Victor Valdes

FCBarca said:
Reina is a former cantera player so the link is an easy one to make - I hope, at best, he'd be considered a short term solution.

I'd prefer going younger although there are difficulties with that at a big club as United have experienced even with a keeper of De Gea's quality. Still like Ter Stegen but it's probably just a pipe dream.

No real rumours on where Victor might go but the Premiership seems obvious - Arsenal would make a lot of sense
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Yes Ter Stergen is a lovely young keeper as is that young chelsea lad at Atletico, Curtois. There are a few others, but perhaps not 'Barcelona's standard', I read something about Reina's father saying Pepe has always wanted to go back there since leaving the youth ranks, but he surely has on 5 or so years left, he is 31 or 32 isn't he?

I think they should get a young lad and stick with him as United are with DDG, as your defense currently is fairly young (With the exception of Puyol, if even still plays), I think its the only way tbf or its a lot of short terms options, still if I was in charge of Barca's transfers, I would aim for Neuer only :).
 
Jaybezia said:
Still not the 20 years DDG has... hence its a shorter term option.
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Yes, but a young GK will cost them a lot more than Pepe. I don't know if they will be up for it. On the other hand, Pepe has already said many times that he wants to leaves, and Barca can easily drive down the price for him.
 
KM said:
  • De Gea even after this season has three years left on his contract. Won't go for less than atleast 20m Euros.
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You can be sure that United will have the option to extend that for an extra year as well.
 
coolredwine said:
Yes, but a young GK will cost them a lot more than Pepe. I don't know if they will be up for it. On the other hand, Pepe has already said many times that he wants to leaves, and Barca can easily drive down the price for him.
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Point being though, spend what £5mil on Reina? In 5 years another 5 mil on a replacement etc to cover 20 years would be 20 million in short term purchases, and they would do well to do that, but a young keeper shouldn't cost more than 20 million despite how good he is, hence to me at least, it makes more sense.
 
Jaybezia said:
I think they should get a young lad and stick with him as United are with DDG, as your defense currently is fairly young (With the exception of Puyol, if even still plays), I think its the only way tbf or its a lot of short terms options, still if I was in charge of Barca's transfers, I would aim for Neuer only :).
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I'm with you and Ter Stegen would be that young keeper but we're just armchair managers at the end of the day, aren't we? :D The German looks like an elite keeper to me, drool worthy even

Neuer is a stud too but there's zero chances of that happening as are the Iker rumours.

I just don't think the club will go the youth route. Before Valdes, they had a rotisserie of one keeper after another that never fit. Might just be the hardest fit for this team which again makes me think gambling on a keeper is not the route Zubi will take - they will have to have La Liga experience and more than likely will avoid one without much experience. Even as good as Courtois has looked, he's still relatively inexperienced in La Liga much less Europe. Ter Stegen falls even further behind in that regard, plus he doesn't speak Spanish.

Ondoa is the only cantera keeper that has any shot at first team chances but he's only 17 and is likely years away. Diego Alves hasn't been linked although I prefer him to Guaita who is linked and has actually displaced him with Los Che - despite being initially acquired as the #2. Pepe Reina ticks all the right boxes so he makes good sense, especially financially. Pinto is a terrific backup but I doubt they consider him longterm and could platoon with Reina or a young keeper like Courtois or similar. Still, my best guess is that it will be one of the already mentioned prospects in the media.
 
I could definitely see Barcelona chase Courtois. Has La Liga experience, is young and talented. Would fit pretty well. Even if he is hard to pry away from Chelsea. Otherwise they could waste money on someone like Reina.
 
Reina was acting as if he is already apart of Barcelona when putting that shirt on Fabregas, wouldn't be surprised to see him go.
 
Reina's a good shot-stopper, but prone to occasional brain farts and not great at dealing with crosses... just like every other Spanish 'keeper. But Valdes has done perfectly well with that team in front of him so there's no reason to think that Reina wouldn't be just as successful. Bear in mind that Pepe picked up the most number of clean sheets in England for something like four years in a row, despite the fact he was playing for Liverpool!
 
FCBarca said:
I'm with you and Ter Stegen would be that young keeper but we're just armchair managers at the end of the day, aren't we? :D The German looks like an elite keeper to me, drool worthy even

Neuer is a stud too but there's zero chances of that happening as are the Iker rumours.

