5 positions and the realistic 5 players to fill them ?

JPRouve said:
I think that Kovacic is a good player with a lot of potential and I hope that Real Madrid would sell him for 30m€ since they don't use him at all. As for Umtiti he is a good player and strangely underrated.
Click to expand...

Every time I've seen Lyon in recent time(not that many times granted) they were pretty crap in defence. Maybe I'm wrong but I don't particularly like any of Lyon's defenders.
 
Enigma_87 said:
Every time I've seen Lyon in recent time(not that many times granted) they were pretty crap in defence. Maybe I'm wrong but I don't particularly like any of Lyon's defenders.
Click to expand...

Umtiti is good, the rest are sometimes average and most of the time terrible.
 
JPRouve said:
I think that Kovacic is a good player with a lot of potential and I hope that Real Madrid would sell him for 30m€ since they don't use him at all. As for Umtiti he is a good player and strangely underrated.
Click to expand...

Which we hopefully take advantage of.

tomaldinho1 said:
So frustrating seeing the same hollywood names mentioned on here, why would Bale join us now? Same of Griezmann? If I were a top players agent I would be saying wait till they're back in the CL and you will still get paid a bomb if you want to go next season.

Looking at Mourinho teams I would think we would line up with a variation of:

De Gea
Darmian - Smalling - Van Dijk - Shaw
Kante - Schneiderlin
Willian --- Herrera --- Martial
Ibra

I feel the players in bold are not unrealistic.

Van Dijk is massive, scores goals and is very good with ball at his feet. Solid defender. We can also definitely tempt him from Soton.

Kante - an obvious one, especially given how Mourihno usually sets up his teams

Willian - I rate him massively, he is a big fan of Mou and given Chelsea's awful season we might be able to tempt with big $$$$

Ibra - kind of name we want to see (even if a bit old) and seems be be in great shape still. You can't build a team around him but he will attract other big names and should be good for a couple of season.

Van Dijk - £25mil (Soton will hold firm)
Kante - £15mil
Willian - £30mil
Ibra - free
Click to expand...

Sadly, he has just renewed his contract, so I don't think Southampton are willing to sell. He might have been their best player last year, really liked what I saw when I watched Southampton.



 
Enigma_87 said:
Every time I've seen Lyon in recent time(not that many times granted) they were pretty crap in defence. Maybe I'm wrong but I don't particularly like any of Lyon's defenders.
Click to expand...

What @JPRouve said, he's a lot better than the rest.
 
Enigma_87 said:
How do you guys rate him compared to Marquinhos? He'll probably be much cheaper option
Click to expand...

Marquinhos is the best prospect around, he is the best thing since sliced bread.
 
What I'd like...
Central Defender: Stones or Varane
Central Midfielder: Kante
Attacking Midfielder: James Rodriguez
Right Winger: Leroy Sane
Striker: Zlatan or Morata

What we may get with Jose...
Central Defender: Pepe
Central Midfielder: Matic
Attacking Midfielder: Portugese Mendez client we've never heard of
Right Winger: Saido Mane
Striker: Zlatan
 
Central Defender: Varane £35m
Central Midfielder: Pogba £60m
Right Winger: Sane £30m
Striker: Zlatan free transfer

DDG
Darmian Smalling Varane Shaw
Schneiderlin
Rooney Pogba
Sane Zlatan Martial​
 
Ibrahimovic
Martial Mane Sane
Matic Rooney
Shaw Stones Smalling Valencia
De Gea

That looks like a good Mourinho side to me.
 
the hea said:
Central Defender: Varane £35m
Central Midfielder: Pogba £60m
Right Winger: Sane £30m
Striker: Zlatan free transfer

DDG
Darmian Smalling Varane Shaw
Schneiderlin
Rooney Pogba
Sane Zlatan Martial​
Click to expand...

Absolutely no chance of this. When Woodward comes by, prices soar sky high.
 
bucky said:
Which we hopefully take advantage of.



