Cheers for that mate. I just hope we get Sancho in, that’s all I care about.
How could he possibly know who we are prioritizing on our list? If anyone could find that out, it would be source close to our club, not theirs.Moxley is one of the best journos for the Birmingham based clubs. So him saying we have Grealish as a priority does hold weight even if many on here will be unable to look past the newspaper he works for.
Not sure how he would be privy to our list of priority targets though.
Bruno signed in January mate. Who did he replace?
I said it back then when we signed him. Had a feeling we knew Pogba was off this summer. Then covid 19 came along and that went out the window. But maybe it didn't.
If we sign DVB then I think he will leave. We all know he's tried to for last 18 months. His brother and agent never shut up.
If we were replacing Pogba though it wouldn't just be about whoever directly takes his place in the team. It's also about replacing the qualities he brings to the side, even if that's by improving other positions to compensate. In that sense the Bruno signing would have been part of replacing Pogba as he'd be the one bringing a lot of the qualities Pogba previously brought, not VDB. Hell, for all we know Bruno was signed with the possibility of Pogba leaving in mind.
Put it this way: if we see VDB + Bruno replacing Pogba + Perreira/Lingard in our first eleven over the space of two transfer windows then I would personally say that is a net improvement, even though it involves our most talented player being sold. So I'd be less concerned about how VDB compares directly to Pogba (a comparison that hardly any midfielders we could actually sign would fare well in on paper) and more concerned about how the overall team we'd be left with looks.
Ole was just saying what he had to in the moment, to explain why the club let a good player leave for free without buying a replacement. It’s like saying Greenwood was Lukaku’s replacement. Sure, Greenwood came into the team and got more minutes, but at this point can he give you what Lukaku can? Obviously not. Again, I really like McT, but we absolutely have room for a quality player like van de Beek (particularly over the long term).This is what Ole said last summer.
He's been given more chances this season to impress and has succeeded.
What I will say about DVB though is..... Last time we signed a player who had his heart set on joining another club (PSG) but came to us as a second choice was Di Maria. It didn't go too well.
If the only reason he's coming to us is because Madrid have financial issues then how much does he really want the move? Again if the story is true which it appears it might be.
I do think he's a very good player though. Just would be worried we aren't really his desired destination.
Comparatively so, we are. We're more resilient to external factors than anyone. If a team wanted to take advantage of this situation, then we are best suited to do so.If we sign this guy for 55m euros (roughly 50m quid) then our chances of getting Sancho are as good as over without a huge player sale I'd say.
Seems a tall order for us to sign both for 150m when Madrid can't even afford VDB if that article is true. We aren't that flush ourselves right now. 100m loss expected for United too before covid is done.
Only way I can see us getting both is if Pogba leaves tbh.
I mentioned the same thing. Even though he's privy to alot what happens behind the scenes at the Birmingham clubs he surely can't know who we're prioritizing. The likes of Ducker, Stone,Hirst, Peach etc would've said something if that was the case.How could he possibly know who we are prioritizing on our list? If anyone could find that out, it would be source close to our club, not theirs.
You keep talking about Pogba, who isn't really part of my posts except to say that if he leaves and we replace him
A very good point, I can see what you mean. But in that case my argument would be that a team aiming where we're aiming needs two Bruno/Pogba level creative players, not one. VdB doesn't really even factor into that, he's another Fred/McT level player for me (and I say that as a big fan of both). I don't see replacing Pogba with Bruno as satisfactory, if that is in fact what we've done. We needed to add Bruno to Pogba, and if Pogba's leaving then his replacement needs to be top calibre. Gaining Bruno and VdB and losing Pogba is not that much better than treading water.
Of course, if that deficit is down to needing to free up money to buy Sancho, then you're talking, because across the team as a whole that is then a big step up.
It sounds like I'm slamming VdB here but I really don't mean to. I like him a lot as a player and I'd be happy to have him here. I just don't think he's good enough to expect to automatically unseat McT/Fred. He'd improve the squad dramatically, but not really the first XI.
Why are people talking about how he's high profile to be back up. Is he going to be a starter in Madrid's midfield, Barcelona, City, Bayern, Juve, Liverpool or PSG's??? If his aim is to be a starter then he's more suited to 2nd tier clubs like Tottenham and Arsenal.
I have no idea what the fee would be, but if it’s anything close to that we should absolutely bring him in.Northcroft saying we'll try and do a deal at £36m.
Can they afford €50m without compromising on their other targets? I think that could be the issue with Madrid.I know the Coronavirus has impacted all clubs but do we really believe that Real can not afford €50m?!
