Martín Zubimendi | £51m release clause

[Redivy]

He will be 26 by February next year.

I have a feeling there is a perception that he is a young and up & coming midfielder.

I think going in for Adam Wharton would be better in January transfer window to test him out a bit further at crystal palace.

He is the most Carrick like player personally to me.

Wharton at this rate is going to cost double what Zubimendi will. And in January, you can add an extra 20m on top of that because teams don't want to sell their best players half way into the season.

 

[GlazersHater]

He will be 26 by February next year.

I have a feeling there is a perception that he is a young and up & coming midfielder.

I think going in for Adam Wharton would be better in January transfer window to test him out a bit further at crystal palace.

He is the most Carrick like player personally to me.

Wharton is not moving for less than 50-60M. Zubimendi could be cheaper, he's 25 so still has at least 5-6 years of top level in him. If the price is right why not? He looked great replacing Rodri in the Euro's final.

 

[croadyman]

Wharton is not moving for less than 50-60M. Zubimendi could be cheaper, he's 25 so still has at least 5-6 years of top level in him. If the price is right why not? He looked great replacing Rodri in the Euro's final.

Yeah slotted into that final with such ease

 

[ArtetaInInIn]

Zubimendi is a Basque local and by all accounts reluctant to leave. Already turned down Barcelona & Arsenal, not wanting to move to Barcelona or London. Would be stunned if he decided to make to move to Manchester.

 

[Ekeke]

You can't rely on the percentile statistics because they're dependent on which type of midfielder you are and how your team plays. Mainoo is in the 9th percentile and McTominay is in the 10th percentile for progressive passes. We all know Mainoo does it much better. Meanwhile Bruno is in the 98th percentile which tracks with his playstyle. However, including Bruno in the percentile stats when comparing to a midfielder like Zubimendi makes no sense. Therefore it includes all midfielders in this stat and that context is missing as well.

Mainoo didnt play a lot of progressive passes and was inconsistent with form and performances. There were flashes and one off performances where he made some good passes but overall I dont think you would expect him to have that many progressive passes. Its his dribbling which mainly stands out where hes 92nd percentile for CMs

Fernandes is compared to AMs and wingers, so not part of the data

Sociedad are 5th highest percentage with 55.5% of the ball. We average 50.4% of the ball.

Yet Zubimendi makes less passes than several of our midfielders. Sociedad's CBs all make the most passes, meanwhole its our midfielders who do.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Wharton is not moving for less than 50-60M. Zubimendi could be cheaper, he's 25 so still has at least 5-6 years of top level in him. If the price is right why not? He looked great replacing Rodri in the Euro's final.

From what I’ve read, that final performance isn’t reflective of his usual level which is much lower?

On the other hand people seem to rate Wharton very very highly. Hopefully we don’t as usual miss out on the genuinely good midfielders of the next decade

 

[Midrich]

Wharton is not moving for less than 50-60M. Zubimendi could be cheaper, he's 25 so still has at least 5-6 years of top level in him. If the price is right why not? He looked great replacing Rodri in the Euro's final.

I think Zubimendi's final performance is overhyped personally. It's more about spains best player got injured & Zubimendi did well enough covering Spain's best player for 40 mins.

I feel like people see him as our chance to sign the perfect next Rodri because of this. Zubimendi wasn't that great in the tournament except those 40 mins in the final because he hardly played. Another player that has been overhyped is Dani Olmo - who people think could replace De Bruyne when they play nothing a like but did have an excellent tournament.

Wharton gives us a Scholes/Carrick player. If we sell Casemiro for 20-30 million, Wharton would only cost 20 million more & I've heard that Ugarte is actually most likely to come here on a loan instead of actually buying him this season so we could buy him next season.

If we sell Mctominay aswell then i think this gives us extra money aswell.

We get 2 to 3 CDM playing in 3 different ways - Wharton could cover for both Ugarte as a ball winner and cover Mainoo as a playmaker. However it is a gamble to take a punt on such a young player with arguably 16 games of PL experience but the signing of Yoro and targeting Brantwaithe shows me that this is not much of a concern anymore.

