If we spend this kind of dough in Jan, which by the way I'd be all for, then either Ole is defo staying or we know who our next manager is already and are keeping it quiet for obvious reasons. No way we'd spunk 100 million or close to that without the approval of the "new" manager, be it Ole or someone else. Maybe a summer signing, would love it to be now though.
Kalidou Koulibaly
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De Ligt plays on the right with Blind/Van Dijk as the LCB for Ajax/Netherlands.
De Ligt plays on the right for Ajax.
I would quite happily see us sell Jones, Rojo, and one of Smalling or Bailly if it meant we brought them both in for 100m each.
I'm no expert on Ajax this season, but any time I've seen them live Blind was their left CB.
I’m not usually one for the ‘lets buy both’ bandwagon, but I reckon we should do this if we can tbh.
Don’t agree. Managers don’t have the right to control transfers at clubs before they join! Any manager who joins any club works with the players he meets when he gets there.
I'm with this. Bit harsh on Lindelof but it's genuine world class giving us a monster pairing for the first time since Rio and Vidic. Tying Dave down to a long term deal also means our defensive spine is probably better than any in world football.
Isn't this what we're trying to get away from though if this is the case? Spunking money on targets that a manager wants, only for them to bugger off in a season or two and the next manager not rating said signing? Then sold for less than half the price we bought them for.
Oh gosh - please no more right sided players
We have Smalling, Bailly and Lineolf who all prefer the right.
Exactly, not sure why people keep thinking to the contrary.
Chelsea signed a young player from Lille in 2012 without a head coach..
Oh gosh - please no more right sided players
We have Smalling, Bailly and Lineolf who all prefer the right.
Koulibaly likes the left.
We are supposedly building to a DOF system so if it was to happen more likely it’s due to a committee of people and it’s kind of one of those names you would expect most managers would be happy with.
Is LCB vs RCB that important a distinction? i.e. can most players only play on their preferred side? I can understand it more with full backs (left vs right) but i wouldn't have thought it made much difference with CBs?
Which side do our current CBs play? If it is a big issue as people are suggesting, it must rule out certain pairings of our current lot
Which side do our current CBs play? If it is a big issue as people are suggesting, it must rule out certain pairings of our current lot
Doesn’t he prefer the left?Oh gosh - please no more right sided players
We have Smalling, Bailly and Lineolf who all prefer the right.
If we can get De Ligt and Koulibaly, then the rest can go as far as i'm concerned.
He prefers the right
Then he's who we should go for
A year ago, I said that 100m is outragous for a defender. Now, having seen what impact van Dijk has had with us, I’d say that if he’s as good as branded, then throw everything you have at him. What kind of defender is he? Nesta, Rio, Vidic?
Agreed, Koulibaly, de Ligt, Lindelof, Smalling and Axel as our pool of CB's next season would be excellent, we need a real injection in there IMO as just buying one means we are one injury away from being back in our current situation, where as we used to be in a position where if at least one of Pally or Bruce, or Stam or Johnson, or Rio or Vidic were fit we'd be fine as they'd lead any of the secondary CB's. Add a RB and #6 over the two 2019 windows and I'd be content to wait on a RW signing for another season.
Do we really need 3 ball playing CBs? 4 including Tuanzebe.
Pep did it before joining City. The point is it would be a huge outlay to make and then a new manager to come in and maybe not rate the player
It's not about their ball playing abilities, yes Koulibaly and de Ligt are both good on the ball but primarily both are excellent defenders, we need that kind of excellent all round defending added to what we have, Jones, Bailly and Rojo barely have brain cell between them, and all three are rash and injury prone, jettison them and get in two tippy top CB's that also just happen to be good on the ball.
His pace is quite incredible, Salah just has no chance even with his electric pace..
I don’t think so. He usually plays on the left for us, and I think he used to play on the left for Benfica. His best games for us (I.E vs Juventus) has been from the left.
At that point I'm happy with Shaw, putting faith in Dalot and really just need a reliable body or two in the event of injuries meaning Rojo, Jones, Bailly, Valencia are sent packing.
If our next three signings are Koulilably, De Ligt and a controlling midfielder (Eriksen being a wet dream) I think I'd be very happy heading into next season.
I'd certainly think he'd be the type most managers would be happy with, but then again I thought that with Pogba as well. Same with Lukaku, I could well see a new manager depending on his style of play not favouring him.
Our next manager may not rate Martial. Or Rashford. Or Pogba. It’s the nature of the job I think.
Vidic probably. Not quite as good in the air, but a lot faster. Better on the ball, but not as good as VVD, Lindelöf or Maguire. In terms of pure defending he’s up there with the best in the world from what I’ve seen. Haven’t seen him that much though, and I’m probably influenced a bit by what I’ve read/heard so I might be wrong.
nothing he can do in that regards, but he could have his opinion sought out before we break transfer records. It's not a very hard concept to grasp.
Personally don't see this happening. Manager shouldn't be an issue as which manager is not going to want a world class cb? Just don't see Napoli selling in January, at best we might be able to secure a deal for the summer if we're willing to pay in the region of £100m and so far I've not seen anything from a reliable source to suggest we are.
He's been much better on the right driving forward with the ball. It's just we had to keep playing Smalling who also wants to play on the right and is our best header of the ball. So when they played together someone had to be out of their natural position . Koulibaly if he comes will slot into the LCB which means someone on the right will have to go. One of Smalling or Bailly plus the pair of Jones and Rojo will all go. I'd prefer to keep Bailly though .
I'm sure Koulibaly is a colossus but surely he can't replace three players, even if they are injury prone ones. Would leave us with only three centre backs, unless you think we're going to buy two first team centre backs in one year.
If it means getting this Guy alongside a De Ligt, I’m all for it. But if it’s in despite off, then na.
There’s just something about watching a young player grow with your team and for him to reach bis peak. I’m done with buying all these ready made stars.
There’s just something about watching a young player grow with your team and for him to reach bis peak. I’m done with buying all these ready made stars.
No chance we are spending 150-180 million pounds on two CBs
We still need a RB/LB cover, a DM and a RW
The best I can see us doing is Koulibaly plus Milenkovic
We still need a RB/LB cover, a DM and a RW
The best I can see us doing is Koulibaly plus Milenkovic
I mean we probably won't sign either.
Gosh did Jose solve any problems? I don't think we'll buy 5 players in one window.
Sad truth.
Very true!
Never seen him play. Can someone summarise his strengths and how he is better than what we already have?
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