Matthijs de Ligt / signs for Juventus, lowering their average age to 56

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Didn't Bayern just buy some CB for 80 million or something? Don't think they will be investing another 70-80 million on defense.
But again who are we kidding, De Ligt is going to Barca, especially with De Jong there and the whole Ajax Barca connection
 
Sanche7 said:
Didn't Bayern just buy some CB for 80 million or something? Don't think they will be investing another 70-80 million on defense.
But again who are we kidding, De Ligt is going to Barca, especially with De Jong there and the whole Ajax Barca connection
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Yes, they've bought Lucas Hernandez for 80mil who has played as LB at Atletico but a lot of people think he will be a CB one day. Bayern bought Pavard too.
 
What about this Ferro (Francisco Reis Ferreira of Benfica). I love the look of him while watching his compilation highlight and it seems he's comfortable on the left side. Any Benfica's fans who can say anything on him? If de Ligt looks impossible, then we should look out for other top young defender talent.
 
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Sport reporting that he has agreed terms with Barcelona but that Barcelona doesn't want to pay more than 60 million euros.
 
Sanche7 said:
Didn't Bayern just buy some CB for 80 million or something? Don't think they will be investing another 70-80 million on defense.
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I read that Boateng is on his way out, and if they land De Ligt Hummels is also allowed to leave. Robben, Ribery, James Rodriguez, Rafinha contracts/loan running out too, I imagine they were getting decent wages. So they should have some room financially. I expect a major overhaul of their squad this summer.
 
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Not too sure what Bayern is doing. Süle, Hernandez and de Ligt for CB is an overkill. Only explanation is that they want to replace Alaba, too, so that Hernandez plays LB? With Parvard on the right they would essentially replace their entire defense at once (Kimmich would probably switch into a midfield role?).

Either that or two out of Hernandez, Süle, de Ligt, Alaba, Parvard and Kimmich will be benched. And that's assuming both Hummels and Boateng will leave.

It would also mean they spent 200 million on defenders in one season although they already had Kimmich, Boatenf, Süle, Hummels and Alaba. Crazy stuff. If I were them my focus would've been on signing world class offensive players.
 

Matthijs de Ligt is likely to follow teammate Frenkie de Jong out the door at Ajax this summer, and the Dutchman has also been linked with a move to Barcelona, a club Louis van Gaal feels would be best for the defender.

Former Ajax and Barcelona coach Louis van Gaal believes that the Catalans are the best option available to the 19-year-old, despite possibly being able to learn more elsewhere.

"I think he can play in any league," Van Gaal said of the defender.

"In Italy they're masters of defending, so it's where he could learn and grow.

"But if I was in his position, I would go to Barcelona. They have defenders who aren't very strong and he could play there.

"Alternatively, I like Manchester City."
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Robertd0803 said:
Van Gaal will never say anything positive about us.
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To be fair he's basically saying he should go to Barcelona and if not then Juventus or City. Nothing wrong with those comments. United aren't flavor of the month, I'm sure most professional young players would chose those 3 over us at the moment.
 
Louis isn't saying De Ligt should move to Barca & City because of his hate for United - he is saying it because they are the only teams that attempt to hold possession & benefits de light's game.

:lol: people fussed at what LVG says about the players best move
 
Bubz27 said:
I've just seen on Instagram that his manager has said he will leave but not sure if it'll be Barca or Bayern.

Now I see why Hummels and Boateng are up for grabs this summer.
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I think I saw the same thing but as I interpreted it he wasn’t saying he is going to go to Bayern or Barca so he could go elsewhere and I don’t think the manager was ruling that out. Still expect him to see him at Barca but not based on the latest quotes from the coach.
 
Trizy said:
To be fair he's basically saying he should go to Barcelona and if not then Juventus or City. Nothing wrong with those comments. United aren't flavor of the month, I'm sure most professional young players would chose those 3 over us at the moment.
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Aloysius's Back 3 said:
Louis isn't saying De Ligt should move to Barca & City because of his hate for United - he is saying it because they are the only teams that attempt to hold possession & benefits de light's game.

:lol: people fussed at what LVG says about the players best move
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Not fussed, I imagine LvG would simply say nothing positive about us regardless of circumstances. Even if we were in Citys position regarding being an attractive position Id bet he would only mention Juve and Barca as best destinations.

He isn't really wrong in fairness which is the annoying thing. Besides being able to offer a kings ransom in wages we really dont have any pull over Barca in this case. (Not that they would be paying him low wages either)
 
To be honest for any neutral it probably is the right move for him. There is no guarantee whatsoever that we will be a good place for him to develop over the next few years whereas Barcelona undoubtedly will be.

Nobody ever seems to question what will happen to Barcelona after Messi leaves though. I think it will be similar to us and Ferguson.
 
11101 said:
To be honest for any neutral it probably is the right move for him. There is no guarantee whatsoever that we will be a good place for him to develop over the next few years whereas Barcelona undoubtedly will be.

Nobody ever seems to question what will happen to Barcelona after Messi leaves though. I think it will be similar to us and Ferguson.
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When Messi goes, or even before, Barca will splash out fortunes on players like Mbappe. Players who are going to be amongst the best in the world for the next decade. When Fergie left, we signed Fellaini and crossed our fingers.
 