Just to add on top of this as i only have limited posts, rumours have come out that Antony is available for loans which may open up the need for a RW if we regard Garnacho as a primary LW that can play RW. This is why i think we may go for Arda Guler aswell and get ourselves a RW and a CAM that can take over Antony, Greenwood, Bruno Fernandes & Van De Beek all in one transfer.

Wharton, Ugarte, Mainoo, Mount, Bruno Fernandes, Guler - would be a fantastic and balanced midfield - creative both defensively and attacking, engines & runs in to the box and all fairly young.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I think Zubimendi's final performance is overhyped personally. It's more about spains best player got injured & Zubimendi did well enough covering Spain's best player for 40 mins.

I feel like people see him as our chance to sign the perfect next Rodri because of this. Zubimendi wasn't that great in the tournament except those 40 mins in the final because he hardly played. Another player that has been overhyped is Dani Olmo - who people think could replace De Bruyne when they play nothing a like but did have an excellent tournament.

Wharton gives us a Scholes/Carrick player. If we sell Casemiro for 20-30 million, Wharton would only cost 20 million more & I've heard that Ugarte is actually most likely to come here on a loan instead of actually buying him this season so we could buy him next season.

If he’s that talented (obviously not Scholes’ level) then I’d prefer to prioritise this over another expensive CB.

 

[bosskeano]

i'd be shocked if Zubimendi left Spain however neither Barcelona nor Madrid need a CM...

he's not the ball winner that we need and he's very similar to Kobbie in terms of a controlled CM which is why Carrick is the comparison for those two guys

what this team is missing is a Roy Keane tough as feck guy in the middle of the pitch

 

[GlazersHater]

From what I’ve read, that final performance isn’t reflective of his usual level which is much lower?

On the other hand people seem to rate Wharton very very highly. Hopefully we don’t as usual miss out on the genuinely good midfielders of the next decade

I don't know about Zubimendi I don't watch la liga regularly to make a proper opinion.

Regarding Wharton, he's only played half a season in the PL. I know he looked great for a youngster but spending so much in a youngster so unproven it's a gamble it can turn bad as easily as it can turn good.

We already have Mainoo who's a real gem, so I think adding another youngster is not ideal at this point. Not saying I don't want Wharton of course if we can get him we should but I don't think we have the money to spend this window to do it and fullfil all the other positions we need as well.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I don't know about Zubimendi I don't watch la liga regularly to make a proper opinion.

Regarding Wharton, he's only played half a season in the PL. I know he looked great for a youngster but spending so much in a youngster so unproven it's a gamble it can turn bad as easily as it can turn good.

We already have Mainoo who's a real gem, so I think adding another youngster is not ideal at this point. Not saying I don't want Wharton of course if we can get him we should but I don't think we have the money to spend this window to do it and fullfil all the other positions we need as well.

I get your point but I’m very much in the corner of us buying A) quality and B) young players as I don’t want us to stockpile mediocrity and I don’t see as a contender for at least 3-4 years so it’s about signing played who after that time will be ready to help us challenge. That doesn’t mean only U21 players of course - 25/26 is perfectly fine - but only as long as there’s real quality there.

Hearing mixed things about Zubimendi - maybe some La Liga experts can weigh in.

 

[In Rainbows]

Mainoo didnt play a lot of progressive passes and was inconsistent with form and performances. There were flashes and one off performances where he made some good passes but overall I dont think you would expect him to have that many progressive passes. Its his dribbling which mainly stands out where hes 92nd percentile for CMs

Fernandes is compared to AMs and wingers, so not part of the data

Sociedad are 5th highest percentage with 55.5% of the ball. We average 50.4% of the ball.

Yet Zubimendi makes less passes than several of our midfielders. Sociedad's CBs all make the most passes, meanwhole its our midfielders who do.

