Funes Mori: Barça and Chelsea talk is just rumours

I really don’t think he is Barcelona quality but maybe he is? Spain is the obvious destination for him because of the language. Much easier than scouse.

He lived most of his life in the USA.

He’s only just starting to stake a claim in our defence. Maybe after another season in the Premier League with the Blues pushing on, then maybe he may become a target.

But for me I think any potential suitors will firmly have their eyes on Stones, despite TW fans recently hammering him.

Give him some credit! He's settled in well and the rumour mongers start talking to the future.

Get a grip, he's only just arrived and he's off to pastures new???

I despair at some of the negative comments I read! Let's have some positivites.

Waiting for the backlash!!!

Reminds me slightly of Fellaini. He and his agent father continuously talked about the interest of the ’big clubs’ until one of them bit.

Jeeps, in those days, you couldn’t even phone. When I got back my girlfriend was engaged to another bloke.

Unless he makes a big fuss about wanting out, I think we’ll keep him. No-one would realistically offer more than say £15-20m even with next season’s inflated prices (TV deal)...

So it's still John Stones and Lukaku who I feel would be the more likely departures.

I interpreted those comments about leaving River Plate as he should've stayed for the World Club Cup. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him to play in that competition.

Players can be good and do well without necessarily being at a glamour club but the media seems intent that nobody is allowed to be anywhere but...

As for the transfer speculation, the future will take care of that situation, but there is no doubt his performances are bound to attract other clubs.

I believe he is better than Stones and is a better defender alongside Jagielka. For me, Stones would be better in front of the back four, a bit like Carrick. £50 mill? Not yet.

"Chelsea and Barcelona are rumours. When someone brings that up, it's because you're doing well. When I was at River, there was a rumour that Everton wanted me and it happened."

That could be read as saying the Chelsea rumour might bear fruit.

I should have been so lucky! (Mr Editor, please delete this post after noon today - my wife will be back in after retiling the roof and repointing the chimney stack and she always checks my posts).

By all accounts, many football people in Europe and South America are amazed with how he has managed to adjust so quickly to the high speed rigours of the Premier League and I'll bet they're pretty proud of their boy back home in Argentina. His elder brother was the one with all the natural talent but didn't have the mentality to handle it. Ramiro, on the other hand, is handling things just fine.

Other things I like about him are his ability to sense danger and his constant use of both feet throughout the game. If certain team-mates used both feet they wouldn't slow our tempo by continually passing the way their strong foot is pointing. In most instances this is sideways and back.

Although my general contributions to this site place me firmly at odds with whining pessimists on most occasions, I must admit to thinking it was an incredible fee for a guy we knew nothing about.

Tim Vickery's assessment of him, and the examples of other players Martinez brought from South America who flopped badly had me wondering what was going on, especially when it was Yarmolenko we all wanted to spend our money on last summer.

However, I would say (have said for a while now) that he is the best of our three centre backs. As far as I'm concerned Jagielka and Stones are in competition to play alongside him.

Plays for Monterrey in Mexico, 16 goals in 24 games. Looks good on YouTube (as they all do), strong two footed, one clip shows a Panenka nay Stones/Barkley penalty.

The problem with the transfer from River Plate was that he was entitled to a slice of any transfer fee as per his contract. Normally, that slice would come out of the selling club's take, not added to the fee that the buying club would have to pay.

I wonder what does Tim Vickery think of these latest rumours.

How is anyone supposed to plan and progress?

George Best was a genius with either foot and a lot of that , not all obviously, was down to hard work and practice. When I played, many years ago I could use both feet. Okay, I was shit with both, but I was equally shit.

He took Stones’ spot. His experience at River Plate, a very prestigious club in South American soccer, plus his nearly seamless integration into Everton, as well as his inclusion on the national team that is in the top tier, would seem to suggest he is undervalued. Next season. I would expect him to get offers from bigger Spanish and German clubs, who might then loan him out for a season or two.

