Erling Haaland / signs for Dortmund

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Alves was also 5 years older than Haaland.

Alves was just the first name that came to mind, I didn't look up the age at the time. So sure, you probably won't find many players that had the exact same age and same scoring record, in that regard Haaland stands out. There have been young players who where hyped at an even younger age though who might not have had the same scoring record but had other stand-out traits to their game to get people hyped such as Bojan Krkic, Breel Embolo or Obafemi Martins who all went on to have very sub-par careers.

The point is, while there might not be a 100% acurate precedent, remarkable performances of young players in the CL or players scoring for fun in a single season have been there in the past - but when those performances have occurred over a rather short period of time it will always be a considerable risk for buying clubs as there's simply no supplement for proven consistency over several seasons. Haaland stands out, but despite his great scoring record he will probably still be seen as a riskier buy for big clubs than, say, Timo Werner.
 
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Daniel Taylor was the Guardian's senior football writer for many years before moving to The Athletic recently. He's been covering United since 1998. He said that despite what's happened with Pogba and Mkhitaryan the word he gets from United is that the relationship with Raiola isn't a problem, even that Woody likes his style because he's straight forward.
Woodward liking Raiola’s style is all a bit Brent thinking he’s best mates with Finchy.
 
I’ll wager Lewandowski wasn’t this prolific at the same age

Certainly not.

Haaland hold the scoring record for a debut season in the Champions League. Of course nothing is certain, but he's certainly one of the best prospects in football.

Regardless, I'm stoked that the club is FINALLY paying up for a young bonafide A-list talent, it's been a while.
 
Really? Your comparing Fred to Haaland? Two players in different positions, different ages,different physical attributes. Totally different goal scoring stats.Well done sir!

PS where are you getting the “Fred was great in the UCL, “ from anyway?

I assume the PSG game, in which he DID play very well
 
I'm worried when we do get signings, what happens to the youth in our team. If we supposedly get Haaland, what happens to Martial? Greenwood? Greenwood should not be loaned out to any club because he's a great player and should be given chances at United.

Sancho will be a perfect fit because I still think James is better on the left. Fernandes, Rice, Longstaff or any good midfielder will fit in straight away because apart from Pogba and Mctominay, our midfield is pretty weak.
 
Could Martial play as a second striker behind Haaland? He has some good assist and hold up play for sure...
 
I'm worried when we do get signings, what happens to the youth in our team. If we supposedly get Haaland, what happens to Martial? Greenwood? Greenwood should not be loaned out to any club because he's a great player and should be given chances at United.

Sancho will be a perfect fit because I still think James is better on the left. Fernandes, Rice, Longstaff or any good midfielder will fit in straight away because apart from Pogba and Mctominay, our midfield is pretty weak.

Greenwood shouldn't even come into the equation. He's just turned 18. He needs to be given minutes here and there, maybe a loan wouldn't do him any harm - look at Tammy Abraham.

What happens to Martial? The idea is he fights harder for his place and plays better. This is a competitive sport after all.
 
Greenwood shouldn't even come into the equation. He's just turned 18. He needs to be given minutes here and there, maybe a loan wouldn't do him any harm - look at Tammy Abraham.

What happens to Martial? The idea is he fights harder for his place and plays better. This is a competitive sport after all.
Exactly, Martial either starts scoring goals and earning his pay cheque or he f***s off, and thats the way it should be. We should expect only the best and if our players arent on board with giving that then off they go, same as we did with Lukaku, its all or nothing.
 
Greenwood shouldn't even come into the equation. He's just turned 18. He needs to be given minutes here and there, maybe a loan wouldn't do him any harm - look at Tammy Abraham.

What happens to Martial? The idea is he fights harder for his place and plays better. This is a competitive sport after all.
You're right but if Martial is benched for any game. pretty soon he'll be unhappy and leave. Can you what happened to Pogba because he was benched by Mourinho. He wants to leave the club in spite of the club hierarchy siding with him. Secondly, Greenwood should not be sent on him but I agree he's too young to start every week but he should be part of United and play a few games here and there for the first couple of seasons and then he can probably switch with Sancho on the right-wing. That's if we manage to get Sancho.
 
Martial / Rashford / James playing off a big, strong CF who can hold up play and is lethal in front of goal himself? That's a frightening prospect for fluid attacking football. We have nobody at the club who can offer soething different up front, either. Sign him up, NOW.
 
I am a huge fan of Martial but it's not like he is scoring like Lewandowski where we have to worry about him leaving. If it turns out that he sulks cuz of competition then he is not for us anyway. If he raises his game due to the competition then even better. That's how it goes at top teams, which is what we want to be, no?
 
