He had a decent run of games and seemed to me to get worse. I dont really take much notice of the "football intelligence" thing, its one of those terms that gets used and abused. Pick players on form, he is out of form. He will have to wait to get his chance either through rotation or if others ahead of him are injured and then when he gets that chance show his ability. I can see proven players being given time to come into form but unproven players simply have to take their chances when they come along. He is young and has plenty of time.
LvG Says He Needs A New Winger Soon....
- Thread starter drmuji
- Start date
Signing someone like Mane alone would give us a ton of options if we move Ashley Young back to his natural position on the left wing. You also have Januzaz coming back, Lingard and Memphis to develop. That's a depth of 3 for each of the 3 spots behind the striker.
RW: Mane, Mata, Lingard
LW: Young, Januzaz, Memphis
AM: Herrera, Fellaini, Pereira
RW: Mane, Mata, Lingard
LW: Young, Januzaz, Memphis
AM: Herrera, Fellaini, Pereira
Front three of Griezmann, Martial and Mane in fluid combination, with Mata behind supplying the ammunition.
Mane7 Speedy Wingers Manchester United Could Sign to Solve Louis van Gaal's Problems
ByScott
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"I have said many times we need speed and creativity on the wings. So first we must finish that problem and then we can see how we have to play and how we are in balance with playing with speedy wingers."
That there, is classic Louis van Gaal. The Dutchman has stated to Manchester Evening News that he's looking for "speedy wingers" to improve Manchester United's transitions into and their overall threat in the final third. Memphis Depay isn't cutting it, by the looks, and United's greatest attribute overall certainly isn't speed.
With his latest comments in mind, here are seven "speedy wingers" who could fit the bill at Old Trafford - ranging from realistic to borderline fantasy - and beyond.
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)
Getting the majorly fantastical out of the way first, Manchester United have always wanted to sign Gareth Bale. They've never got him, and they won't get him in January. They won't get him next summer either - unless there's an irreparable fall out between the Welshman and Real Madrid - but Bale certainly fits the bill.
He'll cost the best part of £100m, but Bale is happy in Madrid anyway. United fans can dream and maybe there will be a day that it can happen, but then he'll probably demand to come in and play centrally anyway, hmph.
Karim Bellarabi (Bayer Leverkusen)
Right-footed right wingers are something of a rarity these days aren't they? Well, Karim Bellarabi is one such player, and he's making waves in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen.
The German international regular hit 13 goals and provided 14 assists in all competitions last term, and he's started the new campaign in much the same manner. He's certainly as pacey as they come, and would be an interesting option for Van Gaal as he possesses all of the attributes he requires.
He's capable on the other flank too, mind you.
Sadio Mane (Southampton)
Rumour had it that United were very much in for Sadio Mane towards the end of the summer transfer window. Southampton refused to sell, but given Van Gaal's admission it would certainly not be a surprised if United renewed their interest in the coming months.
Saints though drive a hard bargain, and have earned a reputation for themselves as only being willing to do business when it suits them. It's certainly not a bad thing from their point of view, but it could mean United will have to wait until next summer to land the Senegalese star.
Felipe Anderson (Lazio)
United have been linked with Lazio's Brazilian prodigy for the majority of 2015, and when he's not too busy piling on the pounds through eating too much pasta, he's actually pretty quick and pretty bloody good.
He can play on either flank or through the middle, and at the moment he's considered one of Serie A's hottest prospects. He has four goals in 12 league appearances so far this season, but may cost United a pretty penny. Who doesn't nowadays, though?
Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City)
Hasn't this fella burst onto the scene this season?!
Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy and Leicester are making everybody sit up and take notice. And while Vardy is top of the Premier League's goalscoring charts and taking the majority of the headlines, his mate on the wing is in the form of his life too.
The Algerian has been a rumoured target for United in recent press reports and would be one of the cheapest options of the lot. He has seven goals in 11 league appearances this year.
Yacine Brahimi (Porto)
From one Algerian, to another.
Yacine Brahimi has been making a name for himself on the European stage in recent months with Porto, and he's another excellent option for Van Gaal on current form.
He's been some acquisition since his sub-£5m move to Portugal from Granada in 2014 -notching five goals and three assists in the Champions League last season - and he's carried on that form of late with another excellent showing in the recent win over Chelsea.
Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund)
Ahh, Marco Reus. Had to end up with a little bit more fantasy and lack of realism here, didn't we?
Perhaps the future Premier League transfer of the German is more likely to happen than say, Gareth Bale's move back to England, but that still doesn't make it any more possible. Reus' opportunity to leave Dortmund came in the middle of last season, but he chose to extend his contract and rid himself of a £20m release clause which was due to enter his contract by summer 2015.
He's now in a successful Dortmund team again under Thomas Tuchel, and has 12 goals in 16 appearances this year.
Out of the Above mentioned, whom you would prefer realistically in January Transfer Window?
Alright. Heard good things about Boufal, so I thought I might ask. Lemar has been more impressive than Bernardo Silva the few times I saw Monaco IMO. Just 19 years old. Guess I have to watch more.
