Guardiola wants four new signings for next season
Catalan sports tabloid ‘Sport‘ says, while Barca sports director Txiki Begiristain will follow president Joan Laporta out the door at the end of the season, coach Pep Guardiola has made it clear his squad is short of four major signings.
The Barcelona chiefs have agreed they need four new signings for next season.
Guardiola wants a midfield general, a wide player, a new right-back and a goalkeeper.
The goalkeeper will arrive as a replacement for Jose Manuel Pinto, whose contract will apparently not be renewed in June, Real Scoiedad keeper Claudio Bravo (26) has recently been linked to the club (read more).
The new right back will act as a back-up to Brazilian international Dani Alves (26), who is considered as the undisputed number one for the position.
Meanwhile Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas (22) and Valencia’s David Silva (24) are seen as prime targets for the midfield and left wing.
Expensive demands!
But I agree. We need a midfielder and a LW, that way we will be more able to rotate, become less dependent on Xavi, as it would be a disaster for us if he is out injured. And to be honest, we have been very fortunate with injuries.
My minds says get SIlva but my heart says promote the youngsters instead
I dont think silva would fit in our system,my answer would be Milos Krasic only
Cesc would be the best signing since he is one of the few MF who plays similar to Xavi/Iniesta.
We could play Xavi Iniesta one match, Xavi/Fabregas and then Fabregas/Iniesta.
Great rotation system and only 1 player gets "benched"/rested every 3 weeks.
LW is also a priority since Henry hasnt been as good lately. His work rate is good, but he has trouble scoring. And it looks like NY Red Bulls want him this summer.
We dont really need a right back, imo. We have alot of defenders and Puyol can play as a right back should Alves get injured or suspended.
Agree but it wouldnt necessarily be like that. Iniesta's versatility means that he can play a game on the LW, so we can add in the LW position to that rotation as well meaning more time for everybody.
Silva would be incredible, but he's just too much injured to be a key player for the whole season. Damn i'm not sure. Mata?
Well the only good thing that would come from Silva being injured would mean that that would be an opportunity for one of the youngsters to step it up.
NOT with the BARCA medics!!
All four of these together would be very expensive. I'm not sure Bravo would be willing to be a backup to Valdes. Any backup to Alves also needs to realise that they won't play very much and I'm not sure we should spend money there.
My heart says to get Cesc, but another chunk of it says to stick with the youth talent. I suppose we'll see.
Silva…well, I really like Silva, but after the Villa debacle, I just don't see it happening, and certainly not for cheap. And then we'd have all that furure again and be called hypocrites for spending so much instead of using the youth. Let's see how Pedro does for the rest of the season and then see if we still need a left wing.
dont think we need any 'cracks' or 'galacticos' but guess with the elections coming up we are bound to have one, if thats the case get a LW, still think suarez would be the best bet. the GK and RB will be difficult, promote montoya let him learn of dani and then just need GK, dont think we need cesc
Silva would be pure crap in Barca´s 4-3-3, he never scores and gives decisive passes, he does nice tricks and looks busy but it doesnt help the team. He would be new Hleb, incredible waste of money. Pep shouldnt be given bigger role in transfers because Hleb and Chygry were his choices and now he is after another goal- repellent like Silva. It would be more useful to sign a CF who can play as a LW, having mere Zlatan is not enough, sadly some people here have some weird fetish not to have any top players on bench, those people like to live in a perfect world were injuries, suspensions and rotation policy dont exist, therefore more depth is not needed, only own cheap cantera players. Cesc is must, if we ever want to sign him then now is the time
Lol and I guess you want to buy bench players like Ribery? Class A players for the starting lineup, Class B players for the bench. You can't have Ribery, Cesc and other super stars as squad players.
we dont need a left winger, we got pedro and henry already and on central midfielder we have 2 promising young talents, thigo and JDS
Henry won't be here in the next season, mark my words. We deperatly need to replace him. If it was up to me- we'd have replaced him by now already…
Don't forget we have Pedro. He is easily capable of even becoming our pichichi this season. That should be rewarded and not ignored.
