I’m not saying that I agree with the budget but if you check back the last few seasons at the net spend it’s not going much above 75m. So we can moan all we like but that’s where we’re at
6 realistic signings to improve us?
- Thread starter Schmeichel's Cartwheel
- Start date
Is it unrealistic to expect to see some the following to be shipped off, and for these fees...?
Pogba 100m
Martial 60m
Lingard 25m
Smalling 25m
Bailly 25m
Pereira 20m
Matic 15m
Jones 10m
Mata 5m
In theory, at least, we should have a VERY significant Summer budget
Pogba 100m
Martial 60m
Lingard 25m
Smalling 25m
Bailly 25m
Pereira 20m
Matic 15m
Jones 10m
Mata 5m
In theory, at least, we should have a VERY significant Summer budget
I think most of your suggested prices are about 10% on the high side; but OK it's an inflated market. I strongly disagree with your pricing of Lingard, Bailly, and Pereira. It's close to twice their worth. Who will buy them and why? They're nearer 12m - 18m. Bailly has been out injured too often. That wrecks a players development and is a big worry for the buying club. Lingard and Pereira perform indifferently every match; a manager will only get them for some bizarre tactical plan. I don't want to see them at OT next season, so I'd take much lower prices than you.
Apart form Bailly, Lingard and Pereira, it's unrealistic to think we will get 100m for Pogba. He's not played for nearly 6 months and the buying clubs only want to part exchange their dross for him.
Mata is still too useful to sell for only 5m. But he's the only one you under-priced.
Smalling and Matic are worth exactly that. Jones is closer to 8m (due to the injury record).
I'm just the "Average one", but we were talking realistic, so here it is in my opinion.
I think we lack depth in quality squad players along with specialists. I think we need to pick up bargain players Ryan Frasier (Free), Mertens (Free), Grealish (45m), Ziyech (40m) and get rid of Matic, Jones, Lingard, Pereira. With Pogba leaving, Van De Beek (60m) & Moussa Dembele (45m)
I highly doubt we can attract the likes of Werner and Sancho since they will be craving CL football and I don't think we will be able to offer that.
Bruno, Van De Beek, Grealish, Fred, and McTominay would be a hardworking midfield with flair. These are players with the United mentality.
The more I watch Martial, the more I'm convinced that he's a quality player from the bench. My front three would be Rashford, Dembele & Ziyech in my starting 11. James, Martial, Frasier, and Mertens are good replacements to come on in the second half.
As for the defense, I think we need to wait for the second window to get a CB. Although, I do feel that Tuanzebe and Bailly coming back may deter the need of another CB.
I highly doubt we can attract the likes of Werner and Sancho since they will be craving CL football and I don't think we will be able to offer that.
Bruno, Van De Beek, Grealish, Fred, and McTominay would be a hardworking midfield with flair. These are players with the United mentality.
The more I watch Martial, the more I'm convinced that he's a quality player from the bench. My front three would be Rashford, Dembele & Ziyech in my starting 11. James, Martial, Frasier, and Mertens are good replacements to come on in the second half.
As for the defense, I think we need to wait for the second window to get a CB. Although, I do feel that Tuanzebe and Bailly coming back may deter the need of another CB.
If our wonderful owners are remotely bothered about competing with City and Liverpool...
The word realistic is the sticking point here. The club could fund a massive overhaul in playing staff this summer if the desire was there to do so, but as we have seen it is not...
The main areas I think we need to look at are CF, RW, CM. These would be my priorities with option of LB and CB to be considered too.
CF - I think Luka Jovic would be a good option, and I would imagine we can structure the deal around a loan with an option to buy
RW - Sancho is the dream signing here. Not sure if realistic mind, but I would be putting in major effort to bring him in and convince him he can be the main to bring us back to the top. Give him #7 shirt too to try and sweeten the deal, and throw a bucket-load of cash at him for good measure
CM - We need someone new to sit and screen the defence. I like Ndidi but he will be hard to obtain. Maybe Partey from Atleti?
CM - I think we need another body here, possibly Zaniolo from Roma where we could use Smalling as a part of the deal. Perhaps someone like Rakitic could come and do well on a shorter term deal. Grealish too is a good option if the price is not insane which I imagine it will be regardless of Villa going down or not.
LB - Chilwell looks good, but being a Leicester we know we have to front up a huge sum of money. I think we could leave Shaw and Williams to compete this next season and review the following summer personally.
CB - Lindelof is not good enough for me and should be replaced if possible. I would like Axel to replace him, but if not then Koulibaly would be my first choice despite his advancing years I do think him and Maguire would be a formidable partnership. Strong in the air, decent with the ball and can attack a corner.
DDG
AWB Koulibaly Maguire Williams
Ndidi
Bruno Pogba
Sancho Jovic Rashford
A team like that would go long way to bridging the gap to the top.
I obviously don't believe any of this will happen or anything like it will either. We will get the same excuses that such an amount of signings cannot be done, its the euros, etc etc etc
The main areas I think we need to look at are CF, RW, CM. These would be my priorities with option of LB and CB to be considered too.
