We will make the 4th signing, and then Mourinho will have until August 31 to see whether we need him or not. He's not strictly necessary.
If we do sign him I imagine it will be a deadline deal. Valencia and Darmian have a few weeks to prove we don't need to add another RB.
Didn't Mourinho say again last night we have 1 more signing.
He is coming as a DM not a RB imo.
Its were he has started in both CL games for Monaco this season.
We have a pressing need for a mobile DM to get the best out of Pogba.
We do need a holding DM to get the best out of Pogba. The only midfielder in our squad that holds is Carrick and that's a problem.
It's why I think Fabinho would be a fantastic signing. He's 22, shown a lot of potential with brilliant physical attributes and a lot of time to improve further. He can play both RB and DM and that would be extremely useful given the relative uncertainty we suffer from in those positions with regards to the medium- to long-term.
I believe he does well in the 'tackling holding' DM role and has shown that in Monaco's games so far this season. In that sense you could compare him to William Carvalho, a brilliant tackler who breaks up opponents' play while holding a disciplined position to allow fellow CMs to move forward. Sure, he wouldn't be the best passer in that position but we wouldn't need him to be. He could really help us in that position and possibly develop more in it until we replace Carrick with another holding midfielder (like Julian Weigl).
And if Darmian doesn't work out (Valencia isn't a youngster anymore) then we would have a ready-made top quality RB already in the squad.
I don't see why we wouldn't pursue this signing. Hope we can get him after Monaco's qualifiers.
Your post is not very smrt. He means Pogba
You're not smart, that was my point.
I doubt Monaco will allow him to leave until the CL qualifiers are over, which is fair enough.Can Ed only manage to work on one deal at a time or what? We should have got a female Chief Exec so they can multitask.
Perhaps another martial type scenarioI doubt Monaco will allow him to leave until the CL qualifiers are over, which is fair enough.
I would be disappointed if we signed him to be a DM. I would rather we play TFM there as I can really see him excelling there.
No. The translation is wrong, the post meant move forward - and was in response to the loss against Dortmund. Valencia isn't going anywhere, and will almost certainly be our starting RB. He has been handed the captaincy three games now since Mourinho has taken over.
Why would we buy a utility defensive midfielder(who has played more at RB recently), when we could go for a specialist one instead. Defensive midfielders aren't expensive and the difference in price between a specialist one and Fabinho would be minimal. Even Kante (top of the range) was for 30m.
I see no point in this signing unless he is specifically for RB. TonyV has done very well recently and darmian is a suitable backup.
Why would we buy a utility defensive midfielder(who has played more at RB recently), when we could go for a specialist one instead. Defensive midfielders aren't expensive and the difference in price between a specialist one and Fabinho would be minimal. Even Kante (top of the range) was for 30m.
I see no point in this signing unless he is specifically for RB. TonyV has done very well recently and darmian is a suitable backup.
Timothy could do this for usNot really many top DM's about though these days. Kante (more B2B but could probably fulfill a proper holding role) is gone, so is Krychowiak, otherwise you've got mediocre options like Gustavo or Carvalho, stop gaps like Diarra or too expensive like Dier.
Monaco play Valencia in the Champions League play off, with the second leg August 23 or 24. I suspect Valencia will win, so we will have about a week to finalize the deal. Although he can play RB, i think we would use him more as a DM.
They play Villarreal.
Timothy could do this for us
It's pretty clear that this is exactly what's happening. Ties in with the seemingly extreme preference Mourinho has for Valencia over Darmian (former's captaincy, latter's total exclusion from the Community Shield squad), in addition to repeated comments regarding the condition that if we were to sign an additional player after Pogba, it would have to mean that a player leaves as a result. Or vice versa.Mourinho is trying to shift Darmian, if he goes then he'll replace him with Fabinho. Problem is Darmian doesn't want to move. Yet.
Fabinho isnt a certainty to be available though. if monaco qualify for the champions league then they'll probably want to keep him. If not then you'd imagine Jose will 'encourage' Darmian to leave.Mourinho is trying to shift Darmian, if he goes then he'll replace him with Fabinho. Problem is Darmian doesn't want to move. Yet.
He wore that at Torino, there was no need to change it.Incidentally why was Darmian given the 36 shirt again? is it a personal preference or a sign by the manager that he's peripheral in his thinking?
When theyre talking about defensive midfielders they mean players who stay put and hold position. Kante doesnt do that. He puts in a huge amount of tackles but he's generally roaming around when doing so. Drinkwater was the one who was holding despite doing less actual tackling.Why would we buy a utility defensive midfielder(who has played more at RB recently), when we could go for a specialist one instead. Defensive midfielders aren't expensive and the difference in price between a specialist one and Fabinho would be minimal. Even Kante (top of the range) was for 30m.
I see no point in this signing unless he is specifically for RB. TonyV has done very well recently and darmian is a suitable backup.
Thanks, something i'd wondered about.He wore that at Torino, there was no need to change it.
As much as I love TFM, relying on an 18 year old with little to no experience in the first team in that position is silly. TFM would still get heaps of games in that position if we signed Fabinho.
Very true. Watching TFM last season its clear to see that physically and mentally he ws beyond his years. He needs to be on the bench and feeling like he's part of the team and getting minutes and experience.That's what Ferguson thought regarding Pogba and look how that turned out.
If you don't give promising young players like this a chance, what's the point?
We'll end up spending £150m to buy TFM back in 4 years!
I wouldn't mind Fabinho here as he looks like a talented and versatile player, but if it hampers the likes of TFM (which I suspect it will) then I'm out.
