Joao Neves | signed for PSG

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Lash said:
This isn't really true at all, as we've seen Mainoo has done his best stuff further forward. Neves's best stuff is deeper or in the middle of the park.

Why would they not think if we're going to play with 2 CM, we should have two of the best talents in the world in those positions in our squad?

Our midfield is obviously an area we need to improve, he has the profile and characteristics to improve on literally every CM we have bar Mainoo?

Plus, coming from a side who quite obviously needed a proper no 9 and bought Havertz :smirk: .
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Neves is very talented but he's not obviously some kind of wunderkind special player who is destined to be one of the truly top players in the world at his position. With midfielders, especially deep midfielders, its very hard to predict who will actually be elite level. The combination of physical requirements and tactical nous is so significant now, its really hard to know who will take that leap and it usually doesn't really happen until their mid 20s. 18 months ago nobody outside people tracking Portuguese youth teams had heard of him and everybody thought Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo were the can't miss young midfielders on the market.

There are tons of players out there that could improve your midfield. Why spend so much of your budget on one that has almost never played as the most defensive midfielder and may not have the ideal characteristics to play DM in the Premier League? Or who as a DM would be best paired with a box-to-box player with a massive engine and physical presence (not Mainoo's strong suit)?
 
Redivy said:
Joao Neves is in that top 5-6 tier list of young talents under the age of 20. If he is available to us, we need to sign him. We've missed out on the likes of Camavinga, Tchouameni, Bellingham, Gvordiol, Alvarez, Enzo, Caicedo, Haaland etc, and we have had to watch these players out perform expectations and become some of the best in their positions.

This is why we need to strike on the likes of Neves and Yoro.

Neves is totally different to Mainoo. They both show classy touches in attack. Whilst in defense, Mainoo will likely grow into a Carrick type, someone who uses his IQ to cut off passing lanes, and his body type will mean he can be effective when defending set pieces. Whilst Neves will be your combative midfielder, he will be tackling and intercepting the ball frequently. It gives us total flexibility.

We have seen teams like Liverpool and Madrid in the past decade operate with two #8 and one #6

Bruno is turning 30 at the start of next season, and his style of play unfortunately will make it hard for him to age gracefully. We should not pass up on a top top talent because of Bruno, as we need to build for the next 5 years, and not the next 2.

The dream for me would be to pair Mainoo and Neves with Zubimendi. But I believe he does not want to leave Spain. So, I would see if we could get Fabian Ruiz out of PSG.
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Agree with this sentiment. Passing up signing a potential world class talent because you are worried about the team setup around a 30 year old is how you stay consistently mediocre as a club. We aren’t trying to make a final push at the league or UCL where this summer needs to be key cogs in that, we are trying to rebuild an actual foundation of top talent that can grow together in the coming years.

Anyways I think Mainoo and Neves as dual 8’s with a physical beast of a 6 behind them is an elite midfield platform for the future. If you got him now, you could rotate plenty and experiment with different setups instead of just starting Bruno 60 games a year as well.
 
Our new Frenkie:devil: Will his girlfriend agree to a move???
 
Valencia Shin Crosses said:
Agree with this sentiment. Passing up signing a potential world class talent because you are worried about the team setup around a 30 year old is how you stay consistently mediocre as a club. We aren’t trying to make a final push at the league or UCL where this summer needs to be key cogs in that, we are trying to rebuild an actual foundation of top talent that can grow together in the coming years.

Anyways I think Mainoo and Neves as dual 8’s with a physical beast of a 6 behind them is an elite midfield platform for the future. If you got him now, you could rotate plenty and experiment with different setups instead of just starting Bruno 60 games a year as well.
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#10 is one of the areas where we have the best talent coming through in our academy too, so it’s very feasible that we would be able to get at least one workable option come through there if we want to have that tactical option in our squad after Bruno. Buying a top young 8 and going with a double 8 system should theoretically still allow our next squad to develop with quality 10 options too should we wish to switch it up.

