Absolutely brilliant find by Barca tbf.
Great player. Love watching him play.
Great player. Love watching him play.
Arthur Melo - Juventus's old number five
- Thread starter Raees
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The question is: how many more of them are out there, and, can we got one (or two)?
Barca can steal the credit all they like but I've been signing him on FM since at least 2017.. but hey whatever.
On a more serious note, terrific player, very jealous.
Are UK work permit rules what keep us from tapping the South American market ?
Tbf it wasnt that hard to spot him, he played the Libertadores final so you hope that our scouts saw him. But his small price tag indicates there wasnt really a bidding war going on
Exactly, he won the Libertadores cup and was the MVP of the tournament, he wasn't exactly hidden. I don't know why we never bring players straight from south america. There is a lot of potential there and some players become huge prospects after 1 season in europe. We should look there a lot more.
Its because without Busquets he played in a more defensive role that is natural to him. In general they use him in a more advanced position they call "interior".
I think Gomes could turn into a similar player. However, I think he needs a defined role to develop in. Personally, after seeing him in a deeper position this season, I've liked him there because he's much more involved. I felt like the last u23 match was a good example of that.
I'm not from the UK - but surely it's work permit related issues? Especially if they haven't represented their country at senior level ("exceptional talent permit") for a certain percentage of games. Or that's how I remember it from being on the Caf.
But yeah, buy and loan to another league until the permit is sorted....or do something. Surely any professional footballer should automatically qualify for a special skills type visa - regardless if they've played for their country or not.
OT, really really like him. Reminiscent of a Xavi-Iniesta hybrid in how he plays/moves with the ball 
His price could have been low because he was effectively excluded from the English market.
I don't think he would have qualified for a work permit.
I don't think he would have qualified for a work permit.
I think so too, english clubs seems to face a lot more issues to sign this kind of players.
Crazy to think he isn’t even a starter and Barcelona are still looking to sign Rabiot.
Busquets, Rakitic, Vidal, Arthur, Coutinho, Rabiot.... that’s two world class midfields in one squad.
Busquets, Rakitic, Vidal, Arthur, Coutinho, Rabiot.... that’s two world class midfields in one squad.
I don’t think he was a “find”, he had some clout/hype before moving to Barca. Good transfer though
The other side is their famous La Masia hasn't produced a player for the first team in ages. Sergi Roberto is the last I can remember. No young player is getting a game in that midfield.
Busquets has been living off past reputation for a while now. Rakitic was never that good as he is showing signs of decline. Vidal is a spent force. Coutinho is not even a midfielder. And Rabiot is only really good at a position he does not want to play. Arthur is a talent though.
I mean, you can argue Busquets, Vidal and Rakitic aren’t as good as they used to be but the truth is they still walk into pretty much any team on the planet.
They’re all clearly better than Arthur for example. Coutinho can obviously play in midfield depending on the circumstances and Rabiot has been great in several different midfield roles for PSG, it’s not true he’s only world class while playing further back.
They still have Aleña, Sergi Roberto, Denis Suarez and Rafinha as options too.
It’s bonkers, that midfield is several levels better than any other midfield in the world bar City.
You're right I've never though of that. For a player to have represented their country while playing in their domestic league you must look to either countries with lower level than Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay or Chile or some kind of prodigy like Neymar.
A shame really, either way I think the option of buying and loaning is great. Chelsea does it all the time, of course they never give their youths a chance but in today's market even if the buy is a bump we will surely recover the investing rebuying the player.
Hell no
Cant English clubs buy these players straight from Brazil and loan them out to smaller Portuguese teams till they qualify for a work permit.
Aye. Something needs to be done (innovation or legislation change) to allow English clubs to compete for these talents.
Spot on.
Not entirely sure how you get to that conclusion if you’ve watched them for the past couple years. Casemiro, Kroos & Modric (Balon d’Or Modric) is clearly better. Juventus aren’t too shabby - Pjanic, Bentancur, Matuidi & Can aren’t too shabby either. & as you rightly said, City is also up there. Bayern to boot.
They are just prepping for the eventual decline/departures of Busquets, Rackitic and Vidal.
Chelsea done this with Alex, had to wait three years before he could get a permit (was at PSV).
