Agreement with Valencia for André Gomes!

DonAK said:

Play any CM as a pure winger and then tell me he'll perform at his ideal level.

That's not to say Gomes is not inconsistent though. No harm in this signing. Can always recoup the fee due to his age and Mendes securing the hype for his suitors.

Click to expand...

Koke disapprove
JK btw

This transfer would turn even better for if arda stays as a forward backup for messi and neymar. Been some time since we had good forward backups since pedro left. We are always left with rafinha on the wings when one of ney or messi goes missing or munir or sandro. None of them inspire confidence in me even as backups. Arda won't be out of the world there but he will be a good option having played many games as a forward in his career.

Sultan said:

I think this is a mistake. hope I am wrong, but that amount of money for someone who will not even start is ridiculous.

does this mean we won't sign another striker? does it mean Vidal will be our RB?

Click to expand...

It has been confirmed for a while now that we're not planning on signing a RB this summer, and that Lucho trusts Vidal and even more so Sergi Roberto to keep performing there. I think Gomes's arrival has a lot to do with this exact point actually, it shows that Lucho is counting on Roberto on maybe even becoming a full-time RB. And i think we're being smart actually, while preparing to lure Bellerin to us eventually. And since he is reportedly still happy at Arsenal right now (like Cesc was 2 years, before we actually signed him ), we're not panicking right away, especially when we have a potentially great new RB in Roberto, if only we're prepared to actually continue to give him chances there. We can always try and sign Bellerin at all costs next summer, if Sergi and Vidal don't work out. I do hope we'll sign Bellerin eventually, because he's a joy to watch, but for now i'm quite happy with Lucho giving Sergi and Vidal a proper chance to prove themselves being worthy of a starting RB spot.

As for a striker, Lucho confirmed just under 24 hours ago on his press conference, that we're definitely signing a striker before the transfer window closes. And judging by the (impressive) pace we are showing with our transfer dealings this summer, i reckon we could see that new striker in Barca even before the end of July, not August.

Wait what? I recently read on Marca that RM sees Gomes as long term replacement for Modric

Ghostmaster said:

Wait what? I recently read on Marca that RM sees Gomes as long term replacement for Modric

Click to expand...

We got our Modric now then...

Good transfer but makes Arda Turan even more useless now. Excited for the new season!

Welcome to the best club in the world!

To be honest, I don't know what to make of the transfer. Doesn't seem to be an essential signing, but if he plays well, it would greatly add to "quality" depth. One thing that is refreshing to see is our approach in the market. We are signing people without long drawn sagas. Most of the signings are seemingly happening out of the blue. Whether Robert has made the correct signings will be apparent at the end of the season, but I like the change in approach I am seeing so far.

If he plays well, I would make plans for him to own that LCM position as a starter and move Iniesta into Xavi 2014-15 role next season. While Iniesta's class still shows in some tight games, and he's able to still provide some clutch performances (Real away, Cup final etc.), his game-by-game consistency is gone. If he used to have 5 great games to one bad-average game, now it's more like 3 average games to 2 great games. Sort of.