Messi983
Senior Member
Probably BS, no idea why we would prefer a RB over LB.
Barca Transfers and Rumors
- Thread starter FCBfan22
- Start date
Probably BS, no idea why we would prefer a RB over LB.
draconifire
NTC with a Positive attitude
Probably a rogue.
Or maybe we're looking at both. With Eric being our third option at RB.
Also could be that, going for a pretty good RB enables Kounde as a CB. While it's counterproductive according to me, Kounde is a Top3 RB at this moment, maybe it's a strategy Flick wants to progress with.
Eric is a good enough backup, but Vanderson and Ratiu are much better than him.
draconifire
NTC with a Positive attitude
Also, with the Grimaldo rumor and now Vanderson.
It might be that Flick wants to have Fullback backups who are almost the same level/quality as the starting player.
Our system taxes the fullbacks a lot, and during crucial games, anyone other than Kounde & Balde has a massive dropoff in the quality, and our system suffers a lot.
This might be a thing that Flick wants us to address.
It might be that Flick wants to have Fullback backups who are almost the same level/quality as the starting player.
Our system taxes the fullbacks a lot, and during crucial games, anyone other than Kounde & Balde has a massive dropoff in the quality, and our system suffers a lot.
This might be a thing that Flick wants us to address.
Messi983
Senior Member
Main issue for me is spending 30m on a sub of a player who is rarely injured (Kounde; yeah, he could be rested more but you don't need a 30m signing for that role, especially not in our financial situation) while on the other side we have a starter (Balde) with injury history and a backup that's not nearly good enough to be a starter on this level. Ideally we will find a versatile FB that can cover both positions but if we'll sign a "specialist" then LB should be a priority over RB.
draconifire
NTC with a Positive attitude
Same. If at the end of the Mercato we didn't get a decent LB, I would be pissed. That is of the utmost priority.
I am just trying to make sense of the rumours we are getting linked with.
Messi983
Senior Member
Yeah, I understand you. IF we could afford then I would absolutely support signing both Vanderson and Grimaldo. Surely not affordable at the moment though considering we are also trying to sign a LW that is a bigger priority.
Getting Vanderson would mean we could sell Kounde in two years when he'll be close to 29 (ofc depending on how both would do at that time) when he should still have a good market value and before he starts to decline. That's where we were mostly failing over the years keeping players around for too long without having their replacements in mind and even less already playing here for a season or two. It's a lot easier to move on from a player when you already know what you have in his successor.
We should send Fort (and probably Farre) on loan and see how they'll develop and if one of them will be ready to come back and compete for minutes in two years then great. If not then we can just look for a RB on the market but we would do that from a position of strength if we would already have a longterm RB at the club. We could set the conditions under which we would sell Kounde or if not we could just keep him around. Ofc I'm writting all this assuming his contract will be renewed as was reported few months ago (though no recent news about that AFAIK).
And signing Grimaldo for 2-3 years would also be a solid move. In the meantime we can see how Jofre Torrents will develop. He could be send on loan to a solid Segunda A team. I think he's ready for that level but if the club believes he wouldn't get enough playing time then can keep him in BA for another season. And then in let's say 2027 we could evaluate again if 1. Balde will stay relatively injury free and develop enough to stay a longterm starter and 2. if Torrents could be counted on as at least a squad player. If not we could again go on the market looking for either a starter or a backup.
At least that's sort of the mid-to-longterm succession plan any serious club should have. Ofc plans don't always work as not every signing will be successful but it's how we should work when we will finally be able to operate without financial constraints whenever that will be.
Not just squad depth but having a healthy competition for spots is a must if you want to stay successful longterm. And if we start to win a lot again then also have to do something to shake things up a bit every now and then. Even if it's seen as unpopular move. Like Pep did with Eto'o though he obviously made a mistake replacing him with Ibra who was an even bigger ego and worse fit for the team. But sometimes you have to send message to the team that nobody is untouchable before they become too comfortable and bigger than the club in their heads. Florentino did that throwing some of the (at the moment still performing) players who then declined in other clubs in a year or two. SAF was also relentless with his stars and knew when to kick someone out. And in opposite we know how Bartomeu treated our beloved aging amigos.
Getting Vanderson would mean we could sell Kounde in two years when he'll be close to 29 (ofc depending on how both would do at that time) when he should still have a good market value and before he starts to decline. That's where we were mostly failing over the years keeping players around for too long without having their replacements in mind and even less already playing here for a season or two. It's a lot easier to move on from a player when you already know what you have in his successor.
