Aye, a bit weird. Similar to a few I've heard mention spending obscene amounts of money on a new CF. I'm not even Lukaku's biggest fan, but he's a 75m investment, who I doubt is going to be leaving just yet.
Julian Weigl
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Sounds like a girl, Juli An.
Matic would be harshly done out of a start here. The guys been awesome since signing and I for one would hate to miss him in the team. He’s up there with our most important players. I’d love Weigl personally but wouldn’t mind Dier of Spurs he’s really started to impress me (as opposed Alli who has been exceptionally poor) and previously I couldn’t see it with him. Sign Dier he’s a leader and we cannot have enough in the team.
DDG
Valencia Bailley Jones Shaw
Dier Matic Pogba
Sanchez Martial
Lukaku
Having a sub like Mahrez who has exceptional individual ability in around the team is another I think we are lacking in comparison to City. Not sure if red tinted glasses are on but the amount of times Nani and Ando changed the games coming on by giving us a complete new dynamic was great to watch (that’s how i used to feel them coming on and trying to all out win games with these two eager to please and Hargreaves signing was just top drawer but very unlucky injury wise). I’d love a couple of classy kids to compliment Rashford and dare I say it Lingard who for a spell of games produced form I never though I’d see. I’d love to see Lingard be an integral part the squad but my jury is massively out but fingers crossed he carries on of late as he’s been brilliant in that spell and stepped up when we needed. So credit well deserved.
I think it's not about replacing him. We actually have no defensive midfield cover, Herrera is no good there. We absolutely need somebody to cover Matic who is playing every game right now and whose performances are slowing down lately because of fatigue. Weigl is perhaps too young to replace Matic but this would be an ideal midfield for the future.
If we got Julian Weigl, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and a good left-back, well that's a masterstroke by Mourinho. Only problem is that Mourinho said our summer window would be short, which suggests he's only going to sign one or two players. I think it will be just one central midfielder and a left-back.
Lukaku is the last we need replacing absolutely madness. We look to have dodged a slightly above average player in Morata personally from what I’ve seen there are not much between him and Dzeko who actually might be the better player. Very glad we have Lukaku he’ll score 25+ (More with a better team next year) this season and continue to get better in open play.
Yeah, when we're not playing well - the first response here is usually "buy buy buy".
Totally agree on Dier. Have been saying it since he broke into the team at Spurs.
..... Jose says short but that can be quantified in time or amount. That said, I think Ozil is coming and therefore provisionally done but I think we will see our record broken for a CM player. Our forward line completes with anyone but the midfield is missing the Herrera upgrade.
Signing Ozil and a top CM would mean one of them won't be a starter. That's highly unlikely.
I think there's going to be a few not starting especially now with the Sanchez deal. Didn't Jose say that's what happens in big clubs, and it's not usually here as we've always had players on the bench that would be starters in even the big teams around us. City seem to have been able to do it too....
There is no way that Matic is getting benched. He has been arguably our best player this season, and has comfortably outplayed Pogba.
While we could have said the same for Herrera last season, I think that a lot of people felt that something was missing from his game. On the other side, Matic has been top notch.
Nonsense. He's been good, no question, but Pogba's role is far harder than that of a DM and he's winning us games with his creativity.
And Hummels too. Essentially, Kagawa, Mhiky and Sahin failed, Lewa, Dembele and Hummels didn't. While it is a conjecture, I think that Kagawa would have excelled under Fergie if the coach didn't get injured.
There is nothing wrong with players from Germany or BVB. You just need to make sure that they suit the system.
Yeah he’s surprised me as when I first saw him I thought he was another Jones type level (steady player if fit) but lacking too much finess. But having watched him closely now a dozen games he’s really started to impress me. He’d be a great addition to our squad able to step in or play beside Matic Pogba in a 2 or a 3 and also play centre back if needed. He’s a winner and dishes out the orders to everyone around
Think we are nearing the stage of real top players (guys who’d walk into the other top half of the league) being on the bench for us. Exciting times we have certainly not clicked into beautiful football but the team Jose has and is putting together looks very strong. Enough to compete in Europe and league in my opinion
You really think that? Because that just sounds completely insane.