I think we need to buy a top 8 and a top 6 over the next four windows.
 
Powderfinger said:
Neves is very talented but he's not obviously some kind of wunderkind special player who is destined to be one of the truly top players in the world at his position. With midfielders, especially deep midfielders, its very hard to predict who will actually be elite level. The combination of physical requirements and tactical nous is so significant now, its really hard to know who will take that leap and it usually doesn't really happen until their mid 20s. 18 months ago nobody outside people tracking Portuguese youth teams had heard of him and everybody thought Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo were the can't miss young midfielders on the market.

There are tons of players out there that could improve your midfield. Why spend so much of your budget on one that has almost never played as the most defensive midfielder and may not have the ideal characteristics to play DM in the Premier League? Or who as a DM would be best paired with a box-to-box player with a massive engine and physical presence (not Mainoo's strong suit)?
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I actually disagree on that first part. I think he'll be a standout in the Euros and there will be a lot of clamour for him. He's been playing above his age group quite regularly and it's not really a surprise people wouldn't have known about 17 year old CM. I'm not also sure what this paragraph is trying to really say, that he's a risk? Of course he is, so it every young player that gets a transfer but his combination of tenacity and technical ability is what makes him extremely unique. Also by a lot of accounts, he's extremely professional and Bruno has personally given him glowing reports.

He will improve out midfield and you literally did the same with Rice? He was bought as your 6 and now he's your 8 and you'll likely buy some else for the 6 role. It's just squad building based on talent that's available. This guy literally doesn't stop running by the way and wins the majority of his duels, I don't know why we wouldn't want to invest in someone like him who is a long term signing. For example, if we bought him and say Rabiot on a free transfer or another cheaper midfielder that has physical presence, that's immeasurably improved our midfield options and now how a talent that can be at the club for potentially a decade.

Also, Liverpool's midfield consisted mainly of Mac Allister and Endo - hardly giants and was more than capable in the league.
 
Wrecking ralf said:
Why do people keep saying he’s small? He’s similar to Bruno based on pictures of them together annd Bruno’s about 5’10. Kobbie also is taller than Bruno so them 2 in a double pivot isn’t that lacking in height.

I’d have posted pictures to back my point up btw but I’m not allowed to post media :rolleyes:
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Size doesn't really matter for a midfielder. Keane was 5ft11 tall while Paul Scholes was 5ft7. Size becomes an issue for a CM if he has to cover for someone else lack. Like for example needing a 6ft3 CM because one of our CBs is shorter then Gary Neville. We didn't need that during Keane-Scholes time because Stam and Johnsen were both 6ft3. I understand that many hate tall CBs these days but someone will need to pick the tab when defending corners. If the CB can't do it then someone else must.

That's why I believe that we must get at least two tall defenders. Let defenders do their job and let midfielders do theirs
 
Rozay said:
#10 is one of the areas where we have the best talent coming through in our academy too, so it’s very feasible that we would be able to get at least one workable option come through there if we want to have that tactical option in our squad after Bruno. Buying a top young 8 and going with a double 8 system should theoretically still allow our next squad to develop with quality 10 options too should we wish to switch it up.

I think we need to buy a top 8 and a top 6 over the next four windows.
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I assume you’re talking about Amir right? But yeah exactly, point being there is really only one player that I think we should be navigating transfers with in mind, and that’s Mainoo. Everyone else in the squad shouldn’t factor much into future plans in terms of “we can’t buy X player because we already have Y”. And we sure as feck shouldn’t be doing so around Bruno at this point.
 
Valencia Shin Crosses said:
I assume you’re talking about Amir right? But yeah exactly, point being there is really only one player that I think we should be navigating transfers with in mind, and that’s Mainoo. Everyone else in the squad shouldn’t factor much into future plans in terms of “we can’t buy X player because we already have Y”. And we sure as feck shouldn’t be doing so around Bruno at this point.
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Amir, Jack, potentially Shea.
 


