36 and aging legs.... The last thing Thiago Silva should be doing is heading to PL, let alone Man Utd. He may come free but his wages will probably be around the 170k - 180k/ week mark. If there was any CB to consider over 25, it would probably be Koulibaly. If not, we should be recruiting a young talented CB whose quick and agile and can cover up for Maguire's mistakes. Konate and Upacameno are a couple CBs who are fairly young and could do a good job for us. I think either of them could do a job for years to come.
Centre Back... Who do we go for?
- Thread starter Macern
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36 and aging legs.... The last thing Thiago Silva should be doing is heading to PL, let alone Man Utd. He may come free but his wages will probably be around the 170k - 180k/ week mark. If there was any CB to consider over 25, it would probably be Koulibaly. If not, we should be recruiting a young talented CB whose quick and agile and can cover up for Maguire's mistakes. Konate and Upacameno are a couple CBs who are fairly young and could do a good job for us. I think either of them could do a job for years to come.
Thiago Silva is a winner, and a leader though. And while I'm sure he has lost pace at this point, he used to be one of the fastest CBs out there, so that's why I'm asking about how he has played this season. As far as I can tell, he has still made 30 appearances this season for a very strong PSG side. He might not be an automatic starter here, but could still be a good depth signing. It doesn't seem that he's at the point of his career where he's completely done at the top level.
Thiago Silva is a crying b*tch
What about Luca Kilian? Plays for German relegation candidates: Paderborn. Only 1 more year left on his contract. So could be a bargain. Still only 20 years old. 192 cm tall. Good pass completion rate of 90%. Averaging 52 passes per game. Good clearance rate of 4.5 per game.
Or risk Dayot Upamecano, despite the injury record. No injuries for almost a year.
Or risk Dayot Upamecano, despite the injury record. No injuries for almost a year.
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Kilian is a very interesting prospect. Strong in the air, good on the ball and has pace. Would also potentially be available on the cheap due to his contract situation.
I think Dayot has better technique and less rash in defence than Konate hence, the higher rating. Konate still appears awkward and clumsy I think.
I’m a bit surprised that there has been no mention of Kristoffer Ajer. OGS might be a bit reluctant to buy norwegian players, but considering price it would be an interesting punt.
198 cm (6’6’’) and very good on the ball. When he broke through in Norway at the age of 17 he was an attacking midfielder (and a good one!). I’m not sure about his «agility», but rarely seen him exposed. According to Oliver Burke, Ajer is the only player at Celtic who can beat him in a «straight race».
He is also the type of personality OGS has been talking about. Professional and intelligent.
Still only 22 and would represent low risk. If he did not work out, I’m sure we could sell him for a similar fee. Been linked to Milan and Spurs.
I do think it will be very difficult/expensive to find a CB who can improve our defence this summer. A lot of clubs are in the market for centerbacks. Our CBs are doing fine. Bringing in a cheap player with a lot of potential would make sense in my opinion.
Ajer is young, but already quite experienced. He had already played more than 16 000 minutes of senior football. (That is more than for instance Bailly and not that far from Rojo and Jones.)
What do the Celtic-fans in here say about him?
198 cm (6’6’’) and very good on the ball. When he broke through in Norway at the age of 17 he was an attacking midfielder (and a good one!). I’m not sure about his «agility», but rarely seen him exposed. According to Oliver Burke, Ajer is the only player at Celtic who can beat him in a «straight race».
He is also the type of personality OGS has been talking about. Professional and intelligent.
Still only 22 and would represent low risk. If he did not work out, I’m sure we could sell him for a similar fee. Been linked to Milan and Spurs.
I do think it will be very difficult/expensive to find a CB who can improve our defence this summer. A lot of clubs are in the market for centerbacks. Our CBs are doing fine. Bringing in a cheap player with a lot of potential would make sense in my opinion.
Ajer is young, but already quite experienced. He had already played more than 16 000 minutes of senior football. (That is more than for instance Bailly and not that far from Rojo and Jones.)
What do the Celtic-fans in here say about him?
