Luckhurst: United prepared to move for a holding midfielder in January

Like most . I just hope we get a commanding DM.. I am also bemused that we didnot try hard whether on loan or free transfer or fee.
for the likes of Nevez..Rice..Camavinga..Saul..etc or others.
Another thing is that we dont need to sarcrifice for Pogba. He needs to improve on the defensive side whether interception or tackling.We cannot put two DM for the sake of Pogba
 
We need to resolve the issue with Pogba, Lingard, Mata, Phil Jones needs to be removed from the squad, Dalot either stays or goes, Cavani/Cfwd situations need to be resolved next year..

I think next year will be a year of more outgoings than incomings and only once we get the above issues sorted out will we get a new Cmid.. But at the same time, how likely is Garner to be given time to get his feet in the role - another situation to be resolved..

Would not be against Dec Rice but his cost will be in Sancho regions..
 
RDCR07 said:
So you want to replace two average players with another couple of average players again? We need to stop getting players for the sake of getting them in to make up the numbers. We need quality not quantity.
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I don't rate Zakaria, but calling Kessie average is a bit of an insult. The lad was fantastic for Atalanta and moved to a club with higher expectations in AC Milan and done brilliantly. He was voted in last season's Serie A team of the season, by a host of publications. We played AC Milan in Europe and he came to Old Trafford and bossed it. He is many things but average ain't one of them.
 
Lentwood said:
I genuinely dont know what people dont understand. It hurts my brain sometimes.

We have just signed three footballers at a net outlay of about £110m. Their combined wages must be nearly £1m per week. Yet still people talk about making MORE signings and come up with conspiracy theories about why we haven't signed more players.

You realise Liverpool spent virtually nothing net? You realise Chelsea made a profit? I get fed up of explaining basic principles of finance to people. I created an entire thread where I demonstrated that the club spends virtually every spare penny it has on transfers. You can see this yourself. It's in the accounts that are published every season.

Thing is, you wouldn't be happy if we did sign a CM. Then it would be "we desperately need a GK" or "we desperately need Haaland".

I've got some news for you. Utd won't be winning the title this year. I absolutely, 100% guarantee it. Get used to that idea. We wouldn't win it if we signed Saul, we wouldn't win it if we signed Neves. So what exactly is the point in spending £50m/£60m on players who barely improve us? That just means we have £60m less next year.

Ole and the recruitment team have done an outstanding job of taking a horribly poor and unbalanced squad and turning it into a side capable of challenging. Give the backroom team some credit and some room to manouvere and to finish the rebuild in the calm and considered way they have started it
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You don't have a monopoly on financial literacy so turn down the condescending tone. How much deadweight is United carrying in terms of wages? Our recent €50m signing is crying out for game time, why not sell him and reinvest in a DM? We have four goalkeepers in the squad. West Ham offered us around £15m for Jesse who we stand to lose for free.

All those are examples of basic housekeeping not being done at United which is bleeding the club millions. Leeds wanted James for over two seasons, we knew we had a ready buyer but blocked his move until Ronaldo came in even when it was clear we weren't going to use him much or we could do without him and simply give his minutes to Elanga.

So all in all we could have got around £60m - £70m James, Lingard and DVB. A figure enough to pick up a DM, in France plus pay for Ronaldo - whose hype and performances will pay for him.

When you sign a 36 year old Ronaldo 72 hours before transfer deadline day there is no more calm and considered. A player of his stature, in addition to Varane, Pogba, Bruno and De Gea, is one you bring to win and win now. After signing Ronaldo there is no more calm and considered you have to push for titles and I believe that despite the good work we have done we really sold ourselves short by not bringing in a midfield upgrade.

Liverpool not buying anyone of note is of no consequence to us because in spite of that they still have a good side plus it is City and Chelsea that we have to worry about. Chelsea, in particular, have a steeliness about them and in Lukaku they have a proven goalscorer. I believe that if we had brought in Tchouameni or some upcoming DM from Ligue 1 we would have got that balance right that brought us that solidity that can win titles. This is where I blame Ole in that he isn't flexible with his targets and I don't believe that whoever he is waiting for to become available is worth sacrificing a whole season over.
 