But Mainoo has that ability and the only reason why he didn't bring that number up was due to him not getting on the ball a lot consistently to do that job. He's pretty good at progressing the ball when the opportunity presents itself, unlike McTominay, yet McTominay has virtually equal percentile stats. We can expect Mainoo to be able to do that in the midst of a press, and we don't expect Mctominay to do that in those same situations. That's what I mean by playstyle changing how a player picks up the stats. A player can be individually good at that part of the game, but the playstyle of how the team decides to bring the ball up can inflate or deflate the progressive passes of a midfielder. How easy were a midfielder's progressive passes achieved? How were they achieved against the best presses? Was the player helped out by the team's movements in that phase of play? I think only people that watch Zubimendi every match or a decent amount can decide if that ability is a strength of his or not, regardless of the stats.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

But Mainoo has that ability and the only reason why he didn't bring that number up was due to him not getting on the ball a lot consistently to do that job. He's pretty good at progressing the ball when the opportunity presents itself, unlike McTominay, yet McTominay has virtually equal percentile stats. That's what I mean by playstyle changing how a player picks up the stats. A player can be individually good at that part of the game, but the playstyle of how the team decides to bring the ball up can inflate or deflate the progressive passes of a midfielder. How easy were a midfielder's progressive passes achieved? How were they achieved against the best presses? I think only people that watch Zubimendi every match or a decent amount can decide if that ability is a strength of his or not, regardless of the stats.

Love Mainoo but so far he hasn’t been a playmaker for us or England but rather a complete CM who is exceptional with the ball at feet, decision making and ball carrying. With the evidence of his playing style thus far, it appears we lack that high volume passer who will dictate the buildup. I’d really like Mainoo to become more of that kind of player but nothing so far suggests that direction and I think all his coaches are probably better judges of his natural qualities (they may have identified that his top potential is more as an attack minded 8)

 

[croadyman]

i'd be shocked if Zubimendi left Spain however neither Barcelona nor Madrid need a CM...

he's not the ball winner that we need and he's very similar to Kobbie in terms of a controlled CM which is why Carrick is the comparison for those two guys

what this team is missing is a Roy Keane tough as feck guy in the middle of the pitch

So Ugarte is a better fit for our midfield to sum up

 

[In Rainbows]

Love Mainoo but so far he hasn’t been a playmaker for us or England but rather a complete CM who is exceptional with the ball at feet, decision making and ball carrying. With the evidence of his playing style thus far, it appears we lack that high volume passer who will dictate the buildup. I’d really like Mainoo to become more of that kind of player but nothing so far suggests that direction and I think all his coaches are probably better judges of his natural qualities (they may have identified that his top potential is more as an attack minded 8)

I'm not suggesting he's that kind of player. My point is that he has the ability to progress the ball well. Because he's not a magnet for the ball, it restricts him from being that kind of midfielder we're currently seeking, but he still has that ability on the ball. If he's put in that situation he can bring the ball up under intense presses, and CBs should be able to trust giving him the ball in those kind of situations.

Percentile stats for progressive passes don't necessarily indicate if a player has that as a strength of his. For example, Casemiro isn't as good as Mainoo in that skill, but he's far above Mainoo in that percentile stat. I trust Mainoo with the ball, handling presses or being given the ball to CBs with regularity over Casemiro.

I want that kind of player, except one that gets on the ball far more than Mainoo, and therefore can be a good fit to Mainoo.

By just listing the stat of progressive passes percentile, I have no confidence whether that player will have the on ball ability of what I find rare or great in a midfielder. So I'm not going to find judgements against Zubimendi to be that credible when using that stat as a negative mark on his on ball ability.

 

[GlazersHater]

I get your point but I’m very much in the corner of us buying A) quality and B) young players as I don’t want us to stockpile mediocrity and I don’t see as a contender for at least 3-4 years so it’s about signing played who after that time will be ready to help us challenge. That doesn’t mean only U21 players of course - 25/26 is perfectly fine - but only as long as there’s real quality there.

