Best transfer window ever?

Mainoonited said:
Falcao, Di Maria, Shaw, Herrera, Rojo, Blind - Summer 2014, so much promise - flopped so so hard.
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Falcao and Di Maria were both very expensive and total disasters on the pitch. The rest of the players were decent to very good transfers. Guess which two players the fans were most excited about at the time?
 
Whatever about best overall windows, if we get Ugarte over the line before midnight, having signed the next Michael Essien and seen Jenas the Menace finally banished from our telly screens - today might go down as the best day of a window ever.
 
Captmfla said:
Spending on defenders is a waste of money considering how much more fire power that united needs upfront. It's a barely passable window.
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feck me someone didn’t watch us last season.
Strengthening our defensive options was unquestionably the number one priority this transfer window.
We have Garna, Rashford, Diallo, Zirkee, Højlund, Bruno… plenty of goals there as long as we get the foundations right. Wouldn’t have mattered if we had prime Van Nistelrooy up front last season.
 
So assuming we sign Ugarte, I kind of look at our squad and best 11 as a main group of 17 players.

Goalkeeper obviously different as you don't need to rotate, but for the others, I'd guess our starting 11s for the majority of games will be these choices depending on fitness and form

Fullback - 2 of Dalot, Mazraoui, Shaw
Center back - 2 of De Ligt, Martinez, Yoro
Deep midfield - 2 of Ugarte, Casemiro, Mainoo
Wings - 2 of Garnacho, Rashford, Amad (or Mount)
#9 & #10 - 2 of Bruno, Mount, Zirkzee and Hojlund

Basically every grouping has some competition where they should rotate and push each other on. Obviously I'd expect someone like Bruno to play every game regardless, but we have the people to rotate or bring off the bench now, cover for injuries and there really can't be any depth issues right now. Then you still have that group of players who are probably seen as deeper depth (Maguire, Malacia, McTominay, Antony) who fill out a "2nd 11" and then the guys beyond that are just extra bloat really.

Just glad we did such a complete window and addressed these issues we've had for so long for once. Hopefully we sort out the exits a bit and then it'll be the perfect window.
 
bosnian_red said:
So assuming we sign Ugarte, I kind of look at our squad and best 11 as a main group of 17 players.

Goalkeeper obviously different as you don't need to rotate, but for the others, I'd guess our starting 11s for the majority of games will be these choices depending on fitness and form

Fullback - 2 of Dalot, Mazraoui, Shaw
Center back - 2 of De Ligt, Martinez, Yoro
Deep midfield - 2 of Ugarte, Casemiro, Mainoo
Wings - 2 of Garnacho, Rashford, Amad (or Mount)
#9 & #10 - 2 of Bruno, Mount, Zirkzee and Hojlund

Basically every grouping has some competition where they should rotate and push each other on. Obviously I'd expect someone like Bruno to play every game regardless, but we have the people to rotate or bring off the bench now, cover for injuries and there really can't be any depth issues right now. Then you still have that group of players who are probably seen as deeper depth (Maguire, Malacia, McTominay, Antony) who fill out a "2nd 11" and then the guys beyond that are just extra bloat really.

Just glad we did such a complete window and addressed these issues we've had for so long for once. Hopefully we sort out the exits a bit and then it'll be the perfect window.
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If we can sell Sancho and McTominay for decent fees... next summer has the potential to be a monster one. Can go hard after Wharton, Branthwaite, Nico W, and whoever else might pop up on the radar.
 
Valencia Shin Crosses said:
If we can sell Sancho and McTominay for decent fees... next summer has the potential to be a monster one. Can go hard after Wharton, Branthwaite, Nico W, and whoever else might pop up on the radar.
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Forget branthwaite IMO, don't need another high profile CB after Martinez, De Ligt and Yoro. The 4th will be guys like Maguire.

Nico Williams doesn't seem like he'll leave so for me, the dream next summer would be to just go big on Wharton and Kvara and nothing else really. Maybe swapping Malacia with a left back. But we should move on to Kvara being the long term target on the wing to join the group as I just think he's made for us and is one of the few out there who provides true world class quality to upgrade the attack.
 
bosnian_red said:
Forget branthwaite IMO, don't need another high profile CB after Martinez, De Ligt and Yoro. The 4th will be guys like Maguire.

Nico Williams doesn't seem like he'll leave so for me, the dream next summer would be to just go big on Wharton and Kvara and nothing else really. Maybe swapping Malacia with a left back. But we should move on to Kvara being the long term target on the wing to join the group as I just think he's made for us and is one of the few out there who provides true world class quality to upgrade the attack.
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I agree on the CB part. Think just a LB will be fine, Amass can be promoted, and Shaw can fill in at CB.

Kvara would be amazing.

Dont think we go for a high profile #6 next season, even more so with loan+obligation talks. We will probably go for more of a squad player because Mainoo-Ugarte-Bruno will be starters, and we will have a backup CM-Collyer-Mount as squad players.
 
bosnian_red said:
Forget branthwaite IMO, don't need another high profile CB after Martinez, De Ligt and Yoro. The 4th will be guys like Maguire.