AneRu said:
You don't have a monopoly on financial literacy so turn down the condescending tone. How much deadweight is United carrying in terms of wages? Our recent €50m signing is crying out for game time, why not sell him and reinvest in a DM? We have four goalkeepers in the squad. West Ham offered us around £15m for Jesse who we stand to lose for free.

All those are examples of basic housekeeping not being done at United which is bleeding the club millions. Leeds wanted James for over two seasons, we knew we had a ready buyer but blocked his move until Ronaldo came in even when it was clear we weren't going to use him much or we could do without him and simply give his minutes to Elanga.

So all in all we could have got around £60m - £70m James, Lingard and DVB. A figure enough to pick up a DM, in France plus pay for Ronaldo - whose hype and performances will pay for him.

When you sign a 36 year old Ronaldo 72 hours before transfer deadline day there is no more calm and considered. A player of his stature, in addition to Varane, Pogba, Bruno and De Gea, is one you bring to win and win now. After signing Ronaldo there is no more calm and considered you have to push for titles and I believe that despite the good work we have done we really sold ourselves short by not bringing in a midfield upgrade.

Liverpool not buying anyone of note is of no consequence to us because in spite of that they still have a good side plus it is City and Chelsea that we have to worry about. Chelsea, in particular, have a steeliness about them and in Lukaku they have a proven goalscorer. I believe that if we had brought in Tchouameni or some upcoming DM from Ligue 1 we would have got that balance right that brought us that solidity that can win titles. This is where I blame Ole in that he isn't flexible with his targets and I don't believe that whoever he is waiting for to become available is worth sacrificing a whole season over.
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I don't think saying Ole is being inflexible with targets is fair, or at least I can't work out the logic in it.

Inflexibility would be nothing to do with the decision if he decided not to because he and his team believed the right quality was unavailable having assessed many options. They don't necessarily share your opinion on Tchouameni, which you may not like but is perfectly explainable without invoking arguments of inflexibility.

Or that these "upcoming French DMs" which is a vague notion in itself may be of the right pedigree but would be better served gaining another year of experience and wouldn't be the difference this year as they need to develop.

Or maybe that he prioritised his budget in a different way. That can be questioned but it's not to do with inflexibility, it is based on his footballing analysis.

It seems to be a judgement based on the outcome alone, which is not having signed a DM. However, as frustrating as that is for us fans, it's not something we have the full reasoning for so I'm not sure this characterisation of his approach to transfers is all that accurate. Over a period of years you can certainly infer preferences and patterns within a transfer strategy, but simply taking a summer and isolated piece of business does not work well.
 
Abraxas said:
I don't think saying Ole is being inflexible with targets is fair, or at least I can't work out the logic in it.

Inflexibility would be nothing to do with the decision if he decided not to because he and his team believed the right quality was unavailable having assessed many options. They don't necessarily share your opinion on Tchouameni, which you may not like but is perfectly explainable without invoking arguments of inflexibility.

Or that these "upcoming French DMs" which is a vague notion in itself may be of the right pedigree but would be better served gaining another year of experience and wouldn't be the difference this year as they need to develop.

Or maybe that he prioritised his budget in a different way. That can be questioned but it's not to do with inflexibility, it is based on his footballing analysis.

It seems to be a judgement based on the outcome alone, which is not having signed a DM. However, as frustrating as that is for us fans, it's not something we have the full reasoning for so I'm not sure this characterisation of his approach to transfers is all that accurate. Over a period of years you can certainly infer preferences and patterns within a transfer strategy, but simply taking a summer and isolated piece of business does not work well.
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Tchouameni is an example I like using but I don't necessarily mean him but a young player in his situation capable of coming in and playing a role. I do agree that maybe I am a little harsh but it stems from the fact that I have concluded, maybe wrongly, that a decision was made that if Camavinga or Rice are not available then we wouldn't sign anyone.

