Centre Backs Under The Radar

Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber said:
Ake is developing nicely
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I like him a lot, but he's not at the level that VVD was when he went to Liverpool - in 2 or 3 years perhaps then yes.

The point I'm trying to make is that if we went for him, he'd be ready in 2 or 3 years time, not the signing Liverpool made and instantly turned them into title contenders.

We need Mr Ajax and that would do me. 1 player, 1 signing and I'd be happy with him out of all players
 
We need an rvn said:
I like him a lot, but he's not at the level that VVD was when he went to Liverpool - in 2 or 3 years perhaps then yes.

The point I'm trying to make is that if we went for him, he'd be ready in 2 or 3 years time, not the signing Liverpool made and instantly turned them into title contenders.

We need Mr Ajax and that would do me. 1 player, 1 signing and I'd be happy with him out of all players
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But we are not going to get that player if we are not in the CL and next season will probably see us playing in that ghastly Europa Cup again.

If we are lucky.
 
Melville Red said:
But we are not going to get that player if we are not in the CL and next season will probably see us playing in that ghastly Europa Cup again.

If we are lucky.
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I know we won't get him, simple as. He's the most in demand defender in the world and we're arguably the worst run top club compared to Bayern, Barca, City and Liverpool. After that you have the glamour of Real (not well managed in my opinion), PSG, Chelsea and us. It was more a tongue in ch... comment that just needed to be said
 
If we can get Umititi on a good deal and his knees ok it has to be done, and spend big and get Skrinia to partner him.

The reason the above two

Varanes after a new contract at madrid lets not waste time
Kouliblay is too expensive and for the price too old
De ligt is Barcas

If we cant get Umititi and Skrinia , Alderweild would be a good short term fix

If not take a gamble on some of the young prospects mentioned, Ake, Tah, Dias, Romangoli etc
 
Joachim Andersen, Ozan Kabak, Perr Schuurs
 
I get the whole 'under the radar' thing and uncovering the next VVD/MLD, and I also think Ake has developed nicely at Bournemouth (good age, homegrown, probably cheap enough, left-footed), but I can't see why we'd do anything other than go for Alderweireld (unless we get De Ligt - which ain't happening). He's PL proven (and been top five since he entered the league), a leader, experienced and would be an excellent stop-gap filler while we either scout the next De Ligt or wait to see how the likes of Ake continue developing.
 
Anyone mention Dayot Upamecano from RB Leipzig? Only 20 years old and he's one of the quickest centre-backs I have ever seen. Absolutely rapid, strong and excellent header of the ball and will become a main stay in the French national team very very soon.
 
Lots of promising centre backs coming through at the moment, luckily for us. I like Tah & Ake in particular, haven't seen anything of Akanji really but everyone seems to speak highly of him and he has a very cool name, which is nice.

Just don't buy Maguire or Manolas Ed. Someone should really book him two weeks off and lock him in a room with just a toilet and a laptop locked into Football Manager 2019 Utd career mode.

It's the only way he'll learn the way of the Wunderkind & do us all proud.
 
We need an rvn said:
I like him a lot, but he's not at the level that VVD was when he went to Liverpool - in 2 or 3 years perhaps then yes.

The point I'm trying to make is that if we went for him, he'd be ready in 2 or 3 years time, not the signing Liverpool made and instantly turned them into title contenders.

We need Mr Ajax and that would do me. 1 player, 1 signing and I'd be happy with him out of all players
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I'm of the view we need two CBs. In an ideal world I'd take De ligt and Ake. Promote Tuanzebe Shipping out. Rojo, Jones and Bailly. Then having Ake as cb and Shaw competition
 
Within the BL I would say Dortmund's duo of Akanji and Diallo. Really impressed by both this season and I think they will be top defenders. Tah has been named alot but I'm not fully set on him, I haven't seen him make horrendous errors but just seen goals where I think he could've done better. Maybe I'm being harsh because I tend to focus on watching Leverkusen's attacking players more than their defenders, Akanji and Diallo though I think are destined for great things.
 