I didn't mean completely replace him from the squad, he'll be 30 next year and we have zero cover for him. When we play with a 2 man midfield, he has way too much work to do and if you ask me it's showing in his performance.
I love Matic and I think he's one of the reasons we are playing better than last year, but buying someone like Weigl would help us rotate them both, help integrate Weigl into the squad and eventually replace matic in 2-3 years
Dier was Plan B for Matic I believe.
The problem with a Matic Dier Pogba Midfield is it's way too defensive. Our midfield is crying out for someone who can control games, not another DM.
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Is he Championship level like Kagawa and Mkhitaryan are?
No because none of them are.
Well, they did play at that level while they were with us.
But what the heck, lets spend ridiculous money on the new shining object Dortmund is dingling at our face. Third time lucky as they say. Then if things go badly we can always send him back or swap him with some Arsenal player.
Not being good enough for us doesn't mean championship level, but I'm sure you know that already. Don't let me get in the way of your silly logic and hyperbole.
Actually its worse than than championship level since a championship level player would probably show some pride and spine while wearing the red shirt. That was too much too ask from Kagawa and Mkhitaryan.
But as said, what the heck. Third time lucky as they say. If things go badly we can always send him back or swap him with some Arsenal player. We just need a Casper the friendly ghost sort of player in the team considering that Mkhitaryan is now gone.
carry on then with your hyperbole.Yeah, Matic has been our best and most consistent player this season. Pogba and Martial in top 3.
it would be funny if it happened to Shitty or Chelsea. Oh wait, Shitty does have a former Dortmund "lion". How's Gundogan doing?
De Gea has still been our best player this season, which is still a massive worry, hes getting tested far to much still
Doing well when he plays, but injury is hampering him. Coming on the back of two bad knee injuries. Playing about 28 games in all comps for City this season.
So he's been, for most of the time, useless for Shitty. Typical.
As useless as a player can be playing 28 games by February for a team first in the league and into the knockout of the Champions League. Championship level, I guess.
@Acquire Me had him down as a United target last summer
Mkhitaryan played around 25 games for us this year. What a great success that was.
Seriously mate, some players do well if played in a certain system. I used to rate alot of English players back in my youth and believe me, they were good players. However I didn't want them to play in the Serie A because I knew they would fail or at least struggle alot. Same thing about Dortmund players moving with us.
Sure some Dortmund players might make it in the EPL but I assure you it will be the exception to the rule. In my opinion, considering the risks then we should look elsewhere.
I can see Weigl playing next to Matic in the same way Xabi Alonso partnered Khedira, whilst having a front 4 that can run riot. (Ronaldo, Di Maria, Ozil, Higuain/Benz)
He's the type of midfielder we need, he can make penetrating passes and for Dortmund, especially under Tuchel he can run the whole midfield by himself as he showed in a 4-1-4-1. He'll add stability to the team so Pogba, Sanchez, Martial/Rash and Lukaku can run riot.
He's the type of midfielder we need, he can make penetrating passes and for Dortmund, especially under Tuchel he can run the whole midfield by himself as he showed in a 4-1-4-1. He'll add stability to the team so Pogba, Sanchez, Martial/Rash and Lukaku can run riot.
I think we should exclusively sign players from Sporting - afterall, that's where we got Ronaldo from and he turned out to be world class, so it stands to reason that all players we purchase from Sporting will be world class too. On the other hand, Di Maria didn't really work out here, so we should avoid Real Madrid players like the plague - definitely no Kroos, Kovacic, Isco, Asensio this summer, not even if they were giving them away.
In ways, yes, but you'd have to completely separate the player from his own abilities to say that no Dortmund player could work here. There are some that will, some that won't. Mkhitaryan was an abject failure here, no doubt. Kagawa, I think, less so. More of an unfortunate product of shifting tides. His future was nailed when we signed van Persie. I think there are some Dortmund players that could work here, if they're young enough and able to change up their playing style to suit this league. Others won't, Mkhitaryan was too far gone to be moulded into a United player. Same problem with Aubameyang, he won't be much of an impact in this league.
