No question recruitment is a perennial issue under the current ownership. We are invariably short, some seasons even more so than others.
We lack a defensive midfielder, an athletic one at that. This issue has always been there but it's just shown itself up more in certain games, the last 2 weeks especially against really athletic sides. Having 4 midfielders for 3 spots we have been thin there all season, and only 1 of the 4 is a real athlete in Dom.
Zubimendi would have helped us in terms of making it 5 midfielders for 3 spots, a much healthier situation in not having to flog Grav all season. However, barring the freshness factor of having more depth with 5 midfielders I'm not convinced he would have made much difference to us in games against the like of PSG and Newcastle. They have athletes in their side, Zubimendi is not that. He is not a powerhouse like Rodri. Think we would still have been overrun. Grav and co. were overrun at Newcastle in December and we cannot use "being goosed" as an excuse there.
PSG were too fast for us, too athletic, too much energy and running power. We lack those players not just in midfield (bar Dom) but up front (especially with a lightweight in jota). Mo no longer has running power, but he has world class technqiue and vision (27 goals and 17 assists attest to that) so you make an exception for him and ensure he has the runners around him.
We do need to have 5 starting options in midfield, and the next one we bring in must be an athletic monster as Dom cannot be the sole provider in midfield of that.
Logged
