Quote from: Juggy777 on Today at 04:04:46 PM

Quote from: skarais on Today at 03:57:21 PM

Quote from: shogun47 on Today at 03:39:31 PM

Quote from: skarais on Today at 03:19:16 PM

~~~

So far they seem to have found a smart way to increase the quality for their team. When they sign some who have an expired contract they can save a lot of money in that way and consolidate their finances. It is not yet known how many players more they are trying to bring to Barcelona, but they will need a few if they want to attack again. But they do need to improve their overall approach since they are in desperate need for a surplus.

The idea is probably the same, as long as they are sure the player fits Barcelona's needs then I think Xavi would recommend the player to sign. Ilkay Gundogan is a good midfielder for Barcelona, so I think Barcelona were lucky to sign him for a few seasons. Xavi may still need a few other good players who can balance his team, but I don't think he will be too pushy due to the team's not-so-good financial condition.

Xavi already has a good alternative to the former Manchester City captain. Ilkay Gundogan can act as a defensive midfielder although De Jong and Kessie can also play in that position. So Xavi has found what he was looking for after he lost Busquets, while in other positions I think Xavi also needs a good right-back instead of giving Araujo and Kounde a lot of chances.

@shogun47 I believe his arrival signals that De Jong is now available for sale because by doing this they can get solid revenues too and further invest in the squad. Also with this smart signing now I’m keen to see who else will they target because this transfer signals that they’re keen to target winning the champions league now and if they can add more quality player’s then they’ll definitely be a force to reckon in the champions league.

You should check De Jongs salary Cheesy

He is one of the best paid soccer players in Europe. But at the same time they need to keep some of their team together. Getting Gundogan and letting De Jong go is an option to lower their salaries a bit as I am sure Gudogan won't earn quite as much, but yes they should still be interesting in signing more high quality players and if possible more contract free players like Gundogan, but it is hard to get them as the competition in the market for them is the highest.