CF - I think Luka Jovic would be a good option, and I would imagine we can structure the deal around a loan with an option to buy
RW - Sancho is the dream signing here. Not sure if realistic mind, but I would be putting in major effort to bring him in and convince him he can be the main to bring us back to the top. Give him #7 shirt too to try and sweeten the deal, and throw a bucket-load of cash at him for good measure
CM - We need someone new to sit and screen the defence. I like Ndidi but he will be hard to obtain. Maybe Partey from Atleti?
CM - I think we need another body here, possibly Zaniolo from Roma where we could use Smalling as a part of the deal. Perhaps someone like Rakitic could come and do well on a shorter term deal. Grealish too is a good option if the price is not insane which I imagine it will be regardless of Villa going down or not.
LB - Chilwell looks good, but being a Leicester we know we have to front up a huge sum of money. I think we could leave Shaw and Williams to compete this next season and review the following summer personally.
CB - Lindelof is not good enough for me and should be replaced if possible. I would like Axel to replace him, but if not then Koulibaly would be my first choice despite his advancing years I do think him and Maguire would be a formidable partnership. Strong in the air, decent with the ball and can attack a corner.
DDG
AWB Koulibaly Maguire Williams
Ndidi
Bruno Pogba
Sancho Jovic Rashford
A team like that would go long way to bridging the gap to the top.
I obviously don't believe any of this will happen or anything like it will either. We will get the same excuses that such an amount of signings cannot be done, its the euros, etc etc etc
I agree with pretty much all of the sentiment here.
I don't necessarily know the suitability of the players mentioned but defintely agree with the areas and type of players.
The name Sancho comes up a lot and i'm struggling to see it in reality - would be a huge deal and he's already competing for league titles and champions league.
There is financial appeal for him and we have convinced Pogba/Zlatan and a few others to join us when we havent exactly been title contenders.
I think the Sancho deal is massive for us - he is truly a game changer and a proper talent. One of the worlds best prospects. It would be a massive statement and absolutely transform us.
So for me, he's the benchmark. We need to try and get him if he is available.
For me, we also need more quality around the squad and not every single transfer can be a huge deal or a big name. We need to be smart as there are still some deadwood to go.
So my 6:
1. Sancho (Absolute ideal signing. Can play RW, where we have been weak for about a million seasons. Can also float around other attacking areas - adds star quality and depth)
2. Grealish (Given Villa may go down, i think Grealish will be available in the summer. He's a flair player who offers us something we dont have. He enhances the attacking midfield area, he replaces Lingard who has to be sold and stops us overly relying on Mata. He'd be good signing)
3. K.Phillips (Has been a solid DM for Leeds and looks assured on the ball. He's energetic and sharp in the tackle. Looks a tidy player. Would be pushing McTom/Fred/Matic which is exactly what we need given Matics age and decline and injuries. We cannot keep playing Periera deep. We need quality depth around the CM/DM area. He'd be a perfect signing
4. Donny Van Der Beek. Another CM - but for me much needed. The volume of games is huge and we have suffered with lack of squad depth. He's a cut above what we have and his workrate in the middle of the park is something we need.
5. Zapata. A striker, much needed to mix up play/rotate with Martial. We seem to only user Martial as CF and that cannot continue. Rashford will operate off the left and Greenwood can also rotate between wide and CF. Zapata offers a more direct style of play and is much more clinical than anything we have
6. Jonathan Tah. A CB. Do we need a CB instantly came to my mind, but for me its still a weak area. Maguire's been ok but not spectacular but i do feel he'd be a lot better with a more assured partner. We have tons of CB's, but most have been here a while and arent the answer moving forward. So Jones, Rojo and Smalling cannot be considered even squad players in my eyes. That leaves Maguire, Bailly, Lindelof and Tuanzebe. We need a starting CB, Lindelof is decent, but hasnt impressed me enough. Bailly is so injury prone and Tuanzebe is still emerging.
Conclusions:
I get its highly unlikely we are actually able to recruit 6 players in 1 window, especially the quality of the players above.
But if we could have a rotation of the below:
Attack:
Rashford/Zapata/James/Greenwood/Martial/Sancho
Midfield:
Fernandes/McTom/Fred/Grealish/Phillips/Van Der Beek/Matic/Mata
I've based some of the above on the below leaving:
Lingard/Pogba/Smalling/Sanchez/Jones/Rojo
Starting 11 could be:
DDG
AWB - Tah - Maguire - Shaw
Fred - Van Der Beek
Fernandes
Sancho - Martial - Rashford
With a quality bench
2nd x11
Romero
Dalot - Lindelof - Tuanzebe - Williams
Phillips - McTom
Grealish
Greenwood - Zapata - James
You could even play Grealish wide left, with Mata coming in etc. Lots of variation and squad depth - and much better quality.
There is financial appeal for him and we have convinced Pogba/Zlatan and a few others to join us when we havent exactly been title contenders.
I think the Sancho deal is massive for us - he is truly a game changer and a proper talent. One of the worlds best prospects. It would be a massive statement and absolutely transform us.
So for me, he's the benchmark. We need to try and get him if he is available.
For me, we also need more quality around the squad and not every single transfer can be a huge deal or a big name. We need to be smart as there are still some deadwood to go.