Hearing mixed things about Zubimendi - maybe some La Liga experts can weigh in.

3-4 years is a lot of time, things change quickly. See Arsenal's squad 2 years ago no one would've thought they be challenging still it only takes 4-5 players to change the whole dynamic. If we recruit well we can challenge in the short term.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

3-4 years is a lot of time, things change quickly. See Arsenal's squad 2 years ago no one would've thought they be challenging still it only takes 4-5 players to change the whole dynamic. If we recruit well we can challenge in the short term.

I see that sudden rise from Arsenal as an anomaly and if we are to get there, I think it’ll take a lot longer. We just finished 8th having almost no style of play or cohesion, and have only just got new ownership. The desire to jump developental steps is often what gets us into a mess. “Ooh Casemiro / Falcao / ADM / Zlataan!, we’re back”

 

[GlazersHater]

I see that sudden rise from Arsenal as an anomaly and if we are to get there, I think it’ll take a lot longer. We just finished 8th having almost no style of play or cohesion, and have only just got new ownership. The desire to jump developental steps is often what gets us into a mess. “Ooh Casemiro / Falcao / ADM / Zlataan!, we’re back”

Liverpool's rise was similar, they went from 75 to 97 points from one season no another. Of course their style of play could be seen and they had problems in defense that as soon as they solved everything clicked.

My point is everything look impossible until it's done, if we work properly we can get back to challenging in 2 seasons. With the right set of players everything clicks and suddenly average players start looking better and the standard is raised.

Let's have a little faith

 

[Bertie 2 Hats]

A more balanced midfield would comprise of Mainoo, Ugarte, Zubimendi if playing in a 4-3-3 formation.

 

[In Rainbows]

Liverpool's rise was similar, they went from 75 to 97 points from one season no another. Of course their style of play could be seen and they had problems in defense that as soon as they solved everything clicked.

My point is everything look impossible until it's done, if we work properly we can get back to challenging in 2 seasons. With the right set of players everything clicks and suddenly average players start looking better and the standard is raised.

Let's have a little faith

They did (and Arsenal did too), but they were playing much better than what United just played like. United played like a 15th place side, but finished 8th. Arsenal played like a 10th place side, but finished in 8th. There is always variance in these performances so if you play like a 15th place side, you could easily be a 11th-16th place side and it would still be a fair reflection of your performance. Likewise, playing like a 10th place side could easily be a 7th-11th place side and it would be a fair reflection of your performance.

So all of that is just to say that we're attempting an even bigger jump than Liverpool and Arsenal so it would be more surprising if we did make that huge jump.

Having said that, maybe the tactics are changed enough to where last season's performance won't be a fair reflection of where the side is progressing to play a certain playstyle. Like first season Ten Hag's tactics were very different from last season, so it's impossible to say that last year was a continuation of what we were trying to achieve in the first season. Maybe this season is a similar jump in tactics from Ten Hag.

 

[Brightonian]

He’s never going to be a top-bracket version of what he is, never a Busquets/Alonso/Rodri/Kimmich. He’s easy on the eye but the mediocre stats do underline that he’s a cog in a suitable machine at Sociedad rather than a driver.

For me the key weaknesses as an option for United are his long passing and passing volume. If you’re going to be a ‘regista’ type, you’ve got to be able to spray it about and he’s inconsistent with that. And Mainoo needs to be fed the ball constantly - the more the merrier.

Compare to Ugarte, whose stats and eye test both reveal a player who is not so much limited as very clear about his role. Unimpeachable defensive stats, high volume of very accurate passes, and high accuracy with long passes too. Great engine, runs all day. Absolutely not creative or progressive at all - never going to provide assists or goals - but comfortable dribbling out of the press.
That’s a much better fit for a side that is almost always going to include Mainoo and Bruno. A proper defensive shield and workhorse who also provides a high volume of reliable passes to the midfielder next to him and can reliably spray it to a wide position too.

