Centre Back... Who do we go for?

The French guys and De Ligt get a lot of coverage, but I think Ozan Kabak is possibly the best young centre half around. Or at least right up there, and he’d likely be much cheaper than the rest.

Took all of 5 minutes to catch my eye first time I saw him. Everytime I’ve seen him since then he’s been impressive. With him and Demiral, Turkey are covered in central defence for many years.
 
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What are the options we have if we want to sign someone in 20-30M range and turn him to 100m player?
 
Rozay said:
The French guys and De Ligt get a lot of coverage, but I think Ozan Kabak is possibly the best young centre half around. Or at least right up there, and he’d likely be much cheaper than the rest.

Took me all of 5 minutes to catch my eye first time I saw him. Everytime I’ve seen him since then he’s been impressive. With him and Demiral, Turkey are covered in central defence for many years.
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He definitely has potential no question and would be a very good signing, and we might even be able to sign him for a very reasonable price.
 
Rozay said:
The French guys and De Ligt get a lot of coverage, but I think Ozan Kabak is possibly the best young centre half around. Or at least right up there, and he’d likely be much cheaper than the rest.

Took me all of 5 minutes to catch my eye first time I saw him. Everytime I’ve seen him since then he’s been impressive. With him and Demiral, Turkey are covered in central defence for many years.
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What kind of Cb is he what are his standout attributes, is he quick enough and capable of playing in high line defense.
 
gajender said:
What kind of Cb is he what are his standout attributes, is he quick enough and capable of playing in high line defense.
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I would say he’s similar to Vidic/Terry in style. The type of centre half you would refer to as ‘a rock’. He’s only 20 but he’s strong and bullies strikers on the ground and in the air, and reads the game well. He’s one of those ‘loves defending’ type of defenders. Seems to have natural leadership qualities too.

He doesn’t seem as fast as Ake, but I believe he is faster than our two defenders, and is probably about as comfortable as Lindelöf on the ball. Actually see a bit of Van Dijk in him too in terms of style.
 
Rozay said:
I would say he’s similar to Vidic/Terry in style. The type of centre half you would refer to as ‘a rock’. He’s only 20 but he’s strong and bullies strikers on the ground and in the air, and reads the game well. He’s one of those ‘loves defending’ type of defenders. Seems to have natural leadership qualities too.

He doesn’t seem as fast as Ake, but I believe he is faster than our two defenders, and is probably about as comfortable as Lindelöf on the ball. Actually see a bit of Van Dijk in him too in terms of style.
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Terry/Vidic and Van Dijk are quite different in their profile but if he is similar to any of those and have great upside as you seem to suggest then it's a no brainer to get him .
 
Chris Smalling. Bring Mengi into first team squad to see how he does.

& Buy a young talented CB.

Get rid of Jones, Bailly, Tuanzabe.

We made a mistake choosing Lindelof over Smalling who better compliments the carthorse.
 
Signing De Ligt would raise the same question marks people have with our current starting CBs in a high defensive line. When we signed Maguire it really should've ended the De Ligt talk IMO. We need a CB with a different profile.
 
Getting Koulibaly would essentially mimic the time when SAF got Van Persie and won the league back because we just wanted to add more goals. The situation is reverse in our case, we just need to stop the number of goals conceded by about 10 goals this season. I think Koulibaly whose a leader in his own right could do a better job of marshaling our defense. The price seems steep but throwing in Bailly to sweeten the deal could bring down the cost.
 
gajender said:
Terry/Vidic and Van Dijk are quite different in their profile but if he is similar to any of those and have great upside as you seem to suggest then it's a no brainer to get him .
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I mean are all strong and physical dominant defenders first and foremost, not pretend #10s in the back line. They are also all leaders who seem to lift their teams. They can all play (Vidic the least), but are not in the ‘ball playing defenders’ box, which is usually reserved for centre halves who are technicians more so than they are actual defenders. That three are unquestionably first class at defending first and foremost. He’s not one of these Stones, Lindelöf type of promising young defenders earning a rep because they flicked the ball over a striker’s head and started am attack, which is important to point out as it seems these are the qualities that excite many people most in a centre half these says!

Stylistically, I think he shows some of all of their traits. Vida and Terry were known as strong and physical, as is VDV, although they also read the game and position themselves well (VDV most of all).

Kabak is just a ‘natural defender’ really. He was strongly expected to join Bayern instead of Schalke. Schalke themselves signed him for 15m last summer only 6 months after he had joined Stuttgart from Galatasaray. He had just turned 19 at the time.

He wouldn’t be a sexy signing, but I think he’d be excellent. Probably around £25m or so too.
 
Rozay said:
I mean are all strong and physical dominant defenders first and foremost, not pretend #10s in the back line. They are also all leaders who seem to lift their teams. They can all play (Vidic the least), but are not in the ‘ball playing defenders’ box, which is usually reserved for centre halves who are technicians more so than they are actual defenders. That three are unquestionably first class at defending first and foremost. He’s not one of these Stones, Lindelöf type of promising young defenders earning a rep because they flicked the ball over a striker’s head and started am attack, which is important to point out as it seems these are the qualities that excite many people most in a centre half these says!

