Manchester United Summer Transfer Window 2015: What do we still need?

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To expand on the point above; I also wonder how attractive United would be to players if we miss out on Champions League football again. Even if we have to buy on credit we can still compete with the majority of the highest spending clubs, I think. But surely it would be harder to tempt players after missing out on CL two years running. One year can be explained away, but two years is different.
 
Woodenlung said:
To expand on the point above; I also wonder how attractive United would be to players if we miss out on Champions League football again. Even if we have to buy on credit we can still compete with the majority of the highest spending clubs, I think. But surely it would be harder to tempt players after missing out on CL two years running. One year can be explained away, but two years is different.
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well Barca can't sign anyone so our realistic rivals are Bayern, Madrid, Atletico, Chelsea, City, Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal, PSG - some of them affected by FFP

and we pay better than all but Madrid possibly at the minute it seems

I've no worries about attracting players - I'm more concerned with attracting the right players with the necessary hunger
 
I read an article in the Express I think it was the other day and all the positions they listed we needed to strengthen were spot on in my opinion.

Right back

Centre back

Centre midfield

Winger

Striker
 
Acole9 said:
I read an article in the Express I think it was the other day and all the positions they listed we needed to strengthen were spot on in my opinion.

Right back

Centre back ( I would actually get 2, one experienced and one up and coming)

Centre midfield (A dominating presence to help Blind and protect Herrera)

Winger (Definitely to compliment the ones we have)

Striker (Might need a couple of them)
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2 Man Midfield said:
Some young, talented and hungry players. Feels like Di Maria, Falcao etc have done it all before. Depay, Laporte, Clyne, Lacazette. Not sure about the midfield.
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As much as I think it's to early to write off Adm, a summer of buying young, talented players is what I want.
 
C'est Moi Cantona said:
Interesting reading the new Andy Green blog saying that the majority of the players were bought on credit last summer, and that £116 million is still owing as of the end of last year, he reckons this is something new from United, and partly caused by the simple fact we didn't have enough cash on the bank to pay for it.

Looks like we be reliant on buying summer targets the same way if the cash we have generated this year needs to be spent on last summers players, which wouldn't put us in the strongest position when negotiating for targets that other clubs who can drop a larger amount on up front.

You would suspect there was a similar scenario with Di Maria in the summer, Madrid wanted as much money as possible up front so wanted PSG to sign him, and left it as late as possible for them to raise the cash, as soon as it became clear they couldn't they accepted our offer.
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Many tranfers especially large one are payed in installments. Yes many others are cash up front.
 
Acole9 said:
I read an article in the Express I think it was the other day and all the positions they listed we needed to strengthen were spot on in my opinion.

Right back- Clyne

Centre back- Godin/ Hummels- Stones/Varane

Centre midfield-Pogba- Alex Song

Winger- Depay

Striker- Lacazette/ Dybala. Think we'll keep RvP.
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I'd go for the above.
 
I don't know some of the targets we've been linked with (or are at least discussing) but my main target if he were willing and available to us would be Godin. Bring in a younger centre-back to complement him, and I think we'd look so much better defensively both in the short-term and potentially the longer term.

I doubt he'd be available to a side likely not to be in the Champions League next season, but this is basically a fantasy thread, so feck it :p
 
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Right back - Danilo

Centre back - Godin (+ a younger oen hopefully)

Centre midfield - Number of good options

Winger - Memphis

Striker - Dybala/Vietto/Lacazette
 
Right back - Clyne and Danilo

Centre back - Laporte, Varane and Hummels

Centre midfield - Koke, Sneijderlin and Pogba

Winger - Memphis and Reus

Striker - Dybala, Lacazette
 
JustAFan said:
Many tranfers especially large one are payed in installments. Yes many others are cash up front.
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I understand that but I think the point he was getting at was that it is a new approach, and the club 'only' had a around £60 million in cash before last summer, so any cash generated this year will be to pay for last years signings, putting us in a weak bargaining position this summer unless we take out cash loans I guess.
 