Pedro has done better coming off the bench like Solksjaer though. When he has started he hasnt been as impressive. I think he should be our supersub. I do think that Henry is going to the US after the world cup
It is unrealistic to have a 22 year old supersub no matter how good he is when he comes off the bench. He has his whole career ahead of him and we can't just keep him forever as a supersub, he is going to want to be a starter.
That's a myth some people perpetuate. His best game for us was when he started against Inter, the biggest game of the season so far for us. He was fantastic.
cjo you are right…
For midfield, we already have Thiago & Jonathan, we dont need wingers either, we still have Pedro, Jeffren, Bojan, Gai and maybe more in our youth.
Dont buy, focus on youth.
Pedro Jeffren Bojan Gai dont give us enough depth though. What happens if we need a goal and Messi Ibra Pedro are already on the pitch? I love Bojan but he hasnt been one to come off the bench and score and Gai doesnt look quite ready just yet.
And where the hell would Silva play? Iniesta fit best at the midfield and on the left flank we have rightfooted players. The only reason Pedro plays in that position is cuz he's extremly good with his both feets.
i don't think a back up for alves is needed, we have player who can switch to the side and our youth players + alves doesn't seem to need much resting
a reliable 2nd goalkeeper is always nice, but i've not read that pinto wants to leave by now, shouldn't it be enough to renew pinto for another year and build up someone from the youth? or do they really need an age 25+ (experienced) goalkeeper as back up?
regarding lw, i, as an non expert, would not buy an experienced (or proven) lw. i think lw (or rw) are the two positions you can give to lesser experienced young players to test them and let them gain confidence. especially when you have iniesta,xavi in the center and ibra up front.
midfield is something i would want to have well covered, but buying cesc is both, to expensive and leading to a luxury problem. and the rotation mentioned above. i think cesc, xavi and iniesta playing with a differend partner every game wont do them good. i would really like to see a backup for xavi, but cesc is a league to high for that. there are plenty of good players wo can fullfill that role and won't cost even half of cescs price.
that's all of course my opinion…
and don't get me wrong, i would LOVE to see silva and cesc coming, but i think it would be just some sort of overkill for the team in terms of quality and demands of playing time
"regarding lw, i, as an non expert, would not buy an experienced (or proven) lw. i think lw (or rw) are the two positions you can give to lesser experienced young players to test them and let them gain confidence. especially when you have iniesta,xavi in the center and ibra up front. "
I'm not exactly an expert myself, but I do know that the wing can be a difficult position to play, especially left wing. While I'm starting to believe Pedro can handle it, I'm not sure the other youngsters are ready just yet.
Alves is machine!!
This is the same SPORT that for last half a year was banging on about Robinho… Seriously- the more I read them, the closer I am to an opinion nthey are an quivalent to news of the World.
The moment I read an interview with pep when he says those things- I'll believe. At the moment- this is nothing else but a printed speculation, equal to those that we all put on this blog comments.
>>equal to those that we all put on this blog comments.
right, but its fun to let your mind drift and dream/speculate, at least for me it is
I absolutely agree. But I sometimes have a feeling some people take it as a true fact, forget that this is just some speculation.
VR: Azpilicueta
MC: Cesc, Camacho, Gourcuff, Hamsik, Kuzmanovic, Moutinho, Veloso
Winger: Suarez, Mata, Silva, Ben Arfa
GK: Bravo, Asenjo, Ustari, Begovic, Vermeer
Or just promote a youngster, but we don't have to rely too much on them. Give them chances when we are winning 2-0 in the second halve.
Silva=Ok, RB=More than Ok, Cesc=Ok, but complicated, Goalie=Huh..Is Pinto that bad of a second goalkeeper :s Not that I don't like Claudio Bravo, but…
i consider henrique for the right back backup role if dalmau or montoya aren't ready for filling that position. in leverkusen he used to play that position but interpreted it in comparison to alves more defensively.
alves unlike abidal don't need someone to push him so it isn't necessary paying any money for a new right backup.
claudio bravo is too much. keep the money and renew with pinto for another year and promote one goalkeeper from the cantera who act as no 3.
