Seydou Keita

Maria said:

I know in what positions Javi can play..but Keita wasn't a CB and as a DM he wasn't a very succesfull experiment either. And we have Thiago who can be as physicall as Keita. If it would be my choice, I would bring Romeu back as Busi's back-up..or keep JDS and buy a real CB.

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This x 1000

Maria said:

I know in what positions Javi can play..but Keita wasn't a CB and as a DM he wasn't a very succesfull experiment either. And we have Thiago who can be as physicall as Keita. If it would be my choice, I would bring Romeu back as Busi's back-up..or keep JDS and buy a real CB.

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I wasn't questioning you at all, it's just that Javi is personal favourite and I would like to see him in blaugrana. I didn't like this idea before but now with Keita's departing, I think Javi is an important signing for us if it happens.

Maria said:

We are so incompetent when it comes to sales that is not even funny. The club pays 2 million euros for someone like Rodri, but then we let Henry, Milito and Keita leave for free. I thought that this would change under Rosell, but it seems that I was wrong. What's worse is that we sold Romeu because of Keita and now we have no one as back-up for Busi(for me, Mascherano is not a DM anymore).

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I remember AC Milan showing some interest in Keita last year. Several clubs would pay at least 5m for Keita.

He was a nice person but an average player in my opinion. Still, he was always hardworking and never created any trouble and apparently he was Pep's moral compass and that's supposed to be an important job.

His decision makes sense. He won't get that much playing time in that crowded and talented midfield and since he's at the twilight of his playing career, this deal makes sense financially too. I thought Mr. Principle would show a tad more loyalty though.

jairzinho said:

So are you saying JDS will take over from Keita ?? I like the kid, but his qualities are different from Keitee. He is talented but he will not give us the power and strength Keita gave us in the middle of the park.

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Agree that JDS is quite different to Keita but we rarely, if ever, need power and strength. That's just how we roll.

Maria said:

I know in what positions Javi can play..but Keita wasn't a CB and as a DM he wasn't a very succesfull experiment either. And we have Thiago who can be as physicall as Keita. If it would be my choice, I would bring Romeu back as Busi's back-up..or keep JDS and buy a real CB.

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Never been a fan of Chelsea, how was Oriol this past season? I believe AVB played him more frequently than RDM (Chelsea should consider hiring managers with shorter names), right?

I was with the idea of Javi Martinez but now I'm not so sure he will be the right fit for us. I also agree with Maria that Thiago can play that role effectively. He already has shown his defensive skills several times and his tackling is quite impressive too. CB in my opinion remains a top priority and I don't know why defenders aren't as valued as they should be.

Reasonus said:

Never been a fan of Chelsea, how was Oriol this past season? I believe AVB played him more frequently than RDM (Chelsea should consider hiring managers with shorter names), right?

I was with the idea of Javi Martinez but now I'm not so sure he will be the right fit for us. I also agree with Maria that Thiago can play that role effectively. He already has shown his defensive skills several times and his tackling is quite impressive too. CB in my opinion remains a top priority and I don't know why defenders aren't as valued as they should be.

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I think getting Romeu back and a good cb would be best than bringing Javi as well. Can Barça already buy Romeu back? I really don't remember how the deal is.

Flavia said:

I think getting Romeu back and a good cb would be best than bringing Javi as well. Can Barça already buy Romeu back? I really don't remember how the deal is.

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Buyback option 10m in 2012 and 15 in 2013 iirc.

psychotsek said:

Buyback option 10m in 2012 and 15 in 2013 iirc.

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Then I think the wiser thing is to get Romeu back and try a less expensive but good cb, than to splash 40 mi for Javi.

Flavia said:

I think getting Romeu back and a good cb would be best than bringing Javi as well. Can Barça already buy Romeu back? I really don't remember how the deal is.

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There was a lot of confusion over that deal after AVB said that Barca cannot buy him back, then the Catalan papers stated otherwise and there were conflicting articles on the British websites. I believe we can get him back for 15m this season.

Flavia said:

Then I think the wiser thing is to get Romeu back and try a less expensive but good cb, than to splash 40 mi for Javi.

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I'm of the same opinion too. Problem is, getting a less expensive CB right now is a bit of a risk like Chygrynskiy. One can't be sure of their quality and potential until after they have played for us. It's still better than risking another season without a well-equipped backline.

Flavia said:

Then I think the wiser thing is to get Romeu back and try a less expensive but good cb, than to splash 40 mi for Javi.

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Not saying we shouldn't but that would be awful business. It would mean we would have paid Chelsea 5 million to loan them one of our players for a year. It's even worse than the Bojan deal.

Reasonus said:

I'm of the same opinion too. Problem is, getting a less expensive CB right now is a bit of a risk like Chygrynskiy. One can't be sure of their quality and potential until after they have played for us. It's still better than risking another season without a well-equipped backline.

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Chygry didn't come cheap though.

Our % of coolness that comes with having a black player in our team has just gone down.

JonM said:

Not saying we shouldn't but that would be awful business.

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Not really..for Rosell it was good business as he used that money to show us that he, unlike Laporta, is capable of making proffits. Just like he did with the money from Bojan or Yaya Toure(who's sale he delayed so he could use the money as income for his first season, but he took care to split Mascherano's cost on the duration of his contract). Good accounting is what they called it, I believe.

Chelsea can keep Romeu, he looked terrible the last few times I seen him play.

It's sad to see Keita go, he put in work for the Blaugrana. I have nothing bad to say about the guy.

It makes too much sense to aggressively pursue Javi Martinez at this point. His game hasn't even peaked yet and I think he would be awesome in a Barca shirt. Almost too perfect of a fit.

psychotsek said:

Chygry didn't come cheap though.

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You're right, we really did overpay for him. My point is that other than the well-established defenders such as T. Silva and Hummels, we can't be certain of the others' full qualities. Good central defenders are hard to come by and their clubs are not willing to let them go, or their demands can't be met by Barca.

Reasonus said:

You're right, we really did overpay for him. My point is that other than the well-established defenders such as T. Silva and Hummels, we can't be certain of the others' full qualities. Good central defenders are hard to come by and their clubs are not willing to let them go, or their demands can't be met by Barca.

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Thiago Silva would be the ideal choice but that isn't happening.

I feel like Javi Martinez would be a much better fit @ Barca than Hummels.

i so sad ):