our top 2 midfield targets have dodgy knees
Arturo Vidal
- Thread starter The Don
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This story just won't die 
Shrewd move, we can get the witch doctor that put shampoo in Hargreaves' eyes to put together a hybrid in the basement at Carrington.
Nah, Strootman isn't really the playmaker type. He's also like a box-to-box player. Don't think Van Gaal wants the metronomic passer type though, or at least we aren't linked with any. I think he just wants a mobile and energetic midfield, along with actual quality in there which Herrera and Vidal have loads of. In a 3-5-2, the 2 in the middle probably is best to have 2 box to box players right next to each other, though obviously its not guaranteed to work.
The plot thickens. We will be right to be cautious, HOWEVER he is right, we saw nothing of how effective Vidal can be at the WC he is the worlds very best midfielder. Now it makes sense, also It sounds like we are waiting like Madrid with Falcao to see him perform a couple of times now he has had a rest.
Could we be seeing a game of russian roulette between clubs, Vidal went on tour.....BUT he isnt playing until the Aus leg, does LVG believe they are holding something back about his knee? Why would Vidal not be included in any games in asia, why would they not implement him into the squad? is it to ensure his value? make sure he does not get injured again? or is it to hide that hes got permanent damage to his knee?
Jesus, these quotes blow the whole thing open and flips the entire situation on its head. Perhaps we are right in thinking he may not be fit, maybe Juve are indeed pulling a fast one, their latest comments come accross a little desperate to sell.....
Could we be seeing a game of russian roulette between clubs, Vidal went on tour.....BUT he isnt playing until the Aus leg, does LVG believe they are holding something back about his knee? Why would Vidal not be included in any games in asia, why would they not implement him into the squad? is it to ensure his value? make sure he does not get injured again? or is it to hide that hes got permanent damage to his knee?
Jesus, these quotes blow the whole thing open and flips the entire situation on its head. Perhaps we are right in thinking he may not be fit, maybe Juve are indeed pulling a fast one, their latest comments come accross a little desperate to sell.....
Close this thread, there is no concrete news and no reputable sources are reporting it.
http://impresa.elmercurio.com/Pages...61&dtB=05-08-2014 0:00:00&BodyID=4&PaginaId=4
Here's the link to the interview. It's in Spanish.
Here's the link to the interview. It's in Spanish.
I was thinking something sort of along those lines as I watched last night's game this afternoon. From what I've seen, because he presses and engages high up the field, Herrera's going to end up caught ahead of the ball quite a bit, I'd say. If we're going to play a team of 352 (or however you want to dice it) then there are a very limited number of spots available. If you consider Mata, Rooney and RvP will play, along with the goalie, three centre halves and the wingbacks, then you'd be left with two midfield slots, one of which would be Herrera. I think Vidal is fantastic, but that midfield looks wide open, particularly given that Mata is like a snail running backwards. Based simply on that a Strootman type (the role Fletch has sort of played over there) makes sense. But who knows...
How sure can one be via assessments that he will 100% recover?
Hopefully Juventus play him a couple of times so we can assess his fitness better. At least we know for certain we're interested, or at least we were.
Seeing as basically everything reported on this was reported by Italian press, and now that it's confirmed we're interested but worried about his injuries, this does sort of smack as Juve being the ones who want to cash in on him, which is even more worrying.
What is the $80m transfer quote all about? Does this mean we've actually put in a bid but still have reservations about his knee? Doesn't really make sense
Its so typical of our midfield situation that when we finally decide that we have to do something about it, two of our targets have crocked knees
no, that's the fee Juve supposedly want.
ITS ON AGAIN
What the Chile manager said tho, contradicts what Juve have been saying about no contacts etc does it not>?
What the Chile manager said tho, contradicts what Juve have been saying about no contacts etc does it not>?
The fee they're talking about then converts to around £47.5m. Easy to see why we're being careful with this one.
Yep, I'd be wary that all the talk appears to have come from Juventus' side. We need to be 110% certain he'll fully recover, which isn't easy. Watch the space...
I'll only believe Vidal's knee is 100% if it has a verified blue tick on it.
United will perform a thorough medical on Vidal as soon as there's an agreement between the clubs. van Gaal won't sanction the deal unless he and his backroom team are fully satisfied his knee is up to the rigours of top-level football again.
