I think we should go for someone like Mustafi, Manolas or Koulibaly. They are quality CBs and they would cost less than Varane, Marquinhos, Laporte, Gimenez or Stones.
Do we really need a new CB, if so who?
- Thread starter Mark Pawelek
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Bonucci is my dream CB signing. Better defender than Smalling and a better passer than Blind. 29 years old, but probably still has five or six years left in him. Barzagli at 35 is still an absolute class act.
Probably never going to happen, but Juve can easily afford to lose a CB, especially if they sign Benatia.
Probably never going to happen, but Juve can easily afford to lose a CB, especially if they sign Benatia.
Koulibaly is a beast! Why the hell isn't a big club after him? He's being linked to Chelsea 
We need an experienced CB. I would love someone like Pepe or Thiago Silva. Someone who gets stuck in and is a fighter.
Rami might not be a bad shout. Could be a cheap option.
Rami might not be a bad shout. Could be a cheap option.
Who do people think would be a good option, who's actually available? With Umtiti going to Barcelona, my favourite signing for that area is going elsewhere. Somehow I am unsure about of lot players that we could get like Koulibaly, Mustafi and Manolas. If Rojo and Blind are sold, I think we are definitely going to sign another centre-back.
If (IF) Pogba signs, this is where we should immediately turn our attention to.
Off the top of my head there are a few experienced top CBs that we could go for that would turn our side into title challengers. Lets look at the options.
1.Benucci- It goes without saying this guy is an absolute beast at the back, through the Euros he showed himself to be competent in all areas and most importantly a Vidic type presence at the back, what a player Juve have in him and therefore it is unsurprising that that will resist all offers from City or anyone else for that matter. Unfortunately we are about to line their pockets with enough money to tie him down for the rest of his career and honestly as an Italian playing for the best Italian team in the CL why on earth would he move. Non starter.
2.Jose Fonte- Maybe a bit lazy and perhaps a bit knee-jerk after a good tournament, but Portugals defence has been absolutely exemplary this tournament and Fonte has been key to that, his leadership at the back and doggedness has been very impressive. The Issue I would have with him is that being partnered with Pepe may have covered many of his downfalls, hes slow and prone to silly mistakes (lucky he has Pepe to help) but he can also score and seems to have a real presence in his box. He would be expensive to pry from Southampton and also/ arguably not worth the hassle....moving on.
2. Younger with potential needing the final push- Verane/Marquinihos/Stones- It seems when you look at the top CBs in the world you can not go far without looking at these 3 players, all would be in the 50m bracket. Personally when I think of our next CB I think we should go all in for Verane, sure he has had a hard time at Madrid and ZZ doesn't seem to rate him but he is a supreme athlete and would work along side Smalling perfectly. We would have pace, strength and players that can develop. The biggest issue here is the experience Verane has, sure he has been part of CL winning squads but has he taken much part? not really. He wouldn't be the natural leader we believe we should have, could we excuse those and rely on Smalling to be that player for us? Im not overly convinced, although Chris is coming into that stage of his career.
Marquinhos is a talent and a great ball player, but he is small and seems to be better as a full back. Stones I would say is another natural option like Verane but personally I find him to be purely a ball player, him along a learning Smalling would be a disaster and the money Everton have just invested I don't think hell be going anywhere. To be honest if he couldn't break into that England back line he does not warrant a huge fee nor a starting spot at United.
All in all, for me there is a clear winner here.
VERANE.
Off the top of my head there are a few experienced top CBs that we could go for that would turn our side into title challengers. Lets look at the options.
1.Benucci- It goes without saying this guy is an absolute beast at the back, through the Euros he showed himself to be competent in all areas and most importantly a Vidic type presence at the back, what a player Juve have in him and therefore it is unsurprising that that will resist all offers from City or anyone else for that matter. Unfortunately we are about to line their pockets with enough money to tie him down for the rest of his career and honestly as an Italian playing for the best Italian team in the CL why on earth would he move. Non starter.
2.Jose Fonte- Maybe a bit lazy and perhaps a bit knee-jerk after a good tournament, but Portugals defence has been absolutely exemplary this tournament and Fonte has been key to that, his leadership at the back and doggedness has been very impressive. The Issue I would have with him is that being partnered with Pepe may have covered many of his downfalls, hes slow and prone to silly mistakes (lucky he has Pepe to help) but he can also score and seems to have a real presence in his box. He would be expensive to pry from Southampton and also/ arguably not worth the hassle....moving on.