3 players and all of them should be attainable:
Pogba
Hummels
Depay

LVG says he wants a midfielder and Pogba is the best choice and one I'd much rather we sign than Strootman. Will cost alot of money, but Ed was bragging about being able to sign a superstar like Di Maria every season, so this is the superstar.

I personally rate Godin as the better defender, but I just get a feeling Hummels is the one LVG wants. Either way you can't go wrong with either. I think one CB is enough because we'd have new signing, Jones, Smalling, Rojo and then players who can do a job there like McNair, Blind and Carrick. We should probably sell Evans who looks finished.

Depay would be a good signing because he can cover 2 areas of need. He can play as wide forward in 4-3-3 or as a striker. That's why I didn't suggest buying a striker like Dybala. If we sign a CM, I'd like to think Rooney will not play in midfield again, I don't think RVP is going anywhere, Wilson has shown potential and Depay could play there as well. To cover the wide areas we have Di Maria, Januzaj, Nani, Young and Depay.

Even though it's only 3 players, I'd imagine that's 100 Million give or take in transfer fees. We'd probably end up paying something close to 50 Million for Pogba, 30 for Hummels and 20 for Depay.
 
If we don't get top 4 Hummels, Alves, Nainggolan, Depay, Ings - discard Evans, Rafael, Falcao, Hernandez, Januzaj (loan), net spend roughly £60 m

Top Four Marquinhos, Hummels, Clyne, Pogba, Depay, Dyabla, discard all of the above plus Smalling, and Nani net spend £135 m
 
lol now everyone is pretty much in universal agreement that we need a striker, and a world class one at that. So let's see we need 2 CB's, 1 RB, 2CM's, 1Winger and a Striker. I highly highly doubt we can get every position sorted out in 1 transfer window, especially if we don't have CL football. We should have strengthened in the January window while we was way clear ahead of everyone.

CB- Hummels
CB- Reid/Vlaar/Schar
RB- Coleman/Clyne/Danilo
CM- Carvalho/Bender/De Jong
CM- Schniederlin/Pogba/Koke
Winger- Reus/Depay/Bale/Nani
ST- Kane/Muller?
 
I half wonder if Benzema would be available for the right price. Madrid will need money for Pogba.
 
Seen us linked with Toby Alderweireld by one the red tops, he's had a good season at Southampton.
 
C'est Moi Cantona said:
Interesting reading the new Andy Green blog saying that the majority of the players were bought on credit last summer, and that £116 million is still owing as of the end of last year, he reckons this is something new from United, and partly caused by the simple fact we didn't have enough cash on the bank to pay for it.

Looks like we be reliant on buying summer targets the same way if the cash we have generated this year needs to be spent on last summers players, which wouldn't put us in the strongest position when negotiating for targets that other clubs who can drop a larger amount on up front.

You would suspect there was a similar scenario with Di Maria in the summer, Madrid wanted as much money as possible up front so wanted PSG to sign him, and left it as late as possible for them to raise the cash, as soon as it became clear they couldn't they accepted our offer.
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That's just simple accounting though. We spent relatively sod all for previous years so hadn't really gone beyond the cash reserves. Now we're overhauling the squad and spending big money we will be balancing it off against future years accounts. We're not going to be looking to spend £200m every season. Another £200m on talent that will secure the next 5 years of the club and the books can be balanced easily with 2 or 3 years of austerity when we can go back to a 3 in 3 out policy. The future revenues look incredibly rosey so it's nothing to worry about. As Andy Green says, it's a new approach from the club but it's not as scary as it sounds. I wouldn't be surprised if the club used the cash loans to get tax breaks too.
 
Hm. http://www.theguardian.com/football...gio-busquets-manchester-city-champions-league

Except that it is England, and here Busquets becomes animated. Asked if he envies the freedom midfielders have to tackle compared to Spain, his reply is surprisingly emphatic. “I envy everything. I admire the Premier League for the quality and style of football. Maybe after years playing the same style you tire of it, and football there is very different. Stadiums are full, pitches are good, the press is different, people are different, the football culture is different. Everyone talks highly of England and I’d like to experience it one day. You see more space, more opportunity to enjoy your football. It’s more physical, more intense, but I think I’d be comfortable. I can’t say I’ll definitely play there because things change and I’ve always said I want to stay here for many years, but I’d like the experience.”
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dsch said:
Hm. http://www.theguardian.com/football...gio-busquets-manchester-city-champions-league
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Maybe it's just me but I've always thought that whenever players say they'll like the "experience" what they mean is they want a pay rise from their current club.