Edin Hazard.. and hopefully we fix him.
No value in the market
Exactly, he's not a winger and not at all what we need.
I agree and honestly get the impression half of the posters here have seen his goals/assists record and just say sign him without watching more than 90mins of football. He hasn't got pace.
Mata playing there is one of the reasons LVG says he wants more pace in the wide areas, he's done OK but it's more of a reflection on our lack of options.
Wilson has shown feck all, and is not better than Memphis. If you want to count his form for the reserves then count Memphis' in Holland.
I was thinking of Bellarabi yesterday, he may be a good option. A proper winger who could explode with the right move. My suspicion is that we will sign Felipe Anderson though, although Mané is probably my first choice. The team could possibly do with 2 more in attack anyway to be honest.
I would like Mane but I dont see it as possible this January window, I really doubt they will sell him. Arguably their best player, selling him in January I think is unlikely.
What, no Bebe?
Atletico are already struggling for creativity and Griezmann is their only attacking outlet right now. Better chance we might sign Reus than him.
Any less so than Griezmann? Meh! Wide forwards, wingers, however you choose to regard them they would all have been bought to play the same position, which is left of the central striker.
Moving the ball quickly is far more important than the speed of the players. Bayern have no more pace than we do up front, but the speed they move the ball around to create spaces in the final third is what makes them so prolific. That's what we really lack in my view. We just move the ball around too slowly, and therefore can't create many spaces to exploit. When we do occasionally move it around quicker we have more than enough to cause teams problems. Although i wouldn't be against signing a pacy player, i don't think much would change without speeding up our general play with the ball.
Completely agree, been making this point for years. LVG suggesting a new winger is needed to cure our current attacking impotency is a real worry for me. After a season and a half he clearly doesn't identify Rooney as a problem within our attack, and so i can't see things improving that much even if we do sign Griezmann. Although obviously he would still add real quality to our attack.
Muppet buys aside, I'd love Bellarabi. He's quite a talent IMO and would be another fairly Unknown signing amongst PL viewers.
Brahimi is also a talent, though I hear from Porto fans he plays at a higher level in the CL as opposed to the League because he knows that's where the big teams will be closely monitoring him.
Also happy with Mane.
Any of Bellarabi, Mane or Brahimi in Jan would be great. Though Mane has the added bonus of not being cup tied for the CL.
Brahimi is also a talent, though I hear from Porto fans he plays at a higher level in the CL as opposed to the League because he knows that's where the big teams will be closely monitoring him.
Also happy with Mane.
Any of Bellarabi, Mane or Brahimi in Jan would be great. Though Mane has the added bonus of not being cup tied for the CL.
I'm convinced now that Van Gaal's remarks about needing one or two wingers was really a wakeup call to Memphis in particular, but also Januzaj.
We've got young, promising wingers on the books already. They may make it or they may not, but we can't say yet that they won't.
Either way, let's go in for Greizmann and put an end our misery. We've been toiling with Rooney for too long.
Tbh it's just my opinion, I could definitely be wrong. About Silva, I have little doubt of his quality. For the rest I'm 60-70% sure (which leaves a big room for error). Hopefully others give you their opinion on them too.
a cheeky bid for hazard would be wonderful.
nobody mentioned is likely to leave in january though. most of them are playing big roles for their respective clubs at this moment.
nobody mentioned is likely to leave in january though. most of them are playing big roles for their respective clubs at this moment.
We won't buy a winger in January.
Our current wingers are good enough to be bench warmers for Barca/Real/Bayern. That's not a slight on them - they're still very good players. But the likes of Mata, Memphis and Young are at a level that CL contending sides would want as cover rather than first choice. We should be aiming to buy wingers who are at a level that's comparable to Reus/Griezmann/Muller/Neymar/Bale for our first XI.
Buying Mane to be first choice would be silly at a time when there's currently space in the squad for a top class winger. We should take this opportunity to close the gap on Europe's top sides. There's no sense in stuffing the squad with more players who are at the Bayern bench level instead on individuals who are at the Bayern first team level. Obviously players of that ilk will be hard to come by, but I'd prefer to try for the best instead of settling for just slightly better.
Settling for second best is a similar trap to the one Liverpool fell into (albeit at a somewhat lower level). Now their squad is so bloated they can't make room for the quality they need. It'll take Klopp years to correct Rodger's mistakes. I'd rather LvG didn't do the same thing.
Buying Mane to be first choice would be silly at a time when there's currently space in the squad for a top class winger. We should take this opportunity to close the gap on Europe's top sides. There's no sense in stuffing the squad with more players who are at the Bayern bench level instead on individuals who are at the Bayern first team level. Obviously players of that ilk will be hard to come by, but I'd prefer to try for the best instead of settling for just slightly better.
Settling for second best is a similar trap to the one Liverpool fell into (albeit at a somewhat lower level). Now their squad is so bloated they can't make room for the quality they need. It'll take Klopp years to correct Rodger's mistakes. I'd rather LvG didn't do the same thing.
