William Carvalho

[Danny_Johnson4]

Hardly a recommendation, Dinho is a player I love but his pace and work rate make him, not his decision making.

Ok well you are totally wrong
Utter myth that all he has is energy and work rate
It takes a serious footballing brain to play in a '1' in a Pep midfield and he very, very rarely plays the wrong pass
His decision making is outstanding, but as he does not get many goals or assists I guess it can't be?
He makes excellent defensive decisions considering we are usually all out attack, and has often been on his own over the past 3 years with Yaya walking back leaving him hanging to dry in a midfield 2

He played the #10 at Donetsk and I remember the game he totally ran the show against Chelsea where he picked passes before Chelsea even saw him receive the ball..

 

[paull1]

Fernando comparisons are laughable. He will be a great signing very comfortable at receiving the ball in tight spaces and reads the game well. You don't need great pace when you can do that. Be exciting to see how good he can become under Pep!

 

[Tevez City]

No please.

Don't waste the money on another average midfielder.

 

[RayCTID]

Carvalho may be average now but Guardiola can develop his game further.

 

[BlueAnorak]

Possibly a step up from Fernando but he really isn't good enough to be Pep's pivot.
I thought we had learnt our lesson from buying central midfielders and defenders from Portugal?

 

[_OVO_]

Possibly a step up from Fernando but he really isn't good enough to be Pep's pivot.
I thought we had learnt our lesson from buying central midfielders and defenders from Portugal?

His passing is excellent, idk why majority of the naysayers in this thread have been saying otherwise. His positioning is very good and defensively he is far better than what we have in that position currently.
Pace is the only thing he lacks, but don't think it is a make or break attribute to have for that position. Busquets is similarly slow and he excelled under Pep.

Of course there are better options available and I would've taken Dahoud over him,
but signing him wouldn't mean that it's not an upgrade.

 

[BlueAnorak]

His passing is excellent, idk why majority of the naysayers in this thread have been saying otherwise. His positioning is very good and defensively he is far better than what we have in that position currently.
Pace is the only thing he lacks, but don't think it is a make or break attribute to have for that position. Busquets is similarly slow and he excelled under Pep.

Of course there are better options available and I would've taken Dahoud over him,
but signing him wouldn't mean that it's not an upgrade.

Good passer (yes) but can he defend? Current evidence suggests that is suspect so goodness knows what he'd be like in the rough and tumble of the Premier League.
To play as a defensive midfield one he would have to be a fantastic defender. He isn't.

Don't get me wrong he'd be great in a defensive two but as a defensive one? Sorry it doesn't pass muster.

 

[Trautmann's Chiropractor]

Good passer (yes) but can he defend? Current evidence suggests that is suspect so goodness knows what he'd be like in the rough and tumble of the Premier League.
To play as a defensive midfield one he would have to be a fantastic defender. He isn't.

Don't get me wrong he'd be great in a defensive two but as a defensive one? Sorry it doesn't pass muster.

I reckon he'd be great in the PL. He's a physical monster so the rough and tumble as you put it wouldn't be an issue. Like bluesingh said he's got great positional awareness, but slow. However he doesn't need to be fast if he's in the right place and if he's dropping deeper between the centre halves he'll have the midfielders and full backs in front of him doing the leg work. His passing range is phenomanal too.

When you look at how Toure has played and what his role in the squad is since coming back into the side he's been subtle but effective, very subdued compared to what we're used to seeing from him. But he's been great in most games. Picking the passes when we're in possession and intercepting when we're not. But he doesn't boss the midfield when we come up against stronger opposition and we don't have the majority of possession. I think Carvalho would help with that, and is actually a better fit for the team in that role than Toure is because he's better defensively.

 

[BlueAnorak]

I reckon he'd be great in the PL. He's a physical monster so the rough and tumble as you put it wouldn't be an issue. Like bluesingh said he's got great positional awareness, but slow. However he doesn't need to be fast if he's in the right place and if he's dropping deeper between the centre halves he'll have the midfielders and full backs in front of him doing the leg work. His passing range is phenomanal too.

When you look at how Toure has played and what his role in the squad is since coming back into the side he's been subtle but effective, very subdued compared to what we're used to seeing from him. But he's been great in most games. Picking the passes when we're in possession and intercepting when we're not. But he doesn't boss the midfield when we come up against stronger opposition and we don't have the majority of possession. I think Carvalho would help with that, and is actually a better fit for the team in that role than Toure is because he's better defensively.

Thats my point though. To operate as the (single) Pivot, although he has the physical attributes I believe he's too slow.

If only we'd got Kante. Great defender, pace to burn and not to shabby with his passing either - the factor many on here criticised him for. Premier League player of the year for the second year running for me.

 

[Trautmann's Chiropractor]

Thats my point though. To operate as the (single) Pivot, although he has the physical attributes I believe he's too slow.

If only we'd got Kante. Great defender, pace to burn and not to shabby with his passing either - the factor many on here criticised him for. Premier League player of the year for the second year running for me.

Pep's previous pivots were never blessed with pace though. Alonso and Busquets looked like they had fridges on their backs when moving. Slow players know where to position themselves to accommodate for their lack of quick mobility.