Lukaku and Sanchez Replacements

[jamesjimmybyrondean]

Sanchez replacement should be Lozano as he'd be a good squad option and also wants to play for us . Lukaku's should be an experienced striker but I have no idea who that is. Don't want Cavani though

 

[devilish]

Martial is also a option as the CF, so we wouldn't be as limited as you're claiming for depth. And Lukaku too, if he's still at the club.

I am assuming that Lukaku is a goner of course. Else we wouldn't need a striker. Also when was the last time that Martial did well as a striker?

 

[devilish]

So x number of finishers, one creator(Pogba), and two other midfielders. Counter - attacking set up. Not that i have the statistics on this, but i would guess that the majority of the goals scored by Lozano, Bergwijn, Martial and Rashford have been on counters or against teams not in balance.

I don't think that any team with 2 attacking fullbacks, 4 attacking minded players (Pogba, Martial, Bergwijn, Rashford) and a box to box player can be classified as a built around anything really. Its a very versatile team in my books. It can easily revert to 4-2-3-1 if needed with Pogba and a DM in midfield & Felix, Martial & Bergwijn behind Rashford or it can go in a 4-3-2-1 system with a DM, Fred and Pogba in midfield, Felix & Martial in a more central role and Rashford upfront

 

[Adnan]

I am assuming that Lukaku is a goner of course. Else we wouldn't need a striker. Also when was the last time that Martial did well as a striker?

Under LVG, Martial played as striker on a number of occasions. Did well too under the Dutchman scoring 17 goals in all competitions if I'm not mistaken. He's more of a CF than Rashford as far as I'm concerned.

 

[devilish]

Under LVG, Martial played as striker on a number of occasions. Did well too under the Dutchman scoring 17 goals in all competitions if I'm not mistaken. He's more of a CF than Rashford as far as I'm concerned.

Then he was reverted to a winger by both Mou and Ole which I think its his most natural role.

 

[Adnan]

Then he was reverted to a winger by both Mou and Ole which I think its his most natural role.

He came through the youth ranks at Lyon as a forward and had his best season under Van Gaal where he scored 17 goals. The point is, he's more than capable of being a option as a CF.

 

[devilish]

He came through the youth ranks at Lyon as a forward and had his best season under Van Gaal where he scored 17 goals. The point is, he's more than capable of being a option as a CF.

So we will have a forward whose not a natural scorer, a winger who once played upfront and a kid who had barely ever played first tean football It's hardly ideal

 

[Manutd1990]

I would not give up Lukaku yet, but I'll play..
Sanchez - Leon bailey
Lukaku (and mata) - Dybala, /posibly Jovic,

 

[Bestietom]

Lozano and Felix.

 

[Fosu-Mens]

I don't think that any team with 2 attacking fullbacks, 4 attacking minded players (Pogba, Martial, Bergwijn, Rashford) and a box to box player can be classified as a built around anything really. Its a very versatile team in my books. It can easily revert to 4-2-3-1 if needed with Pogba and a DM in midfield & Felix, Martial & Bergwijn behind Rashford or it can go in a 4-3-2-1 system with a DM, Fred and Pogba in midfield, Felix & Martial in a more central role and Rashford upfront

Shaw is not an attacking fullback. Felix and Pogba are players that are relatively press resistant, the forwards you mention are not.
In certain games/match situations it would be beneficial to have a team as you mention --> against better possessionbased teams, or when we are defending a big lead.

But since we should try to control most games, we need attacking players not so dependent on space and 1v1 as those you mention. These players would not be very useful against a team parking the bus, and would not contribute much in the build up. If we had fullbacks like Kimmich or Dani Alves, this would not be a problem, or having players like Scholes/Pirlo etc that can direct the game.

 

[Kidders]

Sanchez
Sancho

Lukaku
Luka Jovic

Easy peasy

 

[Kaglish10]

João Felix and Adam Ounas.

Adam Ounas could be a steal for us at a cheap price, thanks to Ancelotti's love for playing older players such as the average Callejon. Let's not forget that Coutinho wasn't starting for Inter Milan before Liverpool swooped in for him because the talent was obvious. He was really a steal for Liverpool.

Ounas stat looks good as well (4 goals and 1 assist in 7 starts for Napoli, which is far better than Lingard for us so far). His Whoscored rating as a right winger looks good too. In fact, he was the only Napoli's player that looked like getting something out of the Arsenal match. A shame he came on too late. I really don't know why Ancelotti doesn't trust young players.

