Looks like Woodward is back then.
Eliaquim Mangala
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Imran (@Annihilate Now!) are here to discuss Amad saving our blushes in a win against Southampton as well as our now annual loss at home to Brighton. They discuss Amorim's post-match comments, revisit how mid-table we may or may not be, and discuss some transfer news.
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Looks like Woodward is back then.
Will he be starting for France at the WC? I have seen nothing of this guy so hoping to have a good look at him there.
Matt Law from the Telegraph said LVG isn't interested in him, he says LVG would rather bring in a experienced CB, which has made Chelsea the favourites to sign Managla.
I knew as soon as this was bumped it wouldn't be good news, lets just allow Chelsea sign everyone! They've already pretty much got their first choice midfielder and striker so this wouldn't surprise me. Will probably bid for Shaw next too!
LVG loves playing hard to get.
Damn Chelsea again..
I reckon we'll go for him if we don't get Hummels. Not a bad option to have, but he's a bit overpriced.
As is every Porto player it seems. They have to be the hardest team to negotiate with.
I would love to know the names of better experienced centre-halfs than Mangala that we could realistically bring to the club.
Pretty short hand-list I'd say.
If it's true he wants to come here I don't see why we don't bring him in. We can't rely on what we've got after last season.
A few weeks back he was only interested in going to City.
Can the world cup start already?
I'm starting to wonder what kind of "list" LvG handed over to Woody to work on. It seems like a pretty short list, and we're not even sure if those are realistic targets. Sometimes you go for good players who are available, even if they're not your first, or even second choice.
It just seems like a lot of the groundwork done on potential transfers (before Moyes' departure) has gone to waste. Just like when Moyes decided to pass on players he didn't know enough about the previous summer. I really hope we don't end up empty-handed again by chasing improbable targets.
It just seems like a lot of the groundwork done on potential transfers (before Moyes' departure) has gone to waste. Just like when Moyes decided to pass on players he didn't know enough about the previous summer. I really hope we don't end up empty-handed again by chasing improbable targets.
So many mentions of this list I think Spielberg is going make a film about it!
I'm guessing there is no specific list, the club would have told him about ongoing targets when they met and then he would have suggested names he is interested in. Maybe all names mentioned are unrealistic and that is why nothing has come to fruition as yet.
Only certainty I have is club/LvG want Luke Shaw. Whether we f*ck that up is another matter entirely.
I am beginning to wonder just who LvG wants! I'm hoping all these players we don't want, we actually do, but are trying to save face just in case!
I tend to agree. But I have a feeling we won't be making any really good deals this summer no matter what - by which I mean, we're likely to pay over the top no matter who we go for. Forty mill is a lot of money, though - you'd want an absolute, proven grade A defender for that kind of money.
Nothing against Mangala, be it said. He looks good to me - and he will only improve further.
He'd come here and look no better than Smalling and Jones would after a run of five consecutive games. He looks like a case of athletic ability over nous in the admittedly few times I've watched him play, and I find the touted fee to be nothing short of ludicrous for a player that has been making fairly regular errors in Portugal. But grass is greener and all that..
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Haven't watched Mangala at all, can anyone give a summary of his qualities?
France V Holland friendly was the first full game I have seen of him. He played very well alongside Varane, although Varane did look the better of the two which is understandable. His strength is impressive for his age and he looked comfortable in the air and on the deck. I think he has more potential than Smalling and Jones although I do think Smalling at CB can be a very good player once he gets his positioning sorted and tries to pass as little as possible!
I'm not particularly interested in CBs right now as I think with two quality midfield additions a lot less pressure will be on our defense. Also if we get Shaw then our weakest area at the back will be rectified.
Lets spend our money on midfield first otherwise we could sign Mangala, Hummels and Shaw and still concede loads due to our knife through butter midfield of Carrick/Fletcher/Cleverley.
I haven't watched him on a regular basis, be it said - but from what I've seen he looks very strong, pretty fast and very good in the air. The latter is what impressed me most - looks a very handy player to have in an aerial battle.
He's supposedly a bit feck-up prone, gives away too many fouls, etc. That could be an age thing, though - you'd expect a young defender to be a bit rash.
He's supposedly a bit feck-up prone, gives away too many fouls, etc. That could be an age thing, though - you'd expect a young defender to be a bit rash.
Cool thanks for that! Imo, we need one LB signing and maybe a CB too though as you say midfield is the priority. I dont think we will restock our deficiencies all in one window. Arsenal have needed a quality striker since VP left. Sometimes, it's not so easy to fix a gaping hole.
@Chesterlestreet good to know. Not sure if fans want experienced CB or another one to develop. By the reports seems like LVG is going for experience.
Really like the idea of him joining, he just has the attributes we want from a CB (experience aside).