I think this is a battle of the scouting teams. Seems like the whole world need a CB. Arsenal, Tottenham, Man City, Barca, Us, Chelsea. Whever gets the right one or manages to unearth the next gem will have a massive advantage over the others.
He looks a very promising CB and is very quick too along with having all the tools to develop into a very good CB in the longterm. But the issue is that Solskjaer tried to sign him for Molde and he (Ajer) turned him down and Solskjaer accused him of going for the money. Ajer then hit back at Solskjaer.
Bit naive from Ole,
Celtic over Molde is a no brainer and I am sure no player is taking a pay cut when they come to us
I think the player was sent out on loan to Kilmarnock so maybe it would've been better for him to develop at Molde who at the time were in Europe too.Bit naive from Ole,
Celtic over Molde is a no brainer and I am sure no player is taking a pay cut when they come to us
Ole I guess was frustrated with the players decision.
I've not seen much of him but was impressed whenever I have seen him. Extremely tall but also very good on the ball. I remember reading articles on him last year comparing him to VVD, so I wonder how he's developed this season.
Did not know that. Good insight.
Googled it and found an interview with Ajer at the time. OGS comment came across as «salty» I think, but Ajer handled it really well at 17. He hit back, saying a lot of teams are better at developing young players than Molde. But he also added that OGS is a good manager, and that maybe it just came out a bit different than intended or that the comment from OGS was out of context.
Whether he is an option or not, I do hope that this «feud» is not a reason for him not being an option. If that is the case, someone should grow up and offer an apology (and it is not Ajer).
All that being said, his best option at this point in time might be a similar move as van Dijk. Midtable PL-club for a couple of years. On the other hand, the lack of a Rio/Vidic-pair might give young CBs a good chance at Man Utd.
I'd actually bring this guy in now if possible. He has all the physical and technical abilities to be a very very good player. I work with a Celtic fan and he absolutely raves about him.
Many were certain before Christmas that Sander Berge was a cross between Xavi and Roy Keane. He's struggled a bit since arriving at Sheffield Utd and has been on the bench quite a bit, but he is a solid player for sure and will improve.
I think Ole will sign a Norwegian if he deems them to be good enough.
Heh, good point. Played in a new position, in a new setup, in a new league. Safe to say that Berge probably will not be a cross between Roy Keane and Xavi, but he will be a good PL-player.
Didn’t he sign for AC Milan last week?
Romagnoli would be one of my choices.
No, but they're strongly linked.
Can someone give me the 411 on Ozan Kabak? I've only watched a few youtube clips and he looks pretty solid and quick. Could he be a good fit with Maguire considering the fact that we're not gonna drop Maguire after paying 80m for him
Kabak is a proper defender. He caught my eye playing for Stuttgart last year before they were relegated and it took me about 5 minutes watching him before I started asking myself ‘who’s this guy?!’. He’s like a young Terry/Vidic - brave, with good positioning and arial ability.
Stuttgart signed him from Galatasaray aged only 18 last January and Schalke bought him off them just 6 months later for 15m. The wider expectation was that he’d go to Bayern but he rejected them for Schalke, saying he thought he’d play more games there, and then go to the Premier League which he sees as the best in the world. He’s less fashionable than the Leipzig boys or De Ligt but from my viewing, he’s as impressive as any young centre half around. Can’t imagine he’d cost more than 25m, and I think he could certainly play with Maguire.
Just bring back Smalling and we are sorted.
Why do people keep saying this. He doesnt want to be here.
How do you know that fully? I wonder why half our squad from last year wants to leave despite the money we pay?
At least it looks like Pogba wants to stay and Lingard too if anyone cares.
He doesn’t want to be here and be a substitute.
This. At PSG and Brasil he's never up in the money time. Great defender though but not a leader and winner.
He'd doesn't want to be here as a squad player which is fair enough at this point in his career. He'd happily be here as first choice.
Of course it doesn't really matter, as Ole obviously doesn't want him as a starting player so he's not going to come back.
That's good to know. We don't need a flashy player as such. He's definitely got great feet and I think his robust tackling and aerial ability is definitely a plus. I wonder if he's quick enough when faced with the likes of Mane, Salah and Sterling running at him at pace or if he's caught out of position, is he able to recover?
