Wednesday 16 July 2008

Looking for a star

Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo claims that Barcelona wants to sign a star player with the money the club has received for Ronaldinho and probably will receive for Eto'o, who also could be included in a deal.


With the Adebayor option dropping back because of the asking price, the paper gives this list of six possible transfer targets:

Didier Drogba (30)
Fernando Torres (24)
David Villa (26)
Carlos Tévez (24)
Robinho (24)
Frédéric Kanouté (30)

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

Most of those appear to be unrealistic targets. Benitez is cash-strapped, but no way he parts with Torres. Torres is better suited for the Premier League anyway.

Neither Drogba or Kanoute are worth what we'd pay for them at this point. They are entering the downslope of their careers.

In that group, I like Tevez the best but I don't see United parting with him already. They don't need to sell him.

I hear Klass-Jan Huntelaar is still waiting for firm offers.

Anonymous said...

United don't own Tevez. They have until the end of the year to sing him from the loan deal.

Robinho is not a megacrack and not good enough for us, and Madrid will never sell to us anyway. Kanouté is overrated and his career is droping, as Drogba's is.

Benzema or Villa, otherwise keep Samyy.

Anonymous said...

No.
No.
Hell no.
Lord, no.
No.

Drogba has become injury prone. I like his skill set, but he's also clubhouse poison.

Torres would be expensive, and difficult to prise away from 'Pool.

Villa isn't big or strong enough. Might as well use Krkic.

Tevez? As a striker? I think not.

Robinho. We have enough mids, and none of them are a pain in the ass.

Kanoute is well on the down slope.

Craziness.

Anonymous said...

benzema i dont him on the list as we all know this year is impossible for us to get him. Drogba and Kanoute aint good enough as they are too old. tevez is a shortie we dont need that kind of striker he is used more sa SS rather than CF. Villa would be good also Huntelaar may seem okey. For sure Torres is the best but only a dream.

I see it difficult for the board to get any of those strikers, so a possiblitie of keepin Eto'o would be on the cards.

Granche

P.s And greetings to Pep a real marvelleous job he is doing here.

Anonymous said...

onr more thing Kxevin if u think u r too smart how comes u aint in the barca board. dont be so emotional maan. Im really tired of your coments.

Anonymous said...

torres is fantastic but it is simply not possible. tevez? does not score goals. drogba is very good but very old. I do like robinho but his mentality is not very good.villa is similar to bojan. kanoute is no barça material.
jordy

Anonymous said...

speeking of stars? where is Aguero in this fantacy list

Anonymous said...

i think barca should just keep the money for next transfer window and also keep eto.

Anonymous said...

so basically... we need a left winger? none of these options are remotely feasible.

we should give Henry some time in the center with a new setup before we go shopping for a center forward at Christmastime.

Anonymous said...

Go for benzema!!

And i wount pep to start a debat on wether messi should get the number 10, after ronaldinho now have been sold to milan..

Anonymous said...

i dont think we will get any of these players but i reckon huntelaar wud be a gud buy 4 barca

Anonymous said...

that i have to chose from that 6 players, i will chose kanoute...fantastic player

Anonymous said...

Buy Neves this year and we're set.

Sell Henry/Eto'o next year, then buy Benzema and we're set for a decade.

It's so easy :-P

Anonymous said...

neves ok. If the price is right..but he won't fit in right away. maybe buy neves and arshavin.
15m arshavin ;12m neves.

Anonymous said...

Only Aguero or Benzema are good enough!!! The list is crazyness

Anonymous said...

@Eye: Good post.

Although I think Torres is a bit, not much, but a bit overrated.

His first touch is very poor sometimes and I don't know if he could adapt to Barças style of play, where he wouldn't have the space he has at Liverpool.

Like I said before, keep Samuel or get Benzema. There's no other solution which makes sense.
Ship Abidal back to Lyon, I want him to stay, but if we could get Benzema because of his transfer than I'm all for it!

And for Eto'o, I don't know, but I think he won't be shipped out that easy. Nobody wants him because of his wage-demands, and I don't think it's because he is a greedy player, I think he simply DOESN'T WANT TO LEAVE and does all he could to avoid this.

