Alternatives for Frenkie De Jong

I'd like to see more of Iqbal there in pre season. He's about the age De Jong was when he started to get into Ajax's team. It'd be bold to go into the season with him as our first choice 6 so the manager would need to be very convinced by his ability.
 
Did I misread the the thread title or is this actually the “Name midfielders nothing like De Jong” thread? His best attributes are picking the ball up off the defence whilst being impossible to press and progressing it forwards, accurate short metronomic passing and reading the game in defensive transition high up the pitch.

If this is what ETH wants from his CM then there is really no one attainable as an alternative, seeing as Verratti, Thiago, Kroos, Jorginho, Rodri and Modric are all out of the question.

Neves can’t dribble or pass as well, Bissouma isn’t as good at progression and Fabian Ruiz is too small and easily bullied for a premier league midfielder. Perhaps Caqueret could do the job but he would be a risk given his current level.
Very good description of De Jong. I would argue that though neves is not exactly the same, he can fit with a slight change of things. Not as good though.
 
I'd like us to try for Bellingham if FdJ falls through. They are maybe not that similar in style, but one of the few midfielders I would actually be hyped if we signed. He will probably be very expensive in the £100m+ range though.
Not even close to the same type of player.
 
Why not? Give them a chance at least. Is Tielemans or Neves going to be much better?
We literally got top 4 two years in a row with McFred in midfield. I don’t think playing talented youngsters beside Eriksen is any worse than that.
I honestly don’t think we can put top 4 on this elite pedestal after one of the worse races for 4th spot we have ever seen last season.
We won't be playing Erikson every game I suspect. I am not exactly sure of his medical situation but he's not someone we can rely on. None of our youth can do that kind of job.
 
If you want like-for-like, the only option is Arthur Melo.
 
The playing field is very different to other years. City and Liverpool are at the peak of their projects, Chelsea are way ahead of us in their project, Conte's project at Spurs is aggressive and looks promising and you can't totally discount Arsenal. You can have as much faith in the kids as they want but using them plus McFred and a #10 in a pivot CM significantly weakens our top 4 chances as well as Ten Hag's project being successful.
There's positions you can gamble with kids like attack and fullbacks but midfield should be the last place to do so especially since it's been a problem for A DECADE
I think Liverpool are a bit past their peak, I think this season will be a bit easier for city.
 
There is an alternative to Frenkie, that's why we've bought Erisken. The alternative is not a single player, but a whole different midfield setup with, maybe, more of a DM at the base and Eriksen and Bruno around him.

Either United pursue FDJ for longer (which I think they're doing), he comes and ETH uses him in a very "functional" ( feck this absolutely cringe football terms) midfield 3 with no stable DM(Eriksen, FDJ, Bruno/DVB/whoever), or he doesn't and ETH will go for a classic DM which is easier to find.

In regards to FDJ's style and quality, I agree, there is no other CM with his traits.
Yea that's true, with Erikson we would need a DM, with De Jong We need a b2b, but should we be relying on Erikson that much?
 
I think Liverpool are a bit past their peak, I think this season will be a bit easier for city.

Agree. It’s going to be a old Liverpool trying to mix with new Liverpool. No Mane, new strikers, salah etc just too much of a mix of different era’s
 
Matheus Nunez is equally as press resistant and progresses the ball very well. I am not sure if he has ever played deeper for Sporting but I believe he can easily adapt in a Ten Hag coached system. I very much suspect should Silva leave City, he is likely to be the prime candidate targeted by Pep as a replacement.
 
Hopefully Neves. I’m not actually fully convinced by him, but he’s a hell of a lot better than McTominay.
I'm not exactly sure that he is and, as some here would tell you, that would blow part of our budget
 
More rumours that we won't get de Jong. I think ETH will turn some of our 'cast offs' into better players. I'd live to see Iqbal or Savage make a cosmic leap up
 
Hopefully Neves. I’m not actually fully convinced by him, but he’s a hell of a lot better than McTominay.

We will have to pay over £50m for him, in my eyes that is not worth it. I would rather have the youngsters playing over signing someone for that much, when I do not think he is that great.
 
If you want like-for-like, the only option is Arthur Melo.
What is the deal with this guy, seems quite good, 25 years old and I read some rumors about Arsenal. Any idea of the asking price for this lad?
 
There are none. People will come up with a couple of playmakers, but they are not on his level and he is quite unique tactically/knows the manager. Neves is meh.

I would have said Caqueret myself, but he signed an extension.
 
There is an alternative to Frenkie, that's why we've bought Erisken. The alternative is not a single player, but a whole different midfield setup with, maybe, more of a DM at the base and Eriksen and Bruno around him.

