If not FDJ, then whom?

UnitedFire

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Hopefully we still make it stick despite the noise, but would be the next best options.

Neves at £70m+ sounds a horrendous Fellaini type situation. Very good player, but that feels a big drop off for the same money.
 
Time to bring Scholes out of retirement again?
 
James Garner. He's going to surprise a lot this season I reckon.
 
Would rather Fred as the 8 and get a different type as the DM if we can't get Frenkie. Neves is mediocre, tielemans is average, they're different to Fred but don't think they're better overall really. Similar level players.
 
I dont think there is currently a player of Frenkie de Jong his quality on the market so in that sense i would rather keep the money for when buying a worldclass midfielder becomes an option. However im also not sure i can endure another season of McT as a starting midfielder.

Bissouma would have been nice. Strong defensive midfielder who might make it possible for Fred and Bruno/Donny to play as the midfielders while Bissouma sorts out the major part of the defending.
 
It will be Tielemans if we can't get FDJ, he's cheap and easy to get. Wolves will ask stupid money for Neves which will put us off.
 
Nou_Camp99 said:
James Garner. He's going to surprise a lot this season I reckon.
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He won’t but if you’re right I’ll be delighted. He’ll look like a young player out of his depth and will continue to do so until some club give him a season or two of PL football without pressure to iron out the kinks. He’ll be another Periera at best. There’s just no way he’s a good enough midfielder to instantly take it by the scruff of the neck and save us 60 million quid. I like him and I think he’s got game but not for us at this moment in time. He’s absolutely miles off.
 
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Koopmeiners - been really good for Atalanta. Maybe unlikely to move on so quickly? He'd be a great backup option to FDJ stylistically though and probably my favourite semi-realistic choice. Atalanta are a selling club.

Guendouzi - been extremely impressive this season for Marseille. Take a look at his stats and he stands out across the board. Not sure about his attitude problems though, as that seemed to be the issue at Arsenal.

Renato Sanches - has done really well for Lille. Injury issues still a concern for him, but talent wise I'm convinced he's up for it now. Different style but would improve our midfield nonetheless.

Laimer - similar to Renato - class player, different style to FDJ. Solid and safe in possession, huge engine.

Lovro Majer - Proper midfield maestro. Not a great defender but brilliant on the ball, very creative. As one of two 8's in front of a true #6 he'd be great in the PL for my money.

Edit: Forgot Bennacer.
 
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If Barella is available we should be going for him regardless what happens with De Jong. Although I’d imagine there’d be serious competition.

Bennacer is an interesting potential Matic replacement.
 
OleGunnar20 said:
Koopmeiners - been really good for Atalanta. Maybe unlikely to move on so quickly? He'd be a great backup option to FDJ stylistically though and probably my favourite semi-realistic choice. Atalanta are a selling club.

Guendouzi - been extremely impressive this season for Marseille. Take a look at his stats and he stands out across the board. Not sure about his attitude problems though, as that seemed to be the issue at Arsenal.

Renato Sanches - has done really well for Lille. Injury issues still a concern for him, but talent wise I'm convinced he's up for it now. Different style but would improve our midfield nonetheless.

Laimer - similar to Renato - class player, different style to FDJ. Solid and safe in possession, huge engine.

Lovro Majer - Proper midfield maestro. Not a great defender but brilliant on the ball, very creative. As one of two 8's in front of a true #6 he'd be great in the PL for my money.
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Would love Laimer but looks to be Bayern bound.

No one in my list is as good as FDJ and most unrealistic but I'll give it a go:

Nunes from Sporting would be my top choice, truly a box to box player that can do just about everything.

Neves though likely overpriced

Soler, but unsure why hasn't ever stepped up to a bigger team

Barella, probably will never leave Italy

Less proven gambles:

Camara from Salzburg, looked a monster in the UCL

Kone, inconsistent and young but had a crazy run of games this year where he looked like one of the best young players in the German league

Thurman from Nice is up and coming but probably not our level yet, has all the physical tools
 
2cents said:
If Barella is available we should be going for him regardless what happens with De Jong. Although I’d imagine there’d be serious competition.