[Forgive me if I'm wrong, I'm new to this whole transfer muppetry. I never bought it under SAF but now I'll need to get excited about United somehow and transfer windows are the only place where we look like doing something.]
 
Tyrion said:
Maybe it's just me but I've always thought that whenever players say they'll like the "experience" what they mean is they want a pay rise from their current club.

[Forgive me if I'm wrong, I'm new to this whole transfer muppetry. I never bought it under SAF but now I'll need to get excited about United somehow and transfer windows are the only place where we look like doing something.]
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You've cottoned on pretty quick there.:)
 
DomesticTadpole said:
You've cottoned on pretty quick there.:)
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:lol:
Thanks. I guess my innate cynicism makes me well prepared for the transfer world.
I look forward to ruining everyone's hopes in the thread we'll devote to whichever player we'll pin our hopes on (i.e Vidal or Thiago version 2015). :lol:
 
Pexbo said:
That's just simple accounting though. We spent relatively sod all for previous years so hadn't really gone beyond the cash reserves. Now we're overhauling the squad and spending big money we will be balancing it off against future years accounts. We're not going to be looking to spend £200m every season. Another £200m on talent that will secure the next 5 years of the club and the books can be balanced easily with 2 or 3 years of austerity when we can go back to a 3 in 3 out policy. The future revenues look incredibly rosey so it's nothing to worry about. As Andy Green says, it's a new approach from the club but it's not as scary as it sounds. I wouldn't be surprised if the club used the cash loans to get tax breaks too.
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A few people called him on this, saying it was just normal business practice and not understanding his point.

I think what he was getting at is that we just can't drop large up front amounts of cash on new transfers, and if it comes to a fight for a top target, say Pogba then we will be hindered in the way we will have to structure the payments, a club like Madrid at this moment probably won't, so we will likely miss out in these scenarios.

Also his other point was about CL cash been crucial to all this, I would imagine if we finish outside the top 4 this season them transfer plans will have to be reined right in.
 
I want transfers that point towards a lone striker formation. No more playing with two strikers. The only good team in Europe I think that uses two strikers effectively is City, and then that's because they have one of the world's best, and most dynamic, strikers in Aguero, and two of the best midfielders in the league in Silva and Toure. But, as has been shown in the CL recently, a two-striker system rarely bears fruit, and that's where we should be aiming.

I still think Rooney has legs, so I'd be reluctant to splash out big on another striker, and that's why Depay would be a good signing - can operate just about anywhere across the front, presuming we move to a 433, and could fill in as a striker when Rooney invariably goes through his, well, for want of a better expression, 'Rooney Phase'.

I believe it's crucial that Di Maria plays in a position akin to his position at Madrid. To facilitate that, we're going to need two mobile, defensively-sound midfielders to balance the freedom that is necessarily required by Di Maria. I'm thinking Naingollan and Pogba.

RB, in light of Rafael's fitness issues and supposed unfavourableness, Valencia's complete inability to provide any decent attacking threat, and the fact that McNair is actually a CB, has become a position in dire need of attention. I've not seen much of Danilo, so I can't comment there. My preference would be Clyne, he's looked good at both ends of the pitch pretty much every time I've seen him.

I've already put in my vote for Depay, so that's one spot of the front 3 secured, now for the other. Firstly, let's get Nani back. He's a genuinely good player, and if LVG can turn Fellaini and Young around, he most definitely can help Nani recapture his essence at United, too. But, we do need another winger - Nani will be 29 next season. Obviously Reus or Bale would be dream signings, but the future of each seems tightly linked to that of the other, so unless Reus goes to Madrid, I cannot see Bale coming to us. And if Reus does leave, but doesn't go to Madrid, I don't see him coming to United, meaning we won't get Bale either. Kinda seems like something out of a David Mitchell novel, but that's how I see it. Who does that leave? I'm not entirely sure. I'll leave others to answer that.