Either United pursue FDJ for longer (which I think they're doing), he comes and ETH uses him in a very "functional" ( feck this absolutely cringe football terms) midfield 3 with no stable DM(Eriksen, FDJ, Bruno/DVB/whoever), or he doesn't and ETH will go for a classic DM which is easier to find.

In regards to FDJ's style and quality, I agree, there is no other CM with his traits.

Completely agree with this. I think FdJ's skill set and the level to which he plays means there is no alternative, we would have to change the system.

If Sangare isn't bought by anyone else, paying his release clause towards the end of the window would allow us to play a bit more like ten Hag's 21/22 rather than the 18/19 team.

Whilst I think FdJ would be the ideal choice, we're still going to be a much better team than last season whether we get him or not. Given the improvements we've made elsewhere, he's worth waiting until the last minute for imo.
 
There are none. People will come up with a couple of playmakers, but they are not on his level and he is quite unique tactically/knows the manager. Neves is meh.

I would have said Caqueret myself, but he signed an extension.

He is one player that I think, with a bit more experience and growth as a player, could be something like Modric. He's such a well rounded player and two-footed also.
 
Tielemans is a poor shout, imo. I just can't get over how crap he was last season and I've never bought the hype to begin with.

Neves is ok but very different to FDJ. He needs legs around him as he's not that mobile. Besides, we've already got Savage :devil:
 
Is there a single established CM out there United could get for about the same price who can have the same immediate impact?

I can't name them. So I think United should do what they did when they missed out on Ronaldinho and just sign the best teenager they can find who has that potential.
 
Shame Garner got injured when he did, was really looking forward to seeing him in preseason to see if he would be a viable option not necessarily as a FdJ back up. Would definitely like to see him swapped in for the saucy one, though.

Anyway, I, like others get the feeling Martinez maybe used as a DM, or.........

....How often did ETH play with 3 centre backs at Ajax/Utrecht?

Varane Martinez Maguire .
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Am I being silly?:nervous:
 
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....How often did ETH play with 3 centre backs at Ajax/Utrecht?

Varane Martinez Maguire .

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Am I being silly?:nervous:
I don't think that is the plan at all

However, I think if United don't deliver on signing a top class CM he may be forced to play that way. Playing 4 at the back was suicide last season because the opposition regularly sliced through our weak midfield
 
If Erik stated that Lisandro did not have the legs to play as a midfielder in the Dutch league then it would be mind boggling to me if he would play him there in the Premier League.
If he is going to wait til deadline day for Frenkie I hope he has a good look at Garner because he may be our best option.
 
What is the deal with this guy, seems quite good, 25 years old and I read some rumors about Arsenal. Any idea of the asking price for this lad?
Wants to leave Juve, and Juve want rid. Aside from Verratti, he's the only player who's similar to de Jong. The la pelopina turns under pressure, the way he brings composure to the team, the way he drops into the cb position to advance play.
Fabian Ruiz is probably the closest like for like replacement.
Nowhere near. Ruiz is weak under pressure.
 
nobody yet, wait and get the right guy not some 3rd choice numpty like we usually do. I am confident De Jong will be coming at some stage in the window. He rightly wants the 20M euros he is owed by Barcelona and will need to hang around to at least make a settlement. If he leaves early without settlement they cannot be trusted to pay him a cent of this. I can see this dragging on but Barca wont want him staying past the end of the window
 
We can't get anyone as good as him. I think it's still reasonable that we could get two inferior players that would at least be upgrades on a Fred/McTominay pairing. Ruiz, Neves, Arthur, Tielamans are some of the obvious names mentioned and while even I have questions marks on them, I think they would all be an upgrade on what we have. I just hope we don't go into the new season being reliant on Fred and McTominay being key players for us. We need bodies and more quality to raise the bar in the midfield even if it means the guys we sign aren't going to be starters in 2/3 years time.
 
What about Florian Neuhaus? I seem to remember that he was quite highly rated a few seasons ago.
 
Tielemans is a totally different player, he’s more of a poor man’s Paul Pogba, we don’t need that.
No reason to buy anyone if Frankie De Maria isn’t happening, have faith in the kids.
 
Wants to leave Juve, and Juve want rid. Aside from Verratti, he's the only player who's similar to de Jong. The la pelopina turns under pressure, the way he brings composure to the team, the way he drops into the cb position to advance play.
How has he done at Juve? I've not seen him play much since he joined them. Might be a player who just needs a move, but is it a red flag that his stock has dropped in the last 12-18 months?