Bennacer is an interesting potential Matic replacement.
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He won't be, he's one of the most valued players if not the most valuable at Inter and they're notoriously stingy. If they want 70m for Skriniar then God knows what they'll want for Barella.
 
marktan said:
He won't be, he's one of the most valued players if not the most valuable at Inter and they're notoriously stingy. If they want 70m for Skriniar then God knows what they'll want for Barella.
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Yeah that’s what I assumed, was surprised to see his name mentioned here at all.
 
What about that young lad from Monaco everyone was raving about 2 years ago or Camavinga from 3 years ago? :wenger: i think Internet fans are getting pretty good at spotting the good players early!

The competition and the concept of how they actually fit in to a team vs cost and risk must be a pretty intense science now at the very top level. What is more interesting to me is the players who were once very highly rated but who managed to slip through the cracks and develop well at smaller clubs into their early and mid 20s. That’s that real hunger. Salah and KDB being two more recent examples.
 
Pipe down guys. The club certainly have other targets and even if they dont, the academy has alot of promising talent.

Whole lot of you are acting like it is armageddon. We have been through worst and still performed, relax and take confidence in the new manager's approach.
 
I think I would be okay if we stand out ground and not overpay for FdJ but we need to make that call early and move on to backup options. Dragging this out is not worth it for us.

Avoid a replay of what happened with Moyes n Fellaini.
 
Sid234 said:
I think I would be okay if we stand out ground and not overpay for FdJ but we need to make that call early and move on to backup options. Dragging this out is not worth it for us.

Avoid a replay of what happened with Moyes n Fellaini.
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We will need the money saved now to use on a replacement striker.
 
Aside from Verratti, Arthur is the only like-for-like alternative to Frenkie. Has all the same strengths and weaknesses.

Would be very easy to sign, too, as both he and Juve want to part ways.

I still think we'll sign Frenkie, though.
 
Everyone and their granny is saying that Calvin Bassey is going to be the next big thing in defenders. So why not snap him up now for cheap? Hes good now and can only get better.
 
People living in fantasy land if they think we're getting Barella. The guy is amazing, maybe better than FDJ, but why on earth would he leave Inter to come here? The reality is if we miss on FDJ it will probably be Neves or Tielemans - both are quite a step down.
 
sglowrider said:
We will need the money saved now to use on a replacement striker.
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I am sure the EtH has other options in mind. It's pretty clear he has come in with a clear set of targets in mind to fit his system.

I hope the fan pressure + CR7 drama doesn't force us to overpay for Frenkie
 
Sid234 said:
I am sure the EtH has other options in mind. It's pretty clear he has come in with a clear set of targets in mind to fit his system.

I hope the fan pressure + CR7 drama doesn't force us to overpay for Frenkie
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Yeap. We need to act like we are confident and not desperate. There will be knock-on effects when we start to negotiate for a replacement striker if we over-pay on Frenkie.
 
OpenIntrovert said:
Pipe down guys. The club certainly have other targets and even if they dont, the academy has alot of promising talent.

Whole lot of you are acting like it is armageddon. We have been through worst and still performed, relax and take confidence in the new manager's approach.
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For example?
 
Neves seems like the obvious choice to me.

Just hope United finally pull the plug on De Jong and move on to other targets.
 
sglowrider said:
We will need the money saved now to use on a replacement striker.
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I'd still take Frenkie over literally any other potential signing we could make. He's the dream midfielder for us and for our manager... We can manage with figuring it out in other positions, FdJ is easily the most important signing for us this summer and we can't miss out on it IMO
 
It will have to be two players to make up for the drop in quality IMO. Neves and Tielemans look the most likely candidates.
 
bosnian_red said:
I'd still take Frenkie over literally any other potential signing we could make. He's the dream midfielder for us and for our manager... We can manage with figuring it out in other positions, FdJ is easily the most important signing for us this summer and we can't miss out on it IMO
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Agree. He will be the key component for ETH's approach.
 
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