I know where we stand compared to other top European clubs but the point was for people saying he's too high profile to be back up. Telling him to come here to play back up to our side may not be desirable but the fact is even a side like us battling for top 4 needs midfielders of his quality on the benchYou have to be realistic about where we currently stand in the European pecking order too though. We're still Manchester United but we're a Manchester United who have finished outside the top four in four of the last six seasons and are currently in a battle to stop that being five out of seven. If I was VDB and I had a choice between being back up for that iteration of Manchester United (with no real guarantee that the longstanding problems that put us in that position have been resolved) or being back up for some of the other sides you mention who have and will be competing for the CL itself....
Expecting players to currently view us the same way they view some of those other sides seems unrealistic.
Because of Pogba being injured for most of the season and us acquiring Bruno at the end of January. Under normal circumstances Andreas shouldn't see that much game time.I think Andreas has 37 games this season so I think he’d be more than happy to be playing that much.
Very good points.Why are people talking about how he's high profile to be back up. Is he going to be a starter in Madrid's midfield, Barcelona, City, Bayern, Juve, Liverpool or PSG's??? If his aim is to be a starter then he's more suited to 2nd tier clubs like Tottenham and Arsenal.
if this is true then it makes sense to me. After back up ST and RW our weakest position is backup AM. We've sorted out backup ST with Ighalo and want to get Sancho as RW so that leaves back up AM.
Alot of people saying DM is more necessary but is it really to Ole? Our standard formation is a 4-2-3-1 and every time in this formation our two DMs behind the AM consisted of either Pogba, Matic, Fred or Mctominay and the attacking midfielder has been either Bruno Pereira or Lingard. If we were going by this then the position that needs upgrading the most in midfield is who plays back up to Bruno. We already know that in the pivot it's going to be Pogba and Fred/Mctominay with Matic and Mctominay/Fred as back up which is very solid. On the other hand we have Bruno as the AM with Lingard Mata or Pereira as back up which is quite awful because the three of them are not good enough to even be on the bench for a top team. This is where VDB comes in I think
We are one of the few clubs with cash in hand at a time when everyone is struggling to make ends meet. I'd say if Pogba is leaving (this year or the next) then we should buy his replacement now. Else we risk getting 90m for Pogba only to have to spend that some to merely replace him with a lesser player
If we sign this guy for 55m euros (roughly 50m quid) then our chances of getting Sancho are as good as over without a huge player sale I'd say.
Seems a tall order for us to sign both for 150m when Madrid can't even afford VDB if that article is true. We aren't that flush ourselves right now. 100m loss expected for United too before covid is done.
Only way I can see us getting both is if Pogba leaves tbh.
I reckon this means we've missed out on Bellingham.
Nah not happening
So we’ve got reliable journalists reporting that were after VdB and Grealish, can you see us buying both and Sancho?
He was adamant that Van de beek was best deployed in a deeper role. I think he was banned not long after.There was one poster who used to worship van de Beek, bringing him into every discussion. Wonder if he is still on caf or banned/left.
What I will say about DVB though is..... Last time we signed a player who had his heart set on joining another club (PSG) but came to us as a second choice was Di Maria. It didn't go too well.
If the only reason he's coming to us is because Madrid have financial issues then how much does he really want the move? Again if the story is true which it appears it might be.
I do think he's a very good player though. Just would be worried we aren't really his desired destination.
He was adamant that Van de beek was best deployed in a deeper role. I think he was banned not long after.
Frenkie was better no doubt but I do like Van de Beek and I read up on some Ajax fan opinion on reddit and they think he should play as a #6 if played along with Pogba and Fernandes.Yeah, finally found the account. It's @Kaglish10. Not sure if he is banned. There was other guy too, Aloysius's Back 3 who used to argue same points.
Kaglish used to argue that VdB is better than Frankie.
I don’t get how people can keep saying the ‘if we sell Pogba’ thing and then with every other post talk about how no club can buy a player we want because they are all skint. Unless we are selling Pogba for £25m or something - people should realize that if he were to leave, then there are also clubs out there who can go and but Sancho or Havertz or any other player they have concluded only we can afford. Because Pogba will command the same fee!
Personally, I can’t see any team paying Pogba’s value. Juve may try some sort of swap deal, otherwise, can’t see clubs willing to spend that. And if there are, then perhaps Sancho isn’t the one-horse race people are implying.
I think he'll play as the #6 if we sign him and many regular observers of Ajax are of the opinion he should be deployed in a deeper role too if played alongside Pogba and Fernandes. Defensively he's very good and well drilled tactically and reads the game superbly well. He is technically also very good and would be really useful in transitioning play from a deeper role to a good level.People forget we have only one natural DM in the squad.
I don't think there is a chance in hell we play him at AM like Ajax does.