ADM did well with us. He was our main assist man at a time when United create 1 chance per game. It was LVG obsession in killing every ounce of creativity in the the team that forced him out.
Regarding your comment, we're talking here about 2 players whom we signed after doing very well for Dortmund for quite some time and were unwatchable with us. I am not saying that every Dortmund player will automatically fail. All I am saying is that we need to be careful.
I think that you took a tongue to cheek post way too seriously. So lets start from scratch.
All I am saying is that while accidents can happen, its also true that lightening rarely hit twice at the same place. Both Kagawa and Mkhitaryan are professionals, who did well with Dortmund but were unwatchable at United. Therefore attitude and talent was not the issue here. Which leaves us to one thing really ie our system is very different to theirs. That is indeed a matter of concern.
Does that mean that every player from Dortmund would fail? I can't answer to that because I simply don't know. What I do know is that we need to be cautious when signing a player for Dortmund as stated before, they play a different type of football/atmosphere/pressure/tempo to the one we play. I wouldn't even bother about that if Dortmund players were on the cheap but they aren't.
Ah no I knew you weren't serious, I just wanted to get my point across. I agree with your main point. I was just killing time before lunch.
Wow. I just can't agree with that.
As my post explained, different players fit in different systems, this is part and parcel the issue with not having a DoF, the need to identify a player that fits in with the system the club has been deploying for a consistent period of time.
Kagawa was a #10/SS in a quick, pressing, fast passing, positional Dortmund team, most things went through him. At United he played left wing in a more rigid 4-4-2 that didn't use inverted wingers. We should never have bought him unless we were going to switch to a different formation that relied more heavily on a #10, and people wonder why he failed.
Mkhitaryan is a collective kind of player, a collaborator with teammates, no coincidence his best ever season came under Tuchel who meticulously plans out and drills into players attacking scenarios and options, Mkhi had players all around him and they executed those plans to perfection. We've all discussed how this team looks completely barren on the attacking coaching front, Mourinho relies more on individual brilliance, Mkhi showed some of it, but again he was bought on the back of his great season because of his numbers with clearly no thought as to how and why he was able to achieve those high number of goals and assists.
For the record i think Kagawa would of done a whole lot better under Mourinho than Mkhi, and particular better than under Fergie, Moyes and Van Gaal. It's simply not a case of every Dortmund player who leaves will fail, you need to look at each individual case and why they failed exactly.
Weigl is a bit different in that I think he controls the system, he has the keys to Dortmunds system, he is in affect a DLP, call him a Carrick, a Xabi Alonso if you will, I believe he can fit into any system because he's a controller of the game and would be a perfect buy for us, but I believe he will probably stay with Dortmund next season although i'd love to see him here.
Kagawa was a #10/SS in a quick, pressing, fast passing, positional Dortmund team, most things went through him. At United he played left wing in a more rigid 4-4-2 that didn't use inverted wingers. We should never have bought him unless we were going to switch to a different formation that relied more heavily on a #10, and people wonder why he failed.
Mkhitaryan is a collective kind of player, a collaborator with teammates, no coincidence his best ever season came under Tuchel who meticulously plans out and drills into players attacking scenarios and options, Mkhi had players all around him and they executed those plans to perfection. We've all discussed how this team looks completely barren on the attacking coaching front, Mourinho relies more on individual brilliance, Mkhi showed some of it, but again he was bought on the back of his great season because of his numbers with clearly no thought as to how and why he was able to achieve those high number of goals and assists.
For the record i think Kagawa would of done a whole lot better under Mourinho than Mkhi, and particular better than under Fergie, Moyes and Van Gaal. It's simply not a case of every Dortmund player who leaves will fail, you need to look at each individual case and why they failed exactly.
Weigl is a bit different in that I think he controls the system, he has the keys to Dortmunds system, he is in affect a DLP, call him a Carrick, a Xabi Alonso if you will, I believe he can fit into any system because he's a controller of the game and would be a perfect buy for us, but I believe he will probably stay with Dortmund next season although i'd love to see him here.
This Summer we need long term replacements for Zlatan, Carrick & Valencia IMO. So would be on board with Weigl