Gilberto Silva? Fernandinho? Slim enough pickings to be fair. This 100% is the kind of signing Madrid and Barca kept beating us to over the years. I’m really glad we are getting him
Antony | Here we go! €100mill, contract until June 2027, option 'til 2028.
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Gilberto Silva? Fernandinho? Slim enough pickings to be fair. This 100% is the kind of signing Madrid and Barca kept beating us to over the years. I’m really glad we are getting him
Nope
Yeah think you are right
An3ny 
Can't see a situation where he doesn't improve our attacking fluency, particularly with his presence allowing Sancho and Rashford to compete against each other on the LW and his relationship with Ten Hag, but it does speak to a recurring issue around recruitment, noted across other threads. Is he much better than a Kulasevksi who, even if not having his best game at time of writing, cost less than 1/3 having played in a traditional top league, let alone the options potentially available for 40-45 m across other second tier leagues?
A pricey, twitter-chatter signing also inevitably dampens some of the (necessary) anti- Glazer energy. It's not just the extraction of funds by them and the subtle markers of incompetence or limited ambition around the club from the stadium and other penny-pinching to the behaviour of recruitment teams that in turn seem to infect our players, that have limited us, but the actual scouting system which they've allowed to be mismanaged. It's because of this that barring extraordinary misfortune on the part of other clubs, means that as long as they're responsible for the system that oversees acquisition, even with the best coaching in the world we're unlikely to finish above 4th any time soon.
Do you see another midfielder coming in this window, now that this money has been spent (or at least committed to, with a chunk up-front, as these things work).. And if not, even with Casemiro coming in and another round of intense Ten Hag training, the effect of Antony as another outlet for teams to be concerned with etc, do we really feel optimistic that the midfield won't be continuously bypassed and have to be bailed out with last-minute defending, or that we'll be able to exercise control against well-drilled sides.
A pricey, twitter-chatter signing also inevitably dampens some of the (necessary) anti- Glazer energy. It's not just the extraction of funds by them and the subtle markers of incompetence or limited ambition around the club from the stadium and other penny-pinching to the behaviour of recruitment teams that in turn seem to infect our players, that have limited us, but the actual scouting system which they've allowed to be mismanaged. It's because of this that barring extraordinary misfortune on the part of other clubs, means that as long as they're responsible for the system that oversees acquisition, even with the best coaching in the world we're unlikely to finish above 4th any time soon.
Do you see another midfielder coming in this window, now that this money has been spent (or at least committed to, with a chunk up-front, as these things work).. And if not, even with Casemiro coming in and another round of intense Ten Hag training, the effect of Antony as another outlet for teams to be concerned with etc, do we really feel optimistic that the midfield won't be continuously bypassed and have to be bailed out with last-minute defending, or that we'll be able to exercise control against well-drilled sides.
Ok thanks. What was the initial price then? It certainly wasn't anywhere near this. £60m?
He's going to be a star for us
They must be coming out the most happiest from this deal. Cool payday for them.
They must be coming out the most happiest from this deal. Cool payday for them.
God he proper resembles Thiago there
I think it was about £60m or £70m if I remember correctly.
Will he take no. 11?
If you want a fighter Mitrovic has to be up there for CF
This is a good point but in terms of also just keeping Antony in line. Having a leader like him at United and the national team will only be good for Antony for his development and not getting too big for his head.
There's always risk with big transfers and young players in general (see Greenwood...), but between casemiro and ten hag, i feel like we've lessened the risk as much as possible.
The love child of Thiago and Richard Arlison.
Yeah damn it, really crazy with Mason and Giggs.That number seems cursed!
Has anyone complained about the price yet?
Probably more like it. I've no problem paying for a player that the manager is very keen to bring in but when the price increase is basically due to us trying to be frugal and ends up costing us big time then I do. It's like Woodward's policy of giving new contracts to squad guys to keep their market value up but ends up costing us millions instead. Cheers.
And one Ant-Man at the back.
I'm 50/50 on this
Least give him a chance
A very left-footed right winger is always very exciting to watch. Can’t remember us having one ever except for when MG played on the right.
This is surprising news.
That number seems cursed!
I'm pretty sure George Best wore number 11 in his last season at United.. although throughout his United career he wore the number 7 , 8, 10 and 11.. in fact i can feel a song coming on.. "We all live in a Georgie Best world"
Fair enough, I think we could have wrapped it up earlier and/or cheaper as well.
Bar Ajax fans, I've probably watched him more than anyone here. I saw him before he even joined Ajax whilst watching Brazilian youth games.
Promising player but has clear deficiencies.
Not yet, you could be the first?
You said the same about Casemiro oddly…
Nope. Plenty of people have watched him more than me as I don't care to watch Real Madrid. I only see them when a team I do enjoy watching play them. Like Espanyol tonight.
Thats how much we were valuing him at on here. We've probably been hosed on the price but if it gets the right player in then so be it.
yeah it's very strange, since I don't think Ajax fans in particular would be experts on Casemiro...
No. Is it high?
Care to elaborate? I have seen practically nothing of him barring a couple of highlight reels, and that too didn't follow through. My fate in this transfer comes from backing ETH beyond anything else.
We're waiting for his posts about Anthony not being press resistant.
Just like Eriksen and Casemiro.
That's the 50/50 part.Not press resistant enough?
When I watched him for Brazil's youth team, he was brilliant. Most impressive player alongside Arsenals Martinelli who's been brilliant in England so far.
He's been fine for Ajax, too, but I think he hasn't properly adjusted to the physical side of first team football. The technique is there but he's a bit lightweight, and can't really beat his man out wide.
Overall, I'd be optimistic, though. Mainly because if he adjusts to the physical side and we get what I saw for Brazil, it'll be exciting. I'm just not completely sold on him being what we need right now. We're severely lacking a wide player who can dribble.
It would make an interesting case study. I think had he stuck around and worked as part of a team that had clear structure and a clear plan, it might have worked out. But, I do think that the things he has said has had an effect, the long way around. Think most fans and pundits agree now that the players were largely responsible for the poor season we had last year.
That's true regarding the ages. Although, you'd also say that a healthy football club will always be in the market every window and looking to improve/adapt the squad. If we get two or three great years out of these players, then that's fantastic. There's plenty of time before then to get the scouting system up to scratch and analyse who we need to bring in/develop for the next generation. The important thing is that we have those gaps right now and those players can step in and do the job straightaway, which is what we need. With these players, we've got a higher probability of climbing the table and maybe even getting a top 4+ finish, which is what we're aiming for. That puts us in a better position for the future to then attract their replacements further down the line.
I think the beauty of what we had under Sir Alex is that he was always on the lookout for the next generation. Even when we had Keane and Scholes, he was looking at Veron. There's never a 'complete' squad really. Every quality manager is always looking for the next player to come along and improve it.
I'm really not comfortable with the thought of Martial being out starting striker this season. To be honest, I'm not comfortable with any of them. Ronaldo, Rashford, or Martial. Martial hasn't scored a league goal since October! Even with Memphis, that's four players we're looking at, when really we need a top quality one to do the job for those four. The plus side is that those four (if we do end up bringing Memphis here) all provide something different, so there is variety there.
Who knows how it would've turned out. But, I'm really pleased with who we've brought in now and it's a huge step in the right direction. Finally, I feel like we're getting the recruitment right. I even think that the signings we're making now improve the ones we made last year. Martinez is working well with Varane. Malacia should really make a big different to Sancho's game, and he's also (potentially, hopefully, likely) got Antony on the other wing now to provide something different.
I stand corrected. However, he's still right, especially with the introduction of 5 subs and the need to have more depth options.
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