There’s very little to back that theory up. Duffy has never played close to a level that would suggest he’s worth a go at the top level. This seems like a really strange case of the grass is greener.
Centre Back... Who do we go for?
- Thread starter Macern
- Start date
More of a grass is less brown case. Then again, finding other cheap alternatives for a 4th/5th centreback option is not difficult.
Unless he is in the final year of his contract, he'd definitely cost a fortune. Any player contracted at a PL club would cost a fortune if we go after them.
£40m-£50m?
Kristoffer Ajer. Why wait for him to turn 27 when he leaves some mid-table PL club for £70m? I understand it’s higher risk than Van Dijk, but it’s worth taking a punt with £15-20m?
1.96m
Good with his feets (played a lot DMC)
In team of the year in Scotland (I know, doesn’t say too much)
21yo
1.96m
Good with his feets (played a lot DMC)
In team of the year in Scotland (I know, doesn’t say too much)
21yo
Anyone suggesting Tah hasnt seen him play. He's bang average.
He’s a good shout. I’m Irish so watch lots of him so ignore anyone saying he’s trash as they obviously haven’t seen much of him. Also find it bizarre people are holding it against him that he was in a team that nearly got relegated. Football is obviously a team game and plenty of great players haven’t been relegated over the years.
In saying that even though he is a good shout I don’t think I’d go for him. He definitely would be an upgrade on all our CBs bar maybe Lindelof but he wouldn’t be a significant upgrade on what we have. If he was signed as back up I’d rather use Axel.
For those that haven’t seen much of him he is very dominant but surprising good on the ball. At one point last night he killed a ball dropping from the heavens and carried it well into the Danish half. Showed good composure and ability on the ball.
I think his level could be his old club Everton or maybe West Ham/Wolves. I’m shocked top half teams haven’t gone for him and Dunk yet.
They are all going for Maguire apparently if we are to believe the Tabloids .
Duffy isnt good enough for us , neither is Harry Maguire or any of the current crop of English / Scottish/ Irish / welsh centre backs .
If we cant or as is most likely WONT buy the very best out there then forget about it and give Tunzabe a chance .
Why were we not in for Godin ?
One dominant dude to complement Lindelofs strengths. To unleash mr Lindelof the CB we need has to prefer the left spot in the heart of the defense.
What about Wolves central defender in Conor Coady (who seems to have leadership qualities)?
There is no such thing as a preferred CB spot, only thing that matters is how good you are on the ball. If you are right footed and bad on the ball you can only move one way, to the right, and if you are a RCB you will then move out from the field, opposed to a LCB who would move inn towards the field, into a dangerous area and make it harder to clear the ball. For a CB who is comfortable on the ball this should not matter, as they can move both ways.
So Umtiti wants to stay at Barcelona. That's one more defender we can cross off the list. I seriously wonder who we will sign. Koulibaly and De Ligt are the only top level CB's left and I doubt we buy one of them.
You can be comfortable on the ball and still have a preference as to what side youre on.
I don’t think anyone would be stupid enough to shell out good money on Umtiti.
Ok maybe Arsenal
I don't think he's rubbish but the Americans seem to see him as a clear, solid starter type more than a Pulisic star level player for them, which at 26 he'd really have to be to make sense as a United signing. Probably more likely to go to one of the teams just below the Everton/Leicester/Wolves bracket, like a West Ham or Watford if their manager demands a left-footed CB.
The American we missed out on I think was Tyler Adams, who's kind of a smaller Fabinho type in that he's comfortable as a DM and at RB, looked like a solid ballwinning DM for Leipzig in that cup final vs Bayern last month. He moved for 3M. Some Americans think he's better a RB. When I see us linked with - or fans talking up - athletic but questionable going forward types in N'Didi and Wan-Bissaka for like 100M total I wonder if Adams could have basically done one job and covered the other for almost nothing.
McKinnie and Adams really could be one of the better ball-winning combinations in international football for the next 10 years, seems like the thing the U.S should be building around, whether that means high pressing with them running around and breaking things up or sitting deep since you can't go through them, I'm not smart enough to know.
I think Jones needs a regimented system because for me, his worst quality is that he destabilizes the defence positionally more than anyone else we play at CB. If he went to Burnley (under Hughton, who knows what Potter will be like) or Brighton or Palace and sat deep and had a simpler job I think he'd do well.
His tune will change if they sign De Ligt. Loan with an option to buy would be amazing thought understandably not something Barca would want.
Technically Dunk and Duffy are no better than Lindelof, Smalling and Jones. Not so good by about 10%. When the chips were down it was Bruno who held the defence strong for Brighton. Maguire is 10% better though then a 20% gap to Matip and a huge 40% gap to the likes of Laporte, Stones, van Dijk, Fabinho.
The sum of both Duffy and Dunk together may add on about 5%. Last season's form. Whereas the rest of the Brighton team were outclassed, the three of Bruno, Duffy and Dunk looked to be good enough to be on the same pitch as City without embarrassment.
Nathan Ake - PL proven, affordable, left-sided, good on the ball, good in the air, athletic, young, surely attainable.
Milenkovic and Tah should be the ones we chase now. Seems Koulibaly, De Ligt, and Maguire are either unavailable or going to other clubs.