Another point is that in a team building exercise, it's not always about getting the ideal player but sometimes a player who gives you some measure of improvement will be enough. I have Matic in mind when thinking of this, clearly the guy is an injury to McFred away from starting matches for us but we all know that he is liability now so in this context wouldn't it be better to spend £40m or so on Bissouma just to avoid the possibility of one injury leaving the manager stuck with Matic or Pogba in the pivot for weeks?
 
AneRu said:
You don't have a monopoly on financial literacy so turn down the condescending tone. How much deadweight is United carrying in terms of wages? Our recent €50m signing is crying out for game time, why not sell him and reinvest in a DM? We have four goalkeepers in the squad. West Ham offered us around £15m for Jesse who we stand to lose for free.

All those are examples of basic housekeeping not being done at United which is bleeding the club millions. Leeds wanted James for over two seasons, we knew we had a ready buyer but blocked his move until Ronaldo came in even when it was clear we weren't going to use him much or we could do without him and simply give his minutes to Elanga.

So all in all we could have got around £60m - £70m James, Lingard and DVB. A figure enough to pick up a DM, in France plus pay for Ronaldo - whose hype and performances will pay for him.

When you sign a 36 year old Ronaldo 72 hours before transfer deadline day there is no more calm and considered. A player of his stature, in addition to Varane, Pogba, Bruno and De Gea, is one you bring to win and win now. After signing Ronaldo there is no more calm and considered you have to push for titles and I believe that despite the good work we have done we really sold ourselves short by not bringing in a midfield upgrade.

Liverpool not buying anyone of note is of no consequence to us because in spite of that they still have a good side plus it is City and Chelsea that we have to worry about. Chelsea, in particular, have a steeliness about them and in Lukaku they have a proven goalscorer. I believe that if we had brought in Tchouameni or some upcoming DM from Ligue 1 we would have got that balance right that brought us that solidity that can win titles. This is where I blame Ole in that he isn't flexible with his targets and I don't believe that whoever he is waiting for to become available is worth sacrificing a whole season over.
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Which 50m signing is crying out for game time? Also, which report have you seen from a credible source that West Ham offered anything at all for Lingard?

Why are you so sure that Tchouameni would adapt to the PL? He's no sure thing. He's not even close to being established enough for anyone to have that opinion.
 
Redcy said:
The issue is that next year we will need a striker, no way are we buying rice and haaland for example.
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Greenwood? He is getting better and better all the time and will be 20+ league goal scorer inside couple of years. And Ronaldo will be in club also. Im more worry about CDM. And the whole midfield if Pogba goes.
 
MadMike said:
I don't rate Zakaria, but calling Kessie average is a bit of an insult. The lad was fantastic for Atalanta and moved to a club with higher expectations in AC Milan and done brilliantly. He was voted in last season's Serie A team of the season, by a host of publications. We played AC Milan in Europe and he came to Old Trafford and bossed it. He is many things but average ain't one of them.
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I agree. Kessie was my top midfield pick for this summer, actually, I’m really surprised we did not hear of any links at all to him.
 
roseguy64 said:
Which 50m signing is crying out for game time? Also, which report have you seen from a credible source that West Ham offered anything at all for Lingard?

Why are you so sure that Tchouameni would adapt to the PL? He's no sure thing. He's not even close to being established enough for anyone to have that opinion.
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Can't be bothered to go through reports just win an argument online, we clearly had a difference in valuation with West Ham with us reportedly wanting £25m for him but West Ham only offering £15m.

Like I explained to the other poster, Tchouameni is just an example because he is the closest player I remember who is at a stage where he is ready to make the step up. For what it's worth every signing coming to the PL and even some from the PL struggle to make it here but should that stop us from making them? For all we know Sancho could fail to make it in the PL and that won't be held on the manager because these things happen.

The €50m signing struggling for game time here is DVB and he is fairly young for us to recoup most of our investment in him and get a player more useful to us. That we won't play him yet we are, according to his agent, blocking his move away whilst at the same time pleading poverty or more accurately the need to sell a player before signing another one doesn't make sense to me.
 
AneRu said:
. West Ham offered us around £15m for Jesse who we stand to lose for free.