For CB, I struggle to look beyond Hummels. I've not seen that much of Marquinhos, but he did look fairly assured vs Chelsea. That being said, I like Rojo. I know he's rash and has a bit of the Jones about him, but I like him all the same. A bit of blind spot maybe.

So, my preferred line-up next season:

DDG
Clyne - Hummels - Rojo - Shaw
Nainggolan
Pogba - Di Maria
Nani ------------------- Depay
Rooney

Bench: Valdes, Herrera, Mata, Blind, Wilson, Smalling, Januzaj
​
Cost: Probably around 150m, again, I'd guess.

My muppet dream formation:

DDG
Smalling - Hummels - Rojo
Blind
Nainggolan - Pogba
Di Maria
Nani - Rooney - Depay

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TL;DR - Buy Messi.
 
https://www.redcafe.net/threads/major-surgery-needed.389253/page-1

The above thread is interesting to read. Gives a decent summary of the general opinions of posters around 10months ago.

The conclusion I came too at the time was that we needed:
  • First Choice CB
  • First Choice LB
  • Backup RB
  • First Choice CM
  • First Choice CM
We only filled in one of those positions (Luke Shaw). We didn't buy an experienced CB to replace Vidic/Rio's knowledge and organisation. We didn't buy a backup RB which was obvious to many was needed. We still need a first choice CM as we're still way too reliant on Carrick. We also need to purchase at least one forward to replace the hole left by Welbeck/Hernandez/Falcao. So i'd say we now need:
  • First Choice CB (like last Season)
  • First Choice RB (one of Rafa/Valencia can be backup, we sell the other)
  • First Choice CM (to provide adequate cover for Carrick, like last Season)
  • A Forward (pacey who plays on the left)
In hindsight last Summers transfer activity was pretty flawed. I remember at the time being concerned we didn't get a leader at the back and in midfield and I think those are two areas we still lack in. Beginning of next season Carrick will be 34! It's a bit of a concern that as a team we're so reliant on him to get points. We need a high profile CM signing this summer to fill that void and I don't think Pogba/Koke is the answer. We need a fella with leadership who can order everyone about and lead by example. I'd be going for a 28-30 year old to fill that void, a bit like when Chelsea bought in Michael Ballack. Any suggestions?
 
If we make top four: spending 210M.

---------------------------------------------De Gea----------------------------------------------
Alves------------------------Hummels--------------Rojo-------------------------------Shaw
---------------------------------------------Carrick------------------------------------------------
-------------------------Vidal-------------------------------Di Maria---------------------------
Reus--------------------------------------Rooney-------------------------------------------Bale


If we don’t make top four: 80M

---------------------------------------------Valdes----------------------------------------------
Coleman------------------------Jones---------------Rojo------------------------------Shaw
---------------------------------------------Carrick-----------------------------------------------
---------------------------- Herrera ------------------------Schneiderlein-------------------
Depay--------------------------------------Rooney------------------------------------Di Maria
 
That is one of the worst articles ever, Evans is the surviving CB, and it includes a crocked player who may never be the same and a guy who just signed a huge new contract with his current club, I didn't think it was possible to set the bar any lower but they managed it.
 
If the worst happens and we don't get top 4 so need to be tight this summer, we can always try and get a few of the out of contract players.

Rather than Clyne, Hummels, Pogba, Bale and Dyabla.

We could get Alves, Reid, De Jong, Milner and Adriano.

Wouldn't mind betting some of the 'frees' would do a better job than the big money signings too.
 
For me Lacazette is a bit overrated. I don't think he'll turn as good as everybody is expecting him to be.
 
C'est Moi Cantona said:
If the worst happens and we don't get top 4 so need to be tight this summer, we can always try and get a few of the out of contract players.

Rather than Clyne, Hummels, Pogba, Bale and Dyabla.