 

[Juice Juiced]

He’s never going to be a top-bracket version of what he is, never a Busquets/Alonso/Rodri/Kimmich. He’s easy on the eye but the mediocre stats do underline that he’s a cog in a suitable machine at Sociedad rather than a driver.

For me the key weaknesses as an option for United are his long passing and passing volume. If you’re going to be a ‘regista’ type, you’ve got to be able to spray it about and he’s inconsistent with that. And Mainoo needs to be fed the ball constantly - the more the merrier.

Compare to Ugarte, whose stats and eye test both reveal a player who is not so much limited as very clear about his role. Unimpeachable defensive stats, high volume of very accurate passes, and high accuracy with long passes too. Great engine, runs all day. Absolutely not creative or progressive at all - never going to provide assists or goals - but comfortable dribbling out of the press.
That’s a much better fit for a side that is almost always going to include Mainoo and Bruno. A proper defensive shield and workhorse who also provides a high volume of reliable passes to the midfielder next to him and can reliably spray it to a wide position too.

Tell me that you didn't watch a player without telling me.
Zubi is on another planet to Ugarte.
If the INEOS pull this off... CL is our in few years.

 

[jeepers]

I

He will be 26 by February next year.

I have a feeling there is a perception that he is a young and up & coming midfielder.

I think going in for Adam Wharton would be better in January transfer window to test him out a bit further at crystal palace.

He is the most Carrick like player personally to me.

I would like Adam Wharton as well, but CP won’t be easy to deal with. Also, he just joined them in Jan/Feb, so they are not going to sell him this season. They might let him go after this season, but if he’s as good as people make him out to be and shows it, we might not be able to afford him.

 

[Brightonian]

Tell me that you didn't watch a player without telling me.
Zubi is on another planet to Ugarte.
If the INEOS pull this off... CL is our in few years.

I've watched him plenty. He's very easy on the eye. But just because he looks a little bit like one of the great Spanish DLPs in the way he plays doesn't actually make him one.

He has low passing volume and mediocre pass completion. He has poor long pass completion (and the eye test confirms this, he's surprisingly unreliable with long balls). For a DLP playing for a side who dominate possession a lot his progressive stats are middling too.

Signing players like Zubimendi thinking we might be getting a Rodri is exactly what will keep us away from major trophies.

Ugarte on the other hand is absolutely elite in every area he needs to be to play his position. Get on Fbref and tell me I'm wrong. Big block of bright green in defensive. Big block of bright green in passing volume and accuracy, short medium and long. Big block of bright green for retention of possession. Absolutely nothing in shooting, assists, progressive play in the opponents half... but that's not what we need. We need someone to cover loads of ground, win the ball a lot, shield the defence reliably, and feed the ball to Mainoo, Bruno or the wingers in high volume. He couldn't be better suited to us.

I'd absolutely take Zubimendi as a nice creative-ish defensive-ish DLP in our squad. It's not hard to improve on Amrabat and old Casemiro. But there's no question which signing improves us more.

 

[bosskeano]

So Ugarte is a better fit for our midfield to sum up

in my opinion....yes...he's much more combative of a player than any other midfielder we are linked with

 

[My only Eric]

Z irkzee
Y oro
V an Nistelrooy

thought we'd reverse the alphabet this summer (with a few omissions), so Ugarte makes more sense.

It hurts that no one is talking about a potentially world class DM, Wuchereria Bancrofti
Big strong legs and snake like in his movements and dribbles. Check out his YouTube highlights

 

[johnnyteutonic]

It's simple if you aren't aware.

1. Journalist from Tier 1 to Tier 50 links player.
2. Thread is made with questionable reliability over said journo.
3. Jump in the thread and say YES BIG FAN ALWAYS WANTED.
4. Press refresh on the toilet, as you walk your dog, over breakfast for updates.
5. Dream of where said player fits into the squad make line ups, start YouTube scouting.
6. Gaze upon the glory that is the YouTube videos thumbnail clad in United colours with the title 'Welcome to Manchester United''
7. Continue ad-infinitum lose sleep waiting for Romano and Ornstein to an update of a bid being lodged.
8. Ready the flight tracker.
9. Transfer window ends.
10. Go back to life until next window opens.