The problem with buying and loaning would be the transfer fee, paying them for 3 years until there's a possibility of a work permit, plus I doubt a player would be thrilled about having to spend three years at a smaller club when he could just sign for a top Spanish club?
Not a fan of the Busi-Rakitic pair these days, especially Rakitic. Both are declining and sadly having both them on the field together these days is hurting us on a mobility standpoint and often teams are easily getting through them a bit too easily now.
Rakitic's main strengths were always in energy, long balls, and tactical aspects and provided some goals from the Midfield as well. He was never that protagonist kinda guy but always a support player.
But these days it seems that he cannot play in a 3 man Midfield as good as he used to. He was never the greatest at dealing with the press with the ball at his feet and often struggles with progressing the ball if he's getting pressed. He made up for it in other areas as I said above, but His mobility seems to be on the decline.
He's better off playing as a regular DM now in Busi's spot than as a CM in our system.
Rakitic's main strengths were always in energy, long balls, and tactical aspects and provided some goals from the Midfield as well. He was never that protagonist kinda guy but always a support player.
But these days it seems that he cannot play in a 3 man Midfield as good as he used to. He was never the greatest at dealing with the press with the ball at his feet and often struggles with progressing the ball if he's getting pressed. He made up for it in other areas as I said above, but His mobility seems to be on the decline.
He's better off playing as a regular DM now in Busi's spot than as a CM in our system.
Bit different now with the increase in transfer fees. If one of the big clubs buys a player for a decent fee, they’d get a work permit based off exceptional skill.
I've also noticed Rakitić's seeming lack of energy this season, but it might just be the absolutely absurd number of minutes he's played during last season, continued in the WC, and then again this season. If Valverde could actually manage his minutes instead of him playing all the bloody time he would probably look fresher/better, to what extent we can only guess obviously.
If that was the case a lot more 18 year old South Americans would be heading to the premier league.
Rakitic is more mature but Arthur is already a fairly intelligent player in his own right. His pressing resistance already puts him ahead of Rakitic IMO. He's more of a Xabi Alonso type of MF nowadays. A player that has brilant passing skills but should avoid the opposition's pressing. As someone already said, he fits much better into Busquet's role now.
But yes, Barca is gathering insane amount of talent in the CM. They have excellent depth but in terms of quality, Modric/Kroos/Casemiro/Isco/Ceballos as well as Silva/de Bruyne/Silva/Gündogan/Fernandinho/Foden is ahead of them, at least in usual form in terms of Real (remains to be seen if Modric can get back to that or has finally passed his peak). Arthur/Rabiot/Coutinho could become a deadly combo though.
Valverde wasn't always a fan of rotations and often liked small squads. But I gave him the benefit of the doubt since he never managed a team that had the resources we have for him to use.
But he hasn't changed much in that regard since he got here sadly. It's bad as a good number of our key players are over the age of 29 and getting older. Yet he still wants to run the likes of Pique, Rakitic, Suarez, Busi etc to the ground.
He is not your traditional Brazilian player he remind me of a hybrid with Xavi and iniesta in the way he uses body feints and turns to get out of tight spaces and how quick he is to receive the ball and then keep it moving.
I think the rule is that if a club plays more than 10 million for a player they qualify for a work permit.
Vidal is still a terrific player. He’s been our best midfielder this season and probably the best midfielder in La Liga.
Rakitic and Busquets are both good but not if they play together, then the midfield becomes too static. We are better when only one of them plays.
Vidal - Arthur
Busquets
Busquets
Can match any other midfield on the planet.
Richarlison is a good example I guess. The ones the top teams want to sign are usually wanted by other big clubs and Latin Americans generally tend to want to sign for Spanish sides. Rodygo and Vinicius two latest example, English clubs were in for both and both would have got permits despite the age.
Interesting, I never heard much noise about English teams going for Rodrygo or Vinicius, I know South Americans will always prefer Spain to England.
@Keeps It tidy I never knew that good to know, thanks.
How many more times does Modric want to foul him? 
He was good today but not great. Still the best midfielder we have.
He was good today but not great. Still the best midfielder we have.
This guy is ridiculous. Magnets in his feet.
Unreal Modric didnt get booked. Arthur is fecking spectacular.How many more times does Modric want to foul him?
He was good today but not great. Still the best midfielder we have.