We could get Alves, Reid, De Jong, Milner and Adriano.

Wouldn't mind betting some of the 'frees' would do a better job than the big money signings too.
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You are either on the wind up or deluded!
 
Lawman said:
You are either on the wind up or deluded!
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It's certainly a "one extreme to the other" train of thought, I mean which Adriano does he mean? Even if we miss out on top 4 I expect we can sign better players than the ones listed.
 
£150m doesn't buy you a massive amount in the current climate, or at least not the way we do our business. I'd guess we'll pay something like £40m if we want Hummels, probably something like £25m for Depay and we could easily spunk the rest if we ended up going for a couple of players like Cavani and Clyne (not that I think we'll necessarily do any of those deals, just that they're heavily linked with them). In that hypothetical we could spunk a fortune and still not have sorted our midfield.
 
Brophs said:
£150m doesn't buy you a massive amount in the current climate, or at least not the way we do our business. I'd guess we'll pay something like £40m if we want Hummels, probably something like £25m for Depay and we could easily spunk the rest if we ended up going for a couple of players like Cavani and Clyne (not that I think we'll necessarily do any of those deals, just that they're heavily linked with them). In that hypothetical we could spunk a fortune and still not have sorted our midfield.
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Brophs £150m is massive. I'd like to see the approach of only signing 3 players for that kind of money. Add quality not quantity Bale for starters then a right back and a centre mid. Then any other we sell before bringing in for example sell Evans buy a replacement, or same for Mata RVP Rafael Fellaini etc.
 
Lawman said:
Brophs £150m is massive. I'd like to see the approach of only signing 3 players for that kind of money. Add quality not quantity Bale for starters then a right back and a centre mid. Then any other we sell before bringing in for example sell Evans buy a replacement, or same for Mata RVP Rafael Fellaini etc.
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It's massive, but not the way we do business. I'd prefer to see us do it the way you suggested, but let's be honest, in the past two years we've bought:

Fellaini: £28m
Mata: £37m
Di Maria: £60m
Shaw: £30m
Herrera: £30m
Rojo: £20m (when you factor in the Nani deal)
Falcao: £16m odd incl. wages
Blind: £14m

for something like £235m and we've ended up with, what? A target man midfielder who is clearly not good enough to start for us and who is currently ahead of our two Spaniard number 10s, who LVG doesbn't really seem to fancy. Di Maria who was overpriced and hasn't adapted well (yet). Shaw who is still learning the game and is appreciably worse than the player he replaced. Rojo who isn't a top class CB, Falcao who's a waste of space and Blind who's a very good player, but unlikely to be a great one. All added to

It's fair to say I don't have much faith in Woodward to suddenly see the light.
 
Brophs said:
£150m doesn't buy you a massive amount in the current climate, or at least not the way we do our business. I'd guess we'll pay something like £40m if we want Hummels, probably something like £25m for Depay and we could easily spunk the rest if we ended up going for a couple of players like Cavani and Clyne (not that I think we'll necessarily do any of those deals, just that they're heavily linked with them). In that hypothetical we could spunk a fortune and still not have sorted our midfield.
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£150m has to buy you 4 very good players, at least one of them top class, or else you're a fool. You only think that's not much because of how we spend money.

£150m would have got you Fabregas, Costa, Sanchez, Matic and leave about £30m to spare.
 
Sarni said:
£150m has to buy you 4 very good players, at least one of them top class, or else you're a fool. You only think that's not much because of how we spend money.

£150m would have got you Fabregas, Costa, Sanchez, Matic and leave about £30m to spare.
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Brophs said:
£150m doesn't buy you a massive amount in the current climate, or at least not the way we do our business. I'd guess we'll pay something like £40m if we want Hummels, probably something like £25m for Depay and we could easily spunk the rest if we ended up going for a couple of players like Cavani and Clyne (not that I think we'll necessarily do any of those deals, just that they're heavily linked with them). In that hypothetical we could spunk a fortune and still not have sorted our midfield.
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It didn't get us those players, though, did it? Which was quite obviously my point.
 
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