All those are examples of basic housekeeping not being done at United which is bleeding the club millions. Leeds wanted James for over two seasons, we knew we had a ready buyer but blocked his move until Ronaldo came in even when it was clear we weren't going to use him much or we could do without him and simply give his minutes to Elanga.

So all in all we could have got around £60m - £70m James, Lingard and DVB. A figure enough to pick up a DM, in France plus pay for Ronaldo - whose hype and performances will pay for him.

When you sign a 36 year old Ronaldo 72 hours before transfer deadline day there is no more calm and considered. A player of his stature, in addition to Varane, Pogba, Bruno and De Gea, is one you bring to win and win now. After signing Ronaldo there is no more calm and considered you have to push for titles and I believe that despite the good work we have done we really sold ourselves short by not bringing in a midfield upgrade.

Liverpool not buying anyone of note is of no consequence to us because in spite of that they still have a good side plus it is City and Chelsea that we have to worry about. Chelsea, in particular, have a steeliness about them and in Lukaku they have a proven goalscorer. I believe that if we had brought in Tchouameni or some upcoming DM from Ligue 1 we would have got that balance right that brought us that solidity that can win titles. This is where I blame Ole in that he isn't flexible with his targets and I don't believe that whoever he is waiting for to become available is worth sacrificing a whole season over.
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Did they? What source is that from then?

I've heard journalists (ha) suggesting we wanted £30m but haven't seen one credible report saying West Ham made an offer.
 
AneRu said:
Tchouameni is an example I like using but I don't necessarily mean him but a young player in his situation capable of coming in and playing a role. I do agree that maybe I am a little harsh but it stems from the fact that I have concluded, maybe wrongly, that a decision was made that if Camavinga or Rice are not available then we wouldn't sign anyone.

Another point is that in a team building exercise, it's not always about getting the ideal player but sometimes a player who gives you some measure of improvement will be enough. I have Matic in mind when thinking of this, clearly the guy is an injury to McFred away from starting matches for us but we all know that he is liability now so in this context wouldn't it be better to spend £40m or so on Bissouma just to avoid the possibility of one injury leaving the manager stuck with Matic or Pogba in the pivot for weeks?
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I think we as fans struggled to identify a coherent reasoning for signing some of these DM options. They weren't as obvious as Sancho had become as an option for the RW position, or Varane for the CB position.

Clearly the recruitment team at United should be far more informed than we are so this isn't meant to excuse inactivity in and of itself, but perhaps it serves to indicate that many of those linked were assessed and there could be a whole host of reasons why it didn't come to fruition. For example, we do have murmurings that Bissouma is liked but not considered the exact profile, so this one is a footballing decision. It's not necessary to rely on a tenuous argument of inflexibility, that's my only point.

I suppose there are a few ways to look at the injury argument, or an argument that can be termed "better than what we have". I agree that we'd all prefer Bissouma to Matic, it's hard to imagine the manager would disagree with you. However, if we preempt doubts around a signing and yet still make a transfer that does not get us much closer to success and how we want to play then that is even more negligent than incorrect analysis. We have pretty much circumvented our own process out of impatience. Plus all these financial decisions have some ramifications in future.

Ultimately the manager will be judged after the season on these things among others. If the midfield is a disaster he'll be under pressure, if the team and signings produces the goods and then we logically add our perfect DM then he'll be a genius. That's football.
 
Abraxas said:
I think we as fans struggled to identify a coherent reasoning for signing some of these DM options. They weren't as obvious as Sancho had become as an option for the RW position, or Varane for the CB position.

Clearly the recruitment team at United should be far more informed than we are so this isn't meant to excuse inactivity in and of itself, but perhaps it serves to indicate that many of those linked were assessed and there could be a whole host of reasons why it didn't come to fruition. For example, we do have murmurings that Bissouma is liked but not considered the exact profile, so this one is a footballing decision. It's not necessary to rely on a tenuous argument of inflexibility, that's my only point.