Never heard about Claudio Bravo, but if the reports on him are good than why not. But I'd rather prefer the new Cantera goalie and one year extension for Pedro. The right back position is critical because Dani is playing almost every match and only good luck can save him to be without a major injury. The best right back solution would be Samuel Inkoom from Ghana (playing for Basel). Fabregas is absolutely "must have" player and it would be nice to have him. Regarding Silva, I think he's largely overrated and I don't see why should Barca spend a large amount on him. At this moment, left winger is not a priority because Pedro is very impressive and Jeffren and Gai deserve their chance. Henry is ready to be retired (playing in the USA) and the best solution would be Luis Suarez.
I am a bit concerned about Silvas' continuing injuries…
I dont believe its worth 35 mil for a player who is constantly injurred, but then again this is just my opinion
Maybe Silva is not very injury prone after all and i am just misjudging him
Messi two yeras ago was injury prone as well… maybe with the better staff around him Silva wouldn't be?
rb-zabaleta on loan for one year w/ buy option
gk-de gea
lw-d. silva
am-fabregas
whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat 4 signings for a team winning 6 out of 6 we only need a left winger,if he can play centrally it would be advantage
You don't realize how lucky we have been with injuries. Sure, you can count on being that lucky all the time, but it is not advisable.
Part lucky.
Part- well prepared.
Do not underestimate the medical staff and coaches role in the fact that players like Messi suddenly aren't as injury prone as they were 2-3 years ago…
Seems to be a bit expensive list… I mean not that we can afford i mean but our priorities will be carefully noted by the new rich clubs.. even madrid for that matter.. will love to see cesc back home.. It will be tough for the RB cos if we go for a young guy then he will be spending most of the time on bench considering the energy alves has… so that might be a bit tricky… WHO ARE THE RB's WE MAY BE LOOKING FOR???
i say sell henry hleb marquez cacerez n henrique get suarez ozil a right bk a versitile player in midfield n keeper 5 ppl wud b gud promte muniesa n n odas we r the best so expect long seasons n u may neva knw hw many injuries watch united n they make shift bk line we need depth watch chelsea bosingwa n beleti out still av ferera ivanavic n cole
eljero elia is a winger
Expensive? When did you won Barca elections by promising to save money and buy only mediocre players? We should spend big next summer, I would be content if Barca buys only two players, Cesc and a new top winger/striker
Ribery
Spend ALL the money on Cesc and Villa in my opinion. Cesc can help the creative midfield rotating Xavi/Iniesta or play if 1 of them has an injury. Villa can replace Henry and cover Ibra if he needs rest, injury etc.
For gk just promote and for rwb either promote or just get Caceres back to save money… Caceres is not near alves lvl but he is fast and attack oriented… but this is just me
yes i agree with luimac.
we need more GOAL SCORERS.
villa can be like henry. play as CF & LW.
Cesc can score from midfield.
we can't forever rely on messi for goals.
and promote the youngsters already pep!
thiago, jds, muniesa, fontas, montoya.
and renew the contracts of yaya!
p.s. silva won't be injury prone if he plays here.
our doctors will do so some magic on the beach with him.(messi)
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I will start with the goalkeeper.
Position in the squad: Back-up to Victor Valdez.
Why do we need one? -> Pinto is aging, Mino is just not ready as yet.
It must be noted that most players would not prefer a switch to another club (no matter how big) only to warm the benches.
Sergio Asenjo preferred Athletico over Barca for that very reason.
so we are on the lookout for a goalkeeper who is
- either playing as a back-up in a major league
- or a starter in one of the leagues, less spoken of.
Also, I don't see a player who starts for his country anxious to get on the bench for a club.
so – for me, Claudio Bravo accepting Barcelona's offer seems unrealistic.