Have never seen him play for ajax. I guess he has progressed so much that he needs a mention. Although, seeing how memphis has adopted to Premier League, I would be a tad shy in vouching for him. But You are right, he may be a good option
His Exact Quotes
I guess that's as much as one could say before getting a player.
Regarding buying in January
The Problem, as always, is: who do you think is available? Müller won't move till his thierties, Reus just extended, Real won't sell Bale and Barca certainly won't sell their new poster boy. Griezmann, yes, maybe. But Manchester won't be alone chasing him.
Buying smart in the second tier probably is the way to go.
Mané has the talent to make the step up. What you are basically saying is that we need to buy a big name superstar, but the fact is, if Di Maria was putting in the performances for us that Mané has dione for the past 12 months, we'd be over the moon and he'd win POTY. Mané is a sub for you, I suspect, because he plays for Southampton. He goes past players with ease, and scores and creates at a high rate. He has done this against defenders and teams of a good pedigree too. He isn't inferior to the likes of Griezmann or Costa before they joined their big clubs and became 'the sort of player we should buy'.
Sounds like he's blaming our poor attacking displays on the lack of such players, but let's not forget that he had Di Maria last season who is the definition of fast and creative and done feck all with him. Also he had two of the best wingers in the world at Bayern and their attacking play was also dogshit.
I’d go for Griezmann only if we sell Mata. They’re similar players in my view, the former being quicker. Very unlikely scenario though.
Griezmann isn’t the answer for our problems out wide.
Di Maria was a risk worth taking. We brought him to play in midfield but he was too sloppy to play there. Hence he was moved to the wing where he’s inconsistent. He isn’t and never was a very good winger.
I’m glad he identified lack of a winger as a problem. We can’t continue playing with right side completely dead.
Griezmann isn’t the answer for our problems out wide.
That’s our biggest problem in my view. We don’t have the pulling power to bring the best players around it seems. I’d be happy with Mane, I think he would improve us massively.
Di Maria was a risk worth taking. We brought him to play in midfield but he was too sloppy to play there. Hence he was moved to the wing where he’s inconsistent. He isn’t and never was a very good winger.
I’m glad he identified lack of a winger as a problem. We can’t continue playing with right side completely dead.
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Which Club, besides Real, does actually? Let's face it, the top Stars of the top tier clubs very rarely move on if they are in the heights of their game.
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Would be happy if we keep buying players like Memphis and Martial, players who have the potential to reach the level of Neymar, Bale etc
Mane to me is the obvious choice. Strong, pacey, very good work ethic and has a goal threat. Perfect choice for us really.
I was thinking about players like Neymar- when he moved to Barca he was already an established player. I doubt we stand a chance to bring such players- wanted by everybody.
Barca (Neymar, Suarez), Real (Bale, James) and Bayern (Goetze, Lewandowski, Costa) get all the players they want. I doubt we can compete with them currently. That’s why I hope Guardiola will be our manager one day- he will bring some of those special players.
That's not true! Look at Suarez for example. He left a... I'm sorry. You're right.
Atleast VG sees the problem, it defiantly must mean mata's place is in danger considering the way VG has used mata, if only memphis could pick up his game. But for a long time we have been short of quality on that area of the pitch
Brahimi has the best youtube video than others. Other than a good dribbler, seems like he has good shot from outside the box, of which extremely handy against 'parking the bus' teams.
I would love Griezeman too. However, I would prefer to see him in behind Martial through the mddle and not out wide
I want us to sign two out of mane griezmann bellarabi Anderson.
Any two.. I'm not asking for much
Any two.. I'm not asking for much
To be fair Mane has been linked to Bayern as well. They really made a lucky pull with Costa but Overall I would see them more or less on the same Level. Might have easily been the case that Mane would flourish for Bayern as well if they had Chosen him.
I am not that convinced by Bellarabi. Good player but would take Mane over him.
Anderson sounds interesting - any ideas about his Price tag?
Griezmann can Play any attacking Position.
I am still a bit sad that we sold AdM.
Thiago seems to be the central player in regards to speeding up play in the final third. Personally only see Herrera in that midfield role for us but then we would not have the defensive stability in midfield anymore, which is something LVG values highly as we know.
Don't know if Reus is really the pacey winger we are looking for but he is pure class. Would sign him in an instant. I don't watch as much football as i used to anymore so i`ve seen only 2-3 games of the other players so can't comment on them but they are surely more attainable than Reus, Griezeman and Bale
We only one for the right wing unless we are planning to convert Depay in to a right winger. Look we all know he has had a bad start to the season. But I would hope we give more chances and he makes the left wing his own in the coming years. I am confident he will come good. I want to sign a left footed winger for the right wing aka Griezmann or Bale. Those two are probably the hardest to get in football right now but we need someone similar.
If anyone has played Brahimi on Fifa 16, he is abnormally good (trust me, try him out). So judging by that he is my nr1 target.
In all seriousness though, Griezmann, Reus, Bale should be the targets.
In all seriousness though, Griezmann, Reus, Bale should be the targets.