I don't get the second point though Zat. I agree with your first but we definitely play with
Goalkeeper (well, nobody here if Howard is playing)
Back four
McCarthy --- Barry
Wide Right --- Barkley --- Wide Left
Lukaku
Both Barry and McCarthy make runs forward while the other one sits deep. We don't play with one of them rigidly sitting and the other one doing the legwork.
McCarthy is at his best going forward when he bursts forward making a third-man run, and he's at his best defensively when nipping into challenges, with Barry sweeping up and then kick-starting our attacks.
If we want a playmaker for that 'CM' position as you put it, then we already have one in the form of Barkley who could develop into that player with ease, which would mean buying a player who can play anywhere in the three behind the forward to allow Barkley to drop deep.
However, I also think Besic is going to go on to become that player in terms of a deep-lying playmaker. He often does that for Bosnia.
Im actually suffering from illness since the weekend so wont go to deep here.....
Barry is basically a central "pivot", mirroring the Busquets position fo Barca. He's in a unique position there and of the current squad i think only Besic could have the various abilities to perform that role.
We dont know about Besic positional ability but in every interview he talks about "learning". We either need to use Besic in that role OR find another player who can be the "new Barry" or better still, the "new Busquets".
So, lets look beyond Barry --who would compete with Besic for the position? Right now no-one.
So for me lets say we went out and signed a single player for central midfield who "could" develop into this player. You have Tielemans in belgium who is still very young and enormous potential yet is available for the right price....then Neves as Porto who is also very young but now club captain which shows not only leadership but discipline.
Both of these players can be signed to play CM or even DM and it will mean game time for them as part of a young team and squad. If signed in the summer we could have Barry mentor them for a season (and maybe beyond as a coach) to become the new "Pivot".
Its such a specialist position, the other optioj which i would be amazed if we pulled off would be Saul Niguez from Atletico. He for me is the closest to Busquests in Spain BUT i should temper all this by saying ive not watched all of these guys 50+ times each and only dare i say 5-10 times for the kids and Jiguez maybe 15-20 times i took an interest.
If Barry goes we will probably just change our style like martinez has commented before and others have posted quotes on the topic.....but now with tv and moshiri we could replace him and those Tielemans links in Jan may not be so far fetched as the Niguez links for several years