I'd be happy with Milenkovic or Tah
I will be honest and say I know very little about either of them,looks to me like the order of targets is De Ligt, Koulibaly, Maguire and Alderweireld
I could be completely wrong though and someone like Dias might be the third option
I sincerely hope we broaden our horizons if De Ligt and Koulibaly aren't possible.
Milenkovic, Tah, Akanji, Konate, Romagnoli should also be considered.
I think Tah and Milenkovic have the right attributes to develop into the dominant CBs most of us have been hoping for.
Koulibaly
De Ligt
And for 25 mill I’d sign Alderwield all day long.
Need any two of the above three with AWB. Solid foundation if we manage to get de gea on a new contract to.
De Ligt
And for 25 mill I’d sign Alderwield all day long.
Need any two of the above three with AWB. Solid foundation if we manage to get de gea on a new contract to.
Definitely De Ligt, Koulibaly and even Maguire are the caf favorites.
But IMO Alderweireld for 25m is a no brainier, same with Meunier. We could even get Ruben Díaz, Alderweireld and Meunier for what Napoli wants for Koulibaly.
Ignoring the price for a second, would you still want Alderweireld? He’s 30 and showed some signs of slowing down last season.
What’s vitally important, now more than ever, is getting the right players. We have a considerable amount of money available by all reports, so going for the cheap option isn’t necessarily the right course of action.
We should definitely go all in for Koulibaly,yes I know what Napoli say about not selling but money talks.
Time that we moved on after being given the run round by De Ligt & Raiola for the last few weeks.
Time that we moved on after being given the run round by De Ligt & Raiola for the last few weeks.
I have a feeling we’ll probably sign Saliba (we were the first ones to be linked with him a while back), loan him back for a season and give Tuanzebe a shot if we can’t get De Ligt or Koulibaly. Saliba’s agent is rumoured to be in Manchester - although I very much doubt anyone knows who the feck he is.
Can't find the article now but my understanding is Alderweireld is pulling a De Gea now that he is down to 1 year and will refuse any transfer so that he can go on a free. I know the fee is only 25 million but if he is not interested we can probably only persuade him by offering him a ton of money and a long term deal which is not great business for a 30 year old.
Ruben Dias and De Ligt. Won't mind selling Lindelof to accommodate De Ligt.
I am really starting to get the feeling that Maguire is about as wanted at Utd as Dier, however maybe that is just our twitter fanbase and I have it totally wrong. Think the Koulibaly & De Ligt ships have well and truly sailed now but wouldn't be averse to bringing in Alderweireld for £25m but seems he doesn't want to leave Spurs now. I know that Dias is also on our radar but doesn't seem to be any concrete links to him at all.
Ole is obviously a big fan of Maguire and when a BBC Journo like Stone comes out with an article and confirms our interest you know that he is obviously our number one CB target this summer which won't please some people I know. Personally I think he could relish the step up at Utd and really give us some solidity at the centre of defence
Ole is obviously a big fan of Maguire and when a BBC Journo like Stone comes out with an article and confirms our interest you know that he is obviously our number one CB target this summer which won't please some people I know. Personally I think he could relish the step up at Utd and really give us some solidity at the centre of defence
Actually not sure if Maguire would be a straight forward better option than Alderweireld. The latter is an experienced yet very solid defender and can prove an asset in the development of the young ones. Besides, the money asked for Maguire is a joke, United shouldn't pay that much for that player. IMO we should go for Toby and keep up the invesment in other areas, as he could be an answer for many of the concerns on the back.
Means juventus seems to be lobbing him.
What about that defender of Sampdoria? Andersson i believe. He was being mentioned a lot once.
Firstly sell:
Bailly - £25m
Rojo - £15m
Darmian - £15m
Jones - £20m
£75m saved.
Get Maguire £60m, AWB £50m and De Ligt/Koulibaly £80-90m. For a net spend of £125m your defence is sorted.
Defence squad then is;
Tuanzebe
Smalling
De Ligt/Koulibaly
AWB
Dalot
Shaw
Maguire
Lindelof
Bailly - £25m
Rojo - £15m
Darmian - £15m
Jones - £20m
£75m saved.
Get Maguire £60m, AWB £50m and De Ligt/Koulibaly £80-90m. For a net spend of £125m your defence is sorted.
Defence squad then is;
Tuanzebe
Smalling
De Ligt/Koulibaly
AWB
Dalot
Shaw
Maguire
Lindelof
No ones is gonna want Jones or Rojo for them prices considering the wages they are on, their injury records and the fact they're generally shite. We might be able to get £25M for Bailly and we'll probably get around £8M for Darmian.
We would be lucky to get 20M for Bailly Injured most of the season and hasn't done much when he has played.
Ross McCormack went for £15m a few years back in the Championship.
What are our realistic options?
Toby - 25m
Maguire - 80m
Ake - 40-50m
KK - priced out
Tah - 50m ?
Anyone from PSG is attainable if they sign Deligt ?
Toby - 25m
Maguire - 80m
Ake - 40-50m
KK - priced out
Tah - 50m ?
Anyone from PSG is attainable if they sign Deligt ?
