He looked so much better playing as box to box, he brought some stability to the team winning possession few times. Loved how good he is at pressing and winning possession, played super pass too which Rashford should have scored.
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We should buy him in the summer
He's fantastic but we'll probably have to ship some midfielders if we sign him. We'll have 7 senior pros for 3 positions and 3 talented youngsters coming through. I think Erik has big plans for Mainoo, and I don't think it'll be long before he's being rotated into the team. I definitely don't see us signing 2 midfielders this summer.
Casemiro
Bruno
Eriksen
Sabitzer
Fred
Mctominay
Donny
Mainoo
Iqbal
Hannibal
Casemiro
Bruno
Eriksen
Sabitzer
Fred
Mctominay
Donny
Mainoo
Iqbal
Hannibal
He was much better when he came on than he has been in previous games, hopefully he's been brought up to speed with the pace of the PL.
It remains though that we still haven't got a proper DM to cover Casemiro.
It remains though that we still haven't got a proper DM to cover Casemiro.
From that list I'd probably sell McTominay and Donny which would make room for one more CM, cover for Casemiro and introduce Mainoo or other youngster (probably Mainoo cause it seems ETH trusts him)
I agree with those 2 but that means 3 good pros on the bench every game. Given Bruno plays almost every game I just think that'll lead to problems and Mainoo won't get a look in.
I think Sabitzer or Mainoo could do a good enough job as backup to Casemiro at 6.
I think he needs to shave those moustache to get to the next level.
He's surprised me quite a bit, in a positive sense. He works hard, gets stuck in, passes well and seems to have a decent shot. The type of player that would be great to have for depth in midfield. Swapping between him, Fred, Eriksen next to Casemiro next season, depending on the type of opponent we are facing, would be quite strong.
Corrected. He should go full Tom Selleck
I think he has a good work ethic and a solid box to box midfielder with a goal threat, there's not a lot of them about.
But, I would also really like us to sign Gravenburgh from Bayern too and I can't see us getting both.
But, I would also really like us to sign Gravenburgh from Bayern too and I can't see us getting both.
Yeah, makes sense. Sabitzer proved he's good at defense.
Lost count how many times I've said it across threads now 
but please sign him in the summer. If the rumoured fee of £18-20 million is accurate, please sign him. Great cameo yesterday and will play a big part over the next few months. Great tackler, creates chances from deep. At one point Casemiro motioned for him to push up as Case would sit deep, and it helped really push us up and win the ball higher and make chances. Start him v West Ham.
but please sign him in the summer. If the rumoured fee of £18-20 million is accurate, please sign him. Great cameo yesterday and will play a big part over the next few months. Great tackler, creates chances from deep. At one point Casemiro motioned for him to push up as Case would sit deep, and it helped really push us up and win the ball higher and make chances. Start him v West Ham.Yeah, he positions well, handles the ball well, has a good pass and shot on him and defensively he can put a shift in, cutting crosses or taking possession of opponents. For quoted prices it's a no brainer.Lost count how many times I've said it across threads now
Agreed man. Very happy to have him on loan.
Seems to excited when taking his shots. I know he can hit the ball really really clean.
I agree though, we should sign him to replace Donny/Mctominay.
I agree though, we should sign him to replace Donny/Mctominay.
Would Casemiro, Eriksen and sabitzer be enough To win CLs and league titles ? Or do we need a Bellingham/rice type mid next to case ?
This guys got a shot like a 7 iron
McTominay and Van De Beek should be sold, I don't really think anyone would miss either of them
We essentially need an upgrade on Eriksen, so someone like De Jong. Rice isn't that player and is frankly overrated, Bellingham perhaps but again I think he's overpriced and not really the silky orchestrator we're looking for in the middle.
There are reports of Alexis MacAllister being available, in case we choose to focus our resources elsewhere and not go for FdJ again, I'd love him and Sabitzer instead of McTominay and VdB, and we probably recoup enough from the sales to come out neutral on that trade.
Sabitzer seems a decent squad player, but should we not be looking to sign a top class CM and ST this summer?
By that logic I'd let him go back to bayern and let Mctominay and VDB go as well.
By that logic I'd let him go back to bayern and let Mctominay and VDB go as well.
I put Fred McT and Donny out the door.
Bring in someone like Sabitzer or McAllister and let Hannibal and Mainoo fight it out for as rotation options.
Fred is going no where.
It would be more than enough if we go by the precedence of Liverpool winning the UCL and EPL with a midfield that had Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Henderson and Milner as CM options. It’s all about squad balance.
Fred has a role here when he plays beside Casemiro, works for Brazil too.