Sadly, he has just renewed his contract, so I don't think Southampton are willing to sell. He might have been their best player last year, really liked what I saw when I watched Southampton.
Click to expand...

Annoying but we have a lot of money...
 
I expect us to continue our pursuit of a big transfer. We will have a nibble at Neymar, make an offer for Pogba, and end up settling for James Rodriguez.

We know Mourinho is a huge fan of both Varane and Stones, but I don't see Real Madrid parting ways with the former, and I still think City will snap up the Everton man. That leaves us with a bit of a dilemma. We will probably spend all summer chasing Marquinos, only to settle for someone like Dragovic, Umtiti or Mustafi.

Likewise, we'll chase Pogba all summer, but settle for someone like Krychowiak, who looks very much like a Mourinho-type signing. This will leave us with a solid midfield lacking in creativity, with a heavy burden on the likes of Herrera and Schweinsteiger to link the attack.

I also think we'll reignite our interest in Sadio Mane, a player that Mourinho has suffered at first hand a number of times during his second spell at Chelsea. He's only got two years left on his contract so I do think that they'll sell, and he'll play mostly from the right for us.

Then in attack, it seems inevitable that we'll sign Ibrahimovic.
 
De Gea
Mensah....Smalling....Varane....Shaw
Rooney......Bastian
James
Sane.........................................Martial
Zlatan

Make it happen​
 
Varane/Stones
Griezman/Sane/Mahrez
Rodriguez
Zlatan

Those are the names I think might be possible... Ronaldo and Pogba are really long shots and probably not worth mentioning since I'd be put in the muppet locker by all of you ;)
 
In order of preference:

CB: Marquinhos, Varane, Umtiti
MF: Pogba, Pjanic, Gomes, Joao Mario
RW\AM: Mikhtaryan, Sane, Embolo*
ST: Ibrahimovic, Lacazette, Embolo*

* primarily a wide-right forward as I understand.
 
Centre back
My first choice would be Varane, Mourinho rates him highly and he has sky high potential. However if he's a Zidane favourite and Real don't want to let him go then I'd settle for Stones if we can get him for a "reasonable" amount. Basically I think we should opt for a young, athletic, ball playing defender to compliment Smalling.

Centre mid/CAM
This depends on what formation we'll play. If it's a 4231 then we may look at a new #10 since logic would suggest Mourinho won't be satisfied with Mata and Rooney will be a centre mid option from now on. In that case the dream would be Griezmann, however of all the targets we've been linked with he's probably the most unobtainable. If it came down to it I think I'd actually prefer Mane to James as with Zlatan I think we'll do best to surround him with pace and when he drops deep we need that #10 to be able to sprint in behind.

If we play 433 then I'm not really sure what CM would be ideal because it depends on where Jose deploys his current options, so with muppet mode engaged I'll take Pogba please.

Right winger
Our most crucial signing to get right this summer since our right side is a waste land. It's hard to look past Mahrez as player of the year but if Sane really is a right sided Martial then that wouldn't be the worst option.

Striker
Zlatan.
 
Do people prefer James to Isco if both are available, or do we assume that James would be easier to get? If both are available at roughly the same price, I'd definitely prefer Isco. Seems to have a better attitude and more versatility.
 
@Riz
Your reasoning is very, very similar to what I used for my team (post #413).

Athletic, ball playing CB? Yes please. Stones is the most talented British centre back since Ferdinand and fits the bill perfectly.
#10. Agree we need pace in attack, especially if we sign Ibrahimovic. Mane is as fast as Martial, scores goals and works hard.
Right wing. Definitely the weakest part of our current team. I went with Sane over Mahrez because he is slightly faster and with the AFCON in January it doesn't seem sensible to risk losing two attackers at the same time.
Forward. Not that keen on Ibrahimovic personally but in the right set-up he could work. I do like that he's free, has a good relationship with Mourinho and won't block Rashford's development.
I also added Matic because he's another Mourinho favourite and I like the idea of having a big, powerful team for a change! Conte is supposed to be very keen on bringing Nainggolan to Chelsea so there's a reasonable chance he would be available.
 
settembrini said:
#10. Agree we need pace in attack, especially if we sign Ibrahimovic. Mane is as fast as Martial, scores goals and works hard.
Click to expand...
Exactly, not sure why everyone is so against the idea. In a hard working Mourinho team I think he'd excel. The simplest way I can put it is that if I was a centre back and had to concentrate on keeping Zlatan fecking Ibrahimovic quiet whilst also not neglecting to help my fullback out with Martial since he has to be doubled up on and all the while Mane is buzzing around... I'd shit it.