Wayne's World said:
Anyone mention Dayot Upamecano from RB Leipzig? Only 20 years old and he's one of the quickest centre-backs I have ever seen. Absolutely rapid, strong and excellent header of the ball and will become a main stay in the French national team very very soon.
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Along with Bissaka at right back, for me, he should be the first name on our list in terms of rebuilding the defence. Under 21, fast, athletic and already excellent defensively. Like Bissaka, in my opinion he could come straight in to our side and be a big improvement on what we already have, with the potential of being one of the best in the world within a year or two.....and in todays transfer crazy world, with all that in mind, costing £50m odd, not an absolutely crazy transfer fee. £100M odd for Bissaka and Upamecano would be great business in my opinion, especially with Rojo, Bailly and Darmian moving out, half the costs pretty much could be covered
 
sun_tzu said:
I think Tah would do well in the premier league

Probably attainable at a not too crazy price from Leverkusen and as Boatang and hummles get older I think you will see him more and more in the German team (he already has a handful of caps and is 23)

Akanji has looked decent when Ive seen him but admittedly only a couple of times... and if Barca really are considering letting Umtiti go I hope we are all over that... obviously hes not under the radar but again i think he would be a good option
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Why are they letting him go?
 
Siddharth said:
Why are they letting him go?
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He's lost his place to lenglet and apparently Barca want de ligit as well... Guess he would be an expensive 4th CB to keep around plus apparently Todibo is supposed to be promicing as well.

Might be bullshit but seems to have been stories Evey week linking umtiti to juve, psg, arsenal etc
 
Suprised how highly people rate Ake. Been an integral part of an awful Bournemouth defence. Of course, you cant expect one player to «fix» that by himself, but you would expect him to be very visible.
 
Ake is a smart signing, he’s at the right age, homegrown and is talented. Since selling Blind we’ve lacked a competent left-footed centre-back, and as a result we’ve had to push Lindelof to LCB, which has hindered his ability to play out from the back. Also Ake can adequately fill in at LB if Shaw gets injured/suspended - no more relying on Ashley Young.

For this approach to work the club has to commit to a long-term plan and transfer strategy. There’s no point signing young players with high potential and then not give them time to develop. We saw it last season with knee-jerk reactions about Lindelof, fans and pundits alike were adamant he’s not good enough. A year later he’s proved them wrong and is now our best defender.

This is exactly why we need a technical director/director of football. Someone who can look at the big picture and be responsible for implementing a philosophy regardless of the manager.

Without this structure in place, I fear we’ll see Ole sign young players and be judged on instant success, rather than looking at the bigger picture.
 
If we are looking to keep Lindelof as a starter we need a strong,tall,good at heading but also good on the ball.

Players who would compliment Lindelof and relatively cheap would be Tah,Andersen and Saliba who is very promising.

Milenkovic is just a younger version of Smalling.
Zagadou also can be a option but is slow and clumsy with his feet,too heavy also.

Akanji and Diallo are very good players but maybe would not compliment Lindelof because of heading ability and height presence which we are missing with Lindelof,same story about Ake.

Upamecano is also one who would not compliment Lindelof and Ruben Dias just not good enough on the ball nor tall enough.

We need to find a player who would make a best partnership with Lindelof if he is someone who will be our first choice for future.
 
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Van Dijk used to be under the radar. Before he went to Liverpool he had excellent defensive stats yet many people scoffed at any mention of him. What I want us to do is sign a CB that has excellent defensive stats, not just sign a hyped-up big name. Who we sign should be excellent defending on the ground and in the air.
 
Nico Elvedi having a decent season & still under the radar...

Maybe Gianluca Mancini
 
PSingh said:
Ake is a smart signing, he’s at the right age, homegrown and is talented. Since selling Blind we’ve lacked a competent left-footed centre-back, and as a result we’ve had to push Lindelof to LCB, which has hindered his ability to play out from the back. Also Ake can adequately fill in at LB if Shaw gets injured/suspended - no more relying on Ashley Young.

For this approach to work the club has to commit to a long-term plan and transfer strategy. There’s no point signing young players with high potential and then not give them time to develop. We saw it last season with knee-jerk reactions about Lindelof, fans and pundits alike were adamant he’s not good enough. A year later he’s proved them wrong and is now our best defender.

This is exactly why we need a technical director/director of football. Someone who can look at the big picture and be responsible for implementing a philosophy regardless of the manager.

Without this structure in place, I fear we’ll see Ole sign young players and be judged on instant success, rather than looking at the bigger picture.
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How can Lindelof lose his ability from the back just because he's being played as LCB. It is still a Centre Back position. Just don't understand this problem.
 
We should go for Alderweireld 25Million and Milenkovic 40million. 2 CB's for the price we would pay for Koulibaly or Skriniar

One is experienced, and the other is one of the best up and coming CB's around, imo.
 