I suppose there are a few ways to look at the injury argument, or an argument that can be termed "better than what we have". I agree that we'd all prefer Bissouma to Matic, it's hard to imagine the manager would disagree with you. However, if we preempt doubts around a signing and yet still make a transfer that does not get us much closer to success and how we want to play then that is even more negligent than incorrect analysis. We have pretty much circumvented our own process out of impatience. Plus all these financial decisions have some ramifications in future.

Ultimately the manager will be judged after the season on these things among others. If the midfield is a disaster he'll be under pressure, if the team and signings produces the goods and then we logically add our perfect DM then he'll be a genius. That's football.
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I understand what you are saying but I still find it unacceptable that someone would watch Matic' s decline and decide to go with him as our first rotation option in a season where a lot is on the line. For me it's pretty clear: would Bissouma, Fred and McTominay be a better midfield roster than Matic, Fred and McTominay? If the answer is yes and he is attainable, PL proven like he is then you pull the trigger.

What's frustrating is that we aren't fielding prime Roy Keane and Paul Scholes in midfield and history has proven that you don't need to field those levels of talent to compete and win. If you have players who give you balance and depth giving a platform to a highly prolific forward line then you can win. In my view its not like 2019 where we needed to push the boat out for Maguire, this time we just needed someone serviceable who is good off the ball and has reasonable technical skills because Pogba, Bruno, Greenwood and Rashford had the match winning bit covered.
 
Lentwood said:
I genuinely dont know what people dont understand. It hurts my brain sometimes.

We have just signed three footballers at a net outlay of about £110m. Their combined wages must be nearly £1m per week. Yet still people talk about making MORE signings and come up with conspiracy theories about why we haven't signed more players.

You realise Liverpool spent virtually nothing net? You realise Chelsea made a profit? I get fed up of explaining basic principles of finance to people. I created an entire thread where I demonstrated that the club spends virtually every spare penny it has on transfers. You can see this yourself. It's in the accounts that are published every season.

Thing is, you wouldn't be happy if we did sign a CM. Then it would be "we desperately need a GK" or "we desperately need Haaland".

I've got some news for you. Utd won't be winning the title this year. I absolutely, 100% guarantee it. Get used to that idea. We wouldn't win it if we signed Saul, we wouldn't win it if we signed Neves. So what exactly is the point in spending £50m/£60m on players who barely improve us? That just means we have £60m less next year.

Ole and the recruitment team have done an outstanding job of taking a horribly poor and unbalanced squad and turning it into a side capable of challenging. Give the backroom team some credit and some room to manouvere and to finish the rebuild in the calm and considered way they have started it
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We'll need a bit of luck to win the title this year but I wouldn't completely write off our chances this early.
 
Lentwood said:
I genuinely dont know what people dont understand. It hurts my brain sometimes.

We have just signed three footballers at a net outlay of about £110m. Their combined wages must be nearly £1m per week. Yet still people talk about making MORE signings and come up with conspiracy theories about why we haven't signed more players.

You realise Liverpool spent virtually nothing net? You realise Chelsea made a profit? I get fed up of explaining basic principles of finance to people. I created an entire thread where I demonstrated that the club spends virtually every spare penny it has on transfers. You can see this yourself. It's in the accounts that are published every season.

Thing is, you wouldn't be happy if we did sign a CM. Then it would be "we desperately need a GK" or "we desperately need Haaland".

I've got some news for you. Utd won't be winning the title this year. I absolutely, 100% guarantee it. Get used to that idea. We wouldn't win it if we signed Saul, we wouldn't win it if we signed Neves. So what exactly is the point in spending £50m/£60m on players who barely improve us? That just means we have £60m less next year.

Ole and the recruitment team have done an outstanding job of taking a horribly poor and unbalanced squad and turning it into a side capable of challenging. Give the backroom team some credit and some room to manouvere and to finish the rebuild in the calm and considered way they have started it
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Spot on. Especially that final paragraph.
 
Hanky panky said:
Greenwood? He is getting better and better all the time and will be 20+ league goal scorer inside couple of years. And Ronaldo will be in club also. Im more worry about CDM. And the whole midfield if Pogba goes.
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Not convinced he is a 9 of any kind, every time we see him play there he looks pretty dreadful, could he move there eventually? Maybe, but literally nothing about how he plays, when he plays well, etc, seems to suggest he is a CF.
 