I really think de jong and a top striker will be enough to have us at the top again. The likes of eriksen, fred and sabitzer as midfield back up is excellent
If one of the reports which said around 20m Euros is correct for a permanent transfer, I say go for it. He provides good depth in midfield.
Stop fecking shooting on every semi opportunity. I like his tenacity though, he did good.
None of them is a sub for Casemiro though. We need someone else who can sit and screen the defence and let the likes of Eriksen/FDJ focus on gameplay or Sabitzer/Fred focus on pressing and chasing up the pitch.
We don’t have another #6 other than 31yo Casemiro. If he gets injured our midfield will struggle to replace him. So that’s more important than someone like FDJ or Sabitzer I would argue.
He's a fully focused and consummate professional who's here to do a job for a few months but I still get the sense he wants to , fundamentally, crack it back at Bayern.
Fred is Fred. He hasn't done enough in his whole time here and shouldn't be renewed again.
Sell him in the summer while he still has some resale value.
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Bayern are ridiculously stacked in midfield. And if he's content being a squad player then I'd wager he'd prefer it in the best league in the world.
Or he might just fancy somewhere where he'd be a consistent starter, so there's the possibility he does leave Bayern permanently, but not to us.
I think it really depends on what Erik's long term vision of the team. Fred leads our team in the 'interception leading to shot-ending sequence' stat, his most effective performances have been when we will the ball and transition quickly up the pitch. On the other hand, we all know EtH's love for FdJ and it's easy to see how it would work in our team, with Frenkie's press resistance and ability to dribble the ball up the pitch 30-40 yards from midfield, opening up space in the wings for runners to create overload. So if we continue to rely on quick transitions to score goals, Fred is going nowhere, but with a more possession dominant, sustained pressure playstyle, he can't really be a back up to Casemiro as Eriksen will be our back up for the no.8 position.
That ball winning slide tackle to instant throughball for Rashford was fantastic.
Really looking forward to a midfield of him and case against west ham
He's a good squad player in the mould of Fred - offering the energy and an all round bits and pieces game rather than top quality at anything besides energy levels.
If he's happy to come in the summer as a squad player, battling for starts, then I'd be happy with the addition. But, for three positions, we'd then have Casemiro, Eriksen, Fred, Sabitzer, McTominay, VDB and Fernandes. We also probably need to look to buy at some point an understudy #6, and a younger ball playing midfielder than Eriksen.
I imagine at least one of the midfield squad players will be sold. Depending on the budget, and which areas we prioritise, Sabitzer would be a pretty cheap squad CM addition if we're looking to spend big in other areas instead, such as #9. But if we're also looking to bring in another big CM signing - of a De Jong calibre - then I'm not sure if we'd also bring in Sabitzer as well? Or if he'd want to come in that scenario, as he might find himself in a similar situation that he is at Bayern?
If he's happy to come in the summer as a squad player, battling for starts, then I'd be happy with the addition. But, for three positions, we'd then have Casemiro, Eriksen, Fred, Sabitzer, McTominay, VDB and Fernandes. We also probably need to look to buy at some point an understudy #6, and a younger ball playing midfielder than Eriksen.
I imagine at least one of the midfield squad players will be sold. Depending on the budget, and which areas we prioritise, Sabitzer would be a pretty cheap squad CM addition if we're looking to spend big in other areas instead, such as #9. But if we're also looking to bring in another big CM signing - of a De Jong calibre - then I'm not sure if we'd also bring in Sabitzer as well? Or if he'd want to come in that scenario, as he might find himself in a similar situation that he is at Bayern?
It's only a rare breed of man that can go full Tom Selleck.
The main question is playing time: one of the reasons he joined us during the winter transfer window was seeing his time at Bayern being limited. Would he come here as a squad player? Probably, because there is one additional cup in England, four more league games and the intensity is way higher, so more rotation is needed. On the other hand, ETH does not like rotating much, and we still need to add one more world class CM alongside Casemiro. In short, it all comes down to whether he is content to play 40+ games, but only 10-20 of those as a starter. Performance-wise, I think he'll prove from now until the end of the season that signing him is a no-brainer for the fee mentioned.
Few of us expect McTominay or VDB in particular to be here in September. That will create openings in the squad
I would take Sabitzer as an alternative to Fred if a better #8 is not available, like FDJ. Because people talk about FDJ but there’s 0 indication that he wants to leave Barca, especially now that he’s playing regularly and Barca are doing well in the league. I severely doubt we’ll go for someone like Bellingham for the quoted prices either. So Sabitzer might be the best option going.
There's cause for both play styles over the course of a season. Keeping Fred on and having a less frenetic option is probably the most sensible squad planning we could do.
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