I just don't think the club will go the youth route. Before Valdes, they had a rotisserie of one keeper after another that never fit. Might just be the hardest fit for this team which again makes me think gambling on a keeper is not the route Zubi will take - they will have to have La Liga experience and more than likely will avoid one without much experience. Even as good as Courtois has looked, he's still relatively inexperienced in La Liga much less Europe. Ter Stegen falls even further behind in that regard, plus he doesn't speak Spanish.

Ondoa is the only cantera keeper that has any shot at first team chances but he's only 17 and is likely years away. Diego Alves hasn't been linked although I prefer him to Guaita who is linked and has actually displaced him with Los Che - despite being initially acquired as the #2. Pepe Reina ticks all the right boxes so he makes good sense, especially financially. Pinto is a terrific backup but I doubt they consider him longterm and could platoon with Reina or a young keeper like Courtois or similar. Still, my best guess is that it will be one of the already mentioned prospects in the media.
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That's quite an interesting take, I do agree that for now Reina is the best choice quite simply put, for lack of anything better available at the moment, and if he can go back to 2 seasons ago then he was putting in performances which IMO made him one of the best on the planet at the time.

Curtois I wouldn't call inexperienced, isn't this his 3rd full season for Atletico? After the other young boy at Atletico was injured (Serjo Asenjo I think) so has been there for quite a while but obviously again DOES lack experience in Europe, but in front of the Barca defense for a year and a year of La Liga thrashings against the smaller teams should help build his confidence.

Ondoa? I have not heard of, I take it he is at the Barca youth academy? What does he look like in terms of prospects? Appreciated keeper is the hardest to judge, especially at such a young age..

How would you feel about a punt on say Jack Butland?
 
Nick 0208 Ldn said:
Valdes in the frame to replace De Gea at United - The Times

:lol: :lol: :lol:

That journo must be on a dare or something.
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I don't think there's any real doubt that Valdes has been the most overrated keeper in football for quite a few years now. It simply amazes me when anybody even considers him one of the top keepers around. If anyone actually believes we're even considering bringing in a keeper that is older than De Gea and arguably not even as good as him, who also makes MORE mistakes than De Gea despite playing within a side that gives him massive amounts of protection, then no offence, but you're slightly mental.
 
Jaybezia said:
That's quite an interesting take, I do agree that for now Reina is the best choice quite simply put, for lack of anything better available at the moment, and if he can go back to 2 seasons ago then he was putting in performances which IMO made him one of the best on the planet at the time.
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That's the question, would it be Reina of 2 years ago or the one of the last 2 years? If he can be had on the cheap, then I imagine that's a gamble the club will roll with


Jaybezia said:
Curtois I wouldn't call inexperienced, isn't this his 3rd full season for Atletico?
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76 appearances which is roughly a season and a half for a Barcelona keeper. Not a knock per se but a reality, not sure if that will work against him in the club's pursuit.


Jaybezia said:
Ondoa? I have not heard of, I take it he is at the Barca youth academy? What does he look like in terms of prospects? Appreciated keeper is the hardest to judge, especially at such a young age..
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Definitely, keepers are hard to gauge at that age really so it's difficult to assess what Ondoa might inevitably be able to contribute in first team football. The cantera really doesn't produce much in the way of keepers and even he's actually a product of the Samuel Eto'O Foundation. Good reflexes, confident/competitive and excellent at passing (long/short). But you know how it is in the youth ranks, positional sense and addressing fks and dead ball situations aren't really developed well enough. He's being promoted to the B team and I suppose that will accelerate his development although he's still a few years away still, IMO.

Jaybezia said:
How would you feel about a punt on say Jack Butland?
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I like watching youth football so I'm somewhat familiar with him. Odds of an English keeper, much less a youth one landing at Barcelona are pretty remote. He's a terrific leader though
 
I thought he was certain to leave but it turns out he's staying another year.
 
Yeah, he's leaving when his contracts up.

I honestly think he wants to go somewhere to prove he's a top 'keeper, or at least better than what he generally gets credit for.
 
Kid Cunto said:
Yeah, he's leaving when his contracts up.

