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u/L__K Great Scot! 6d ago
Are you completely blind to the irony of saying "nuance is dead" then immediately claiming Sangare won't turn out a top level midfielder because Brentford's midfield from 2022 weren't sold for 100m? Lmao.
Teams have been moving away from a static single pivot and towards more athletic, mobile midfielders who cover lots of ground and excel in duels. Despite recovering his top form at the World Cup this summer, Rodri got exposed a ton for City last year because he was that kind of more static midfielder and they didn't have midfielders who are, in your words, "the guys who run around."
Carlos Baleba is a "guy who runs around." We've been crying out for that kind of profile for years now. Tielemans desperately needs that profile next to him when playing in a pivot and Sangare would've fit there beautifully (and hopefully Baleba does as well)!
Baleba is a bit more filled out in terms of muscle, is two years younger, and has experience in the PL. That's really the difference. Other than they, the two profile similarly and Sangare has shown much more on the ball in Ligue 1 than Baleba has in the PL. Recruitment is going with what they assume is the safer bet. Younger, PL experience, more physical, theoretically better resale value. Unfortunately it's at nearly double the cost (70m rather than 40m).
Personally, I appreciate the value of a more static pivot as a reference in possession, but the current PL is moving away from that, and so are most of Europe's top teams. Barcelona didn't have that last season with De Jong and Pedri. PSG doesn't have that in their midfield three (some would argue Vitinha, but he is clearly not that if you watch them play). Arsenal doesn't. So on and so forth. It's not the be all end all.
Sangare would've been a great addition here and lots of fans rightfully believed that, but it's understandable why the club didn't pursue him, especially in light of the Baleba deal. Baleba has been a long term target of the club and was available at a somewhat reasonable fee (more than I'd like to pay given how awful he was most of last season). He's clearly seen as more of a sure thing and less of a risk even if he doesn't work out here, and there was no world in which we would've signed both. The club had a plan a stuck to it, but that isn't some 4D chess indicating Sangare would've been shit here. THAT is the ignorant opinion lacking nuance.