Alright blues. I'm a new user, been creeping this forum for years and never got round to making an account for the fear of being called a plastic fan or a rag.
Any news on full backs? The lack of any rumours besides Grimaldo is a bit concerning considering all 4 of ours are past 30 and don't seem to fit Pep's system. Kolarov has had his moments at centre half and might be a good rotational squad player but besides that Clichy, Sagna and Zaba (although part of me wants him to stay despite his legs going) are out of contact in the summer. Bellerin signed a new contract so he's out of the question and that leaves us with Fabinho as the only realistic right back we've been linked to.
Another thing that concerns me is we could've done with replacing at least one of each of our full backs over the past few years and anyone we've been linked to hasn't came for one reason or another. Kurzawa went for under £20m and seems to be doing well at PSG, Alex Sandro went for a similar price and is tearing up the left flank for Juve, even Vrsaljko (Croatian right back we were interested in signing in the summer) went for pennies and could've improved us. Maffeo looked promising last month against the rags but he's still young and until he's earned Pep's trust we could really do with a consistent, energetic right back with time on his side.
Potential RB signings - Fabinho, Cancelo, Florenzi?
Potential LB signings - Grimaldo, Alex Sandro?
Alright blues. I'm a new user, been creeping this forum for years and never got round to making an account for the fear of being called a plastic fan or a rag.
Any news on full backs? The lack of any rumours besides Grimaldo is a bit concerning considering all 4 of ours are past 30 and don't seem to fit Pep's system. Kolarov has had his moments at centre half and might be a good rotational squad player but besides that Clichy, Sagna and Zaba (although part of me wants him to stay despite his legs going) are out of contact in the summer. Bellerin signed a new contract so he's out of the question and that leaves us with Fabinho as the only realistic right back we've been linked to.
Another thing that concerns me is we could've done with replacing at least one of each of our full backs over the past few years and anyone we've been linked to hasn't came for one reason or another. Kurzawa went for under £20m and seems to be doing well at PSG, Alex Sandro went for a similar price and is tearing up the left flank for Juve, even Vrsaljko (Croatian right back we were interested in signing in the summer) went for pennies and could've improved us. Maffeo looked promising last month against the rags but he's still young and until he's earned Pep's trust we could really do with a consistent, energetic right back with time on his side.
Potential RB signings - Fabinho, Cancelo, Florenzi?
Potential LB signings - Grimaldo, Alex Sandro?
Cancelo can't defend so I'd immediately rule him off the list. Fabinho is a Mendes client which makes signing him difficult. Florenzi is a decent option but he's more of a CM than a RB.
I'd look at Hysaj from Napoli, but it's evident there's a lack of top class RB's on the market.
I can't say I know anything about the targets but I'm sure they would significantly improve our fullback positions.
Before we actively pursue our targets it would be handy to take a closer look at how Angelino and Maffeo would perform on the big stage. If only there was big game coming up in front of a full house that the result didn't mean anything.
Understand what you are saying about a run out against Celtic, but not sure a dead rubber is the right stage to prove yourself. For me, a game has to mean something to both teams to really demonstrate what you're about.Even if Angelino and Maffeo make the cut we're still going to need another set of full backs. We can't go into next season with a 19 year old as our only right back and the thought of having Kolarov and Angelino as our first choice left backs when they're both defensive liabilities (though the latter can still learn) worries me.
Fingers crossed both of them, and hopefully Garcia, get a run out at Celtic and they prove to be the answer.
Pep said in a press conference recently he's happy with his fullbacks, when asked whether he will buy in Jan. It might be better to wait until summer unless they can unearth a gem on the cheap, it will be expensive to get some of the targets rumoured as it is... in Jan to bump the price up even higher? Forget about it, nobody will want to sell in Jan unless we break the bank and that will have a knock-on effect for the summer.
If we stick with what we have then we have to rotate more and maybe use Maffeo who Pep mentioned he was happy with, he didn't mention Angelino amongst the fullbacks though, I wonder if it's an attitude problem or to do with his abilities?