The other possibility for a "Megacrack" is Agüero, but imo he would be more for the left side.

I would like Villa, but I agree with Kxevin's and Eye's opinion, he isn't the kind of striker Pep wants. In this case we could use Bojan too, who will be at Villas level in 1,2 years from now.

@"anonymous who critized Kxevin":
Stop it, please, simply stop it. I really, really like Kxevin's comments on this blog, he has a lot of knowledge of Barça and seems to know what he's talking about. And yes, maybe (OK, surely) he would do a better job than Txikirixiki.

cojonudo said...

Just because Barcelona have money to burn doesn't mean they need to walk around like they have a hole in their pocket. Of the candidates listed above only Drogba provides the "ideal" (on the pitch) fit that Pep's looking for. However given his age he would only be looked as a stop-gap, short term solution to the position upfront. I don't envision Pep wanting to go into the season with two "30-something" strikers in Henry and Drogba. Also taking into account Drogba's petulant behavior, he could be an opposing force to the harmonious locker room that Pep is trying to create. All the other candidates mentioned above have flaws, (too short, too old, not good enough, etc.)

Even if best case scenario Benzema were to be made available, he's not ready to just step in and start lighting it up at Camp Nou. La Liga is a completely different animal from Ligue 1. It would take time for Benzema to get adjusted to the style and pace of play of the league, the Barcelona "system" and get a feel for his new teammates. All that takes time and can't be rushed. Otherwise just throwing him to the wolves could do irreperable damage to his career and everyone would start jumping on him calling him a "bust" if not worst.

We may have to resign ourselves to the possibility that Eto'o may stay with the club, (at least for one more season.) One thing is clear, even if he stays on board for the upcoming campaign, he's going to face similar transfer speculation next season, and Barcelona have absolutely no intention of renewing his contract at this time. This is a case then of perhaps having to choose the "lesser of two evils" in that despite Eto'o's surly behavior he is still a far better option that what is available on the market - should Barcelona not be able to land Adebayor - which I'm sure they'll fight tooth and nail for till the bitter end.

Anonymous said...

who will play on the left wing:
i think its hleb, he got skills, naf sed.
for backup i would say we have, henry, bojan, iniesta, pedrito, jeffren, victor vazquez.

wat do u think pep and all other barca fans? publish ur comments.

Anonymous said...

I hate to say this guys, cos well i dont really like him, but considering the options i think Adebayour would be the best buy. The other options are either unobtainable to too old, or too short, or too risky, etc. I am not the biggest fan of Ade but if we are going to get rid of Eto'o (I would rather he stayed) then Ade would be the best option. He may not be clinical, but what he will bring to our side none of these strikers can bring....that is pure strength and size. The guy is HUGE. The defences in the premiership all struggle to deal with him can you imagine the joy he would get in spain?!?!?! He wouldnt be there to score lots of goals, he would be there to provide another option. He would draw the defenders giving more space to the likes of Messi and Henry. He is not worth what they are asking though. Maybe now that Milan are out of the race we can get him for a little less.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Anonymous: Hleb can play in Ronaldinho's position but I think he will play Deco's position because either David silva or Thiago neves or Franck Ribery will sign for Barca to replace Ronaldinho.
The biggest issue is the second signing (the striker) : I MOSTLY ADMIRE Aguero and F.Torres.But I think Berbatov or Ibrahimovich can be obtained as part of swap deal with Etoo going to the other side.
Remember Alves,Kanoute pairing at sevilla(main succes reason of FC Seville). Who will intercept Alves passes ? Who can play equally well with his foot and head ?

Anonymous said...

Because Guardiola is building a new long term project: I think he will stick to Adebayor(24) or will move for Aguero (high price tag).I think he is looking for a solid striker so Adebayor.if not possible, then Berbatov for etto (swap) since Tottenham Coach Juan De Ramos is keen on Etoo and Berbatov is looking for a team who will play in the Champions league.
The surprise signing could be Huntelaar.

Anonymous said...

i'm not ade biggest fan but i'd rather have him than those, except maybe villa, he maybe too small but has enough skill to thrive with our suppliers, but might struggle to dominate defences. i think aguero would be great, but not sure if that just because he is amazing player, for 30-40 mil i think it would be a good siginig.