On Castle’s pod. I believe he has a relationship with Mendes.
 
El-Manos said:
Promising. Surely there will be a middle ground there
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I think £85m would be the middle ground. The list price is £100m.

£70m + £15m would be a great deal to make if we can. At those prices, you would normally get a player on north of £200k p/w, whereas I imagine Neves would be little over half that.
 


The original tweet for those opposed to aggregators.
 
For £85m i'm doing that deal. I've seen enough from him to think he will be world class.
 
Dannn411 said:
For £85m i'm doing that deal. I've seen enough from him to think he will be world class.
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Seems like a decent price. Benfica showing some flexibility. I don't think they can sell António Silva for the price they want with his down year. Neves might be the player moved.
 
I also don’t buy into this myth that you don’t buy x player because you already have y. That’s how you end up with no depth or competition or flexibility. Players phoning it in because there’s nobody else pushing them. A good manager and organisation can keep everyone happy and fresh over the course of a season where you have European football too. Sign. Him. Up!
 
Dannn411 said:
For £85m i'm doing that deal. I've seen enough from him to think he will be world class.
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I somewhat agree he's certainly a player that is worth a premium for what he brings to the team.

United get rid of Casemiro and bring him in with a cheaper alternative for the defensive midfield position that's decent business, so long as the outgoing offsets some of the fee.
 
Valencia Shin Crosses said:
Agree with this sentiment. Passing up signing a potential world class talent because you are worried about the team setup around a 30 year old is how you stay consistently mediocre as a club. We aren’t trying to make a final push at the league or UCL where this summer needs to be key cogs in that, we are trying to rebuild an actual foundation of top talent that can grow together in the coming years.

Anyways I think Mainoo and Neves as dual 8’s with a physical beast of a 6 behind them is an elite midfield platform for the future. If you got him now, you could rotate plenty and experiment with different setups instead of just starting Bruno 60 games a year as well.
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Fully agreed!
 
Ali Dia said:
I also don’t buy into this myth that you don’t buy x player because you already have y. That’s how you end up with no depth or competition or flexibility. Players phoning it in because there’s nobody else pushing them. A good manager and organisation can keep everyone happy and fresh over the course of a season where you have European football too. Sign. Him. Up!
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I think there can be overlaps that don't make sense, but they're rarely in the form of guys who can play as a #8 or #6. We could always play a diamond, or 4-2-2-2 and get Bruno, Mainoo, Neves and one more CM in the team.

If the summer can somehow be Neves, Yoro and if that means cheap punts at LB/LCB, #9 and a DM that would still seem like a very good summer overall.
 
NoPace said:
I think there can be overlaps that don't make sense, but they're rarely in the form of guys who can play as a #8 or #6. We could always play a diamond, or 4-2-2-2 and get Bruno, Mainoo, Neves and one more CM in the team.

If the summer can somehow be Neves, Yoro and if that means cheap punts at LB/LCB, #9 and a DM that would still seem like a very good summer overall.
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Agree. We get both Yoro and Neves and it’s already a great window. If we get both and then smartly find quality options on the cheaper side for our other needs then it’s a 10/10 window.
 
Only way we can afford this is if Bruno Fernandes goes.

Me personally I would do it and get Fofana as additional squad strength.
 
NoPace said:
I think there can be overlaps that don't make sense, but they're rarely in the form of guys who can play as a #8 or #6. We could always play a diamond, or 4-2-2-2 and get Bruno, Mainoo, Neves and one more CM in the team.

If the summer can somehow be Neves, Yoro and if that means cheap punts at LB/LCB, #9 and a DM that would still seem like a very good summer overall.
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To be honest, I don’t think we really need a full back this summer. We have two good right backs, and our left back situation was dire because they were both injured. But come August, they won’t be, and we also have Amass.

The expectation cannot be that we have all of our left backs injured all season, every season. Otherwise we would not even need one LB this summer, we’d need 2.
 
