Bruno as a wide attacker is a concept I could get behind.
Frenkie de Jong | The last muppeting lap
- Thread starter davidmichael
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Wait what?
Yes and I answered this with Tchouameni/Rice/Mukiele.
Realistically though i'm not sure we will get another big name in midfield this window, so Fred can do a decent job next to him.
This is what I thought too.
The one player I wanted over Rice was always De Jong and that's because they do this CB/CDM hybrid thing.
If we do get De Jong, does Rice fit in with him?
I always felt like he didn't, rather he might be dropping back in to the defensive line when De Jong was the main person who should be doing it for a team.
But then you mentioned about someone who would be sitting and let De Jong go on a run and then that reminds me of why Rice maybe the right player for that aswell. Rice's best ability is his repositioning to the most dangerous opposition areas. If Rice does reposition to protect the defence every time De Jong goes on a run, then that does sound more in sync than I thought.
Do you think Rice and De jong have the ability to play alongside each other or will they be taking over each others position even if they do play in 2 different ways?
Would it work? He can't dribble and gets shoved off the ball easily, he'd just be coming inside and picking passes.
Into Row Z
Starting to feel like Romero might be right and rest of the journos are gonna slowly change their tune throughout the day as they start to get actually information.
Romero updated everyone in his podcast this morning saying Barca and Xavi have come to an agreement to sell Frenkie and he will be ETHs first signing.
Yesterday he was saying all that's left is Xavi's approval to sell.
Because Barca are skint and he's one of few sellable assets that they have
Your post invited questions. 'DM' means different things to different people, and De Jong's best position and the best kind of partner for him are a bit of a contentious issue here.
You said you feel a DM is necessary for him to succeed and if by that you mean a Makelele, Gilberto Silva or Marcos Senna then I disagree, is all I'm saying. Rice or (by the descriptions here) Kamara would be poor fits alongside him for me.
Him, Ronaldo & Sancho as a front 3 lacks explosiveness.
From Reddit 
There is nothing to be balanced about. They are objectively terrible owners
Even people who credit them for our commercial growth are wrong imo because if you look at the premier league all the teams grew in that period and unsurprisingly we are stagnating in that regard.
Even people who credit them for our commercial growth are wrong imo because if you look at the premier league all the teams grew in that period and unsurprisingly we are stagnating in that regard.
More Barcelona sources coming out with it:
Frenkie De Jong 'wanting to stay' is just PR. It's what big clubs say when they have to sell main players for financial reasons. Messi also 'Wanted to stay'.
Frenkie De Jong 'wanting to stay' is just PR. It's what big clubs say when they have to sell main players for financial reasons. Messi also 'Wanted to stay'.
Ducker's article says City have ruled themselves out
The fact he broke the news and now others are starting to gradually fall into line with stories about there being contact certainly suggests so. It has always made sense that Barca would be open to selling if they needed funds and with the fee/wage package there are only 3 clubs he could join realistically. City, PSG and us. It really isn’t that far fetched at all.
I want to believe...
ESPN desperately want us to believe city are involved. All the spanish sources say they aren't
ESPN should be a banned source.
Didn't they sign Torres for like £55m in the summer? I know they're apparently struggling financially, but I never quite know what to believe with these lot.
Also, if they're shunting him out due to financial reasons, I don't particularly like that. I mean, how eager is he to play for us if that's the case. I know I'm jaded.
City are looking for a Fernandinho replacement, De Jong was linked when Bernardo wanted to leave but it seems as if Bernardo is getting a new contract. Maybe a City fan can confirm.
Also De Jong and VDB have the same agent...
From Reddit
THey should absolutely unveil him like that. Oh and go get De Ligt as well. Have Donnie be in there as well :P
To summarise.
- De Jong would prefer to stay at Barca but if they try to force him out he'll make a move but preferably to a CL side
- Barca have enough players in midfield that they could manage without him given the likes of Gavi and Pedri coming through and Kessie signing on a free
- Barca need the money, he has 2 years left on his contract and he's one of the only players they could get decent money for (excluding the la masia prospects)
- City have distanced themselves from a move
- United are interested but he'd need convincing to go to a side in either the Europa or Conference league
If he doesn't want to lower his wage demands significantly then we might be his only choice as I doubt Bayern would match it, Juve won't be able to afford it (and could just sign Pogba on a free instead) and possibly even PSG may not be keen if they give Mpabbe a crazy renewal.
Pep is never tired of midfielders. He will move Rodri to defence and play FDJ. Hopefully, they stay away.
Would love him here. Going from watching McFred trying to pass the ball to Frenkie would be the biggest upgrade in a position we've seen in a long time.
When has he ever played CM? He's a wingback that can also play centre back.
No they shouldn’t. They should be an ignored source, at best, if people wish. ‘Banning’ ESPN is ridiculous.
Her tweet roughly says De Jong wants to stay but the club might be trying to force him out for the money, which upsets him
Pereira to Bruno wasn't half bad either.
This would be the absolute perfect first signing though. Much needed creativity in midfield and a player that really should be completely out of our reach.
Fantastic.From Reddit
Because Barca needs money.
And apart from already having Busquests, who is better and more important in their DM role. They also have 2 very young and hugely talented midfielders - Pedri and Gavi (their new Xavi and Iniesta). Which means they are not desperate to keep him.
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Here we go
Murtough will have to be quite the negotiator to get both of those for £20m.
I’m wary because I saw ages ago when he was at Ajax that he preferred La Liga style of football to EPL. He also seemingly wants to stay even if Barcelona don’t want him.
Yep.
And crucially we have a Pogba shaped space in our wage bill along with several others, so his wages shouldn't be an issue for us.
Would laugh if Chelsea or Liverpool just swoop in for him
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