At the price Porto will demand (30m+), TBF I'd much rather his French contemporary Aymeric Laporte who shares a lot of Mangala's qualities apart from the unnatural strength levels. But on the flipside Laporte is more composed on the ball. Infact he reminds me of Laurent Blanc's playstyle, he's 3 years younger than Mangala, has a very good left foot that Louis prioritises in his LCB, has a much higher Varane/ Marquinhos-esque ceiling compared to Mangala and plays in a better league where he was voted into the team of the season at just 20 years. Laporte also has a very reasonable €36 million buyout clause and IMO he will be the better player long term.
Abit like Phil Jones and Evans then.
Evans hardly lacks experience tbh.
Nothing wrong with having players who have similar attributes.
Would rather City sign Benatia. Have a bad feeling about Mangala. Haven't seen him play more than a few times but I've read he is quite error prone and he seems to rely largely on his physical attributes unlike Benatia. Mangala has the potential to be one of the best CB's in the world but I'm not confident he'd be a success in the Premier League. Benatia is a safer and cheaper choice.
Ducker of the Times saying that he prefers Chelsea/United over City but LVG has questions over his temperament and prefers Hummels instead. Mourinho wants a new CB and both Mangala and Mourinho share the same agent, Mendes.
I think you're wrong. Bayern fans here warned about Van Gaal's transfers. He is very cautious there and he tries to get players that are able to play well on his system, not neccesarily the best players available.
Mangala looks to me that he has all the attributes to play in whatever system you want, though. If Hummels isn't available (most likely he isn't) I hope we make a move for Mangala.
Aye - so do I, to be honest. But if there's zero chance of luring Hummels away it makes no difference what anyone would prefer. I hope whoever VG has his eyes on is a realistic target - that should be one of the first boxes to be ticked here.
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Would seem like a totally unnecessary signing for Chelsea. They just bought Zouma who you'd think is Terry's long term replacement and Cahill is still fairly young for a CB. They then have Kalas who's starting to break into their first team and a couple of highly touted academy defenders.
Spending huge money on Mangala would be dumb even for them. Though I'm sure the thought of France's potential future CB partnership sounds appealing.
Spending huge money on Mangala would be dumb even for them. Though I'm sure the thought of France's potential future CB partnership sounds appealing.
According to the german media.........Kalas will go to 1.FC Cologne.....i don't know just for a loan deal or permanent
This. Arruda gave his opinion on him and he mostly said that he is overrated at this moment in time, which is why I don't want to pay that sort of money for him.
Varane will be a starter for France, I'm not sure if Zouma will ever be a regular.
Yeah he could be the Centre Back we need.
Definitely a loan, Chelsea have high hopes for him I think.
He would come in and give us more physical strength and presence in the backline including in the air. Something we've missed without Vidic at his best.
He doesn't look much better than Smalling and Jones as an overall CB though. Its just his strengths are useful and if he improves his weaker areas he could become that £30 million CB that people talk about him already being. He isnt.
For the same reason he could be a good replacement for Terry and good option for City. But spending a lot of money on him could backfire a bit.
He doesn't look much better than Smalling and Jones as an overall CB though. Its just his strengths are useful and if he improves his weaker areas he could become that £30 million CB that people talk about him already being. He isnt.
For the same reason he could be a good replacement for Terry and good option for City. But spending a lot of money on him could backfire a bit.
Paying the sort of fee that it would take would be even more of a punt than spending £30m on Shaw tbh. But he definitely has the potential to be a world class centreback, something that I don't see in Smalling, Jones and Evans. Hummels would be the ideal signing at this moment in time though, for his experience.
I wouldn't mind if we bought Mangala. He is young, looks a good prospect and is going to the World Cup with France, so obviously he is no mug. Who would he replace from Evans, Smalling, Jones and Keane? Do we need 5 CBs with no European competition next season? The 4 we have now are all right footed, Mangala is left sided CB and is left footed/two footed, so that improves the balance in defense.
I haven't seen that much of Mangala, but I've heard a lot of 'ok' reviews on him and not much more.
As for who he'd replace, I think our defence is very average at most, so any of them really
. Although I think Evans is a good defender, but will never be great. Jones has the best chance of being very good in my opinionI don't believe defense is the priority, because I would prefer to see how our defenders do having a run of 15-20 games together as a settled CB partnership.
I would start the season with Evans as LCB and Smalling as RCB. Jones would be back up for Evans and Keane back up for Smalling. If Evans and Smalling are playing well and do not get injured then I would stick with that partnership all season. If you constantly change the CB partnership and have Evans and Smalling one week, Jones and Evans the next week and Jones and Smalling the following week, you can not get a good indication of whether they are good enough to be our CB for next 5-10 seasons or not.
I would start the season with Evans as LCB and Smalling as RCB. Jones would be back up for Evans and Keane back up for Smalling. If Evans and Smalling are playing well and do not get injured then I would stick with that partnership all season. If you constantly change the CB partnership and have Evans and Smalling one week, Jones and Evans the next week and Jones and Smalling the following week, you can not get a good indication of whether they are good enough to be our CB for next 5-10 seasons or not.
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