Jean Seri
There were rumours at the end of last season that Seri could move to Barcelona. These soon subsided, though, because it became obvious that Verratti was the main target. Other teams have since been targeting him with Roma coming closest to reaching an agreement. This has quieted down recently, so there may be a chance for the Catalans to sneak in.
The talented Ivorian had an excellent season, so it’s easy to see why he was linked in the first place. His incisiveness and calming presence in the midfield allowed Nice to challenge for the title with them eventually finishing third.
In Ligue 1, Seri had a pass success percentage of 89.5% with 83.4 average passes per match. He also directly contributed with seven goals and nine assists in 34 games. Although, two of those goals were penalties. His ability to cut through the opposition lines with his passing is supported by his average of 2.2 key passes and 0.3 through balls per game.
Out of the three players, Seri is closest to Verratti in terms of statistics. He even matches the Italian in terms of long balls per game (4.7 compared to Verratti’s 4.5). Combine his ability to find the killer ball with the movement of the M-S-N trio and you have a potentially deadly combination.
The only major issue with the Ivorian is his lack of experience on the big stage which is the Champions League. He played in the Europa League last season, but Nice prioritized the league, so they were poor. However, he did play well in key games in the league such as the 4-0 win over Monaco and the 2-0 win over Lyon.