Nico Williams doesn't seem like he'll leave so for me, the dream next summer would be to just go big on Wharton and Kvara and nothing else really. Maybe swapping Malacia with a left back. But we should move on to Kvara being the long term target on the wing to join the group as I just think he's made for us and is one of the few out there who provides true world class quality to upgrade the attack.
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Nah, you underestimate how important having that CB room stocked is and Branthwaite is very highly rated. We'll go back in for him.

I'll take Nico or Kvara. Both are top quality. Honestly the dream is Rodrygo becomes the odd man out at Madrid and asks to leave after Ancelotti realizes his best team doesn't include 3 LW's. If we brought him in we instantly become real challengers. I'd also want us going in for another top quality young 8 to eventually phase Bruno out and get a more traditional midfield setup after he's gone.
 
The importance of Zirkzee upfront cannot be understated. He was instrumental in helping improve United's attack.
 
I can't be happier at how we went about conducting business this summer. Cleared out so many cobwebs and brought it players that make sense and at the appropriate price. We can't do everything in one summer. It's a fantastic start.
 
Ugarte signing makes this a very good transfer season. It would have been great if we also signed a possession midfielder to help Mainoo. Maybe Collyer can step up or maybe Mount can also play as an 8. I'm afraid ETH will play Mainoo nearly every match.

Now I think we could end up 3rd to 5th instead of 6th and below.
 
wonder if there is enough to find a good fullback option. Super thin considering malacia prob wont even play this season again with whatever shit always be plaguing him, shaw gonna last about a week at a time, leaving just two healthy fullbacks.
 
moodyred said:
I can't be happier at how we went about conducting business this summer. Cleared out so many cobwebs and brought it players that make sense and at the appropriate price. We can't do everything in one summer. It's a fantastic start.
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Agreed. Considering Ashworth/Berrada/Vivell all only (officially) started in June or later, they managed to achieve a huge amount, far more than most of us expected I think. Possibility of shifting Sancho still live.

With time to plan ahead to future windows I’d be hopeful they’ll improve again. The signings this summer raised the floor of the squad, but I don’t know if they increased the ceiling talent wise (maybe Yoro & Zirkzee, time will tell). Next I’d expect to see us targeting real attacking/creative quality.

Still some expensive problems in the squad makeup to be resolved (Rashford, Sancho, Antony, Casemiro) - I’d expect these to be first priorities in terms of our next outgoings (likely next summer).
 
A very good window in regards to players in. However a truly transformative window is also defined by players out. Think of one of SAF most transformative transfer windows, it was all about the players sold with no players in: 1995 when he sold, Hughes, Ince & Kanchelkis.

I think if we were able to sell three or more of the following players, then this would have been a great & transformative window. McTominay, Rashford, Maguire, Lindalof, Sancho
 
Too many defensive players are brought in and the problems upfront are still not solved.

More rotations and confusions to come with every new transfer. It will take time to gel.
 
8.5/10 window for me

- Addressed the dire CB situation with two excellent signings and one of them being the best CB prospect in football in a HUGE coup
- Smartly signed another young striker who offers a profile at the position we didn't have, while also having huge potential that can still be developed
- Brought in another versatile fullback option who is a complete upgrade on AWB
- Brought in another DM to finally swap out Casemiro with. Not convinced he's the right one but at least it's a start
- Brought in 2 brilliant youth signings in Kone and Chido
- Sold much of the deadwood for decent fees

All things considered, I'd have liked to see a potential blockbuster Rashford sale and replacement and I'm a bit annoyed we didn't go harder after Ferdi and Onana for those LB and DM spots, but we went the entire summer negotiating strongly and not really caving to any huge fees while finally selling players smartly. A very good start to the INEOS regime I'd say.

Also, for the record, if god forbid two of our signings become sudden crocks and this window looks "bad" in 3 years that doesn't change how I rate it now. I'm happy the actual process and decision making on each signing is sound and "makes sense", because you're never going to have 100% hit rate when buying players but at least you can do everything possible beforehand to make the right decisions at the time.
 
Captmfla said:
Too many defensive players are brought in and the problems upfront are still not solved.

More rotations and confusions to come with every new transfer. It will take time to gel.
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Not going to solve it in one window. We need to build a team. Even if we managed to get in 8 players who all turn out great signings, we could end up well short of city. Should be looking to build a team for 2-3 years time when we can hope Pep has gone and there’s an opening, and for that team to prosper for years after that. The age and profile of the players we’ve signed this Summer is great.
 
Central defence looks rock solid now, fullback position still looks vulrubale to been messed up by injuries, midfield better, and up front a bit better, but still well short on goals.

So it's good start, but still loads still do.

I've been really impressed with how we have sold players as well.
 
It's a decent enough first window in the Ineos era, so long as you manage your expectations for this season.

This isn't a window that gets us from 8th back to 3rd or 4th right away. This season will be one in which we hope beyond hope that the EPL gets a 5th CL spot for next season and that we fight like hell to get it.

