Di Maria replacement if he decides to leave

Status
Not open for further replies.
The fact that we never managed to find a place for him in the system over the season means that he doesn't really leave any hole in the team if he were to leave.

What we do arguably need to replace, should he go, is the dynamism and verve that he was signed for which we have seen from him only sporadically. We had lacked that kind of player since Ronaldo left, aside from when Nani hit top form.

We may find that Depay is that player but he is yet to establish himself as top-tier. Aside from him we have a lot of great players but lack anyone else with that kind of pace and flair which can decide a tight game.

Pedro would be a good option at a reasonable price.
 
Pedro is actually a good replacement as he's way more suited to a wide position in an LVG 4-3-3 I think, racing in behind the defence.

That said, it leaves us a bit short on creativity, if depay and pedro start then herrera and rooney would be in charge of creating chances... not inspiring
 
People are so stuck on this mentality of 'if we lose a player of Di Marias quality we need to replace him with another'. How about you wait and see what will happen? Almost every time a star or someone of high importance has left us, someone else has stepped up. Rooney scored 34 goals twice when we didnt have ADM or a midfield close to what we have now. Id expect Pedro if signed to exceed the combined goal output of Di Maria and Falcao from last year. Depay looks ready made for the Premiership, his build and physique could give him and advantage and allow him to settle quicker than most.

In fact just forget all that, Ashley flipping Young kept him out of the team last year.

Bottom line is I dont want him to go, but if he did im sure we will be fine.
 
Crashoutcassius said:
Pedro is actually a good replacement as he's way more suited to a wide position in an LVG 4-3-3 I think, racing in behind the defence.

That said, it leaves us a bit short on creativity, if depay and pedro start then herrera and rooney would be in charge of creating chances... not inspiring
Click to expand...

SAF won the EPL with Young and Valencia on the flanks, Cleverley in midfield and Rooney and RVP upfront. I think LVG wants to increase the tempo of our game making us more direct and with 2-3 finishers capable of swapping the roles making it very difficult for defenders to mark.
 
Draxler is being linked with juve and wolfsberg
I think we could do a lot worse if we had to replace Di Maria... Also with him adnan and depay we would have three exceptional young attacking talents that would be exciting to see develop
 
Alias said:
We don't need to 'replace' Di Maria - he offered little last season and we done okay without him.
Click to expand...

We do in the sense that Ashley Young is not good enough to be a starter for us.

Whether his replacement in the first team was a resurgent Di Maria or someone else is irrelevant, it just can't be him.
 
NinjaFletch said:
We do in the sense that Ashley Young is not good enough to be a starter for us.

Whether his replacement in the first team was a resurgent Di Maria or someone else is irrelevant, it just can't be him.
Click to expand...

Ashley Young was practically our only attacking and creative threat towards the end of last season. He may not be as technically gifted/ or have the reputation that ADM has but I know who i'd rather have in my squad based on last year's form. Ashley Young also offers us protection from a defensive POV - something that ADM doesn't. We cant afford to have a winger that fails to track his man back. You can get away with this in other leagues but in the PL you'll be punished week in week out.
 
If it's true that he never boarded the plane to join the squad without letting the manager know then he can feck off as far as i'm concerned.
 
Pedro sounds good.

How is Lucas Moura getting on in Paris? He's flown under the radar a bit since he moved there, what, 3 years ago? He could be an interesting option.

Also, how is Reus not heavily linked with anyone? I spent nearly all of last season thinking there would be an all out bidding war for him this summer.
 
If we get one it seems almost certain to be Pedro, but I'd list my top 5 options as;

1. Fekir
2. Reus
3. Pedro
4. Griezmann
5. Felipe Anderson
 
If he leaves, I'd rather we don't go for a replacement and instead give more game time to Pereira, Lingard & Januzaj.
 
If Di Maria leaves, and this seems like a matter of time at this point, we should only target an established great wide player or a great wing prospect (like Depay). Pedro is a very good player to have in the squad, but I'd honestly want us to aim higher. We should make an attempt to get Reus or Griezmann (already established great wide players). De Bruyne isn't exactly a winger, but can also play there. I haven't seen them play much, but people have also talked about Fekir and Felipe Anderson as solid prospects here.
 
Reus should be top priority if AdM leaves. Fekir is too much of an unknown entity at this stage and would be a much riskier purchase. Given that the team doesn't need yet another unknown variable, it would be wise to go for someone like Reus who is proven.