So my 6:
1. Sancho (Absolute ideal signing. Can play RW, where we have been weak for about a million seasons. Can also float around other attacking areas - adds star quality and depth)
2. Grealish (Given Villa may go down, i think Grealish will be available in the summer. He's a flair player who offers us something we dont have. He enhances the attacking midfield area, he replaces Lingard who has to be sold and stops us overly relying on Mata. He'd be good signing)
3. K.Phillips (Has been a solid DM for Leeds and looks assured on the ball. He's energetic and sharp in the tackle. Looks a tidy player. Would be pushing McTom/Fred/Matic which is exactly what we need given Matics age and decline and injuries. We cannot keep playing Periera deep. We need quality depth around the CM/DM area. He'd be a perfect signing
4. Donny Van Der Beek. Another CM - but for me much needed. The volume of games is huge and we have suffered with lack of squad depth. He's a cut above what we have and his workrate in the middle of the park is something we need.
5. Zapata. A striker, much needed to mix up play/rotate with Martial. We seem to only user Martial as CF and that cannot continue. Rashford will operate off the left and Greenwood can also rotate between wide and CF. Zapata offers a more direct style of play and is much more clinical than anything we have
6. Jonathan Tah. A CB. Do we need a CB instantly came to my mind, but for me its still a weak area. Maguire's been ok but not spectacular but i do feel he'd be a lot better with a more assured partner. We have tons of CB's, but most have been here a while and arent the answer moving forward. So Jones, Rojo and Smalling cannot be considered even squad players in my eyes. That leaves Maguire, Bailly, Lindelof and Tuanzebe. We need a starting CB, Lindelof is decent, but hasnt impressed me enough. Bailly is so injury prone and Tuanzebe is still emerging.
Conclusions:
I get its highly unlikely we are actually able to recruit 6 players in 1 window, especially the quality of the players above.
But if we could have a rotation of the below:
Attack:
Rashford/Zapata/James/Greenwood/Martial/Sancho
Midfield:
Fernandes/McTom/Fred/Grealish/Phillips/Van Der Beek/Matic/Mata
I've based some of the above on the below leaving:
Lingard/Pogba/Smalling/Sanchez/Jones/Rojo
Starting 11 could be:
DDG
AWB - Tah - Maguire - Shaw
Fred - Van Der Beek
Fernandes
Sancho - Martial - Rashford
With a quality bench
2nd x11
Romero
Dalot - Lindelof - Tuanzebe - Williams
Phillips - McTom
Grealish
Greenwood - Zapata - James
You could even play Grealish wide left, with Mata coming in etc. Lots of variation and squad depth - and much better quality.
Don't think Madrid are our best buddies atm. Pogba and De Gea being 2 reasons.
Grealish, jimenez, sancho.
And in ideal scenario replace jimenez with Haaland in a couple of years
And in ideal scenario replace jimenez with Haaland in a couple of years
1) Raul Jiminez (60m) - can hold the ball up, brings other players into the game. Basically what we wanted from Lukaku only hes a lot tidier on the ball and better in and around the box
2) Sancho (100m)- Probably the most unrealistic of the 6 but given the other 5 signings were to materialise it might signify intent. Would add much needed flair into the side and give us a genuine threat from the right.
3) Upamecano- (40m)- Not the greatest defender but is one of the quickest and this would provide opportunity for us to play a higher line and suffocate the opposition in midfield as right now we have to play deep due to a lack of pace between Lindelof and Maguire
4) Fabian Ruiz- (60m)- Not exactly a holding midfielder but how I envision the team set up with a high backline he just needs to be the one sitting deepest picking passes either short to Pogba and Fernandes or long into Jiminez
5) Ziyech (40m)- Can play in any of the 3 attacking midfield positions and provides flair against lesser sides which we struggle to break down.
6) Placeholders for young and upcoming players such as Tonali, Zakaria, Brooks, Bellingham and Grealish. Whichever is attainable considering the massive outlay for the other 5 players.
This team should be capable of winning possession higher up the field and have enough flair and creativity to hurt teams that sit back. Sancho and Rashford provide pace to counter and Jiminez is the target man when we can't find a way through. Lots of options on the bench allows us to be dynamic when it comes to how we set up for games or change on the fly
De Gea
AWB-Maguire-Upemecano-Shaw
Fernandes-Ruiz-Pogba
Sancho-Jiminez-Rashford
Bench
Romero-- dependable & happy to play 2nd fiddle
Williams-- offers more attack from LB
Fred- when we need a runner in midfield
Dalot- can develop behind AWB
Lindelof- can start until Upamecano is ready
Bailly- still think he can offer more than Jones
McTominay- Still learning his trade, provides steel when we need it
James--attacking tired teams will be where he finds most joy
Ziyech- Starts against smaller sides
Greewood- will be ready by the time Jiminez is starting to decline
Sell- Smalling, Jones, Mata, Lingard & Martial should recoup approx £100 million
2) Sancho (100m)- Probably the most unrealistic of the 6 but given the other 5 signings were to materialise it might signify intent. Would add much needed flair into the side and give us a genuine threat from the right.
3) Upamecano- (40m)- Not the greatest defender but is one of the quickest and this would provide opportunity for us to play a higher line and suffocate the opposition in midfield as right now we have to play deep due to a lack of pace between Lindelof and Maguire
4) Fabian Ruiz- (60m)- Not exactly a holding midfielder but how I envision the team set up with a high backline he just needs to be the one sitting deepest picking passes either short to Pogba and Fernandes or long into Jiminez
5) Ziyech (40m)- Can play in any of the 3 attacking midfield positions and provides flair against lesser sides which we struggle to break down.