Rozay said:
To be honest, I don’t think we really need a full back this summer. We have two good right backs, and our left back situation was dire because they were both injured. But come August, they won’t be, and we also have Amass.

The expectation cannot be that we have all of our left backs injured all season, every season. Otherwise we would not even need one LB this summer, we’d need 2.
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Any mobile LCB backup for Lisandro can probably be used as a depth option at LB (we can always push Dalot higher up the pitch if it looks more like a back 3), so that would be fine:

LB - Shaw, LCB, Malacia/Amass
LCB - Licha, LCB, Shaw, Maguire
RCB - RCB, Maguire, Kambwalla
RB - Dalot, AWB, Kambwalla

looks okay for next season. Malacia staying or going on loan probably comes down to what's best for him to get back on track, based on the reports.

We just need to do what Leverkusen did and find a Hincapie for 7M or Spurs did in getting Davies for 12M. Has to be a decent left-footed defender in South America, the Champo or a smaller European league we could get.
 
NoPace said:
I think there can be overlaps that don't make sense, but they're rarely in the form of guys who can play as a #8 or #6. We could always play a diamond, or 4-2-2-2 and get Bruno, Mainoo, Neves and one more CM in the team.

If the summer can somehow be Neves, Yoro and if that means cheap punts at LB/LCB, #9 and a DM that would still seem like a very good summer overall.
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I agree. We probably cant or won’t go for 5 marquee players even if it lowers the risk of failure somewhat but a dream summer for me is something like

Neves 75
Yoro 60
Sesko 60
Ait Nouri 45
Brantwaithe 60
Some aggressive specialist DM 50

Crazy FM money and type window but not actually crazy if we can recoup about 100 million in sales and slash the wage bill. What’s really crazy is spending 150 million every year and always having an incomplete squad that comes up short. That’s looking at the team being fixed barring adding one or two each summer during the next cycle. That’s a league challenging team once they hit their peak.
 
NoPace said:
I think there can be overlaps that don't make sense, but they're rarely in the form of guys who can play as a #8 or #6. We could always play a diamond, or 4-2-2-2 and get Bruno, Mainoo, Neves and one more CM in the team.
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Does that mean you know much about him? Spill (please), what’s his style, pros v cons, best positions?

In those four, would Neves be a 6 or a 8?
 
BeforeKeanetherewasRobson said:
Does that mean you know much about him? Spill (please), what’s his style, pros v cons, best positions?

In those four, would Neves be a 6 or a 8?
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There are Portuguese guys on here who've seen him more times than I have, but he looks quite comfortable as a 6 or 8 when I've seen him.
 
So if this transfer goes through, how do we lineup with this guy in our squad?


---------- Neves ------------ Bruno --------------

--------------------- New DM -----------------------
 
Waynne said:
So if this transfer goes through, how do we lineup with this guy in our squad?


---------- Neves ------------ Bruno --------------

--------------------- New DM -----------------------
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Err, Mainoo?
 
Ali Dia said:
I also don’t buy into this myth that you don’t buy x player because you already have y. That’s how you end up with no depth or competition or flexibility. Players phoning it in because there’s nobody else pushing them. A good manager and organisation can keep everyone happy and fresh over the course of a season where you have European football too. Sign. Him. Up!
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Just look at Madrid and how they do it. And how much they win
 
Ali Dia said:
I also don’t buy into this myth that you don’t buy x player because you already have y. That’s how you end up with no depth or competition or flexibility. Players phoning it in because there’s nobody else pushing them. A good manager and organisation can keep everyone happy and fresh over the course of a season where you have European football too. Sign. Him. Up!
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It's weird how this needs pointing out on a United forum, considering Ferguson achieved so much success thanks to have strong squad depth
 
Despite people preferring for us to get a destroyer DM I think we're going to set up with

Mainoo----------Neves----

-----------Bruno----------------

And be just fine in that trifecta. Bags and bags of techincal ability and dynamism in there.
 
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