21 ,same age of Ter Stegan if he moved to us
Actually I don't mind Inexperienced GK if he is really good

People talk a lot about bringing 1-2 new CBs. I'm just wondering how they would fit in. I mean, we have Piqué, Puyol, Mascherano, Bartra and now Abidal is coming back. That is five players for two places. If we bring in 1-2 new CBs that would make it 6-7 people for two places. How does this make sense?

Bartra is probably on his way to be loaned to get regular playing time
Abidal?he is a gr8 story but will he be able to continue playing at high level at the age of 34 with his health issue ? I wish him a long healthy career but I've to be skeptical about it(ability to play here) tbh .I think he might move to another league that is less physically demanding or retire after winning a major trophy this year (La Liga at worst)
Puyol is my all time favorite player and I still believe he is our best CB ,but age is catching him and he is injured a lot ,he can't be a regular starter playing 40-50 games every season anymore
That leave us with Pique and Masch
I won't mind Song leaving if we bought 2 new CBs ,While I think he is better DM for us ,the fact is that Masch versatility and ability to play CB is much more valuable for this team

 

[Don_Andrés]

Song= Busquets' 25 million euro water boy

Great business that /rolleyes. I've no idea why Song accepted, as he doesn't appear to have been hoodwinked, but it is no less baffling to mere mortals such as myself.

Arsenal Football Club must really suck. That's all I can come up with.

According to the official website the fee was €19m/£15m, that equates to $25m which is probably what you were thinking of. Roughly the same fees that were paid by Man City for Javi Garcia and then Jack Rodwell. Liverpool paid the same fee for Joe Allen. And a lot less than the fees that were paid for Javi Martinez and Axel Witsel, both rumoured to be £30m+. So price wise I don't think the club have overpaid.

Anyway, who would give up the chance to play for Barcelona no matter what the circumstances are.

 

[KluivertsBoots]

According to the official website the fee was €19m/£15m, that equates to $25m which is probably what you were thinking of. Roughly the same fees that were paid by Man City for Javi Garcia and then Jack Rodwell. Liverpool paid the same fee for Joe Allen. And a lot less than the fees that were paid for Javi Martinez and Axel Witsel, both rumoured to be £30m+. So price wise I don't think the club have overpaid.

Anyway, who would give up the chance to play for Barcelona no matter what the circumstances are.

19 was the base fee. Incentives raise it to 25.

I'd rather be first choice at Song's age. It doesn't make much sense from his perspective. I think he's a quality player, but it was a confusing transfer just given his status. The club needed a center back more with that money, and could have signed younger/cheaper cover for Busquets with projection. They also could have gone for an older player in his last few years perhaps.

My big dream a couple of years ago was to snap up Pirlo when he left Milan.

 

[Fishdoll]

According to the official website the fee was €19m/£15m, that equates to $25m which is probably what you were thinking of. Roughly the same fees that were paid by Man City for Javi Garcia and then Jack Rodwell. Liverpool paid the same fee for Joe Allen. And a lot less than the fees that were paid for Javi Martinez and Axel Witsel, both rumoured to be £30m+. So price wise I don't think the club have overpaid.

Anyway, who would give up the chance to play for Barcelona no matter what the circumstances are.

Comparing EPL fees for English players to the rest of the transfer market is flawed, in my opinion. So is putting Song in the same category as Witsel or Javi. So yeah, 19 million euros for Song was robbery in my opinion.

 

[Don_Andrés]

Agreement with Arsenal for Song

http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/detail/article/agreement-with-arsenal-for-song
08/18/2012 18:00

FC Barcelona has agreed a deal with Arsenal FC for the transfer of Alex Song to the Camp Nou. The fee is 19 million euros.
The Cameroon international midfielder will sign for the next five seasons with a release clause of 80 million euros. On Monday he’ll have a medical and then join the rest of the squad for the official team presentation at the Gamper.

No mention of incentives on the club statement. However whether Song should have been signed in preference to CB, is not is problem, he's just signing for the club he called "The best in the world.". Decisions whether a CB should have been signed, well that lies with the Management and the Executives at the club.

I'll bet when Mascherano signed, he didn't think he'd be playing CB for the bulk of Barca career. And there's another one similar to Song, why would Mascherano leave on club where he has a certain standing to sign for a club where he's going to be playing second fiddle to Busquets? Mascherano cost €24m by the way.

Anyway, I'll wager that the pair of them will be gone once Samper's ready.

 

[Mesu]

People talk a lot about bringing 1-2 new CBs. I'm just wondering how they would fit in. I mean, we have Piqué, Puyol, Mascherano, Bartra and now Abidal is coming back. That is five players for two places. If we bring in 1-2 new CBs that would make it 6-7 people for two places. How does this make sense?