6) Placeholders for young and upcoming players such as Tonali, Zakaria, Brooks, Bellingham and Grealish. Whichever is attainable considering the massive outlay for the other 5 players.
This team should be capable of winning possession higher up the field and have enough flair and creativity to hurt teams that sit back. Sancho and Rashford provide pace to counter and Jiminez is the target man when we can't find a way through. Lots of options on the bench allows us to be dynamic when it comes to how we set up for games or change on the fly
De Gea
AWB-Maguire-Upemecano-Shaw
Fernandes-Ruiz-Pogba
Sancho-Jiminez-Rashford
Bench
Romero-- dependable & happy to play 2nd fiddle
Williams-- offers more attack from LB
Fred- when we need a runner in midfield
Dalot- can develop behind AWB
Lindelof- can start until Upamecano is ready
Bailly- still think he can offer more than Jones
McTominay- Still learning his trade, provides steel when we need it
James--attacking tired teams will be where he finds most joy
Ziyech- Starts against smaller sides
Greewood- will be ready by the time Jiminez is starting to decline
Sell- Smalling, Jones, Mata, Lingard & Martial should recoup approx £100 million
I feel it’s unrealistic to expect us to ship out NINE first team squad members in one window and expect this current recruitment structure to replace them all in one window, a window which may in fact be even shorter due to the euros being played this summer. NO CHANCE
Where it stands for me
Creative wide/10 type: Grealish - We should win this race but lately I've been wondering why Leicester wouldn't spend most of their summer budget on him and why he wouldn't be happy to go there
(_____ the backup option)
RW: Sancho - Probably unrealistic
(Ziyech the backup option. Traore has to be considered and as a dark horse option if we spend big elsewhere Malcolm still interests me, he looked fantastic at times last season for Barca on the right, is 22 and I bet we could get him for a loan and option to buy or not insane fee though if he's lost even a bit of pace with injuries that's a no and also we must have passed on him this past summer. He could be the Coutinho/Ceballos of next year)
DM: Partey - Atletico are a mess and I think he's now the best DM around
(____ backup option)
Attacking LB: _______
(____ backup option)
CB: _____
(______ backup option)
Poacher or star 9: _______
(____ backup option)
Creative wide/10 type: Grealish - We should win this race but lately I've been wondering why Leicester wouldn't spend most of their summer budget on him and why he wouldn't be happy to go there
(_____ the backup option)
RW: Sancho - Probably unrealistic
(Ziyech the backup option. Traore has to be considered and as a dark horse option if we spend big elsewhere Malcolm still interests me, he looked fantastic at times last season for Barca on the right, is 22 and I bet we could get him for a loan and option to buy or not insane fee though if he's lost even a bit of pace with injuries that's a no and also we must have passed on him this past summer. He could be the Coutinho/Ceballos of next year)
DM: Partey - Atletico are a mess and I think he's now the best DM around
(____ backup option)
Attacking LB: _______
(____ backup option)
CB: _____
(______ backup option)
Poacher or star 9: _______
(____ backup option)
The title of the thread is becoming less realistic than before.
6 is not a realistic number. I'll be happy if we only sign Daniel James's upgrade & a good striker to challenge Martial this summer. Those two alone plus our young player's improvement are good to go to start our season if we want to be realistic.
If Pogba leaves then signing 3rd one for replacement is 100% a must and probably should be aiming on a deep playmaking midfielder instead of destroyer.
6 is not a realistic number. I'll be happy if we only sign Daniel James's upgrade & a good striker to challenge Martial this summer. Those two alone plus our young player's improvement are good to go to start our season if we want to be realistic.
If Pogba leaves then signing 3rd one for replacement is 100% a must and probably should be aiming on a deep playmaking midfielder instead of destroyer.
Ole says we need 6 signing before january, soo Bruno is one of them. 4 or 5 players I expect in the summer and this is my list:
First option/second/third
Striker: Jimenez,/Werner/Dembele
Rw:Sancho/Ziyech/Traore
Am:Grealish/Maddison
Cm/dm: Neves/Ruiz
Cb: ruben Dias/Soyuncu/Jimenez
First option/second/third
Striker: Jimenez,/Werner/Dembele
Rw:Sancho/Ziyech/Traore
Am:Grealish/Maddison
Cm/dm: Neves/Ruiz
Cb: ruben Dias/Soyuncu/Jimenez
So what we despertaly need is a LB RB RW CF. These are the starting players. I know some people will say AWB is good enough but you need good attacking full backs. I know Traore he's usually RWB or AMR but he can play there, can swap around with AWB depending on games.
LB Ben Chilwell
RB Adama Traore
RW Sancho
CF Timo Werner
I would also get Koulibaly and Grealish.
Team would be
GK De Gea
CB Koulibaly
CB Maguire
LB Chilwell
RB Traore
CM Pogba CM Bruno CM Fred
AML Rashford
AMR Sancho
CF Werner
Subs: Fred, Scott, Martial, Grealish, Williams, Dalot, Greenwood, Bailly, Smalling.
LB Ben Chilwell
RB Adama Traore
RW Sancho
CF Timo Werner
I would also get Koulibaly and Grealish.
