Arsyaaa.

I’m being honest, this is simply my opinion. Balde, even at his current level, is better than most of full backs in the world. For me, at Barcelona, two of the most important qualities a full-back can have are being great in the build-up under pressure and being able to carry the ball into the final third. Balde gives you both, even when he isn’t at his best. Secondly, this whole myth among many fans that “Balde never develops” is a joke. Balde in 2024/25 was clearly better than he was in 2022/23 and 2023/24. Anyone saying otherwise has a very short memory. Did he improve last season? No. And yes, he should be working on his actions in the final third and some defensive aspects of his game, but he was never consistently fit in 2025-26. He suffered multiple injuries throughout the season, which obviously affected his development. Regarding Cancelo, I wanted him back at Barcelona more than almost anyone in this fanbase. But the idea, for me, was that Cancelo would complement Balde and give us another weapon. He could start certain games, come off the bench in others, and rotate with Balde so both remain fit throughout the season. Cancelo is obviously much better than Balde in the final third, but he’s also 10 years older and has had far more time to develop his game. You can’t expect Balde to already be at the same level in the final third. Very few full-backs in world football can even compete with Cancelo in the final third because, in many ways, he’s almost a winger. However, Balde is better than Cancelo in the first and second phases of the game. There will be plenty of matches where Cancelo shouldn’t start because Balde’s profile fits what we need much better. And when I look at the alternatives, I understand the decision even less. Pesquer is clearly talented, but physically he simply isn’t ready yet. In my opinion, he needs another year or two before making the full jump into first-team football. Give him time, let him develop properly and gradually introduce him instead of putting that responsibility on him immediately. Salinas is a huge gamble, his experience is in second division and youth football, I can get his signing if he's an addition to what we already have but not replace one of them. Gerard Martin isn’t a good option at left-back either. However, I think he’s a very good centre-back, probably our best CB last season, and that’s the role he should remain in rather than being moved back to LB. And with only a week left in the transfer window, selling Balde or Kounde would be a massive mistake. Everyone will know we desperately need a replacement, which means we’ll most likely end up overpaying for a lower level player and ultimately downgrading the squad. I genuinely believe both Balde and Kounde could look 10 times better in another system that suits their qualities, while whoever we bring in now will most likely not even be at their current level and could easily perform 10 times worse in this system. Selling proven players this late without clear upgrades already lined up makes absolutely no sense to me. I’m a Flick fan. Anyone who follows me knows how much I like him. But Flick isn’t a saint, and when I believe he’s making a mistake, I’m going to say it. It’s as simple as that. Signing Rodri, giving Hamza a chance with the first team, wanting Gordon and Adeyemi, and bringing Cancelo back are all 10/10 decisions from Flick and Deco in my opinion. But when it comes to the full-back situation, I believe they’re making a mistake. What Balde offers is unique. Even if he never develops his final-third game to the level we want, when fully fit, I still believe he’s better than most of the left-backs around the world because of what he gives us in other phases of the game. Kounde should stay too because we need depth. We shouldn’t be removing defenders from this squad. We should be adding one more, a proper left centre-back, while keeping the rest of our defenders. Let’s see what happens.