Keeping an eye on the future, we need to find a top center back to pair with Pique. Carles Puyol has become ancient, Abidal is getting old and we don't know if he will be able to play at the level he used to play before getting health issues. Mascherano can make amazing takles but overall he lacks too many qualities required to play as Central defender. IMO Barca should've signed Hummels before start of this season, they should sign him now. It should be => Pique+Hummels(or some other top cb) as starters at CB Bartra+Muniesa their subs in the future.

 

[oz187]

Won the league by new year and on course for the semi-finals of the Champions League. This is with Abidal being unavailable till now this season and Bartra still a rookie. So there's only 3 established CBs. Saying the club has to buy a CB is excessive. If the club think Bartra can step up(and of course he now has more experience) and Abidal can play some part then that would be an improvement over this season and the club could get away without any signings. The extra rotation would reduce the stress on Pique, Puyol and Masch and reduce their exposure to injuries. If Abidal can't continue next season and Bartra isn't fully trusted then a CB would be a good idea.

 

[darthvader7888]

Won the league by new year and on course for the semi-finals of the Champions League. This is with Abidal being unavailable till now this season and Bartra still a rookie. So there's only 3 established CBs. Saying the club has to buy a CB is excessive. If the club think Bartra can step up(and of course he now has more experience) and Abidal can play some part then that would be an improvement over this season and the club could get away without any signings. The extra rotation would reduce the stress on Pique, Puyol and Masch and reduce their exposure to injuries. If Abidal can't continue next season and Bartra isn't fully trusted then a CB would be a good idea.

Well, we don't have a single world-class CB besides Pique (when on form, at least) who's very inconsistent. Puyol's 34 and always injured. Masch isn't a true CB. Abidal probably won't be as good as he once was. As for Bartra, I can definitely see him being a good backup next season but not a starter. We need a new CB to replace Puyol.

We won the league by new year and we're on course for the semis of the CL because we have the best midfield and attack in the world. I can see us winning the CL, but that will again be because we have the best attack and midfield in the world. And our defense will definitely cause us problems along the way (and it could end up costing us too). We definitely need a new CB next season.

We have done well this season despite our meh defense though. Like you said, we won the league by December. And we're on course for the CL semis. Like I said, I think we have a good shot at winning it too. The only part of the team that's done badly this season has been our defense. I can see us owning the CL again next season once we shore up the defense with a new CB (and hopefully a good GK). I just hope our management is smart in the transfer window. A few good transfers (particularly the new CB and GK) could make us unstoppable IMO.

 

[DonAndres]

Well let me put it like this Ter Stegen is a great goalie with huge prospects, while DeGea is an overrated clumsy joke.

Have you ever you watch either of them or base your opinions off of video games or what you read online?

 

[DonAndres]

People talk a lot about bringing 1-2 new CBs. I'm just wondering how they would fit in. I mean, we have Piqué, Puyol, Mascherano, Bartra and now Abidal is coming back. That is five players for two places. If we bring in 1-2 new CBs that would make it 6-7 people for two places. How does this make sense?

You make it sound as if we are stacked in defense.

Puyol is aging and has lots of injury problems, Pique isn't reliable anymore, Masch should not be a go-to CB starter, Abidal can't play more than a bit-part role, so Bartra is one of the only options who has the potential for a bright future. Even then I doubt he is in the clubs plans.

 

[ZenI]

19 was the base fee. Incentives raise it to 25.

I'd rather be first choice at Song's age. It doesn't make much sense from his perspective. I think he's a quality player, but it was a confusing transfer just given his status. The club needed a center back more with that money, and could have signed younger/cheaper cover for Busquets with projection. They also could have gone for an older player in his last few years perhaps.

My big dream a couple of years ago was to snap up Pirlo when he left Milan.

Song is a quality player, but the transfer was indeed strange. Not only because we badly needed a CB (even though I to some degree understand they counted on Pique, Masch and Puyol), but also because our CM spots are overcrowded. Song or Pique could play CM if we want to rest Xavi or Iniesta (or if they were injured). But we already have Thiago and Cesc. But, he is an excellent cover for Busquets - if Busi gets injured Song will do the job well enough. Let us just build on this team and get a CB next season.

 

[Youngie]

Barça didn't "badly need a CB" last summer. Pique, Puyol, Mascherano + Muniesa, Bartra. Muniesa got injured and Puyol is now more or less finished...

Song was signed (1) to replace Keita, (2) to backup Busquets and (3) to play the "odd" CB game.

 

[darthvader7888]

Barça didn't "badly need a CB" last summer. Pique, Puyol, Mascherano + Muniesa, Bartra. Muniesa got injured and Puyol is now more or less finished...

Song was signed (1) to replace Keita, (2) to backup Busquets and (3) to play the "odd" CB game.

I wouldn't say Puyol's finished, but we definitely shouldn't rely on him any more. He can be a great third choice CB for us next season though.

Anyways, we did need a CB last summer IMO, since Puyol was 34 and Masch is not a CB. We just need one even more now.