Team would be
GK De Gea
CB Koulibaly
CB Maguire
LB Chilwell
RB Traore
CM Pogba CM Bruno CM Fred
AML Rashford
AMR Sancho
CF Werner
Subs: Fred, Scott, Martial, Grealish, Williams, Dalot, Greenwood, Bailly, Smalling.
Realistic signings that’d improve us massively -
Grealish
Ziyech
Raul Jimenez
Neves
That’s all we will probably be able to afford and even then only if Pogba leaves. I’d love a central player but feel we need to address the right wing and striker positions more. Grealish is a player I don’t think we can afford to lose either at what would be a decent price from Villa compared to Maddison so it Pogba were to stay then I’d lose Neves.
ideally I’d want Sancho above all others but I don’t think that’s realistic at all. I’d love a defender too but again that’s probably the least likely with Lindelof at least being ok, Axel looking promising and Chris Smalling doing great on loan- I’d ditch off Jones and Rojo and go with those three and Bailly.
Fullback is still weak but it’ll have to do for another year, far bigger concerns. AWB needs to be taught to make overlapping runs though.
Grealish
Ziyech
Raul Jimenez
Neves
That’s all we will probably be able to afford and even then only if Pogba leaves. I’d love a central player but feel we need to address the right wing and striker positions more. Grealish is a player I don’t think we can afford to lose either at what would be a decent price from Villa compared to Maddison so it Pogba were to stay then I’d lose Neves.
ideally I’d want Sancho above all others but I don’t think that’s realistic at all. I’d love a defender too but again that’s probably the least likely with Lindelof at least being ok, Axel looking promising and Chris Smalling doing great on loan- I’d ditch off Jones and Rojo and go with those three and Bailly.
Fullback is still weak but it’ll have to do for another year, far bigger concerns. AWB needs to be taught to make overlapping runs though.
Wolves have lots of money and are on par with us so not sure signing two of their most prominent players would be realistic and if it was it'd be expensive. They may be tempted by being under a bigger spotlight or seeing a higher ceiling though.
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This would be fantastic, but unrealistic unfortunately. I mean, it seems like it should actually be possible, but I can't see us spending 350m+ in a short space of time.
I can dream ha. If we could get Sancho and Werner in the summer and Pogba stays I would be over the moon and the coaching of our current full backs improve. This will never happen though.
GK De Gea
CB Victor
CB Maguire
LB Shaw
RB AWB
CM Pogba CM Bruno CM Fred
AML Rashford
AMR Sancho
CF Werner
Realistically I think its going to be Denis Zakaria, Maxi Gomez and either Felipe Anderson or Grealish depending on which one gets relegated with Pogba leaving.
Be delighted even if Pogba stays and all we sign is Maxi and Grealish.
GK De Gea
CB Victor
CB Maguire
LB Shaw
RB AWB
CM Zakaria/Pogba CM Bruno CM Fred
AML Rashford
AMR Grealish/Anderson
CF Gomez
Realistically, with is signing younger or proven players and avoiding Galatico projects and trolley dashes, as a realistic bunch of targets i think:
Chiesa
Grealish
Cantwell
Godfrey
Dembele (Lyon)
Bellingham
Love to see us go for Sancho but he will have his pick of team this summer - Real, Barca, PSG, Bayern and all the PL top clubs
Chiesa
Grealish
Cantwell
Godfrey
Dembele (Lyon)
Bellingham
Love to see us go for Sancho but he will have his pick of team this summer - Real, Barca, PSG, Bayern and all the PL top clubs
Sancho / Ousmane Dembele
Werner / Moussa Dembele / Maxi Gomes
Neves / Grealish
Ndidi / Neves
Alex Telles
Werner / Moussa Dembele / Maxi Gomes
Neves / Grealish
Ndidi / Neves
Alex Telles
Is it unrealistic to expect to see some the following to be shipped off, and for these fees...?
With realism hat on, no need to get all upset pal;
Pogba - expecting that he will be sold but not for as much as people are hoping. I’d say we will get our money back 90m
Martial - no chance of selling. We simply don’t have enough strikers. Get 2 in then we can look at selling
Lingard - could go either way, sell or keep. I’d sell, I’d hope we get €30m for him in today’s market
Smalling - we will complete a summer deal to sell for around €22.5m I reckon
Bailly - we won’t sell yet unless he asks to leave.
Pereira - squad player, won’t sell yet whilst we are so short in midfield. Remember we are selling Pogba right?
Jones - if Bailly goes then we will Keep. If the other lad stays then we may sell for €18m
Mata - staying for 1 more season then he will be released I think
Matic - possibly the same as Mata or may be sold this coming summer IF we bring 2 new CMs in. If we do sell then €12m
So if we just go for the dead certs to leave, Pogba and Smalling then that should bring in at least €112.5m (not counting potential bonus payments)
The others who may leave could bring in around 30m-60m depending on who we actually sell.
The reality is that our net spend has been around 80m give or take, I don’t expect that to change much. Talk of Sancho is unrealistic now I think. As much as I’d love it!
I think as Pogba is most likely leaving we will bring in 1 CM (I’d like 2)
Smalling leaving & potentially jones or Bailly we will bring in another CB. Can’t see us paying anywhere near 75m+ for Koulibaly
We need another striker to ease the load: 2 if we have a brain fart and sell martial. It’s not that I rate him, I don’t much, it’s more that our squad is already bare bones and new strikers want to play.
