While I would agree it's probably his strong point I think he's been pretty poor at finishing tbh, which says a lot about his time here. He's been anything but clinical - you never have confidence that he'll score when presented with a chance.
Mario Mandžukić
- Thread starter roonster09
- Start date
He missed a sitter practically every game.
His finishing is abysmal. I’ve never been less confident in a striker scoring when they’re presented with an easy chance than I am with Lukaku.
Zuki (yes, that's what I'm calling him) would be a decent option for the bench. Assured finisher, composed on the ball, good hold-up, dangerous in the air and a tireless worker who would compliment the high press. If he's included in the deal, I'm all for it.
Clearly not stupid yet are swapping dybala for Lukaku
Must admit I'm not wild about this. I understand the logic of having a highly experienced striker to offer us something different and serve as an example for the younger attackers coming through, but at 33 I'm concerned Mandzukic is past his best and could be perceived as "deadwood" in as little as 12 months.
This is a move I'm really excited by and never expected in a million years for us this summer
He is a fantastic player and character and to see him in a utd shirt would be amazing
Off course he is past his best but so was Teddy and Larson and they still delivered when called upon
He is a fantastic player and character and to see him in a utd shirt would be amazing
Off course he is past his best but so was Teddy and Larson and they still delivered when called upon
In my opinion Dybala/Martial will hold the false 9 position. Rashford the primary LF. Greenwood/James on the right. Mandzukic the traditional number 9.
Jesse a number 10. Rashford can be a more traditional number 9. Greenwood can play as the striker. Martial can play off the left. These are good options.
Jesse a number 10. Rashford can be a more traditional number 9. Greenwood can play as the striker. Martial can play off the left. These are good options.
So long as it's "in addition to" Dybala and not "rather than".
The problem is we can trade Lukaku for Dybala, while Mandzukic is available for 10m. Massive, massive, massive difference there my friend.
I would be concerned at the amount of injuries he sustained last season but that could be because of his style of ply, the way he battles could cause him to sustain injuries. He had 5 injuries last year but one of them was a fever so that doesn't really count in my opinion and 10 injuries the season before. Although last season wasn't a particularly good one he still scored 9 goals at a rate of one every 224 minutes and also 6 assists. If he could score a similar amount for us at crucial times when we need a goal when he comes off the bench, I think that he could be a good addition and those goals could be potential match winners gaining us a lot of points.
I think he would be a good addition. An impact sub when we are playing some of the lower defensive teams especially.
Shouldn’t be paying a fee for him, he’s 33 and Juve are desperate to get him off their wage bill. He’d be a decent squad player for a year or two years but could easily be deadwood on a three year deal with huge wages.
This kind of feels like a Larsson or Sheringham kind of signing. Very good player but brought in for the short term to primarily be used as backup.
I think it makes sense for us not to be over reliant on Rashford, martial and Greenwood as our only real strikers
I think it makes sense for us not to be over reliant on Rashford, martial and Greenwood as our only real strikers
Why do I feel like we're going to end up getting shafted with something like 50m+Mandzukic for Lukaku?
I wouldn't be surprised to see Dybala stay put and we get stuck with an old war horse.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Dybala stay put and we get stuck with an old war horse.
I didn't expect this ... reminds me a little bit of when we signed Dion Dublin.
I can understand why though as we currently lack experience in our forward line and perhaps it will be a 'Larsson' type role who played a big part in the final months of 2007 and helped the much younger Rooney and Ronaldo.
I wonder what that means for Lukaku if his deal does not go through and even Sanchez as you would think that they would be the experienced heads. Very intriguing.
I can understand why though as we currently lack experience in our forward line and perhaps it will be a 'Larsson' type role who played a big part in the final months of 2007 and helped the much younger Rooney and Ronaldo.
I wonder what that means for Lukaku if his deal does not go through and even Sanchez as you would think that they would be the experienced heads. Very intriguing.
Did we offer Darmian for Mandzukic so far?