He's probably available for a decent fee and should slot in right away. Flexible enough to cover right wing and possibly be a 3rd choice striker as well. Go for it I say if we can't get someone of the calibre of Griezmann.
 
Some of you are way too optimistic in your "realistic players to fill them" Pogba and Varane will not be purchased unless it's for an outlandish (as in record for the position) sum. Real Madrid and Juventus don't need to sell and there's no transfer request in La Liga or Serie A.

Realistic signings IMO

Kalidou Koulibaly (most underrated CB in world. Prefer him to Stones and he will be cheaper)
Zlatan (free transfer)
Kante
James (no place for him at RM at the moment. And Mendes client)
Mahrez
 
It's only 4 positions really. Right back I think Valencia is perfect for under Mourinho, and Darmian can do a good job there as his back up. Valencia on form is probably the best right back in the league because of how beastly he is physically (and there aren't too many decent right backs apart from Bellerin, but he has the same weaknesses as Valencia pretty much as well as being a lot weaker).

Striker: Ibrahimovic - Free
Right Wing: James/Sane/Mahrez - 40-55m
Center Mid: Pogba/Mario/Matic - 80-100m if it's pogba. 35m otherwise.
Center Back: Stones/Marquinhos - 35-45m.

So total of like 120m at the very least, and 180-200m if it's Pogba for midfield. Definitely feel these are all realistic players apart and the players we have actually been linked with. Pogba is the long shot but with Mourinho there is a chance for sure.
 
bosnian_red said:
It's only 4 positions really. Right back I think Valencia is perfect for under Mourinho, and Darmian can do a good job there as his back up. Valencia on form is probably the best right back in the league because of how beastly he is physically (and there aren't too many decent right backs apart from Bellerin, but he has the same weaknesses as Valencia pretty much as well as being a lot weaker).

Striker: Ibrahimovic - Free
Right Wing: James/Sane/Mahrez - 40-55m
Center Mid: Pogba/Mario/Matic - 80-100m if it's pogba. 35m otherwise.
Center Back: Stones/Marquinhos - 35-45m.

So total of like 120m at the very least, and 180-200m if it's Pogba for midfield. Definitely feel these are all realistic players apart and the players we have actually been linked with. Pogba is the long shot but with Mourinho there is a chance for sure.
Click to expand...

Agree with you about the 4 players. Also, I think Mourinho should go for the best ones available. So Varane, Pogba, Griezmann and Kane should be out targets, hoping we can sign at least one of them. Then, we can go for quality players like Laporte, Stones, Marquinhos, James, Sane, Mahrez, Zlatan, among others. 4 top players would make a big difference, mainly because I expected some of our players to improve next summer under Mourinho.
 
Fer said:
Agree with you about the 4 players. Also, I think Mourinho should go for the best ones available. So Varane, Pogba, Griezmann and Kane should be out targets, hoping we can sign at least one of them. Then, we can go for quality players like Laporte, Stones, Marquinhos, James, Sane, Mahrez, Zlatan, among others. 4 top players would make a big difference, mainly because I expected some of our players to improve next summer under Mourinho.
Click to expand...
And not to mention that other players would improve having world class players like Ibrahimovic around them. Ibra I think is as good as done, so we are set up top I think. Leaves us needing a right winger, a midfielder and a center back as urgent needs.

Manolas, Varane and Stones seem to be the most mentioned names for CB, and I think we have a good chance to sign any of the 3.
Not sure who we'll get for the other 2 positions, but I have no doubt that Mourinho will go for James/Griezmann to have a top player on that side or as the 10. Would be exciting if we got either of them, though Griezmann is obviously the preference.
 