If we are very lucky we may get someone for that RW but not Sancho. I suspect we will be scrambling around after the euros finishes trying to do deals so expect 2-4 players in max. (Not counting young players added to reserves/youth teams)
This figure is not lost on me, which I why I am wondering if Martial might be nearing the time when he is sacrificed along with Pogba.
(I still feel that there is more than an element of Lukaku being sacrificed to pay for Maguire..)
60+100+20 (Martial, Pogba & Smalling) plus 80 budget....that could be a "rebuild" fund of 260m...(not necessarily all in the same window)..!!
Woodward will be expecting 5 new signings from that, which could well be 2x Midfield, 2x Forwards and a Defender, and just maybe Sanchez will be returning "to prove us all wrong"...
To throw another spanner in the works I’m pretty sure we weren’t budgeting for January deals but injuries forced our hand, so take Bruno’s transfer fee out of the summer budget..This figure is not lost on me, which I why I am wondering if Martial might be nearing the time when he is sacrificed along with Pogba.
(I still feel that there is more than an element of Lukaku being sacrificed to pay for Maguire..)
60+100+20 (Martial, Pogba & Smalling) plus 80 budget....that could be a "rebuild" fund of 260m...(not necessarily all in the same window)..!!
Woodward will be expecting 5 new signings from that, which could well be 2x Midfield, 2x Forwards and a Defender, and just maybe Sanchez will be returning "to prove us all wrong"...
Rightly or wrongly, I certainly had the feeling that United behaved as though they were being forced into making a deal that they didn't really want to complete. So yeah, you could be right, suggesting that a big chunk of the Summer fund has already been spent.
Maddison close to agreeing a new contract according to The Leicester Mercury.
I would go for these four this summer as I feel these are the highest priority positions
CM Saul
AM Grealish
RW Sancho/Ziyech
ST Jovic/Werner
Yes I know that we need to be looking at improving both CB & LB as well but feel we at least have some options there whereas in the above positions the cupboard is decidedly bare depth wise, in regards to other positions would look at
LB Grimaldo/Chilwell
CB Dias/Koulibaly
What I will say is that I cannot see us having much money to spend this summer unless we sell Pogba because it's all pointing towards Utd not having much of a transfer budget and of course money has already come out of it for Bruno which was very much a necessary signing in our situation.
CM Saul
AM Grealish
RW Sancho/Ziyech
ST Jovic/Werner
Yes I know that we need to be looking at improving both CB & LB as well but feel we at least have some options there whereas in the above positions the cupboard is decidedly bare depth wise, in regards to other positions would look at
LB Grimaldo/Chilwell
CB Dias/Koulibaly
What I will say is that I cannot see us having much money to spend this summer unless we sell Pogba because it's all pointing towards Utd not having much of a transfer budget and of course money has already come out of it for Bruno which was very much a necessary signing in our situation.
The club should keep Ole in a director of DoF role. This is important for continuity. Probably bring in a top tactician to run the football coaching side.
Purchases
Grealish
Smalling (bring back from loan)
Ighalo (permanent if he does well)
Sancho/Right-Winger
I'm not sure we can afford much more seeing we have already spent part of the money on Bruno. Pogba's decision will determine if we sign an extra midfielder.
Sell/release
Lingard
Jones
Mata
Rojo
Keep Matic for if he signs for an extra year.
Purchases
Grealish
Smalling (bring back from loan)
Ighalo (permanent if he does well)
Sancho/Right-Winger
I'm not sure we can afford much more seeing we have already spent part of the money on Bruno. Pogba's decision will determine if we sign an extra midfielder.
Sell/release
Lingard
Jones
Mata
Rojo
Keep Matic for if he signs for an extra year.
A ridiculous scenario, but here's a thought.
Convince PSG to give Mbappe in exchange of Pogba+De Gea+ Martial. His contract is expiring in 2022, and Real would want to broker a cut price deal in 2021
Sell
Lingard 20 m
Pereira 10 m
Smalling 15 m
Bring in apart from Mbappe
Grealish 70 m
Ndidi 60 m
Matty Longstaff free
Willian Free
We can keep Odion as a backup striker if he performs well. Bring back Henderson and keep Romero, goes without saying.
Mbappe
Willian
Grealish
Ndidi
Matty
Odion
PS: I hope Shaw will regain his confidence and form next season & Matic will extend his contract for another year.
The formation can be something like this.
Rashford........Mbappe........Mason/Willian
.............Grealish................Fernandes.........
.............................Ndidi................................
Shaw/Williams....Maguire....Lindelof......AWB
Convince PSG to give Mbappe in exchange of Pogba+De Gea+ Martial. His contract is expiring in 2022, and Real would want to broker a cut price deal in 2021
Sell
Lingard 20 m
Pereira 10 m
Smalling 15 m
Bring in apart from Mbappe
Grealish 70 m
Ndidi 60 m
Matty Longstaff free
Willian Free
We can keep Odion as a backup striker if he performs well. Bring back Henderson and keep Romero, goes without saying.
