It's more or less official, Barcelona will not be able to sign Rodrigo in this winter market from Valencia. The talks between the two clubs have collapsed because of the high price tag associated.
Till last evening there were hopes of salvaging this deal, but now it appears completely dead and buried. This has become a pattern of late with our management. Now Barcelona needs to find a replacement as quickly as possible. Will they be able to?
True to the nature of every Transfer window, especially when it's coming to an end, too many things are happening at a frantic pace. The supposed Rodrigo deal may not happen, the youngster Carles Pérez may still continue and a number of players other than these could move out also.
There is no dearth of news surrounding Barcelona. Who all could be linked in for a move in next? Maybe a move-out!
Arturo Vidal was expected to leave in the winter market, with Inter being the prime destination. That all have changed with the arrival of Setién and the Chilean have become one of the most important players in midfield.
Has Arturo Vidal established himself as a key player under Quique Setién? That question in itself may sound unreasonable to some! After all the Setién regime is just three matches old and in those Vidal started only one, the first match. Despite being a non-starter, Setién would vouch that if there is a player who understood his philosophy so far, that has to be the Chilean.
It was quite evident from the last match, the defeat against Valencia. The moment Vidal came in for Arthur, there was a drastic change in Barcelona's options going forward. Even though it was undone by poor finishing upfront and poor defending, Vidal definitely held his head high.
It appears Barcelona will be finally making Rodrigo their priority signing in the winter market. His signing in all probability will be announced by the end of the day.
FC Barcelona quest for a replacement striker for the injured Luis Saurez appears to have found his logical conclusion with Rodrigo Moreno Machado. He was heavily involved with Barcelona since the opening of the winter transfer window. Once Quique Setién confirmed that he would sign a striker, his name was the most linked one.
In the match between Valencia and Barcelona at the weekend, all the attention was focussed on one person and that's Rodrigo himself. He definitely impressed Barcelona that day.
Barcelona is expected to make a signing which could surprise many! The unexpected star has come into prominence due to his familiarity with the league and other factors.
Barcelona has been searching for a replacement (better put backup) signing for the injured Luis Saurez for some time. From the time the window opened, everyone was speculating whether Barcelona will sign a striker in January. Even Barcelona's current coach, Setien is convinced of the need for signing a striker in January.
The moment the manager confirmed that he is looking for signing a striker, the rumor mills have been working a double shift. I guess we have been linked to everyone and anyone available in the market. The two major prospects that were sounded out were Rodrigo of Valencia and Lautaro of Inter Milan. These were non-starters from the beginning, but people believed in them for some reason. Now there is a new name emerging which could happen.
Arthur's future at Barcelona is under a serious cloud after he was part of two disappointing results under Quique Setién. The latest news coming out of various Barcelona outlets suggests that the coach doesn't see him as an essential part of his plans.
Quique Setién, the Barcelona Coach is planning for major haul in the summer. He has been very vocal about his displeasure about the way Barcelona played in the last two matches. Unlike Valverde, he is not someone who makes the usual statement - 'Everything is Good'. He calls it the way he sees.
The displeasure was quite evident with every word he spoke after the match. He indirectly pointed fingers at certain players, even though the media got it wrong by pointing to De Jong. It was quite evident from the first substitution he made, Vidal for Arthur. The Brazilian midfielder was touted as the great successor to both Xavi and Iniesta. Unfortunately have failed to live up to any of those expectations.
For Valencia it was fifth time lucky, after failing to defeat Barcelona in the previous five attempts in the League. In spite of Valencia playing brilliantly, these factors most contributed to Barcelona's downfall.
Many are still digesting the non-tasty defat of Barcelona last night. What makes it worse was the fact that Barcelona struggled to break down the defense, having to play a lot of horizontal passes. The possession statistic looks good, but the lack of end result makes the picture bleak.
It's not yet time to panic at the last two performances of Barcelona. The new coach needs a bit of time to set things right and also to get his team to understand his plans fully. It's easy to criticize the team and coach and deride them in general. A close look at the match clearly shows that not everything is bad about last night's performance. There were three major factors that contributed to such a bad result.