BeforeKeanetherewasRobson said:
Did they? What source is that from then?

I've heard journalists (ha) suggesting we wanted £30m but haven't seen one credible report saying West Ham made an offer.
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Credibility is not really a concern for journos these days when they have a vast audience of muppets who believe everything they hear.
 
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Lots of Fred haters but if he gets injured we are actually fecked. Liked no top 4 fecked.
 
I know it’s being greedy and this window has been great but I feel he missed a best not getting one.
 
Lentwood said:
I genuinely dont know what people dont understand. It hurts my brain sometimes.

We have just signed three footballers at a net outlay of about £110m. Their combined wages must be nearly £1m per week. Yet still people talk about making MORE signings and come up with conspiracy theories about why we haven't signed more players.

You realise Liverpool spent virtually nothing net? You realise Chelsea made a profit? I get fed up of explaining basic principles of finance to people. I created an entire thread where I demonstrated that the club spends virtually every spare penny it has on transfers. You can see this yourself. It's in the accounts that are published every season.

Thing is, you wouldn't be happy if we did sign a CM. Then it would be "we desperately need a GK" or "we desperately need Haaland".

I've got some news for you. Utd won't be winning the title this year. I absolutely, 100% guarantee it. Get used to that idea. We wouldn't win it if we signed Saul, we wouldn't win it if we signed Neves. So what exactly is the point in spending £50m/£60m on players who barely improve us? That just means we have £60m less next year.

Ole and the recruitment team have done an outstanding job of taking a horribly poor and unbalanced squad and turning it into a side capable of challenging. Give the backroom team some credit and some room to manouvere and to finish the rebuild in the calm and considered way they have started it
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Decent post. We spent while in an environment where spending is hard. I personally understand the frustration when centre mid is such a weak point on paper though. I've enjoyed the lle tenure and it is over very soon if we don't improve this year, and show that we have improved early
 
AneRu said:
I understand what you are saying but I still find it unacceptable that someone would watch Matic' s decline and decide to go with him as our first rotation option in a season where a lot is on the line. For me it's pretty clear: would Bissouma, Fred and McTominay be a better midfield roster than Matic, Fred and McTominay? If the answer is yes and he is attainable, PL proven like he is then you pull the trigger.

What's frustrating is that we aren't fielding prime Roy Keane and Paul Scholes in midfield and history has proven that you don't need to field those levels of talent to compete and win. If you have players who give you balance and depth giving a platform to a highly prolific forward line then you can win. In my view its not like 2019 where we needed to push the boat out for Maguire, this time we just needed someone serviceable who is good off the ball and has reasonable technical skills because Pogba, Bruno, Greenwood and Rashford had the match winning bit covered.
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Some fair points, however it looks as if Ole is still willing to gamble on Pogba in those roles too, so I'm not sure it's going to pan out that Matic is first rotation continually despite a start so far. I still don't think he's going to start that many over the season. He was poorly picked last week, there are probably still games that he'll be okay if cherrypicked.

I don't know about somebody serviceable. I'd say Fred and McTominay already have that "accolade." Preferably we'd like to see a conclusive upgrade wouldn't we? I don't think it should be targeted towards improving a group of 3 including Matic as that would make half the premiership viable targets. It's who is the quality player, the absolute right player, I think that's what they're concerned about reading between the lines.

Yes if Fred or McTominay get injured it looks bleak, but I guess there's always going to be positions like this. I wouldn't like to see Shaw or AWB injured for any length of time either, neither of their deputies is a cause for optimism. The squad certainly isn't perfect but it's a lot better this season than last. I understand the frustration because it feels like we've missed a trick with the midfield, I think that is universally felt, but there is at least some possibility the reasons are justified.
 
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You know who wouldn't be a bad shout. Joao Palhinha. Had a great Euros. No frills, does his task. Good Matic replacement.

We by no means lack quality in midfield. But we certainly lack form. 12 months ago Fred was "the new Kante" when Kante was considered over the hill. McT does what McT does. And Pogba is one of the worlds finest. Matic I agree is off the pace.