Mbappe
Willian
Grealish
Ndidi
Matty
Odion
PS: I hope Shaw will regain his confidence and form next season & Matic will extend his contract for another year.
The formation can be something like this.
Rashford........Mbappe........Mason/Willian
.............Grealish................Fernandes.........
.............................Ndidi................................
Shaw/Williams....Maguire....Lindelof......AWB
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This means nothing really but on the Sunday supplement a while ago one of the reporters had mentioned he heard that Manchester United are gearing up for a big summer.
Seems like an odd time to do it given the Euros as it‘ll be a complete ball ache and I really can’t see us doing 6 signing u less a few of them are just kids for the future.
Anyway, I change my mind on this a lot and honestly it depends on what is happening with Pogba but.
CDM/CM- Saul
CM/CAM- Grealish/Aouar or both (Pogba)
RW/RWF-Sancho/ Ousmane Dembele
ST-Dembele (might not be special, but he’d be useful)
Ones to watch Kai Havertz CAM, Laturo Martinez ST.
Thats a ridiculously extravagant shopping list even if United and the Glazers were prepared to back Ole.
Just some sort of combination of the above. I prefer 433 but whatever.
Seems like an odd time to do it given the Euros as it‘ll be a complete ball ache and I really can’t see us doing 6 signing u less a few of them are just kids for the future.
Anyway, I change my mind on this a lot and honestly it depends on what is happening with Pogba but.
CDM/CM- Saul
CM/CAM- Grealish/Aouar or both (Pogba)
RW/RWF-Sancho/ Ousmane Dembele
ST-Dembele (might not be special, but he’d be useful)
Ones to watch Kai Havertz CAM, Laturo Martinez ST.
Thats a ridiculously extravagant shopping list even if United and the Glazers were prepared to back Ole.
DDG
Bissaka-Lindelof-Maguire-Shaw
Saul— Fred
Sancho-Grealish-Rashford
Martial
DDG
Bissaka- Lindelof-Maguire-Shaw
Bruno- Saul
Sancho-Havertz-Rashford
Martial
DDG
Bissaka-Lindelo-Maguire- Shaw
Saul
Bruno————Aouar
Sancho- Dembele- Rashford
DDG
Bissaka-Lindelof-Maguire-Shaw
Saul
Bruno——-Pogba
O.Dembele-Martial-Rashford
Bissaka-Lindelof-Maguire-Shaw
Saul— Fred
Sancho-Grealish-Rashford
Martial
DDG
Bissaka- Lindelof-Maguire-Shaw
Bruno- Saul
Sancho-Havertz-Rashford
Martial
DDG
Bissaka-Lindelo-Maguire- Shaw
Saul
Bruno————Aouar
Sancho- Dembele- Rashford
DDG
Bissaka-Lindelof-Maguire-Shaw
Saul
Bruno——-Pogba
O.Dembele-Martial-Rashford
Just some sort of combination of the above. I prefer 433 but whatever.
Realistically we are looking at what? 4-5 important signings max. Were never going to do a mass overhaul in one window. It's not a smart move.
Firstly my absolute must sells:
Smalling
Jones
Rojo
Periera
Lingard
Controversial Keepers:
Pogba - Unless hes causes unrest, and "actually" (not fictitious) throws a tantrum for a release. We must keep. There are no viable replacements, even if for another season. There is still plenty of upside in that.
Matic - As i don't see an experienced ready made replacement, he still adds value in the squad. 1 year extension. Otherwise see below.
Signings:
1. Benoit Badiashile - Absolute must IMO. Future star. Reliable rotation into our top 3 CB's in the short term.
2. Sancho (if we snag Champions League, which ever way) This is our Major star signing. Our crowd pleaser. And the guy that hopefully unlocks the players around him. 2.1. Grealish should we miss champions league, but yet to be totally sold on him slotting into the right wing role.
3. * Ighalo - Honestly lets see how he goes. This signing is not to be our number 1. Martial is our number 1, if we want to improve we sell Martial and sign a beast replacement. Otherwise Greenwood will only keep improving for the Future and will be our Number 2. Ighalo If he flops, then offcourse not. But if he proves effective, he is our alternative, our plan B.
4. Soumare. If we can actually nab this lad. Then see ya later Matic.
5. Jude Bellingham (sign loan back - with a recall clause!!!!)
Firstly my absolute must sells:
Smalling
Jones
Rojo
Periera
Lingard
Controversial Keepers:
Pogba - Unless hes causes unrest, and "actually" (not fictitious) throws a tantrum for a release. We must keep. There are no viable replacements, even if for another season. There is still plenty of upside in that.
Matic - As i don't see an experienced ready made replacement, he still adds value in the squad. 1 year extension. Otherwise see below.
Signings:
1. Benoit Badiashile - Absolute must IMO. Future star. Reliable rotation into our top 3 CB's in the short term.
2. Sancho (if we snag Champions League, which ever way) This is our Major star signing. Our crowd pleaser. And the guy that hopefully unlocks the players around him. 2.1. Grealish should we miss champions league, but yet to be totally sold on him slotting into the right wing role.
3. * Ighalo - Honestly lets see how he goes. This signing is not to be our number 1. Martial is our number 1, if we want to improve we sell Martial and sign a beast replacement. Otherwise Greenwood will only keep improving for the Future and will be our Number 2. Ighalo If he flops, then offcourse not. But if he proves effective, he is our alternative, our plan B.