There's nothing to worry about here.
There's nothing to worry about here.
Isnt Strootman box to box himself though?
No way will he go for 80mil, dodgy knee or not. That fighure's just been pulled out of his arse imo.
I'd imagine the manager is working from old info. I wonder if us going cold on the deal was around the time Jamie Jackson et al started reporting that we had no interest?
Yup.
and hence we denied all our interest in English media to lower the price. It's basically Juve who want to desperately flog him off.
$80 million, which equates to roughly £47 million. Which probably appears about right, should he fully recover.
Well I was only really using the example that Pogue gave, but in my limited viewings of him, he looks not that dissimilar to Fletch, positionally at least. He's not a holding player, but he has the discipline and positional sense to sit a little deeper, whereas someone like Vidal might go beyond Herrera as often as not.
Its so typical of our midfield situation that when we finally decide that we have to do something about it, two of our targets have crocked knees
We managed to solve one in Herrera. Just got to be patient in this one
Bale to MadridDo other clubs have transfer saga's like ours?
Why always us?
Di Maria to PSG
Mangala to City
Lewandowski to Bayern
Silva to Barca
To name a few.
Its so typical of our midfield situation that when we finally decide that we have to do something about it, two of our targets have crocked knees
And Gundogan, a great midfielder who might be obtainable, fecked up his back.
Just read the quotes myself and basically he's saying that if we're happy with the condition of his knee then we'll sign him.
I just thought it was all speculation. Didn't expect that at all. As for the transfer, LvG is right to have his doubts. It wouldn't be wise of us to spend £50m on a player who turns out to be another Hargreaves.
We need Uri Geller to cure his knee, sign him up Edward.
I find it suspicious that Juventus seem so willing to let him leave - I wouldn't be surprised if they have massive concerns about his knees, especially with how he plays.
Ah didnt pay attention to the $ bit.
Yeah that's fair enough but Vidal does that for Juve because of the numerous bodies in there. Could easily stay back when in a middle 2. That said, in a 3 man defence, I dont think a purely defensive mid is needed anyways.
Why can't we just send a spy to walk next to Vidal in the streets and suddenly push his knee then let us know how it felt. Obviously he'd be an expert.
Is that why we've let him go on tour with Juve then? To see how he will do and how his knee holds up?
Would Vidal AND Strootman be too much though? I mean Carrick isn't the youngest and we could rotate Vidal/Herrera/Fletcher/Cleverley.
Real, Barca and Bayern always seem to have too many midfielders and still once a couple of them get injured/suspended there is a shortage in their midfield all of a sudden ... I think we should buy both!
Real, Barca and Bayern always seem to have too many midfielders and still once a couple of them get injured/suspended there is a shortage in their midfield all of a sudden ... I think we should buy both!
It would tie in with Juve coming out with all these quotes basically asking for a bid. They want to cash in before they're left with a crock.
This one's too risky (especially after Hargreaves). A massive shame really.
Congrats for being the first poster to suggest this brilliant idea. 10/10 for originality.
I didn't either, but we'll have to be as near as damn it 100% sure that knee is okay for this kind of outlay on a 27 year old. If we've got any doubts then we correctly won't go near this transfer, unless a fee can be worked out that's heavily based on appearances which Juventus might not favour.
El Mercurio was spot on all the way through
Vidal is arguably the best DM in world football when deployed in that role. He played higher up the pitch for Chile but he sees himself as a DM. If you play a 3-5-2 you need the 2 CM's to be very athletic and mobile to cover the spaces in wide areas, Herrera and Vidal would be superb.
To me, this theory makes a lot of sense.
If knee injury is the issue then we offer a structured deal paying an initial lump sum, say 10M euro's, then 18 monthly instalments to be certain any subsequent injury was not caused by this existing injury and only then the rest of the fee. If his knee breaks down because of the existing issue before 18 months, the deal is over and we stop payments. Or something like that. We did similar when we signed Paul Ince from West Ham years ago.
Doubt Juventus would go for it as they either need a huge cash injection (hence there willingness to sell in first place) or don't need money at all ... drip feed cash wont help them replace Vidal if thats what they decide to do.
If the knee injury is similar risk to Hargreaves, then it's a huge call for LVG and the board and they have every right to take their time on due diligence ... and if they are unconvinced, then to walk away from the deal.
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