Lastly, how does he compare against his fellow Turkish contemporaries Demirel and Soyuncu?
I don't think we will sign any young CB that plays RCB when we have Tuanzebe. Ole really rates him and would want to give him a proper chance before spending money on a young player like him that plays RCB
I haven’t seen him caught out for pace really. It’s always hard to tel completely because defences are units, and set up differently. I haven’t seen him have to chase someone back off the top of my head, but if he has, then he handled it well as I can’t say I’ve seen him caught out. That said, I can’t say how he’d react in all scenarios, I’ve only watched about 5 full games and highlights. But Schalke have a good defensive shape, and in a league that is famously open and offensive - he is the leader at the back for them.
As for Sonyuncu and Demiral - I haven’t seen too much of Demiral, but all three seem top defensive talents. He and Sonyuncu are probably similar in style from what I see.
I saw some statistical analysis on twitter of all the best and most promising CBs in Europe and he came out looking very well, particularly in terms of ground and aerial duels. Not sure how quick he is. Ajer looks very good but seems to go to ground a lot in that youtube compilation.
Solkjaer - “Chris fancied the chance to go over there; it's a new experience, new adventure.
Smalling -
“I love a challenge and when a new centre-back comes in it makes you raise your game. You have to show more, you have to be more consistent.
“If I had stayed I would have taken on that challenge and I would have been very confident that I would have played the number of games that I was worthy of. Equally I have a challenge here at Roma. Going back [at the end of the season] I will have an added element that some of the centre-backs won’t have.
“The easy decision was to stay [but] this is the perfect opportunity to try and live in a different culture. In that respect it is like a total change, although football is still the same football.”
I'm quite glad we did not sign that fat faced kid.
Konate or Upameanco will be great signings.
Central defence definitely needs to be improved. However, the reports I've read all suggest that Ole still sees a future in Tuanzebe and Bailly for now.
I think we'll go into next season with Maguire, Lindelof, Tuanzebe, Bailly and Mengi as our options. It'll be last chance saloon for Tuanzebe and Bailly, with no new CBs coming in until January at the earliest.
Hopefully Axel can save us a few bob by nailing down a starting position alongside Maguire by then. If he fulfils his potential, he'll be top class.
The talk about wanting a left-footed centreback is probably about scouting targets in case the in-house options fail to stake their claims.
I think we'll go into next season with Maguire, Lindelof, Tuanzebe, Bailly and Mengi as our options. It'll be last chance saloon for Tuanzebe and Bailly, with no new CBs coming in until January at the earliest.
Hopefully Axel can save us a few bob by nailing down a starting position alongside Maguire by then. If he fulfils his potential, he'll be top class.
The talk about wanting a left-footed centreback is probably about scouting targets in case the in-house options fail to stake their claims.
Should send Bailly back to Villareal and get Pau Torres from them.
I think this is the case as well. Now that the players ahead of them look more settled, it's one year for all of them to prove they're good enough. Then we'll go into the market again next summer if we feel we still need to.
Personally, I think that's the right approach. Bailly in particular has had a very interrupted time, but I still believe he can become a good player for us. We're not winning the league next year and there don't seem to be that many defenders available, so we might as well try to improve what we have and then go again.
That said, if we could sign Alaba I'd bite your hand off.
Think we just have too many injury prone defenders who we need to get off the wage bill. We're waiting for miraculous cures for constantly broken players like Jones, Bailly and Dalot, who have all shown high potential at times but never get a consistent run. We need to be a bit more ruthless with these guys. Jones's latest contract was such a facepalm. Unfortunately, it looks like Tuanzebe could also be heading the same way as the aforementioned which is a real shame given his potential and his complementary playing style to Maguire.
I also have doubts about Laird given his injury profile which would be particularly gutting given his talent but at least we have Williams for cover in this position so we can be a bit more patient.
I also have doubts about Laird given his injury profile which would be particularly gutting given his talent but at least we have Williams for cover in this position so we can be a bit more patient.
How is Soyuncu doing? Read a lot of glowing posts on him in the beginning of the season. The downside is, Leicester will milk us again, for sure