The only concern that I have with Reus purchase would be his frequent injuries. Apart from that he's world class.
 
I think we could do with someone capable of beating players one vs one, particularly when sides defend deep against us.

Domestic leagues 2014-15: dribbles completed per 90 mins (success rate)

Felipe Anderson 4.37 (61.45%)
Lucas Moura 4.28 (61.22%)
Gotze 3.05 (47.2%)
De Bruyne 2.92 (57.89%)
Bale 2.27 (54.62%)
Reus 2.13 (52.86%)
Ronaldo 1.57 (49.09%)
Pedro 1.22 (52.5%)
Griezmann 1.02 (45.16%)
Muller 0.91 (48.98%)
 
I'd like to see us get Pedro.

Also think we'll want to give Januzaj, Pereira etc more chances though this season so wouldn't expect too many more attackers on top of that.
 
Crashoutcassius said:
Pedro is actually a good replacement as he's way more suited to a wide position in an LVG 4-3-3 I think, racing in behind the defence.

That said, it leaves us a bit short on creativity, if depay and pedro start then herrera and rooney would be in charge of creating chances... not inspiring
Click to expand...

Everyone says this without having a shred of proof in terms of numbers, pedro can't touch di maria.

Alias said:
We don't need to 'replace' Di Maria - he offered little last season and we done okay without him.
Click to expand...
Little ?

we need to replace 11 assists, the highest in our club this year and 3rd highest in the league.
 
the obvious answer is rues, bale and on the lesser end greizmann.

feck lvg obsession with possession the team needs at least one explosive outlet that should be given free range to create chances.
 
3rdCarter said:
Everyone says this without having a shred of proof in terms of numbers, pedro can't touch di maria.

Little ?

we need to replace 11 assists, the highest in our club this year and 3rd highest in the league.
Click to expand...

Pedro average around 11 assist per season and is a better scorer too
 
No need for direct replacement. Bring in a striker and give the youngsters a chance.
Really don't want Pedro; think it's something to do with his face/haircut.
 
3rdCarter said:
this is what I'm saying.

Everyone U-turned on di maria's actual ability just because we are selling him. So fake.
Click to expand...

No I think everyone just turns on any players ability that decides to go to the French league when in their prime. Exception Zlatan.
 
Mainoldo said:
No I think everyone just turns on any players ability that decides to go to the French league when in their prime. Exception Zlatan.
Click to expand...
Turn on the player but don't lie about his ability. It's just fake, everyone acting like losing di maria is like losing rvp.

If it didn't work out it didn't work out, but stop with all the di maria was trash stuff. It's petty and so obviously wrong.
 
3rdCarter said:
Turn on the player but don't lie about his ability. It's just fake, everyone acting like losing di maria is like losing rvp.

If it didn't work out it didn't work out, but stop with all the di maria was trash stuff. It's petty and so obviously wrong.
Click to expand...

di Maria is a brilliant player - but he wasn't brilliant for us, and even worse...he didn't seem like he even WANTED to be brilliant for us. He should have been a tremendous loss - but after the way he performed last season, he is not.
 
SoCross said:
If he leaves, I'd rather we don't go for a replacement and instead give more game time to Pereira, Lingard & Januzaj.
Click to expand...
Good shout, would like the youth players to get a few more chances in the team if ADM leaves. We have Mata and Valencia as cover for the wing also, using the youth players can only help their development and re-establish our trust in youth.
 
lysglimt said:
di Maria is a brilliant player - but he wasn't brilliant for us, and even worse...he didn't seem like he even WANTED to be brilliant for us. He should have been a tremendous loss - but after the way he performed last season, he is not.
Click to expand...
highest assists for us by a margain

most chances created, while playing less minutes and being shifted around various positions. His overall performances weren't amazing or consistent but we are still selling the player that gave us the most assists/Chances. There's no context behind that, he helped us last season and if we sell him we need to bring in a player who can reproduce his numbers.
 
AbusementPark said:
Good shout, would like the youth players to get a few more chances in the team if ADM leaves. We have Mata and Valencia as cover for the wing also, using the youth players can only help their development and re-establish our trust in youth.
Click to expand...
Then you're obviously happy to play the waiting game when it comes to titles, fair enough.

When building a title winning squad it seems a bit rash to replace WC talent with youngsters who aren't proven.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.