4. Soumare. If we can actually nab this lad. Then see ya later Matic.
5. Jude Bellingham (sign loan back - with a recall clause!!!!)
Do you think there is stronger interest in Havertz or Saul. My gut feeling is Havertz because The Athletic mentioned we had concrete talks with him whereas the Saul interest seems to be from a few years back.
New Manager - Poch/Nagelsmann/Tuchel/Marco Rose
1) Sancho - Get him for 120m and he would solve our RW problem for years to come. Pay Dortmund what they demand (max upto 150m) and give the kid 250k+ to attract him. No other clubs can pay this kind of money to Dortmund & Sancho.
2) Saul - 90m - 100m
3) Jimenez - 45m
4) Grealish - 45m (Villa will go down)
5) Soumare - 35m
Sell:
Pogba - 110m
Martial - 60m
Periera - 20m
Lingard -25m
Smalling - 30m
Jones -15m
Total Spend = 325m - 260m = 65m
The second & third are unrealistic when compared to other. But these signs are required to make us challenge for the title.
Squad looks like this:
GK - Degea/Reomero
CB - Maguire/Lindelof/Bailly/Tuanzabe
CM - Fred/Matic/Saul/McT
AM- Bruno/Grealish
RW, LW - Sancho/Greenwood/ Rashford/James
ST - Jimenez/ Greenwood/Rashford
1) Sancho - Get him for 120m and he would solve our RW problem for years to come. Pay Dortmund what they demand (max upto 150m) and give the kid 250k+ to attract him. No other clubs can pay this kind of money to Dortmund & Sancho.
2) Saul - 90m - 100m
3) Jimenez - 45m
4) Grealish - 45m (Villa will go down)
5) Soumare - 35m
Sell:
Pogba - 110m
Martial - 60m
Periera - 20m
Lingard -25m
Smalling - 30m
Jones -15m
Total Spend = 325m - 260m = 65m
The second & third are unrealistic when compared to other. But these signs are required to make us challenge for the title.
Squad looks like this:
GK - Degea/Reomero
CB - Maguire/Lindelof/Bailly/Tuanzabe
CM - Fred/Matic/Saul/McT
AM- Bruno/Grealish
RW, LW - Sancho/Greenwood/ Rashford/James
ST - Jimenez/ Greenwood/Rashford
if this season has shown anything it is that we are too thin in terms of actual numbers even ignoring quality
Pogba and Jones will go and it would be unsurprising to see some of Lingard/Matic/Pereira go too - Gomes and Chong will most probably go too....
I'd be really concerned about our numbers
we really need a minimum of 7 players added perhaps including a promotion or two from the youth ranks if they are good enough
if we dont we will be a couple of injuries away from a crisis next year again
Pogba and Jones will go and it would be unsurprising to see some of Lingard/Matic/Pereira go too - Gomes and Chong will most probably go too....
I'd be really concerned about our numbers
we really need a minimum of 7 players added perhaps including a promotion or two from the youth ranks if they are good enough
if we dont we will be a couple of injuries away from a crisis next year again
Not what I want but current prediction:
Pogba leaves, and we sign the following players:
-Moussa Dembele (Lyon will sell him for 60M and find a replacement for 20-30M as is their way) Or Arkadiusz Milik (will have one year left on contract)
-Ryan Fraser (free)
-Grealish (he'll want to be first choice with England not wanting him yet so it's us, Arsenal or Leicester I think. If we don't get him, I reckon it's someone like Isco or James Rodriguez on a loan).
-Soumare
-Elvedi or Ginter (both 2021 expiring)
So basically nothing extremely exciting save Grealish but lots of reasonable stuff
Pogba leaves, and we sign the following players:
-Moussa Dembele (Lyon will sell him for 60M and find a replacement for 20-30M as is their way) Or Arkadiusz Milik (will have one year left on contract)
-Ryan Fraser (free)
-Grealish (he'll want to be first choice with England not wanting him yet so it's us, Arsenal or Leicester I think. If we don't get him, I reckon it's someone like Isco or James Rodriguez on a loan).
-Soumare
-Elvedi or Ginter (both 2021 expiring)
So basically nothing extremely exciting save Grealish but lots of reasonable stuff
Interesting that someone mentioned a few posts up that we are gearing up for a heavy summer spend because someone said the exact same thing to me in the pub earlier and they might still be in a position to get hold of such gossip.
We have some valuable assets that havent contributed much this season. Pogba obviously. Smalling and Rojo will likely be sold. I reckon Lingard and even Henderson might be let go too. I'd keep Matic personally. Useful squad option. Sanchez off the wage bill would basically offset 3 new players coming in.
Sancho, Havertz (if Pogba goes), Phillips from Leeds I really like, and a striker. Wouldn't mind us looking at Fraser on a free for the squad either.
We have some valuable assets that havent contributed much this season. Pogba obviously. Smalling and Rojo will likely be sold. I reckon Lingard and even Henderson might be let go too. I'd keep Matic personally. Useful squad option. Sanchez off the wage bill would basically offset 3 new players coming in.
Sancho, Havertz (if Pogba goes), Phillips from Leeds I really like, and a striker. Wouldn't mind us looking at Fraser on a free for the squad either.