2. Younger with potential needing the final push- Verane/Marquinihos/Stones- It seems when you look at the top CBs in the world you can not go far without looking at these 3 players, all would be in the 50m bracket. Personally when I think of our next CB I think we should go all in for Verane, sure he has had a hard time at Madrid and ZZ doesn't seem to rate him but he is a supreme athlete and would work along side Smalling perfectly. We would have pace, strength and players that can develop. The biggest issue here is the experience Verane has, sure he has been part of CL winning squads but has he taken much part? not really. He wouldn't be the natural leader we believe we should have, could we excuse those and rely on Smalling to be that player for us? Im not overly convinced, although Chris is coming into that stage of his career.
Marquinhos is a talent and a great ball player, but he is small and seems to be better as a full back. Stones I would say is another natural option like Verane but personally I find him to be purely a ball player, him along a learning Smalling would be a disaster and the money Everton have just invested I don't think hell be going anywhere. To be honest if he couldn't break into that England back line he does not warrant a huge fee nor a starting spot at United.
All in all, for me there is a clear winner here.
VERANE.
Its weird people still want young defenders when we already have Tuanzbe and Williams knocking on the door
@MartialsBeard I don't think Bonucci, Marquinhos or Varane are available. Fonte is decent, but I don't think he would help.
A more experienced player could be Acerbi from Sassuolo, but I haven't seen enough to be sure.
A more experienced player could be Acerbi from Sassuolo, but I haven't seen enough to be sure.
I hope they get their chances, but the proven centre-backs to complement them are difficult to get. Players like Manolas might be the best we can do in terms of experience.
This is the issue for me, we will simply have to trust whatever Mourinho and our scouts come up with as on the surface of things, I cant see many players in this position available. Even if they were available I think only Benucci would fit the mould as in what we 100% need.
There seems to be a dearth in World Class CBs in world football. Its a problem.
Yes, but previously McNair and Blackett were also knocking on that same door. We opened the door, they let themselves in, made a bit of a mess and we had to ask them to leave again.
Tuanzebe and Williams look a lot more talented though.
There are plenty of great centre-backs out there imo (Godin, Pique, Silva, Boateng, Bonucci, Barzagli, Hummels, Kompany..)
Last year we made it thanks to a great defensive team effort. This year, I guess that we'll be a bit less focus on defending and we'll see how Blind is not suited to a Mourinho team.
I think that you're all right to say we need another CB.
I don't really know Bailly, but we can't hope he'll be a new Ramos in one month. We also have Smalling, who was great with Van Gaal, but poor for England this summer. Which one will we have next season ?
And after ????? No one. Jones missed more than 50% of the games since joigning the team, and should be axed as soon as possible. We may have Tuazenbe or another youngster, but I think we need a good defender here. I can't say we'll go for Hummels, Boateng, Ramos, Pepe, Pique and co, we felt so deep that we can just lure young players now.
I would like to have Varane, but I doubt he will leave Madrid soon. Stones can be a good choice too but he's City bound (and CL too).
Hope that Mou has one targets because we really need quality in such a pivotal position
I think that you're all right to say we need another CB.
I don't really know Bailly, but we can't hope he'll be a new Ramos in one month. We also have Smalling, who was great with Van Gaal, but poor for England this summer. Which one will we have next season ?
And after ????? No one. Jones missed more than 50% of the games since joigning the team, and should be axed as soon as possible. We may have Tuazenbe or another youngster, but I think we need a good defender here. I can't say we'll go for Hummels, Boateng, Ramos, Pepe, Pique and co, we felt so deep that we can just lure young players now.
I would like to have Varane, but I doubt he will leave Madrid soon. Stones can be a good choice too but he's City bound (and CL too).
Hope that Mou has one targets because we really need quality in such a pivotal position
No chance Real would sell Pepe I suppose? Being an absolute thundercnut aside, he'd be ideal it seems.
Wouldn't mind Jose Fonte for a year as a starter then back up after that. Good experience in a position where we lack a leader.
After his clash with Mourinho in Real Madrid's last season, no way they're working again together. I even think Mourinho has doubted Mendes loyalty and is not feeding him like he used to because to it.
Ah, didn't realise they had a falling out.
The stats don't lie, they are mostly irrelevant however. Blind is a decent footballer but not a centre-half.
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Don't think we need a CB. Certainly not a priority.
However Smalling would need to keep improving and cut out the silly performances. Do that and he's good enough to be the leader at the back, even if he's not necessarily a great centre back.