Oh man, you hit the nail on the head!
Except in the Antipodes where I am, everything is done in reverse.

 

[AneRu]

So Ugarte is a better fit for our midfield to sum up

I think so especially of Mainoo is going to be our undisputed starter in the 8 role, he is Ten Hag's flagship project so he will start and I am sure long term he will be the player we want him to be.

in my opinion....yes...he's much more combative of a player than any other midfielder we are linked with

I think if PSG dig in we could move on, Bayern did and we just moved on and snapped Yoro. I think the days of us chasing players for two months are over.

 

[devilish]

Balance is key and everything in football. SAF had an ageing Carrick and an ancient Scholes in CM. He made it work thanks to Cleverley who was mediocre as a player but would run and tackle all day. When we had Ronaldo we compensated to that with Rooney and Teveth upfront and Park on the flanks.

Ugarte is more suited to our current system. He's a safe passer (which suits us considering that we have Mainoo and Bruno) but he'll run and tackle all day. That doesn't mean that we should bend over backwards to get him. He's not a 60m player. Zubimendi seems more of a Carrick type of midfielder. He doesn't provide as much work rate as Ugarte does but he's a better passer of the ball. I think both can fit in our system mainly thanks to Mainoo whose skillset accommodate both. Having said that Ugarte might add mileage to Eriksen and he might allow Mount to drop deeper and act as Mainoo cover. Zubimendi can't do that.

 

[DWelbz19]

We should be buying two central midfielders. One should resemble the way Ugarte plays, and the other how Zubimendi does.

 

[DWelbz19]

He will be 26 by February next year.

I have a feeling there is a perception that he is a young and up & coming midfielder.

I think going in for Adam Wharton would be better in January transfer window to test him out a bit further at crystal palace.

He is the most Carrick like player personally to me.

25 is not old for a central midfielder. He still has his peak years ahead of him. We quite literally signed Michael Carrick - the player you refer to - at the same age Zubimendi is now.

 

[Lash]

I'm not convinced he's as elite as people seem to think he is. I think you need to buy a proper ball winner as well, so it makes him a very expensive signing - considering we'd need to buy someone else as well.

 

[CM]

If it's a straight choice between Zubimendi and any other midfielders we have been linked with. I'm picking the former. Like Ugarte, I don't think he is the perfect Mainoo partner, but unless we are signing Rodri, that's not going to happen this summer.



Zubimendi, Ugarte, Mainoo, Mount would give us a hell of a lot of options for those two spots. Use Gore/Collyer or even Eriksen if he doesn't want to leave as 5th choice.

Obviously a huge ask, but I do feel like we have some players who do have value. McTominay, Casemiro, Mejbri even throw in Pellistri. Could we get £60m for them? Add it to the Van de Beek money, gives us £60.5m. I'm not sure how the finances work, but with the wages saved, surely that would be enough to bring in 2 players?

Maybe, I guess it just depends where our priorities lie in terms of strengthening. We've made 2 signings already and I imagine we'll be looking for another CB and at least one full-back alongside whatever we do in midfield.

I'd probably be looking to cash in on all of Casemiro, McTominay, Eriksen and Hannibal if it were possible. But again, don't really see that happening in one window.

I agree with this sentiment, it would certainly be the end of Fernandes however as it would demand a three-man midfield, similar to the interest with Neves if it ever materialized I can't see Bruno amongst the crop of three first team midfielders.

Not unless United revert to a diamond similar to the 4-3-1-2 system Madrid used last season to shoehorn Bellingham into the team.

Martin Zubimendi would be an outstanding player if he's used correctly in the right system.