Anonymous said...

Only one signing we need!! AML!! Silva, Neves or even Ribery(why not)!!! (and ofcourse Eto'o to stay)... let the game begin

Anonymous said...

hey all u guys can u answer the question above( on the left wing position)? and also pep. please and thanx...

Àlex said...

Hello to all from Beirut:
Ok, The way I see it, Barca filled Deco's position by signing Hleb. In the new system we just don't need a star player.

We are now desperate to sign a versatile winger. And that Winger must be capable of switching sides with Messi anytime it's needed.
Here i raise a couple of names:
1- Elano
2- D'Alessandro
3- Thiago Neves
All 3 are available for reasonable prices.

Barca should keep Eto'o, Henry & Bojan for strikers.

Anonymous said...

Our transfers this summer are not good enough. They improved the defense (I'm really ok with it. It had to happen.) but the offense? Nothing until yet.

Robinho would be great. I think he is a candidate for the title "best player in the world" within the next 3 years.

BUT:
====
Aguero is the only (!!!) player who can replace Ronaldinho. I'm very angry. He has not been mentioned this summer. Why? I thing he is the most talented player after Messi. Together they would be unstoppable.

Anonymous said...

Thanks to my defenders. I try to keep up, as a humble soci.

Left wing I think is solved by Hleb. We'll probably make an inexpensive pickup (Neves or similar) for depth.

That mysterious "9" is the last remaining piece. Two years ago, Drogba would have been a no-brainer. As many have said, Adebayor might be the best route.

Anonymous said...

please comment on my formation:

first 11:

valdes
alves,puyol,milito,abidal
yaya toure,xavi,keita or iniesta
messi,henry,hleb

backup:

pinto
pique,henrique,caceres,sylvinho
marquez,(abraham or sanchez or crosas),iniesta
pedrito,bojan,jeffren

Anonymous said...

for the comment above i forgot neves for pedrito or jeffren.

Anonymous said...

Buy Aguero he is a world class player and still very young
HE IS THE BEST BUY
AGUERO!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

BUY ROBINHO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

For me, my firm opinion is that if Barcelona want to be unstoppable next season, then, Adebayor must sign.

Now I love Eto as much as everybody, and personally would make room for both, but I'd have to pick Adebayor over Eto staying.

I'd also like Barcelona to sign a childhood fan of Barcelona in Arshavin, I think he has alot to offer and his motivation will be second to none, injuries happen, so I dont want Barca to be thin at any point.

Aguero, Benzema, of course, my top 2, but Aguero is not right for the situation and Benzema is not an option, of course, both would be hot signings if Barca do well and want to build a dream team again.

Unknown said...

I like the old barcelona.. that reached down into its youth team when it needed extra support.. looking for a star player... messi eto'o iniesta xavi henry hleb...arent these stars of world football today ?? 3 years ago henry was the best striker in the world.. messi is one of the best players in the world. xavi and iniesta just lit up the euros xavi was votes best player... hleb was great for arsenal last year ( he doesnt score much but he is a great player).. what the fuck are we talking aboyt buying stars when we have these players on our roster.... and dont try to explain to me about crack players and megastars.... I know what they are getting at.. but.. crack players everywhere are more harm than good..

I think we can sell enough jerseys with messi and co.

Anonymous said...