Stylistically, I think he shows some of all of their traits. Vida and Terry were known as strong and physical, as is VDV, although they also read the game and position themselves well (VDV most of all).

Kabak is just a ‘natural defender’ really. He was strongly expected to join Bayern instead of Schalke. Schalke themselves signed him for 15m last summer only 6 months after he had joined Stuttgart from Galatasaray. He had just turned 19 at the time.

He wouldn’t be a sexy signing, but I think he’d be excellent. Probably around £25m or so too.
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Kabak is basically a proactive CB which is evident in how he tries to win the ball rather than be passive like how we see Lindelof play. Still very young at 20 and another season in the German Buli would do him good IMO.
 
beingshe7don said:
Getting Koulibaly would essentially mimic the time when SAF got Van Persie and won the league back because we just wanted to add more goals. The situation is reverse in our case, we just need to stop the number of goals conceded by about 10 goals this season. I think Koulibaly whose a leader in his own right could do a better job of marshaling our defense. The price seems steep but throwing in Bailly to sweeten the deal could bring down the cost.
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Would be a worldie of a signing in that position no doubt about it but gut feeling says we are looking at someone younger and cheaper.
 
beingshe7don said:
Getting Koulibaly would essentially mimic the time when SAF got Van Persie and won the league back because we just wanted to add more goals. The situation is reverse in our case, we just need to stop the number of goals conceded by about 10 goals this season. I think Koulibaly whose a leader in his own right could do a better job of marshaling our defense. The price seems steep but throwing in Bailly to sweeten the deal could bring down the cost.
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Don’t get your hopes up, I think there’s next to zero chance we sign Koulibaly.
 
croadyman said:
If that was the only issue we had to fix this summer then we would go and break the bank for Koulibaly
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This. the problem is our defence has been good this season. Our attack has let us down. Lets sort that out first.
 
croadyman said:
If that was the only issue we had to fix this summer then we would go and break the bank for Koulibaly
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I think what he meant was signing a CB for now and the longterm. I like Koulibaly and think he would've been great for us but I believe there's some fantastic young CBs on the horizon that would suit us better.
 
Adnan said:
I think what he meant was signing a CB for now and the longterm. I like Koulibaly and think he would've been great for us but I believe there's some fantastic young CBs on the horizon that would suit us better.
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Who do you reckon we should target in that area, such a shame we were in a right mess when Van Dijk was on the market but just one of those things unfortunately
 
croadyman said:
Who do you reckon we should target in that area, such a shame we were in a right mess when Van Dijk was on the market but just one of those things unfortunately
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I've mentioned the name Ibrahima Konate on here many times now and believe he's the only CB that is comparable to Van Dyke. Aerially and physically he's almost there and he's also brilliant at bringing the ball out from defense and is an absolute boss playing the high press or deep defensive line. Last season RBL had the best defense in the Bundesliga with him as a regular starter, and this season he was injured for a large period which was costly for Nagelsmann.

He's quite simply the best young CB in world football and has no significant weakness in his game IMO. Put him next to Maguire and not only will he allow us to play the high press effectively he will cause huge problems for opposition in defensive transition due to his ability to dribble through defensive lines.
 
Adnan said:
I've mentioned the name Ibrahima Konate on here many times now and believe he's the only CB that is comparable to Van Dyke. Aerially and physically he's almost there and he's also brilliant at bringing the ball out from defense and is an absolute boss playing the high press or deep defensive line. Last season RBL had the best defense in the Bundesliga with him as a regular starter, and this season he was injured for a large period which was costly for Nagelsmann.

He's quite simply the best young CB in world football and has no significant weakness in his game IMO. Put him next to Maguire and not only will he allow us to play the high press effectively he will cause huge problems for opposition in defensive transition due to his ability to dribble through defensive lines.
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What is his transfer value likely to be roughly?
 
croadyman said:
What is his transfer value likely to be roughly?
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According to Sport Bild he has a €40m buyout clause and United they described as being seriously interested in the player. He also changed agents and is now represented by Jonathan Barnett who is the head of a British agency Stellar group. Sport Bild also reported that the player wants to move to the EPL hence a change to a British agency.
 
