Even if we don't get Araujo (which is likely), a RB/CB hybrid seems to be on the cards. Added to the fact Diego Carlos is probably on his way out, suggest to me a defensive tweak by Emery.
It’s because of FFP. Selling Ramsey for even £50m means we’d have an FFP profit of £250m. Whereas we’d need to sell Digne for about £12m just to break even.
These links to Araujo and the links to Hermoso, I wonder is Emery planning a change to the set up at the back? Similar to Pep and Arteta who don’t play traditional full backs.
I think you’re getting two hung up on the term “DM”. Luiz and Kamara are both DMs for example, but completely different. You rightly compare Barley to Youri, who has played quite a bit for us in the pivot, so no reason why RB can’t play deeper in certain games.
We don’t necessarily need a Kamara type DM for every game. We need players that can receive the ball in midfield, turn and either run into or pass into space. RB can definitely do that, as he’s shown this season.