I see that there is a lot of doubters out there on him. To those I would like to say:

- Watch him play (not highlights, but matches) Personally I've seen around 20-25 matches
- Read some scout reports (there are some out there)
- Check his stats - They are unmatched by 19 year olds

He is 1,94m, 88 kg, faster than any CB/fullback in the PL, built like a tank. The run where he was measured at 36 km/h was a short run where he just accellerated the last few steps to get to the ball before the defender and keeper, creating a penalty (the first 5 seconds of the video underneath). I don't think there's a defender on the planet who could have followed him on that run. Remarkable! His movement off the ball is the best I have ever seen, he is allways in the right position, either leaving room for his teammates or himself. I think he is a complete striker, without any weaknesses, can fall deep, link up, hold up, get past a defender, has scored on his last 26 penalties and has the best conversion rate (goals/shots) in Europe. The energy in his game with the ball and in his offensive runs is just insane and I can't remember to have seen anything like it. His skillset and physique is so unique and extreme that it is not possible to compare or label him with anyone else. He hasn't got the ballcontrol of Messi or the tricks of Zlatan, but I know he's the real deal. I mean 100% that I haven't been this excited about a young striker talent since I first watched R9 at PSV in the mid-90s. You just knew it when you saw him that this was something else.

Link to the run I mentioned (first 5 seconds):
 
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Really? Your comparing Fred to Haaland? Two players in different positions, different ages,different physical attributes. Totally different goal scoring stats.Well done sir!

PS where are you getting the “Fred was great in the UCL, “ from anyway?

Not comparing anything, just saying that UCL success is kinda like success in the Euros - doesn't mean much for EPL.
I'm all for bringing him in the winter and believe that Ole of all people would know exactly if we should do it.
 
Alves was just the first name that came to mind, I didn't look up the age at the time. So sure, you probably won't find many players that had the exact same age and same scoring record, in that regard Haaland stands out. There have been young players who where hyped at an even younger age though who might not have had the same scoring record but had other stand-out traits to their game to get people hyped such as Bojan Krkic, Breel Embolo or Obafemi Martins who all went on to have very sub-par careers.

The point is, while there might not be a 100% acurate precedent, remarkable performances of young players in the CL or players scoring for fun in a single season have been there in the past - but when those performances have occurred over a rather short period of time it will always be a considerable risk for buying clubs as there's simply no supplement for proven consistency over several seasons. Haaland stands out, but despite his great scoring record he will probably still be seen as a riskier buy for big clubs than, say, Timo Werner.
Hard to disagree with your arguments here.
There will allways be higher risk in buying younger players with less experience, but in this case I'm convinced that his skillset and physical package would fit right in to the PL and the ceiling for this guy is almost as high as it comes. Therefore worth the risk imho.
It is also worth mentioning that performing at a high level at a young age increases the possibility of actually becoming a great player...
 
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I see that there is a lot of doubters out there on him. To those I would like to say:

- Watch him play (not highlights, but matches) Personally I've seen around 20-25 matches
- Read some scout reports (there are some out there)
- Check his stats - They are unmatched by 19 year olds

He is 1,94m, 88 kg, faster than any CB/fullback in the PL, built like a tank. The run where he was measured at 36 km/h was a short run where he just accellerated the last few steps to get to the ball before the defender and keeper, creating a penalty (the first 5 seconds of the video underneath). I don't think there's a defender on the planet who could have followed him on that run. Remarkable! His movement off the ball is the best I have ever seen, he is allways in the right position, either leaving room for his teammates or himself. I think he is a complete striker, without any weaknesses, can fall deep, link up, hold up, get past a defender, has scored on his last 26 penalties and has the best conversion rate (goals/shots) in Europe. The energy in his game with the ball and in his offensive runs is just insane and I can't remember to have seen anything like it. His skillset and physique is so unique and extreme that it is not possible to compare or label him with anyone else. He hasn't got the ballcontrol of Messi or the tricks of Zlatan, but I know he's the real deal. I mean 100% that I haven't been this excited about a young striker talent since I first watched R9 at PSV in the mid-90s. You just knew it when you saw him that this was something else.

Link to the run I mentioned (first 5 seconds):


The 88 kg part is the least believable stat of them all. He's closer to a 100, with his frame and height. Big legs, big back.
 
Apart from his physique, i don't see anything special. I've never even heard of 70% of the teams he scored against. He obviously has bags of talent and will become a great player but for now i can't see him become one of the best.
 
I would be fine with signing him in January if we also sign 2 CMs. We have no midfield so unless he can also play there, the team would still struggle massively to play any attacking football.
 