Siddharth said:
How can Lindelof lose his ability from the back just because he's being played as LCB. It is still a Centre Back position. Just don't understand this problem.
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Yeah it makes no sense. Some of the best ball playing right footed CBs do so from the left. For example Ramos, who likes to play nice diagonal long passes to the right wing.

But that might be the problem. We dont have a right wing. So even Ramos wouldnt be able to play those passes right? It would have to be to our right back, meaning they'd have to be as far forward as a right winger all the time to receive the ball.

So yeah perhaps our no right wing policy is an issue that would help Lindelof at LCB, but to be honest I've never seen him play good long balls like that anyway. He's more about the short passes on the floor.
 
Wayne's World said:
Anyone mention Dayot Upamecano from RB Leipzig? Only 20 years old and he's one of the quickest centre-backs I have ever seen. Absolutely rapid, strong and excellent header of the ball and will become a main stay in the French national team very very soon.
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For Leipzig this season
Orban 29 games CB average rating 7.42
Konate 26 games CB average rating 7.25
Upamecano 17 games CB average rating 6.91

This is an example of why we keep going so wrong in the transfer market.
 
Siddharth said:
How can Lindelof lose his ability from the back just because he's being played as LCB. It is still a Centre Back position. Just don't understand this problem.
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He’s right-footed and therefore is much stronger at bringing the ball out from the back when he’s played at RCB.
 
As I mentioned earlier, Willi Orban is the man. Strong, fast, great in the air, leader at the back, entering his prime. Low risk high reward transfer.
 
Jones seems here to stay which is ok, I guess. Id sell Rojo and Bailly, I'd keep Smalling, I'd promote Tuanzebe and I would add Joachim Andersen to the team. Currently the only 6ft3+ CB we've got is Smalling which explains why we're so vulnerable in air without him. Andersen would ratify that and unlike Smalling he's quite comfortable with the ball.

Meanwhile Id add Milenkovic for RB as well. The Serbian is comfortable both as RB and as CB which means we'll have options
 
ManchesterYoda said:
For Leipzig this season
Orban 29 games CB average rating 7.42
Konate 26 games CB average rating 7.25
Upamecano 17 games CB average rating 6.91

This is an example of why we keep going so wrong in the transfer market.
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Yep, heard from some Leipzig fans recently that Upamecano is extremely promising but they generally suspect Konate has the highest ceiling. Konate doesn't get hyped as much and is even younger than Dayot.

Boubacar Kamara is getting good reviews for Marseille. He needs to fill out physically but he has attributes to become a quality central defender and also can pass well with both feet. Some believe he'll be a starter for France in time, which is high praise considering the depth in their current crop plus the ones emerging (Konate, Upamecano, Sarr, Diallo, Mukiele, Diakhaby, Diop, Gnagnon, Badisahille, Saliba, Bianda, Zagadou, Todibo and co).
 
Ekeke said:
Yeah it makes no sense. Some of the best ball playing right footed CBs do so from the left. For example Ramos, who likes to play nice diagonal long passes to the right wing.

But that might be the problem. We dont have a right wing. So even Ramos wouldnt be able to play those passes right? It would have to be to our right back, meaning they'd have to be as far forward as a right winger all the time to receive the ball.

So yeah perhaps our no right wing policy is an issue that would help Lindelof at LCB, but to be honest I've never seen him play good long balls like that anyway. He's more about the short passes on the floor.
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It makes sense if you want your CB passing through the lines and through the middle considering the angle you need when passing (and how most team press). John Terry said he worked alot on his left foot to be able to play out from the back efficiently from LCB.

You can play the long ball out to the RW, but being soley right footed naturally limits your options against most teams. You can be good on the ball and at playing out from the back even if you are not good at playing long passes. But it makes you a bit more limited. Lindelof is quite good on the ball but we dont play to his strenghts when he is at LCB.
 
BeforeKeanetherewasRobson said:
Few mentioned here are possibles (De Ligt isn't coming here unfortunately).

Milenkovic for me.... a no nonsense defender (also a danger upfront) and think would partner up well with Lindelof. Can also cover RB.
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Milenkovic is still a bit suspect in terms of positioning. Which is why Fiorentina prefers to play him as RB for the time being. I wouldn't mind add him as RB tbh because he's very good there. However Id still add a CB as well ie Joachim Andersen.
 
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