We should send Fort (and probably Farre) on loan and see how they'll develop and if one of them will be ready to come back and compete for minutes in two years then great. If not then we can just look for a RB on the market but we would do that from a position of strength if we would already have a longterm RB at the club. We could set the conditions under which we would sell Kounde or if not we could just keep him around. Ofc I'm writting all this assuming his contract will be renewed as was reported few months ago (though no recent news about that AFAIK).
And signing Grimaldo for 2-3 years would also be a solid move. In the meantime we can see how Jofre Torrents will develop. He could be send on loan to a solid Segunda A team. I think he's ready for that level but if the club believes he wouldn't get enough playing time then can keep him in BA for another season. And then in let's say 2027 we could evaluate again if 1. Balde will stay relatively injury free and develop enough to stay a longterm starter and 2. if Torrents could be counted on as at least a squad player. If not we could again go on the market looking for either a starter or a backup.
At least that's sort of the mid-to-longterm succession plan any serious club should have. Ofc plans don't always work as not every signing will be successful but it's how we should work when we will finally be able to operate without financial constraints whenever that will be.
Not just squad depth but having a healthy competition for spots is a must if you want to stay successful longterm. And if we start to win a lot again then also have to do something to shake things up a bit every now and then. Even if it's seen as unpopular move. Like Pep did with Eto'o though he obviously made a mistake replacing him with Ibra who was an even bigger ego and worse fit for the team. But sometimes you have to send message to the team that nobody is untouchable before they become too comfortable and bigger than the club in their heads. Florentino did that throwing some of the (at the moment still performing) players who then declined in other clubs in a year or two. SAF was also relentless with his stars and knew when to kick someone out. And in opposite we know how Bartomeu treated our beloved aging amigos.
draconifire
NTC with a Positive attitude
It could be that we are pulling some levers and such.
Maybe the Martin rumours are true, and we are probably asking Wolf/Bournemouth to pay in full, while for Grimaldo & Vanderson, we are trying to get an installment deal done. Hence, we could afford both of them with the Martin money this year.
I am not considering the salary here, which is a different issue, and might not be possible if we are not in 1:1.
If my speculation is true, then we can easily offset the instalments to future years with our increased revenue.
Or maybe I am wrong, and its all clownery from my behalf. KEK.
TheStig
Member
Aren't you against signing Garcia and kicking out MATS? They are doing exactly what you are describing here.
Messi983
Senior Member
Nope, I want MATS and Garcia to compete for #1 GK.
Tek should go back to retirement and take his Polish buddy with him.
I'm not sold onto Garcia being a starter just based on one good season playing in a totally different system. Hopefully he'll turn out ok but I won't be surprised if he'll be out in two years either. Or maybe we'll just keep him around because Lieporta wants another Catalan Joan in the club, who knows.
Tek should go back to retirement and take his Polish buddy with him.
I'm not sold onto Garcia being a starter just based on one good season playing in a totally different system. Hopefully he'll turn out ok but I won't be surprised if he'll be out in two years either. Or maybe we'll just keep him around because Lieporta wants another Catalan Joan in the club, who knows.
TheStig
Member
Any you think that would be good for the team? Goalkeeper position is different, it's not smart to have two players who think they should be 1st choice, MATS showed multiple times he will not sit on the bench and be quiet, he's gonna make problems.
It's also a big salary for a second goalkeeper if we keep MATS.
It's also a big salary for a second goalkeeper if we keep MATS.
TheStig
Member
They were sharing competitions so it kind of worked for a short time but even then both weren't happy and MATS soon started crying and demanding starting place in all competitions. Not to mention that the ego of MATS today is much bigger then of him and Bravo 10 years ago.
Sharing competitions (CL + LL) would be a horrible idea in todays situation. Copa is another story.
Sharing competitions (CL + LL) would be a horrible idea in todays situation. Copa is another story.
DonAK
President of FC Barcelona
And what happens in January if Joan Garcia is the #1, does well and ter Stegen hands in a transfer request to move to another club when he sees his World Cup dream slipping away?
What do you do then? You cannot keep him at that point in fear of the situation becoming very toxic and you don't want a shit backup either in case you need him as that can destroy your season.
If ter Stegen want to stick around then Tek should be renewed for another year regardless.
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