Would be an exciting signing, but I hope this wouldn't be our only signing.
 
Could Martial play as a second striker behind Haaland? He has some good assist and hold up play for sure...
Yes.

Look back at the 1st and 3rd goals against Sheffield United.

Martial plays a key role in the pre - assist key pass/build up play which is exactly what we need from a number 10.

He's actually a very good 2nd striker, which could combine amazingly with a target man/poacher like Haaland.
 
I see that there is a lot of doubters out there on him. To those I would like to say:

- Watch him play (not highlights, but matches) Personally I've seen around 20-25 matches
- Read some scout reports (there are some out there)
- Check his stats - They are unmatched by 19 year olds

He is 1,94m, 88 kg, faster than any CB/fullback in the PL, built like a tank. The run where he was measured at 36 km/h was a short run where he just accellerated the last few steps to get to the ball before the defender and keeper, creating a penalty (the first 5 seconds of the video underneath). I don't think there's a defender on the planet who could have followed him on that run. Remarkable! His movement off the ball is the best I have ever seen, he is allways in the right position, either leaving room for his teammates or himself. I think he is a complete striker, without any weaknesses, can fall deep, link up, hold up, get past a defender, has scored on his last 26 penalties and has the best conversion rate (goals/shots) in Europe. The energy in his game with the ball and in his offensive runs is just insane and I can't remember to have seen anything like it. His skillset and physique is so unique and extreme that it is not possible to compare or label him with anyone else. He hasn't got the ballcontrol of Messi or the tricks of Zlatan, but I know he's the real deal. I mean 100% that I haven't been this excited about a young striker talent since I first watched R9 at PSV in the mid-90s. You just knew it when you saw him that this was something else.

Link to the run I mentioned (first 5 seconds):

Hey haaland? How much do you think is the maximum we should pay for you?
 
Moving to us in January would be absolutely suicidal for all, I feel. He's currently in a free-flowing team who have scored 83(!) goals in all competitions. To leave that, mid-season, to join a club who have only scored 27 goals (with only 7 different goalscorers, btw. What a fecking batshit stat) and be expected to hit the ground running... Eesh.

If he doesn't instantly start bagging - which he almost certainly won't, we barely create any chances as it is - the media and fans alike will not afford him the leeway he deserves, owing to what is almost certainly going to be a fairly hefty transfer fee, as well as absurd narratives created solely for the purpose of breaking them down -- imagine the cringing comparisons Sky would make with Haaland/Ole, etc. only for him to falter and Gary Neville wank himself silly on MNF in March ripping into the team, as he so loves.

Not to mention he is only 19. It's quite the task to lead the line in a Premier League side period. Let alone at the biggest club in it who are currently in a period where the system and tactics seems to expose the flaws of players rather than adorn them...

If he's the no.9 we want, go all out in the summer. At least then fans will have had a bit of a reset and general optimism will be around the club (as so often is before the season) to make it slightly less difficult for him to succeed.
 
Moving to us in January would be absolutely suicidal for all, I feel. He's currently in a free-flowing team who have scored 83(!) goals in all competitions. To leave that, mid-season, to join a club who have only scored 27 goals (with only 7 different goalscorers, btw. What a fecking batshit stat) and be expected to hit the ground running... Eesh.

If he doesn't instantly start bagging - which he almost certainly won't, we barely create any chances as it is - the media and fans alike will not afford him the leeway he deserves, owing to what is almost certainly going to be a fairly hefty transfer fee, as well as absurd narratives created solely for the purpose of breaking them down -- imagine the cringing comparisons Sky would make with Haaland/Ole, etc. only for him to falter and Gary Neville wank himself silly on MNF in March ripping into the team, as he so loves.

Not to mention he is only 19. It's quite the task to lead the line in a Premier League side period. Let alone at the biggest club in it who are currently in a period where the system and tactics seems to expose the flaws of players rather than adorn them...

If he's the no.9 we want, go all out in the summer. At least then fans will have had a bit of a reset and general optimism will be around the club (as so often is before the season) to make it slightly less difficult for him to succeed.
The idea is buy him now and loan him back until the summer.

If we wait until the summer it'll diminish our chances.
 
The idea is buy him now and loan him back until the summer.

If we wait until the summer it'll diminish our chances.
If that's the case I'm all for it. I just saw the title change.
 