I believe he, not Stones, has a long career ahead as a center-back. Sell Stones and buy Funes Mori – like this kid.

As I say, very few players are truly two-footed...and I can only think of Santi Carzola at Arsenal who really has that gift.

As Harold said, Rogelio was the star of the future and Ramiro "the brother of..." The problem was that Rogelio made his first games in the first team too young and in an awful moment for River Plate. So, he had bad games and the fans never forgive him.

Then, when it was time for Ramiro, who had the "karma" of being a Funes Mori but, unlike his brother, Ramiro could handle the situation with a lot of confidence.

Despite playing well, he was still "the least awful Funes Mori" until his famous goal against Boca. From that moment, the Ramiro performances skyrocketed and he become first a cult hero and then one of the most loved players at River in the last decades. If you do a search on Twitter within a River plate game, you will find a lot of River fans missing Ramiro.

Meanwhile Rogelio is playing really well, I think he has the level to play in Europe. It would be funny to watch Rogelio vs Ramiro leaping like salmons to a corner kick.

In order to do that, and it obviously makes sense, you need pace at both ends of the pitch. Currently we have that in Lukaku, Deulofeu and Lennon. We have no real pace in the current back 4. When we last won the league, we had both Gary Stevens and Kevin Ratcliffe who had the pace to cover from either side when we pushed to the half-way line.

I would suggest that, as we seek to improve the squad and the first eleven, we desperately need to buy in some defensive pace, preferably at centre-back. In saying this, I am not decrying Funes Mori – he has great positional sense in either box and will stop and score goals for us as a result. He's my choice over Stones.

In the meantime, one way we can overcome the stretch involved in sitting deeper to guard against balls over the top would be to have one (or more) player(s) in central-ish midfield waiting for the breakdown when we are defending who does have pace. This would mean that forward players would not have to stand still or come short to take the ball from defence or midfield but could get on their bike, either forward or across the back-four, a nightmare for defenders. This draws the defence away and gives a quick player space to run into and isolated players to run at.

Two players could do it: Lennon or Deulofeu. They could be asked to drop in there with that intention when selected wide right but I’d be interested to see what might happen if they were to get the last half-hour of a game doing that in the hole instead of Barkley.

Surely, Lennon or Deulofeu can just as easily break forward, at pace, with the ball from out wide? Easier in fact.

Where’s the benefit in removing Barkley from the middle (who is no slouch himself, is physically stronger and can hold onto it better than either of those two as well) or... if they constantly ’drop in’ as you suggest...having no option out wide when the break is on? I don’t see that it would add anything extra at either end of the pitch.

The Barcelona move would make sense. He’s better than Bartra and Mathieu. The guy they bought from Arsenal, although crocked most of last season has made few appearances. Mascherano has improved dramatically but Funes Mori would be good for Pique in the long run.

Obviously I would prefer Funes Mori stays where he is.

Receiving the ball with your back to the touch-line limits your options against a savvy defender. Receiving it centrally gives the option to go either way.

Secondly, I’m not arguing to start a game without Barkley in this context, rather to give Lennon or Deulofeu half-an-hour in that central role at the end of a game when (if we are ever) comfortably ahead.

Taking the ball with your heels on the touchline gives you one option; taking it in central midfield gives you at least two. On the wing one defender can make a stab at holding you up, centrally it's a foul or embarrassment.

Not saying don’t play Barkley but in a game where we are comfortably ahead, if that happy state is reached, maybe on Tuesday, who knows, sub him for Deulofeu. I am assuming Lennon will start.

Harold, agreed that pace is not essential but, without it at the back, you don’t have the option to push up against pace and options are limited. In terms of forward options, we all remember what Gary Linker and Andrei Kanchelskis did for the opposition’s piece of mind. Where would Leicester be this season without Jamie Vardy’s pace?

Peter, Jagielka and Coleman may be speedy but Stevens and Ratcliffe could catch pigeons in flight. The lack of real pace at the back against Bournemouth meant that the presence of King, an otherwise average player, dictated the way we had to defend.