The great thing is were 3 games in with 7 points and no player has hit the ground running which is historically the norm. Pogba is happy which is awesome. All thats needed is that these guys find form and consistency and we are cheerin.

Oh i forgot about Donny haha
 
DeeDee7 said:
You know who wouldn't be a bad shout. Joao Palhinha. Had a great Euros. No frills, does his task. Good Matic replacement.

We by no means lack quality in midfield. But we certainly lack form. 12 months ago Fred was "the new Kante" when Kante was considered over the hill. McT does what McT does. And Pogba is one of the worlds finest. Matic I agree is off the pace.

The great thing is were 3 games in with 7 points and no player has hit the ground running which is historically the norm. Pogba is happy which is awesome. All thats needed is that these guys find form and consistency and we are cheerin.

Oh i forgot about Donny haha
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Is it the same guy who was playing yesterday? Looked pretty good tbh.
 
Rice and Haaland next summer with an instalment deal would actually not be the end of the world, and United might generate good revenue this season again with fans in the stadium.
 
[2020] Anyone out of Partey or Zakaria [/2020]

It's funny how all these 'guaranteed' future stars turn out to be duds only a few months later.

Thankfully, Ole is judging them by something more substantial than FIFA. The last thing we need is another squad level player on massive wages.
 
Dante said:
[2020] Anyone out of Partey or Zakaria [/2020]

It's funny how all these 'guaranteed' future stars turn out to be duds only a few months later.

Thankfully, Ole is judging them by something more substantial than FIFA. The last thing we need is another squad level player on massive wages.
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Yeh. With hindsight, Ole should get that Ajax dude.
 
Judging from the reports that United wants a pure holding midfielder, I think we're gonna try to get Declan Rice next summer.
He fits the player profile that Ole likes to bring to the squad: pure DM with room for improvement in his passing range, English and still quite young. He didn't want to extend and if he sticks to his gun, next summer he only have 2 years left on his contract, West Ham may want to negotiate by that time
 
reelworld said:
Judging from the reports that United wants a pure holding midfielder, I think we're gonna try to get Declan Rice next summer.
He fits the player profile that Ole likes to bring to the squad: pure DM with room for improvement in his passing range, English and still quite young. He didn't want to extend and if he sticks to his gun, next summer he only have 2 years left on his contract, West Ham may want to negotiate by that time
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He'll make a rice addition to our midfield
 
reelworld said:
Judging from the reports that United wants a pure holding midfielder, I think we're gonna try to get Declan Rice next summer.
He fits the player profile that Ole likes to bring to the squad: pure DM with room for improvement in his passing range, English and still quite young. He didn't want to extend and if he sticks to his gun, next summer he only have 2 years left on his contract, West Ham may want to negotiate by that time
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I think West Ham have already accepted that they're going to lose Rice soon, given their acquisition of Alex Kral this summer. Whether Rice ends up with us or Chelsea next summer is anyone's guess though.
 
devilo said:
I think West Ham have already accepted that they're going to lose Rice soon, given their acquisition of Alex Kral this summer. Whether Rice ends up with us or Chelsea next summer is anyone's guess though.
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We can offer them JLingz plus cash, hopefully they still remember his purple patch from last season.
 
Rice is not the answer to our midfield problems.

We need an Elite ball player in there. We don't need a defensive midfielder, we need a Deep lying playmaker.

We cannot find line breaking passes at the moment which is making it difficult to progress the ball. We need someone of the quality of De Jong, Veratti, Fabinho
 
romufc said:
Rice is not the answer to our midfield problems.

We need an Elite ball player in there. We don't need a defensive midfielder, we need a Deep lying playmaker.

We cannot find line breaking passes at the moment which is making it difficult to progress the ball. We need someone of the quality of De Jong, Veratti, Fabinho
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I agree 100%. However I kinda think we need both, but a DLP is a higher priority. A DLP usually plays with a ballwinner(box to box or DM). Fred/McT are decent ballwinners, but eventually we should replace one of them with an elite one. Rice might end up being that player tbh.
 
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