By signing JP for near 100M, are we seriously about to run the Coutinho/Griezman script again?
Hey culers,
I need to vent, but more importantly, i want to look at the cold, hard numbers because the latest transfer reports out of London regarding Deco and Joao Pedro are genuinely making me depressed.
We finally achieved the 1:1 laliga rule thanks to clearing massive wage cash, lewa exit etc. The chains are off but instead of being disciplined, it feels like this board is completely blind to tactical profiles and actual squad needs.
How on earth does this board back out of a move for a world-class, proven elite engine like Julián Álvarez because a €90M to 100M price tag is deemed "too expensive," only to turn around and prepare to drop the exact same 100M package on João Pedro??
Chelsea finished 8th. They aren't even playing elite European football next szn, yet Deco is treating JP like he just carried a team to a historic treble. Joao Pedro scored 15 goals and got 5 assists in the PL this sesson. Respectable? Yes. A €100M franchise altering asset? Absolutely not.
More importantly, he is an unfit profile. JP is a hybrid, deep-lying forward who loves to drop into the half spaces, pick up the ball and carry it forward. Flicks vertical, high pressing machine needs a frontline that presses like wolves and creates space. JP's decent but does not possess that relentless out-of-possession work rate. We are literally buying a luxury duplicate to stand on Olmo's toes: it’s Coutinho and Griezmann all over again.
If we are looking for a deep lying forward or a high intensity attcker, why are we paying the "Premier League Big Six Tax" to Chelsea when the market has already better options for half of the cost??
The 19 y/o Kroupi jr casually just broke records as the highest scoring teenager in a debut PL season, hitting 13 goals and 5 assists playing for a much cheaper team in fewer minutes. Because andoni iraola plays a heavy press at b'mouth, Kroupi is already a defensive monster in the final third. He fits Flicks tactical blueprint like a glove and could easily be extracted for a realistic €60M call, despite Bournemouth's recent public PR bluffs.
If Flick wants intensity, explosive pace, and dead ball execution, Marmoush is a tactical cheat code. His work rate is custombuilt for a high line, and he provides actual structural utility instead of clogging the central midfield. He's a backup striker in city rn!!
The financial excuses are mostly dead now. Deco blows this summer war chest on panic buying overpriced forwards while our defensive transitions are left bleeding, we are going to drive Hansi Flick out of the club long before his contract ends.
What do you guys think? Am I missing something about Joao pedro, or is the board genuinely running the same self sabotage script that put us in a financial grave in the first place?
Visca el Barça 💙❤️