Some of his individual touches highlight below, which is far different from compilation clip that only shows the good touches and portray players than what they are. For example, anyone who watched Mbappe's individual highlight against us would realise he was poor based on the touches he had.

Vs Sassuolo


Vs Frosinone


Vs Espanyol


Vs Gambia


Vs AC Milan:


Vs Juventus

 

[MrSingh2002]

What pisses me off is that a random Polish guy at work told me Piatek would be better player than Lewandowski last year and that a big club will snap him up soon.

He does look like a world class striker now and Milan snapped him up. I'm wondering how a random casual football fan could know this but Man United didn't want to snap up the next big thing outt've Poland.

That profile of player should be exactly what we go for. A young player who has proven himself at a high level for atleast one season who still has room to improve.

 

[Kidders]

What pisses me off is that a random Polish guy at work told me Piatek would be better player than Lewandowski last year and that a big club will snap him up soon.

He does look like a world class striker now and Milan snapped him up. I'm wondering how a random casual football fan could know this but Man United didn't want to snap up the next big thing outt've Poland.

That profile of player should be exactly what we go for. A young player who has proven himself at a high level for atleast one season who still has room to improve.

Sums up our scouting really, we seem to wait until players prove themselves elsewhere before we show an interest and then pay top dollar, Sancho being a prime example, and he was right on our doorstep!

 

[devilish]

Shaw is not an attacking fullback. Felix and Pogba are players that are relatively press resistant, the forwards you mention are not.
In certain games/match situations it would be beneficial to have a team as you mention --> against better possessionbased teams, or when we are defending a big lead.

But since we should try to control most games, we need attacking players not so dependent on space and 1v1 as those you mention. These players would not be very useful against a team parking the bus, and would not contribute much in the build up. If we had fullbacks like Kimmich or Dani Alves, this would not be a problem, or having players like Scholes/Pirlo etc that can direct the game.

The problem with parking the bus tactic is that no strategy would work against it. That's why it was brutally effective for both Greece and Leicester. Crosses/through balls wont really cut it as they will crowd defence with enough bodies to eliminate the threat. Same as shooting the ball outside the box for the very same reasons. All you can do is to switch to have players capable of using a set of strategies which include the above but also other strategies such as

a- having players switching roles midway through the game. That might confuse defenders
b- beat them in quick counters
c- go 1 to 1 against them maybe some hot headed defender would end up fouling in dangerous areas

If paired with a top DM then Fred can win the ball for us. Pogba is excellent in throughballs if used correctly while the rest will provide pace, unpredictability and goals.

 

[Fosu-Mens]

The problem with parking the bus tactic is that no strategy would work against it. That's why it was brutally effective for both Greece and Leicester. Crosses/through balls wont really cut it as they will crowd defence with enough bodies to eliminate the threat. Same as shooting the ball outside the box for the very same reasons. All you can do is to switch to have players capable of using a set of strategies which include the above but also other strategies such as

a- having players switching roles midway through the game. That might confuse defenders
b- beat them in quick counters
c- go 1 to 1 against them maybe some hot headed defender would end up fouling in dangerous areas

If paired with a top DM then Fred can win the ball for us. Pogba is excellent in throughballs if used correctly while the rest will provide pace, unpredictability and goals.

I think we have seen over the last few seasons that "attack to win" will yield better results in the long run, compared to a "defend to win"(could be applied against certain teams/styles of play). High press and possessionbased would be the way to play in most games.

Based on how you would like to play, i can understand your choice of players. The way i would like us to play does not coincide with your choice of attacking players.

 

[laughtersassassin]

Sums up our scouting really, we seem to wait until players prove themselves elsewhere before we show an interest and then pay top dollar, Sancho being a prime example, and he was right on our doorstep!

I'm fairness the story with Sancho is we wanted him but City obviously wouldn't give us him. So apparently we asked him to wait till the summer but he wanted out of City so bad that he decided it was best for his career to leave asap.

So if that is believed we wanted Sancho before he was considered the next big thing.

 

[OohAahMartial]

Seen links to Bergwijn, Neres, Felix, Sancho, Lozano... seems we will be in for a versatile forward that can play either side, and most likely one of these names.

Have we been linked to any CFs? Since Lukaku's agent made those comments? Suspect it wasn't our plan to sell him yet, and we might still hold him to his contract for another year. But will be interesting to see if we get linked to any now. Can't see much point keeping him for much longer, poor fit, lazy, and wants away.

