Agreed. One of them is fine and that one should be de Ligt. The other two central defenders need to be more mobile and ideally, progressive in possession. With Yoro and Heaven, that's a good match up.
4
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 40
- Clean sheets
- 10
- Goals
- 2
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 5
I said that I like how Haven is focused and determined in defending, but this guy exemplifies focus and determination in defense, he isn't much of ball playing CB but his defending is brilliant, and for me that's key to having a strong defense.
Maybe it will be him in the centre with Yoro and Haven flanking him going forward which looks promising.
Maybe it will be him in the centre with Yoro and Haven flanking him going forward which looks promising.
He's a good CB and the only worry with him was his injuries. But having him at CCB is probably the right move and even if Ayden Heaven lives upto his potential we still need another CB. Preferably a CB who can play as both a wide CB or a CCB in the centre. To build a team to win the league you need to be strong in all departments and at CB we need that bit extra to be that team that will go on to challenge for the title.
A CB who can occupy a wide berth as well as a central berth with the pace, power and technical ability should be a priority just behind a deeper lying midfield player with good duel winning ability and technical quality in possession.
A CB who can occupy a wide berth as well as a central berth with the pace, power and technical ability should be a priority just behind a deeper lying midfield player with good duel winning ability and technical quality in possession.
Yoro?
Assuming Heaven lives up to his potential (still early days) a back 3 of Heaven, de Ligt and Yoro isn't enough imo. We need someone else who has the versatility to cover for both de ligt as the CCB and also have the ability to take up a wide CB berth when required. I think the deeper lying midfielder should be the priority followed by a CB who can potentially cover both the CCB role as well as the wide CB position.
I think getting the signings right at both CB and deeper midfield is the key to bringing about a more expansive system of play. It could also open up midfield possibilities for some of our younger midfielders who really do need a top level deep lying midfielder behind them. Someone like Sekou Kone for example could really then threaten Ugarte's position in the first 11 due to him being a more technically gifted player on the ball.
I could be wrong but for the CB role I would seriously look at Ousmane Diomande from SCP who can occupy both the CCB role as well as being a wide CB and he ticks all the boxes as far as I'm concerned.
Agreed that we need another centre half to back up/compete with de Ligt. However, Maguire will be here for another year so that will be on hold. We have Yoro and Mazraoui for the right and Heaven and Martinez for the left. Kukonki could potentially come through in the next 18 months, but failing that, we'll definitely need at least one centre half to compete with de Ligt and potentially an additional centre half if Martinez struggles to overcome his injuries/is deemed the wrong physical profile.
Kone may well come through and if he does, that will leave us with him, Mainoo, Ugarte and Collyer moving forward. Possibly Bruno too, depending on which role we view him filling. That could be enough, but most likely we will need one more.
I'd be up for Diomande, but as previously stated, I'm not so sure we'll be pursuing an expensive centre half this window. I can see us opting for a cheap young option and hoping that they can be a long term solution for us. If that doesn't work out, we'll invest in a Maguire replacement in 2026.
It’s not like Mazraoui is old or something - he’s having a decent season as well.
Yeah Mazraoui is more than capable. Yoro just sounds a bit sexier, seeing as he's a bit of a wonderkid.
Weird he's only been called up to the Dutch squad due to injuries to Stefan de Virj and Nathan Ake, he's probably the most in form dutch defender in the world.
Similarly with Zirkzee who has been really good yet they have called up crap like Depay ann Malen.
Foreign coached sure love to make examples of United players, Rashford moves and has a few cameos from Villas bench and is called up for the first time in years.
Similarly with Zirkzee who has been really good yet they have called up crap like Depay ann Malen.
Foreign coached sure love to make examples of United players, Rashford moves and has a few cameos from Villas bench and is called up for the first time in years.
Don't forget Mazraoui, who is primarily a wide CB in this system. Which opens up the possibility of Yoro or Heaven playing the central role. Of course neither have played that role yet so no idea if they'd actually excel in it.
With Maguire staying another year and Martinez coming back (although there are huge question marks over his future considering the injury woes), I find myself bouncing between 'we need another CB this summer' and 'we can make do another season while we focus on other positions'. In an ideal world we'd sign another, but I think there are at least three other positions that are higher priority.
yeah i mean if we have de ligt, maguire, and martinez back, then assuming yoro and heaven are starter level then it is right on the border. Think we would need to add another youth level one that can be eased in throughout. Nothing high priced as we def have way too many other holes to fill. You could make the case that maybe we pencil in shaw as that depth LCB option for the 5 game he will be available or whatever ha. A lot depends as well on if we have any european footy next season too. If we miss out then that is less games we need to be worrying about, and the group we have should be enough for that.
Koeman hates him.
I think we will add another young promising CB who costs very little.
I agree with you. I think we could make do with the current options at CB for next season. But from what Fabrizio Romano has reported in the last week, it does seem like Amorim and the club are looking at CBs to strengthen the team.
Definitely. We have 6 injured CBs currently. That's an insane amount of injuries that can't be legislated for. At some point you just have to accept the possibility of throwing in a youngfella. Even if he's not at the Heaven level of readiness.
Imagine we don't win the Europa, very likely, and come January Martinez returns to full fitness.
We'd have Mazraoui Yoro De Ligt Maguire Heaven Shaw and Martinez for 3 positions. 4 of them would be sat on the bench or in the stands while the team plays once a week. That would not lead to a harmonious squad.
We definitely shouldn't add to that group even if we qualify for Europe. All the moreso considering our financial difficulties.
Nobody should care about my opinion and rightly so but I've been championing him all season.
We basically stole him and he's gonna have many years here - he's finally found his home.
Great signing for a change.
We basically stole him and he's gonna have many years here - he's finally found his home.
Great signing for a change.
I’ll love it if it continues. Rather our players are rested rather than risk getting injured in internationals.
He had a shaky start I feel but he's really starting to look like the player we all hoped he would be. Strong and commanding.
Nottingham Forest 1:0 Man Utd
New
Did well, was concerned when he went over on his ankle but did well to battle through it. He is the defacto CCB.
Defensively was decent. Had a tough battle with their no.9. Should have done better with his shot when it came off the crossbar from Dalot's header.
Can he please stay at ccb now - much better there than as a wide cb
Think it was an awkward height and he couldn't adjust quickly enough.
Definitely the best option at the centre of a 3.
Absolutely.
Thought he was very good in the first half, arguably our best player. It's not like we were under the pump and he had to save us a lot, but he just dealt with everything that did come coolly and confidently. Wasn't quite so good in the second half but that may have been due to the knock that he picked up.