Jan is a tough time to do business, so realistically if we got 1 top class player that is massive. For me, as much as I'd love a new striker, I think that can want until the summer. We desperately need a midfielder who can make passes, be creative.We actually need a couple to be honest, but one new one and a returning Pogba, if he does come back, would be a massive lift.Our front line is so starved of service. If we got a striker and a mid in Jan that would be the ideal scenario, but probably highly unlikely. I'd hate to see a young forward with a huge transfer fee and massive expectations from the fans, put into a team with no service from mid.Our backline and forward line is actually decent, our midfield is horrific. Give our defence the proper cover from mid, and our forward line the proper service from mid, difference would be massive.
 
Jan is a tough time to do business, so realistically if we got 1 top class player that is massive. For me, as much as I'd love a new striker, I think that can want until the summer. We desperately need a midfielder who can make passes, be creative.We actually need a couple to be honest, but one new one and a returning Pogba, if he does come back, would be a massive lift.Our front line is so starved of service. If we got a striker and a mid in Jan that would be the ideal scenario, but probably highly unlikely. I'd hate to see a young forward with a huge transfer fee and massive expectations from the fans, put into a team with no service from mid.Our backline and forward line is actually decent, our midfield is horrific. Give our defence the proper cover from mid, and our forward line the proper service from mid, difference would be massive.
The problem with waiting to the summer to sign him, is that I think January is our only opportunity to get him. In the summer I think pretty much every big club in the world will be after him, and if there is no bidding war, he will sign for Leipzig for 30-60 M Euro to keep him within RB to maximize his value from there and cash out big later. Not a bad route for him, but he won't end up here that way. I guess we can sign him here in January for 75-85 M £, and I think Ole might be a signature-winning factor if we do. I would be fine with both loaning him back to RBS for the season for a softer start here with a full preseason and implementing him competitive rotation here in January already. This is just my take on it of course, but I think this might be one of those era-starting signings.
 
I see that there is a lot of doubters out there on him. To those I would like to say:

- Watch him play (not highlights, but matches) Personally I've seen around 20-25 matches
- Read some scout reports (there are some out there)
- Check his stats - They are unmatched by 19 year olds

He is 1,94m, 88 kg, faster than any CB/fullback in the PL, built like a tank. The run where he was measured at 36 km/h was a short run where he just accellerated the last few steps to get to the ball before the defender and keeper, creating a penalty (the first 5 seconds of the video underneath). I don't think there's a defender on the planet who could have followed him on that run. Remarkable! His movement off the ball is the best I have ever seen, he is allways in the right position, either leaving room for his teammates or himself. I think he is a complete striker, without any weaknesses, can fall deep, link up, hold up, get past a defender, has scored on his last 26 penalties and has the best conversion rate (goals/shots) in Europe. The energy in his game with the ball and in his offensive runs is just insane and I can't remember to have seen anything like it. His skillset and physique is so unique and extreme that it is not possible to compare or label him with anyone else. He hasn't got the ballcontrol of Messi or the tricks of Zlatan, but I know he's the real deal. I mean 100% that I haven't been this excited about a young striker talent since I first watched R9 at PSV in the mid-90s. You just knew it when you saw him that this was something else.

You're right about his physique. He looks so powerful but also so quick and strides like a Pogba or a Yaya Toure.

The way he balances himself when shooting and his gait remind of a powerful Van Persie. He seems to use his arms a lot for balance in that way.
 
You're right about his physique. He looks so powerful but also so quick and strides like a Pogba or a Yaya Toure.

The way he balances himself when shooting and his gait remind of a powerful Van Persie. He seems to use his arms a lot for balance in that way.
He's a man mountain, but a quick man mountain. Hope we manage to get him.
 
Apart from his physique, i don't see anything special.
Then you probably haven't seen much of him. If you watched him for a couple of games, it would be very obvious that his movement is top, top class, and that his finishing is superb. The combination of extreme speed and strength, his ability to always time his runs to perfection, and always find the right spaces, and superb finishing, makes him an unstoppable goal scoring machine.
There is still room for improvement in his technical repertoire. His technical skills has greatly improved over the last two years, though, and if it keeps improving, he will be up there with Mbappe in a not very distance future.
 
Then you probably haven't seen much of him. If you watched him for a couple of games, it would be very obvious that his movement is top, top class, and that his finishing is superb. The combination of extreme speed and strength, his ability to always time his runs to perfection, and always find the right spaces, and superb finishing, makes him an unstoppable goal scoring machine.
There is still room for improvement in his technical repertoire. His technical skills has greatly improved over the last two years, though, and if it keeps improving, he will be up there with Mbappe in a not very distance future.
This is redcafe. You could show somebody a video for messi at 18 and they'd say "too small and lightweight, stupid long hair and only 1 footed, no thanks".
 
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