#also obligatory garciapimienta rant: if only we hadnt let jandro orellana leave.....

[garciapimienta]

Hiiii! I just wanted to ask, since you seem very knowledgeable about this things🧐, what’s our best option for DM next season/ this transfer window? I know we have some La Masia kids( gosh saying that sounds weird when I’m also just 18😭) that are really good and I think you mentioned Federico Redondo at some point but I would like to hear you thoughts at this point in time. I’m not saying I don’t like what the club is doing this transfer window because they are doing a great job but the missing DM player on the team is really making me worried. Anyway, thanks for answering this when you find the time and much love for you and your spectacular blog❤️❤️❤️

First of all thank you, you are so nice!

In regards to the DM question, I'm not even sure myself to be honest, and I am really worried too. In my opinion the best solution, and by miles, was Declan Rice. I know he wasn't exactly affordable but I think the club should've at least attempted to get him and I also think he was worth shelling out a little even if it meant we couldn't afford as many other players. But of course, I understood that with the financial situation, it maybe wasn't doable.

The second option for me, and the more realistic one (well, kinda) was Zubimendi. I personally think he's great and would suit the team so well and he's also ready for the club (not as in 'he's top level already, he doesn't need to learn anything more' but just that he's ready even though ofc he'll continue growing and developing and getting better). That said, Zubi is as loyal as they come, so there's really not much the club could do, he wasn't going to come this season.

Now that both of them are out of the question, I think Oriol Romeu, which seems like the most likely one now, is fine-ish??? He's not a player I absolutely love or someone I think has the general level to be a player for us, but it's also true that there's not much out there that isn't a) very young, or b) not for sale/out of our league in terms of what the club could pay. So basically it seems that we'll have to settle for someone, which I hate because I think the club should've prepared for Busi's retirement much better and has had years to do so.

So yeah, to summarize because I got carried away, I think maybe the best option for now is to settle for someone reliable and temporary like Oriol Romeu and also sign a young developmental pivot for the future (my preferences: Mats Wieffer (highly recommend checking him out, he's really good and has an incredible potential too), Redondo or Vermeeren), while still continuing to develop the Masia prospects who are looking better suited for the position and with a lot of potential (Pau Prim and Marc Casado being the most obvious and most talked about ones, but there are others with high quality and a lot of potential too, like Gerard Hernańdez).

I've just realized I have not mentioned Nico (González) at all in this reply and tbh I 'm actually on team "Xavi should give him a chance" even though I've always said that I've never been fully convinced on wether he can play in that role in the way I would want him too. It's just that considering that there are no better options and Nico is a player that's already in your squad and who has shown a lot of potential and has a lot of talent and resources (even for an interior, which I know we don't need but if he doesn't work out as pivot you could still benefit from using him for rotations every once in a while for one season before selling him/loaning him out again), I think we should give it another try. But if Xavi doesn't like him/isn't willing to do it, then there isn't much to do, seeing as to how he's the coach...