I think Sevilla asked for his price and the response was 40m? That would comfortably smash the transfer record and Monchi probably thought it was too much.
The most head-scratching decision is why did we let Gil and Pozo play against us, both thrived and showed what could have been, but as mentioned the lack of defined style and loss of Banega along with Reguilon really robbed the main foul-getter and attacking outlet of the team. Rakitic did not need to play that role at Barca and is evidently like a fish out of water here, might need some adjusting but as of now Suso would be the chief go-to guy. Oscar should be able to do a similar if not more advanced role but needs consistent minutes to get his rhythm going.
I know someone mentioned that Navas has to play or else the team would be handicapped, I get that but it doesn’t mean he needs to play every single minute of every match, I would be comfortable starting Vidal in this match and only put on Navas at halftime if things weren’t going right. Sending Pozo out on loan and adding Vidal into the squad meant both Monchi and Lope knew he could contribute and the stats from last season showed while he’s not the Vidal of 2015 he can still be a serviceable player. If Monchi really doesn’t like the alternatives then why not go for a backup like the ones we identified such as Corona? He must have a list of potential targets on hand.
I know having Idrissi would be a welcome addition on the left but he hasn’t played in La Liga and is coming back from injury so to expect him to hit the ground running is a bit unrealistic, give him time and hope that Ocampos gets his head back into place, him and Suso on the wings work, just need a third player to get the oppositions attention and pull the strings from deep.
Ruts are inevitable so while the results are disappointing there’s no need to panic just yet, the team still has the away draw versus Chelsea to build on but if they fail to get a positive result against Rennais and Bilbao questions will be asked.