Scouting Claudio Bravo is in itself a suggestion that Barcelona FC have no plans whatsoever of seeing this summer's purchase breaking into the first team in the near future. Probably banking on Ruben Mino for the latter half of this decade. Either way, I don't see Barcelona shelling out bucks for a very young glovesman.
On grounds of the above criteria, I have shortlisted three worthy candidates from the major leagues, each of who is not a regular for his national team and plays a second fiddle for his present club.
In descending order of personal preference:
-> Christian Alvarez (Argentina) – 24 – plays for Espanyol.
-> Renan (Brazil) – 24 – plays for Xerez (on loan from Valencia)
-> George Forsyth (Peru) – 27 – plays for Atlanta.
There's also a certain Johan Dahlin (Sweden) I have heard of.
He plays in the Norwegian League.
each should be available for a highest bid of 4 million.
That works just fine with our transfer budget, I suppose.
Right back.
The need for one comes as no surprise whatsoever. In the absence of Dani Alves, we end up playing Puyol as right back. Such is the lack of depth in our squad.
Imagine Alves with a Luis Filipe injury and then, you would appreciate the dire need for a right back.
Yet again, the new recruit is bound to see himself below Alves in the pecking order unless Pep is planning a rotational policy on this flank as well.
Since I have no idea whatsoever who holds Barca's interest for this void, I will take the liberty of assuming we are looking for a competent back-up.
On grounds of competence and transfer feasibility, I list the following:
-> Gretar Steinsson (Iceland) – 28 – plays for Stoke.
-> Giandomenico Mesto (Italy) – 27 – plays for Genoa
-> Camila Zuniga (Columbia) – 24 – plays for Napoli
All the three are regulars for their present clubs and so, would be priced reasonably high – probably around 8 million.
For those of you wondering why I left out Pedro Lopez or Rafinha or Eboue, I don't see them moving to Barcelona unless you assure them of more playing time than what's possibly on offer.
PS: I have been an admirer of Christian Ansaldi's versatility – too bad we did not snatch him for left back last summer.
Left winger
It is an open secret and an accepted fact that Henry would be leaving for MLS this summer. Despite boasting talented Jeffren and a prolific Pedro in the squad, it comes as little surprise that Barcelona is looking for a direct replacement for Henry.
The purchase is more likely than not assured a place in the starting XI – so luring a player shouldn't be as much of a hurdle as convincing his club to let go of him.
The Usual Suspects: Franck Ribery & David Silva.
Both are extremely talented, creative and recognized.
Both are craving for European glory.
Both are gonna play for bigger clubs next season – Ribery assuredly, Silva most probably.
Should you ask me, I had say – Ribery in white and Silva in Barca colours is the most possible outcome of this summer's transfer window.
However, for academic purposes and in acknowledgment of Valencia's reluctance to part with their biggest stars, I have listed out a few other options (in no particular order):
-> Stevan Jovetic (Montenegro) – 20 – Fiorentina … definitely one of the most talented in Serie A.
-> Angel Di Maria (Argentina) – 22 – Benfica … has declared interest to play in a different league.
-> Luis Suarez (Uruguay) – 23 – Ajax … has expressed desire for a move to the Catalan club.
Stevan Jovetic is a hot prospect for the future and is being closely followed by all top clubs in Europe. Should we bid for him, he would cost us a fortune – probably in tune of 25 million.
Angel Di Maria is another Argentina hotshot on the wings. Manchester Utd. and City saw their bids (as high as 20 million) humbled by Benfica's refusal. However, in the summer, I suppose you could expect the Portuguese club's approach to change. Di Maria is an assured transfer this summer … the question is which club and how high would they bid? My guess: 25 million.
Luis Suarez – probably the best player in the Dutch League – would be a free agent come this summer. So unlike the above two, we need not spill the cash for this one. Picking him up would be one of the best bargains.
oh and yeah, I earnestly believe that Silva's joining us for a 30-35 million offer.
And in case Valencia is eager to hang onto their biggest star, then most certainly, they would be open to a reasonable bid for Juan Mata – 20 million or so should do the trick.
Prediction: David Silva for 30 million.