There are very few defenders in the world who are both technically good enough to play for Pep and physically capable of playing the exceptionally high line. Even fewer of them are for sale.
Laporte is the only one we have had really. Mangala had the physicality but not the technique, Otamendi the technique but not the pace.
Stones had both, but not the mentality and he's been shafted with injuries.
I think we are going to start producing our own more and more. Tosin could be perfect, Eric Garcia is going to be top class, Taylor Harwood-Bellis has all the tools.
knowing our luck we’ll spend 5 years producing the perfect Pep centre halves from our academy and then he’ll leave and we’ll get in someone who wants different types of centre halves!