AS I SAID BEFORE..
I thing that we only need Neves (23) 10-12 MILLION or Hernandes (23) 13-20 MILLION (Neves, i favor) and perhaps buy and loan out henrigue(21) 8-10 MILLION .. Or even Arhsavin (27) 18-20 million (older but BARCA fan)..
We do not need strikers.. If Eto'o stays not even if he goes.. Maybe Paulyshenco.. For a different tactic.. if pep must have a striker the the Russian is all we need.. not a lot of many too..
SQUAD FORMATION
4-3-3 (4-1-2-3) (4-2-1-3)
RB-CB-CB-LB CDM-CM-CM RWM-LWM-ST
RB-CB-CB-LB CDM-CDM-CAM RWM-LAM-ST
GK - 3 VALDES PINTO JORQUERA
LB - 3+1 ABIDAL SILVINHO (CASERES) *(HENRIQUE)
CB - 7+1 PUYOL MILITO PIQUE CASERES MARGUES (OLEQUER) (ABIDAL) *(HENRIQUE)
RB - 4+1 ALVES PUYOL OLEQUER (CASERES) *(HENRIQUE)
CDM - 5 TOURE KEITA (CASERES) (PIQUE) (MARQUES)
CM - 4+1 XAVI INIESTA (HLEB) (KEITA) (NEVES/HERNANDES)
RAM/RWM - 4+1+1 MESSI (INIESTA) (BOJAN) (HLEB) (NEVES/ARSHAVIN) (ETO'O)
LM/LWM - 4+1+1 HLEB (INIESTA) (BOJAN) (MESSI) (NEVES/ARSHAVIN) (ETO'O)
CAM - 3+1 XAVI MESSI (HLEB) (NEVES/HERNANDES ARSHAVIN)
ST - 3+1+1+1 HENRY BOJAN MESSI (ARSHAVIN) (ETO'O) (PAULYSHENKO)
NO ADE, NO BERBA, MAYBE SILVA, NO VILLA, NO DROGBA, no, no, no...
Valdes
alves puyol caseres abidal
cdm Ture cdm keita (xavi)
cam Xavi (iniesta hlep)
Messi henry help (hlep)

Valdes
alves puyol caseres abidal
cdm ture
cm xavi cm keita (iniesta)
messi henry help (iniesta)

if we do not get any more players if we do then it’s a differend story..
VISCA EL BARCA
KEMPE CYPRUS

Anonymous said...

so we are looking for a left winger it's to late now

manicini is sold
ben arfa is sold this 2 will be the best options i dont see any other options

malouda, robinho, tevez arent good enough

tiago neves cant judge him so i would say enough buyed let hleb play there and let iniesta and xavi rule the midfield

peter said...

None of these are on my list. Geez. I loathe tevez, he is not a barca player. I would rather see Etoo stay, or maybe Berbatovas someone said. But then again, hes rather old aswell.

With Henry, Bojan and maybe Etoo we're in bigger need of a winger, preferrably one who can play on both left and right. Maybe Quaresma, werent he so expensive.

Anonymous said...

Guardiola has a point with the target man approach if other teams are going to sit back. These are the signings that I'd like to see.
Target man: Adebayor, Ibrahimovic, or Berbatov
Supporting striker: Keep Eto'o or get Benzema, Aguero
Wingback: Sell Abidal, get Chivu
AM: Van der Vaart on the cheap (contract out next year)
for depth, Neves, Hernanes
sorry Thierry, looks like another year on the wing bud.

Anonymous said...

The weird thing is, Im beginning to think, is the target man theory that good? I mean, alot of people are basing this on Man Utd games (best team w/e), where they sat back, but whilst Eto couldnt find the means of breaking down such a percentage tactic, Messi did have incredible fun, part of me wishes we had a Messi clone on the other side, double trouble - Aguero, because Im drawn to Barca's style of play more then results, personally, I'd be a happy man if tomorrow I heard that Aguero signed, but yeah, Berbatov might be an interesting route too, I do believe when within in a elite of players he would fight for his place and improve where possible.

Anonymous said...

f**k berbatov, he's lazy, old and not suit barca. i agree with the comment above barca don't need a star, they need potential, but if they insist on getting a shirt seller it should be aguero, as his price will be huge if he has another good season, especially in champions league. get him now, benzema next year, barca coulddominate for years.

Anonymous said...

GUYZ THE THING IS IF THEY KEEP ETO'O THEN THEY WILL HAVE TO LET HIM GO FOR FREE AS HIS CONTRACT WILL EXPIRE!! HAVING A STAR PLAYER (EVEN WITH HIS SHAMBOLIC PERFORMANCES) GO FOR FREE IS A DISASTER FOR ANY CLUB. THEREFORE I REEEAAALLLYYYY SUGGEST TO OFFLOAD ETO'O..ITS TIME WITH R10 AND DECO GONE ITS TIME TO REVOLUTIONIZE BARCA ONCE AGAIN.. WHAT DO U GUYZ THINK

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