Some papers are making that link but nothing on sky news as yet. They just mention that Ole is interested in Mandzukic. Sky UK think it is a back up if the Lukaku/Dybala switch does not happen but Sky Italy are stating that Ole wants him regardless.
Okay if we want to sign 7 th player. But I would add additional 10 m on long staff if it means deal can be done with new castle. We need 2 midfielders this summer.
This guy will be a star, can't believe Juve are willing to let him go.
I don’t see why they’d let him go? If they do they have no backup strikers if they also let go of Dybala with Kean having left already.
They would be left with CR7, Higuain & Lukaku as striker options.
Mandzukic is likely a causality of the accounting needs of this deal.
Dybala and Mandzukic would mean no Bruno.... which would be utter shame.
He could do a solid job for us and bring some much needed experience for the youth, be a lot more effective on the pitch than Mata and Matic thats for sure. Obviously a short term fix but worth a punt for this season.
The last update from Simon Stone / BBC on Bruno was that MUFC would be even more irritated with the ongoing links to him. Portuguese press whipping up an auction with no bidders is kind of sad.
Dybala and Mario at least seem to have credible and continuing links behind them.
I completely forgot about Lukaku. What options do they have out wide though, Bernadeschi and Costa?Would be worth it just to see him pissed the defenders. We lack those kind of players, especially since Herrera left.
The age is a problem though, he is passed his best. Could give us a solid year I guess and some important goals from the bench, so I would still take him. Something like 1+1 would be ideal.
The age is a problem though, he is passed his best. Could give us a solid year I guess and some important goals from the bench, so I would still take him. Something like 1+1 would be ideal.
That would definitely be disappointing, but not a disaster if we got Fernandez in as well.
I'm desperately hoping the Dybala deal goes through, but I would be making this our backup plan in case he decides he doesn't want to come here.
Cuadrado and Pjaca as well
I would take him just for his mentality.
He is a winner and the type of player that will fight for 90 min regardless of the score.
He is a winner and the type of player that will fight for 90 min regardless of the score.
He could be someone who could really help the likes of Rashford and Martial learn how to be better centre forwards. Both are better coming from the wing but we need to have a top quality Cf.
He would be great to have around the squad. Bags of experience.
Bernadeschi and Costa as well as Cuadrado and Pjaca and they’re still after Chiesa too aren’t they ? Higuain would be back up to Lukaku through the middle whilst Ronaldo can also play there.
That's exactly how I feel about him. With him and Maguire, we'd finally have some real leadership in the squad.
Shouldn't we see if we can get a midfield player instead of him from Juve? How many forwards do we need? Why waste any money on a 33 year old?
What's the point of all them if we don't have a proper midfield?
What's the point of all them if we don't have a proper midfield?
I think the idea of his potential purchase is the need to change mid-game. Many pundits also think Rashford is a better player when playing with a second striker. Just gives us more options and not be stuck with similar tactics over the course of the game or season.
If were are going to play with 2 up top, which seems likely after seeing Martial playing there a fair bit in pres season, and as others have mentioned Rashford needs a strike partner, I can see Ole doing a Fergie and wanting 4 strikers on the books.
The '99 team found a way to rotate the 4 we had then, and when needing a goal we'd stick them all on.
Rashford, Martial, mandžukić, Sanchez being the 4.
Just a thought, could Mandžukić be a replacement for Sanchez? (We can all hope)
In whatever capacity he plays for us, I would be happy. He's a winner, hard working and experienced.
The '99 team found a way to rotate the 4 we had then, and when needing a goal we'd stick them all on.
Rashford, Martial, mandžukić, Sanchez being the 4.
Just a thought, could Mandžukić be a replacement for Sanchez?
(We can all hope)In whatever capacity he plays for us, I would be happy. He's a winner, hard working and experienced.
I can honestly say I don’t like him at all. But at the sametime with Dybala this makes perfect sense. We will need his experience during the campaign.