I think thats maybe a little harsh on Osman, i think probably our best natural footballer, he gets an awful lot of flack on occasions. Osman doesnt obviously offer as much defensive cover but still puts his foot in an awful lot and also supports the attack very well with Gibson as security. Im not familiar with this Benat you speak of. I was thinking more of a player to play off the striker, possibly Barkley when ready, moving Fellaini back besides Gibson, or a replacement for Osman.
Yeh I wasn't meaning to be as harsh on Osman as it sounded. I like him, and he always gives 100%. He was probably MOTM (apart from Kev) on Sunday, but he's 31 - not saying he's finished, but I think it isn't wrong to be thinking about a replacement, hopefully one who can cover both CM and AM (e.g. Holtby, Paulinho or Beñat or maybe even Sissoko from Tolouse - not trying to pick random names, but just think they'd be good for us). I think Barkley needs a good season at Sheff Wed., playing first team football in a very competitive Championship; there's no rush yet with Barkley - he's got 4 years on his deal, so there's nothing wrong with giving him a good year to prove himself instead of just jumping in at the deep end.
And check Beñat out if you can mate. A very good player, had 2 very good seasons at Betis now, pretty much the key player for them, and they are 5th in La Liga at the moment. Think he was injured at the weekend though. Very similar to Arteta, but he's only 25. That Spanish guy off Sky Sports rates him (Guellem Bigalle (sp.) highly as well, and i've watched him a few times over the last year. Traditional no.10.
I suppose if, long term, we were looking to push Felli back (if we can keep him), then somebody like Isco would be a good option, but he would likely cost an arm and a leg and there will be richer teams in for him.