 

[devilish]

I think we have seen over the last few seasons that "attack to win" will yield better results in the long run, compared to a "defend to win"(could be applied against certain teams/styles of play). High press and possessionbased would be the way to play in most games.

Based on how you would like to play, i can understand your choice of players. The way i would like us to play does not coincide with your choice of attacking players.

So you think that a team whose half of it is made up of attacking minded players such as Pogba, Bergwijn, Martial, Rashford and Fred against the top sides + which would also have Joao Felix instead of Fred against the smaller sides is a defend to win team? I very much doubt that.

I get it, its not the ideal. Ideally we would have De Bruyne & Pogba in midfield, Messi and Neymar on the flanks and Ronaldo upfront possibly with Mbappe as a reserve. Yet that ain't gonna happen. We need to start walking before we can hit the ground running, we need to strengthen at least 4-7 positions, our budget is limited and we also need to work with most of the players we've got. That means decent players like Shaw, Dalot, Pogba, Fred, Martial, Rashford and co need to be in the middle of our plans.

I think that its time we admit that our return to the top is going to be hard and will take us time to get there. Thus we're better off building for the future. Targets such as Felix, Bergwijn, Lozano, Jovic and co would mean strengthening the side with talented and versatile players who won't cost a bomb, they wouldn't mind the bench + on top of that they are hungry for success.

 

[Fosu-Mens]

So you think that a team whose half of it is made up of attacking minded players such as Pogba, Bergwijn, Martial, Rashford and Fred against the top sides + which would also have Joao Felix instead of Fred against the smaller sides is a defend to win team? I very much doubt that.

I get it, its not the ideal. Ideally we would have De Bruyne & Pogba in midfield, Messi and Neymar on the flanks and Ronaldo upfront possibly with Mbappe as a reserve. Yet that ain't gonna happen. We need to start walking before we can hit the ground running, we need to strengthen at least 4-7 positions, our budget is limited and we also need to work with most of the players we've got. That means decent players like Shaw, Dalot, Pogba, Fred, Martial, Rashford and co need to be in the middle of our plans.

I think that its time we admit that our return to the top is going to be hard and will take us time to get there. Thus we're better off building for the future. Targets such as Felix, Bergwijn, Lozano, Jovic and co would mean strengthening the side with talented and versatile players who won't cost a bomb, they wouldn't mind the bench + on top of that they are hungry for success.

You stated that there was no real solution against "park the bus". I think the last few seasons has showed that teams have become a lot better at attacking than most teams are at defending. Relying on attack as a mean to win is more likely to yield success compared to relying on defending.

You seem to prefer counterattacking football and a lot of movement, and thus your choice of players make sense. I prefer a possessionbased football, thus needing more players that are press resistant.

I have on multiple occasions stated that we are far behind City and Liverpool in terms of quality and having a modern style of play (lets not start to discuss DOF/governing structure etc). And we would need two major summer windows to make this team anywhere close to matching City/Barcelona, in addition to improving the players we currently have and making the team able to play well together. And i agree completely that we should build for the the future(as long as we can secure top 4 the next two seasons).

Jovic and Felix are two players we should be going for. Bergwijn or Lozano dependent on price and used primarily as backups(Since we already have Martial and Rashford who are quite similar).
Personally i do not think we need to directly replace Sanchez or Lukaku, as they are not offering anything other players currently at the club can do (replacing Pogba would be another matter).

Selling Lukaku this summer and replacing him with Jovic for around the same fee would be great business. If we are able to aquire Felix this summer, then we should do that. And if Sancho continues to impress at BVB next season we should get him as well.
Getting into the 2020/2021 season with Jovic, Sancho, Felix, Rashford, Martial and Greenwood as the attacking options. (Martial could be sold and replaced by a harder working wide player or keeping Lingaard)

 

[Kidders]

I'm fairness the story with Sancho is we wanted him but City obviously wouldn't give us him. So apparently we asked him to wait till the summer but he wanted out of City so bad that he decided it was best for his career to leave asap.

So if that is believed we wanted Sancho before he was considered the next big thing.

Sounds feasible, but if we did want him, offering City 4 times what Dortmund paid would have been good business

 

[laughtersassassin]

Sounds feasible, but if we did want him, offering City 4 times what Dortmund paid would have been good business

City where never going to sell to us though. 4 times nothing is nothing so no incentive to sell to a rival.