Not necessarily, it's a squad game these days and there will be plenty of games to go around with us back in Europa. Hypothetically, two of Zubimendi, Mainoo and Ugarte could rotate to form the deeper pairing while Fernandes plays further ahead.

It would be nice to have the option to play a flat 3 in midfield and have confidence that each player could perform their role effectively though. Probably hasn't happened since the little spell we had with Matic, Herrera and Pogba in Ole's interim period.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

United can't go wrong with Zubimendi or Ugarte. They simply must secure one pivot player of that level

 

[elvelux]

Hi. I´m a Real Sociedad fan. I have seen Zubimendi in hundreds on matches starting from his academy days.

He will NOT go to United. Not this summer at least. He has already refused offers from CL candidate teams and had stated VERY CLEARLY that he will stay in Real Sociedad this season. If he was to go it will be via release clausule, not one € less.

About him being good enough... he is better than Alonso was, and I also saw hundreds of Alonso matches.

 

[Oranges038]

Mentioned him last year or before as a player Utd should be looking at. He's a very good player.

Doubt this will happen though, he will end up staying or going to Barca.

 

[Mcking]

So there is really no player with a similar profile to Rodri out there? A high volume passer who is competent defensively with strong positional discipline.

Zubimendi looks tidy on the ball, but looks ordinary all round. Ugarte is a destroyer with no positional discipline and average on the ball. I see some people justifying us signing Ugarte even though he is not rated by Enrique to him not fitting the kind of football Enrique plays as if that is not a massive red flag considering the quality we lack in midfield.

Mainoo so far has been more of a carrier than a passer. We need a high volume passer doubling up as a holding midfielder in there. A player who shows for the ball and keeps it moving, and can hold his position defensively. We should be doing much better than Zubimendi and Ugarte as our number one midfield signing imo. I do hope we bring in either or both of them, but we still need that one midfielder, unless we go with three in midfield.

 

[justsomebloke]

You can't rely on the percentile statistics because they're dependent on which type of midfielder you are and how your team plays. Mainoo is in the 9th percentile and McTominay is in the 10th percentile for progressive passes. We all know Mainoo does it much better. Meanwhile Bruno is in the 98th percentile which tracks with his playstyle. However, including Bruno in the percentile stats when comparing to a midfielder like Zubimendi makes no sense. Therefore it includes all midfielders in this stat and that context is missing as well.

What that tells you is that both Mainoo or McTominay does very little progressive passing. That's not because of how our team plays or because different players have different roles, because other United players in the same position - Eriksen, Casemiro and Amrabat - all do a great deal of progressive passing, all of them being above 70th percentile.

 

[ArjenIsM3]

So there is really no player with a similar profile to Rodri out there? A high volume passer who is competent defensively with strong positional discipline.

Zubimendi looks tidy on the ball, but looks ordinary all round. Ugarte is a destroyer with no positional discipline and average on the ball. I see some people justifying us signing Ugarte even though he is not rated by Enrique to him not fitting the kind of football Enrique plays as if that is not a massive red flag considering the quality we lack in midfield.

Mainoo so far has been more of a carrier than a passer. We need a high volume passer doubling up as a holding midfielder in there. A player who shows for the ball and keeps it moving, and can hold his position defensively. We should be doing much better than Zubimendi and Ugarte as our number one midfield signing imo. I do hope we bring in either or both of them, but we still need that one midfielder, unless we go with three in midfield.

Bring Carrick out of retirement

 

[Bogga]

Hi. I´m a Real Sociedad fan. I have seen Zubimendi in hundreds on matches starting from his academy days.

He will NOT go to United. Not this summer at least. He has already refused offers from CL candidate teams and had stated VERY CLEARLY that he will stay in Real Sociedad this season. If he was to go it will be via release clausule, not one € less.

About him being good enough... he is better than Alonso was, and I also saw hundreds of Alonso matches.

I he doesn't want to go, he doesn't want to go. Just because a club pays the release clause he can still refuse... if it's as you say, that he really doesn't want to leave