Next summer the goal has to be getting rid of Rashford, Antony, Sancho (if we don't manage that this week) and some of the stragglers like Lindelof, Malacia, Eriksen, Evans, and maybe Casemiro, and then signing some impact players that will immediately raise the expectations like Leao, Nico, etc.
 
C'est Moi Cantona said:
Central defence looks rock solid now, fullback position still looks vulrubale to been messed up by injuries, midfield better, and up front a bit better, but still well short on goals.

So it's good start, but still loads still do.

I've been really impressed with how we have sold players as well.
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We could have the best squad in the world. It’s all about the system and how the manager handles in game changes etc.
 
DJ_21 said:
We could have the best squad in the world. It’s all about the system and how the manager handles in game changes etc.
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True, but that's a different discussion.

It's clear though that Ineos are serious about getting us back to the top, so you'd expect Ten Hag to soon be gone if he doesn't get us going pretty quickly this season
 
Its been good, but we've signed a lot of defensive players. Sterling would be a good addition
 
Been really good. It'll take another couple of windows to hopefully build a complete/balanced, young, talented and hungry squad primed to compete. Here's hoping.

I still can't believe the sheer incompetence of the previous regime. Grossly overpaid for players, offered ridiculous wages (coz Disneyland!), couldn't sell players (mostly due to those preceding 2 facts) and built a disjointed squad with a lot of entitled personalities who couldn't be arsed.
 
Ayoba said:
Its been good, but we've signed a lot of defensive players. Sterling would be a good addition
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Probably because we was awful at defending last season and conceded far to many shots and goals
 
Ayoba said:
We were also awful at scoring. Negative GD if you recall.
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True but you win titles with a solid defence. Solid attack wins you games. And we choose to go for an attacker that improves our style of play and supposedly improves our wingers rather than a proper number 9. Id have signed Toney, he’s for sale and he’s a proven goalscorer.
 
A decade ago, when we had a Dutch manager too.

Yoro - Shaw
De Ligt - Blind
Mazrouai - Rojo
Ugarte - Herrera
Falcao - Sterling

Didn’t sign a “Zirkzee” in 2014, but we’re not signing anyone even half as good as Di Maria was back then this summer either.

The McTominay departure reminds me of then Welbeck.
Sancho’s departure would be similar to then Kagawa’s.

Make of it what you will, or not.
Good luck, and may the gods help us all, I’m sure this time its totally different.

Sorry, not sorry.
 
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Captmfla said:
Too many defensive players are brought in and the problems upfront are still not solved.

More rotations and confusions to come with every new transfer. It will take time to gel.
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I think there's a case to be made that fixing defence and midfield will rebalance the team and allow our attackers to actually attack.
 
Rating transfer windows should be reserved until at least one season has passed, so you can actually rate a players worth based on real output within the team, instead of on paper nonsense.
 
AndySmith1990 said:
Rating transfer windows should be reserved until at least one season has passed, so you can actually rate a players worth based on real output within the team, instead of on paper nonsense.
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But that's not fun, though. It's amusing to browse these threads later on and see what was correct and what wasn't.
 
INEOS deserve their flowers when the window closes. Even more flowers if they move Sancho on and add another player to the squad. Either a CM to help Mainoo, or a right winger to replace Greenwood/Sancho/Pellestri.

Left back/LCB also an option for the final signing. David Hancko or Hincapie would be perfect to fill both positions really well.
 
SuperiorXI said:
This one looks very sensible but we'll see how it goes. I've been burned before.
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Sensible is the exact word that I'd use to describe it. There's not one signing that I've been extremely excited about but each signing has been a profile of player we should be looking for. It might not work out in reality, but I'm not leaving this transfer window question why we signed player x or y instead of another position (e.g. Mount last summer)
 
It's been a great window, the issue is we have so many glaring issues we were never going to solve it all in a single window.
 
Don't think we are too far away from Ornstein/Whitwell tweet confirming Utd are putting down shutters. Looks certain we aren't going to be involved in late deadline day surprise either
 
I’d still want us to try for Rabiot at reduced wages. Then a LB/LCB type like Hincapie or Geertruida (although he’s more a RB, but does play LB at times).

I’d be in favor of moving Rashford on for another winger/wing forward.

Rashford + €20M for Kvara please and thank you.
 
MrWilliams said:
I’d still want us to try for Rabiot at reduced wages. Then a LB/LCB type like Hincapie or Geertruida (although he’s more a RB, but does play LB at times).

I’d be in favor of moving Rashford on for another winger/wing forward.

Rashford + €20M for Kvara please and thank you.
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Hermoso is a free agent who could play LCB/LB too but is 7 years older than Hincapie
 
Don't know about best ever, but I will rate INEOS work as "pretty fantastic" if they manage to offload Sancho to Juve before the window closes. It is a huge one.

Can't really blame them for being unable to sell Casemiro, Maguire, on injured Lindelof. And on incomings the only thing we missed out was an LB, which maybe we didn't have budget for and hopefully we can fix in January
 
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