Are the media following this thread and using it to base its rumours on? Because there's a pretty close correlation.
 
Mourinho attracts big players, so I'm gonna get ahead of myself here.

CB: Varane or Stones
CM: Pogba
RM: Hulk or James
ST: Zlatan
 
right back - Seamus Coleman
a centre back - John Stones
a left back - Luke Shaw fit again
a midfield dynamo - Tim Fosu Mensah
and a goal scorer - Zlatan Ibrahimovich

Out of the 5 positions, we have 2 solutions already here. Back JoMo to get the best out of Shaw, CBJ, Fosu & co.
 
RedMilo said:
right back - Seamus Coleman
a centre back - John Stones
a left back - Luke Shaw fit again
a midfield dynamo - Tim Fosu Mensah
and a goal scorer - Zlatan Ibrahimovich

Out of the 5 positions, we have 2 solutions already here. Back JoMo to get the best out of Shaw, CBJ, Fosu & co.
Click to expand...
I think Valencia, Darmian and Varela for next season is okay.
I would also like to see Fosu-Mensah in our midfield. Zlatan looks like the best option available. I still have my doubts on Stones, but he has potential to be a good CB.

What about right winger?
Do you think Lingard/Mata is enough?
 
Sparky Rhiwabon said:
Are the media following this thread and using it to base its rumours on? Because there's a pretty close correlation.
Click to expand...

It's the other way around. As soon as we begin getting linked with someone via the media, posters immediately spam numerous linueps with the aforementioned player included in their fantasy team. Roll back a few pages and it's all Sanches, Saul and Griezmann and now it's Sane, Pogba, James (interspersed with Fer's never-ending transfer inquisition, obviously).
 
De Gea
Valencia - Smalling - Stones - Shaw
Schneiderlin - Matic
Mane - Rooney - Martial
Ibrahimovic
​
Not the players I would buy, but that looks like a Mourinho`s team.
 
We seem to be linked to a lot of Portuguese central midfielders at the moment, for my money there's really not a great deal between Joao Mario, Adrien Silva, Andre Andre and Andre Gomes, other than the fact that Joao Mario can play on the right wing as well. I personally prefer the looks of William Carvalho and Danilo Pereira. They are more of the destroyer/enforcer mould, but I do think we should be signing that type of player. Between Carrick, Rooney and Herrera, we've got passing midfielders covered who can spread play. Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger are the more roaming and pressing types who'll lay off the safe pass.

A midfield three of Rooney, Schneiderlin and Carvalho/Danilo for big games makes me pretty confident in ball winning and pressing, and a three of Carvalho/Danilo, Rooney and Herrera really gives the latter two license to push forward and pass through the defence whilst they have security sitting in behind them.

I think the likes of Joao Mario, Adrien Silva, Andre Andre and Andre Gomes offer similar passing ability to Herrera with only marginally more tackling ability and generally less pace, with the exception of Joao Mario. But that's only my opinion, it sounds like a fair few here would like to see Joao Mario join us. Andre Andre and Adrien Silva are probably the most developed players right now, as the others are a few years younger, so it may end up as finished article vs potential for Jose (if he even goes for any of them) and there's also Ruben Neves who is only 18 and looks like he could mature into a good all-round midfielder too.

With Saul Niguez having recently signed a new contract at Atletico, Pogba being one of the more expensive purchases in world football, and Koke's availability relatively uncertain, one of the Portuguese options may be more likely. Off the top of my head, we've only really been linked to Kante, Matic, Pjanic and Kroos outside of those guys. Kante would also be excellent, as last season's stats have proved - he really knows how to recover the ball and force possession turnover. Pjanic is more mobile than Kroos and both are probably passing upgrades on Herrera, but work better as more distinct #10's in a 4-2-3-1 in my eyes. Matic is solid defensively but his confidence appears to be wrecked after the season Chelsea have had and the preference for Mikel when he lost form.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.