I honestly think he wants to go somewhere to prove he's a top 'keeper, or at least better than what he generally gets credit for.
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Would love to see him in England :lol:
 
He's be a good 'keeper for most clubs. He's probably one of the more underrated players in world footballer. He gets dismissed as shite because he's had so little to do during Barça's dominance.
 
Kid Cunto said:
He's be a good 'keeper for most clubs. He's probably one of the more underrated players in world footballer. He gets dismissed as shite because he's had so little to do during Barça's dominance.
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No I think he is one of the most overrated keepers in the world. The way Barca play sort of doesnt expose him too much in La Liga. If he was to go to a place where football in more open, you are going to be seen his weaknesses more often.
 
He's actually become a very good goalkeeper after a few seasons early in his career of being Barca's weak link. Whoever gets him next year is getting a very good player.

I think City, PSG, Milan and Dortmund should all be after him.
 
Fiskey said:
He's actually become a very good goalkeeper after a few seasons early in his career of being Barca's weak link. Whoever gets him next year is getting a very good player.

I think City, PSG, Milan and Dortmund should all be after him.
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No way will Dortmund replace Weidenfeller. Sirigu has also done quite well for PSG I think.

Arsenal should be in for him too.
 
Sarni said:
No way will Dortmund replace Weidenfeller. Sirigu has also done quite well for PSG I think.

Arsenal should be in for him too.
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You a fan of Weidenfeller? I'm not really.
 
Fiskey said:
You a fan of Weidenfeller? I'm not really.
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He isn't the best keeper in the world but he's fine nonetheless, isn't he basically a legend figure among Dortmund fans?
 
Ahhh, didn't know, I just think Valdes as he is now is better and younger, and his distribution from the back could add a dimension for Dortmund.

I imagine he's looking for a bumper contract though, so would be an expensive option that Dortmund may not want to take.
 
I saw it mentioned quite casually somewhere at the weekend that the main reason for Valdes leaving is that a load of his personal investments have gone wrong and he's trying to make a few quid before he retires. Is this true or just idle gossip?
 
Even if it is, footballers are idiots. Seriously, he'd be making like 80k a week. How much more money does he need?
Brophs said:
I saw it mentioned quite casually somewhere at the weekend that the main reason for Valdes leaving is that a load of his personal investments have gone wrong and he's trying to make a few quid before he retires. Is this true or just idle gossip?
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Swaters16 said:
Even if it is, footballers are idiots. Seriously, he'd be making like 80k a week. How much more money does he need?
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Well if you've just lost all the money you had and have less than 5 years of your career left then you'll be trying to earn every penny that you can earn. For footballers who are used to earning incredible amounts of money €80k a week isn't really that much, I'd imagine their needs when it comes to spending it differ from a normal person.
 
Brophs said:
I saw it mentioned quite casually somewhere at the weekend that the main reason for Valdes leaving is that a load of his personal investments have gone wrong and he's trying to make a few quid before he retires. Is this true or just idle gossip?
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Gossip. The bigger and frankly more credible theory stems from a falling out with Rosell, Zubi & the current board - particularly in terms of the replacement of his goalkeeping coach in the summer of 2012.
 
Just on the lost his money idea. I don't know where you heard it, but someone may well be putting 2 and 2 together and making a story.

There are a lot of tax and fiscal fraud investigations underway in Spanish football. One of the schemes Valdes was involved in basically had him and his mate buying a yacht, and declaring it as a lossmaking yacht rental business. Villa has similar problems over property deals.

I'm guessing some financial advisor operating in Spanish football has basically set up a whole string of dodgy investments that are now being declared to be tax scams. Of course those tax scams where there's property involved have the double whammy of the collapse in property prices in Spain. I don't know how much money Valdes has involved and I doubt he is going to be left poor by the process, but who knows.

However, like FCBarca I suspect it's got more to do with the Barca politics and personnel changes than cash.
 
Even Cruyff recently alluded to the fallout with the board that resulted in both Pep & now Valdes exiting the club. You'll be hard pressed for any of the players let alone Victor confirming this, there's honor in not disparaging the club while you're there. Pep had his outburst ahead of the Thiago transfer, directed at Rosell and the board & Victor may or may not do similar next season at Monaco or wherever he ends up.
 
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