However Smalling would need to keep improving and cut out the silly performances. Do that and he's good enough to be the leader at the back, even if he's not necessarily a great centre back.
It appears José doesn't think so. At least, not for the first xi. He clearly stated that he needed 4 key players for the first team, having acquired 3 already. If the 4th is to be a midfielder i.e. Pogba as we all expect then it seems he feels he has the CB pairing he thinks is right to take us into this campaign. As far as squad player go, I really hope so. I hope we get rid of Jones and Rojo due to various reasons and sign Reece Oxford. Maybe that'll leave us with a lack of experienced CB's though.
He's been outstanding for Southampton, and would provide the experience we sorely lack at the back.
You could make a case for next season our defence being;
Fosu-Mensah - Smalling - Bailly - Shaw
Smalling being the most experienced in that is a massive worry, when there are doubts about him as it is.
Smalling has been here since 2010 we need to stop talking about him like he is still a young player.
I'm not saying he's a young player at all. He's not a good leader at the back is more along the point I was trying to make.
Jose probably won't ask for another CB until after the tour (i.e. needs to show that he's given the current crop a good once over & found them lacking). Who knows, maybe some that didn't fit the LVG philosophy might actually fit Jose's. There is enough talent & skill there, just need to find out if there is enough leadership & experience and if he can find a working unit among all the options.
If the Pogba deal comes off, I doubt he'll have as much funds as he'd like to bring in a top class experienced CB, though. At least not enough that it'd tempt a team that doesn't want to sell in the first place, which covers most of the previously discussed CBs in this thread.
If the Pogba deal comes off, I doubt he'll have as much funds as he'd like to bring in a top class experienced CB, though. At least not enough that it'd tempt a team that doesn't want to sell in the first place, which covers most of the previously discussed CBs in this thread.
Assuming Rojo and Blind are leaving.
This leaves us with Smalling, Bailly and Jones as our main centre back options. Tuanzebe and Mensah are potentially be the 4th. However Jones as an injury prone cannot be guaranteed fit means Tuanzebe and Mensah are automatically become our third choice. Not confident with this but if Jose can pull a miracle on Jones fitness, I think we will be fine.
This leaves us with Smalling, Bailly and Jones as our main centre back options. Tuanzebe and Mensah are potentially be the 4th. However Jones as an injury prone cannot be guaranteed fit means Tuanzebe and Mensah are automatically become our third choice. Not confident with this but if Jose can pull a miracle on Jones fitness, I think we will be fine.
Im happy with Smalling. He played 55 games for us last season ffs. In the first six months of the season he was immense. After that fatigue came into play. Your body cant play two games every single week almost and still maintain the same level of performance you showed in the beginning of the season.
This. Plus he spent a lot of extra energy covering Blind - really seemed to wear him down as the season progressed.
Why you guys were not in for Benatia?
With all the talk about Mourinho being a defensive manager and not playing the youngsters, it would be curious if he went for his first season at United with unproven at high level center-backs and hopes like Tuanzebe.
Because he was a risk with his injuries and wasn't really good at Bayern Munich.Why you guys were not in for Benatia?
Why you guys were not in for Benatia?
Yea...Banatia with our injury record,what could go wrong.
Personally not worried about this. Think we have more than enough with Blind, Smalling, Rojo (though he sucks) and the youth.
Forgotten about Bailey already?
Jose fonte is a good shout, yes he's quite old but he's still a very good defender he's probably been one of the most consistent in the league for the last 2/3 seasons, he wouldn't cost stupid money either.
at this stage we don't need young CBs we need someone with seasoned experience and someone that can show leadership so who better than fonte, just give him a contract similar to Zlatans. I think he'd do very well here.
at this stage we don't need young CBs we need someone with seasoned experience and someone that can show leadership so who better than fonte, just give him a contract similar to Zlatans. I think he'd do very well here.
Assuming Pogba is done, this has to be the priority position now. Smalling plus who? Blind, Rojo, Jones, Bailly. Jones and Rojo can't be trusted and should be offloaded, so we are seriously short of viable options. What if Mike gets injured early in the season?
I am fine with the CBs right now. Mourinho rarely changes his CBs so we just need to find a good pair between Smalling, Bailly and Jones. Smalling has been here 6 years, started 35 games last season and is now first choice for England. He is going to have to step up as a leader.
I like Koulibaly, Manolas, or just Marquinhos though i doubt PSG would even listen to any offers.