Adnan said:
According to Sport Bild he has a €40m buyout clause and United they described as being seriously interested in the player. He also changed agents and is now represented by Jonathan Barnett who is the head of a British agency Stellar group. Sport Bild also reported that the player wants to move to the EPL hence a change to a British agency.
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Same one as a certain Mr Grealish hmmmm
 
Adnan said:
According to Sport Bild he has a €40m buyout clause and United they described as being seriously interested in the player. He also changed agents and is now represented by Jonathan Barnett who is the head of a British agency Stellar group. Sport Bild also reported that the player wants to move to the EPL hence a change to a British agency.
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If Konate has a release clause of 40m then he and Sancho should be our target. Rather spend 40m on Konate than Grealish. Sancho can play in all the positions Grealish can
 
jamesjimmybyrondean said:
If Konate has a release clause of 40m then he and Sancho should be our target. Rather spend 40m on Konate than Grealish. Sancho can play in all the positions Grealish can
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Have to say if that release clause is right then would expect us to be all over it
 
Adnan said:
I've mentioned the name Ibrahima Konate on here many times now and believe he's the only CB that is comparable to Van Dyke. Aerially and physically he's almost there and he's also brilliant at bringing the ball out from defense and is an absolute boss playing the high press or deep defensive line. Last season RBL had the best defense in the Bundesliga with him as a regular starter, and this season he was injured for a large period which was costly for Nagelsmann.

He's quite simply the best young CB in world football and has no significant weakness in his game IMO. Put him next to Maguire and not only will he allow us to play the high press effectively he will cause huge problems for opposition in defensive transition due to his ability to dribble through defensive lines.
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Konate is a good one to consider but are Leipzig even open to selling? Maguire has quite a few defensive frailties. We keep talking about having someone play next to him but is he even good enough to be the starting CB to begin with? Also, how do you rate Mengi in terms of potential for development?
 
Adnan said:
According to Sport Bild he has a €40m buyout clause and United they described as being seriously interested in the player. He also changed agents and is now represented by Jonathan Barnett who is the head of a British agency Stellar group. Sport Bild also reported that the player wants to move to the EPL hence a change to a British agency.
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I've not seen anything about Konate having a release clause. Do you have a source for that? I know Upamecano has one
 
I think it will be one of Benoit Badiashile or Nathan Collins or Joe Rodon

If not one of them then nobody at all

Ake and Ben Godfrey being too short
 
I keep hearing about konate and upamecano. Can anyone describe them who watches them regularly?
 
beingshe7don said:
Konate is a good one to consider but are Leipzig even open to selling? Maguire has quite a few defensive frailties. We keep talking about having someone play next to him but is he even good enough to be the starting CB to begin with? Also, how do you rate Mengi in terms of potential for development?
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Konate I believe would be the ideal partner for Maguire he's very complete. Leipzig wouldn't want to sell either.

Mengi is still very young right now but does have potential, but it's hard to say if it's Manchester United first team type potential. But I do like the look of him and hope he grows a few more inches.
 
Dazzmondo said:
I've not seen anything about Konate having a release clause. Do you have a source for that? I know Upamecano has one
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Sport Bild: The newspaper states that he has a release clause of around €40m this summer and has made it clear he would like to leave the club.

His ‘dream destination’ is England and to achieve this, he’s already swapped to the British agency Stellar, who are run by Jonathan Barnett.

http://sportwitness.co.uk/man-unite...er-backed-player-pushing-move-swapped-agents/
 
If only Milan would sell Romagnoli with him being willing to leave... sigh
Top class CB wasted at that club
 
Adnan said:
Sport Bild: The newspaper states that he has a release clause of around €40m this summer and has made it clear he would like to leave the club.

His ‘dream destination’ is England and to achieve this, he’s already swapped to the British agency Stellar, who are run by Jonathan Barnett.

http://sportwitness.co.uk/man-unite...er-backed-player-pushing-move-swapped-agents/
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I can't find any mention of a release clause on SportBild's website. If someone finds the original source from Bild please post it. Sport Witness isn't at all reliable. I doubt Konate would have a release clause that low tbh considering Upamecano's is like €95 million.

I also think if it was real they would have just linked to the SportBild article the same way they linked to the Le 10 Sport article
 
Dazzmondo said:
I can't find any mention of a release clause on SportBild's website. If someone finds the original source from Bild please post it. Sport Witness isn't at all reliable. I doubt Konate would have a release clause that low tbh considering Upamecano's is like €95 million
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Has been reported that this summer it is €60m (£54m). His deal expires next summer.
 
I'm sure our scouts are aware of young talents like Konata, and are waiting for them to get some experience before seriously considering a move. Alaba isn't a realistic target.
 
Infra-red said:
Has been reported that this summer it is €60m (£54m). His deal expires next summer.
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If it's really €60 million we should snap Upamecano up for that. That's extremely good value for a cb of his age and quality

EDIT: I found the article in The Telegraph that mentions the release clause so that's a decent source imo: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/footbal...europes-wanted-defender-has-tottenham-sights/

Also found the SportBild article about Upamecano's clause going down to €60m : https://sportbild.bild.de/bundeslig...wechsel-sommer-fc-arsenal-71258870.sport.html
 
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mu4c_20le said:
I'm sure our scouts are aware of young talents like Konata, and are waiting for them to get some experience before seriously considering a move. Alaba isn't a realistic target.
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I think Konate pretty much missing the second half of the season due to injury may well have hurt his chances of a big move. That said, he’s been fit of late, and will play in the Champions League, which will put him back in the spotlight.
 
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