11101 said:
To be honest for any neutral it probably is the right move for him. There is no guarantee whatsoever that we will be a good place for him to develop over the next few years whereas Barcelona undoubtedly will be.

Nobody ever seems to question what will happen to Barcelona after Messi leaves though. I think it will be similar to us and Ferguson.
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No way will Barca be in a situation like us. Look at their investment in the squad. They are cherry picking all the best talents in the world. They won't be as strong without Messi obviously but they will still be strong contenders for CL and keep winning La Liga titles.
 
shaky said:
When Messi goes, or even before, Barca will splash out fortunes on players like Mbappe. Players who are going to be amongst the best in the world for the next decade. When Fergie left, we signed Fellaini and crossed our fingers.
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I'm still upset over our lack of investment in the latter years of Fergie especially after Ronaldo left. We were still a top team at that point and a few shrewd purchases would have kept us competing at the top.
 
AgentP said:
No way will Barca be in a situation like us. Look at their investment in the squad. They are cherry picking all the best talents in the world. They won't be as strong without Messi obviously but they will still be strong contenders for CL and keep winning La Liga titles.
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They're doing that now with Messi in the side and they're not an elite side IMO.
They are in for a shock when Messi goes
Remember when fans told us Madrid wouldn't miss Ronaldo?
 
cyberman said:
They're doing that now with Messi in the side and they're not an elite side IMO.
They are in for a shock when Messi goes
Remember when fans told us Madrid wouldn't miss Ronaldo?
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Madrid didnt invest in their squad though. Barca rely on a lot of younger inconsistent players and their manager isnt one of the best around. Once some of their players step up and they get a better manager in, they will be excellent. They may not win the CL, but they will win La Liga and be in the Semi finals of the Cl. Not many better sides around.
 
cyberman said:
They're doing that now with Messi in the side and they're not an elite side IMO.
They are in for a shock when Messi goes
Remember when fans told us Madrid wouldn't miss Ronaldo?
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They have bought Dembele, Arthur, Lenglet and De Jong. They will probably sign De Ligt too. Ter Stegen is the best keeper in the world imo. So that will leave them with only one or two positions left to fill when Messi leaves in 3-4 years.

Madrid on the other hand did nothing to prepare for Ronaldo's departure just like United. They have Benzema, Bale, Marcelo and Modric who are all declining fast. Ramos is getting old too. Kroos is still young but seems to have declined.
 
sideshow_bob said:
I hope Ed bids big for this guy even if de ligt is determined not to join us. Just so we can drive the price up to insane figures for Real & Barca to fork out.
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So that we can say he’s ‘embarrassing’ or ‘instead of signing Koulibaly he spent all summer chasing De Ligt who was playing him?’.
 
Neil_Buchanan said:
There's no chance that Bayern are in for him, they have also signed Pavard so along with Sule their defence is sorted. Money certainly is an issue, they have a budget and desperately need to improve other areas of the team particularly the wings.
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They could push Pavard to right back and Kimmich to midfield. So don't rule them out.

And they confirmed officially they'd spend at least 200m in the summer window
 
ForestRGoinUp said:
His wages would be relatively similar between Barca and United (maybe Bayern would suppress the wages a bit more). The money offered in transfer fees to line the pockets of owners and agents might be different, but his earnings won't be far off.

Barca have clearly laid the groundwork. Us coming in late and offering stupid money would tend to look desperate and lack genuine planning. Red flags.
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We haven't 'come in "late'. Barca, Bayern, Juventus,and us have spent a season and a half trying to seduce De Ligt to choose them. Barca only seem 'ahead' because they bagged De Jong first.....we are 'losing' due to our managerial, dof and progression problems....
 
AgentP said:
No way will Barca be in a situation like us. Look at their investment in the squad. They are cherry picking all the best talents in the world. They won't be as strong without Messi obviously but they will still be strong contenders for CL and keep winning La Liga titles.
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It requires a complete fresh start. They've built their team around him for so long they don't know anything else and there is no way to replace Messi like for like. They're buying talent but there is no guarantee any of them will develop into the finished article. Even if they do the club still needs to figure out a new way to play as a team, which they're not going to even start trying until Messi is on his last legs.

I can't think of any club that has lost such a dominant figure and not suffered.
 
Serious questions need to be asked of us if he goes to Bayern. I get not trying to compete with Barca for a player but Bayern? Nah
 
11101 said:
It requires a complete fresh start. They've built their team around him for so long they don't know anything else and there is no way to replace Messi like for like. They're buying talent but there is no guarantee any of them will develop into the finished article. Even if they do the club still needs to figure out a new way to play as a team, which they're not going to even start trying until Messi is on his last legs.

I can't think of any club that has lost such a dominant figure and not suffered.
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Agreed. They will struggle a bit. Barca have always had great players and have managed to move on pretty quickly. Moving on from Messi would be a whole lot harder but they should be able to adapt. They won't dominate as much as they are doing now but they'll still be a top team.
 
izec said:
Madrid didnt invest in their squad though. Barca rely on a lot of younger inconsistent players and their manager isnt one of the best around. Once some of their players step up and they get a better manager in, they will be excellent. They may not win the CL, but they will win La Liga and be in the Semi finals of the Cl. Not many better sides around.
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AgentP said:
They have bought Dembele, Arthur, Lenglet and De Jong. They will probably sign De Ligt too. Ter Stegen is the best keeper in the world imo. So that will leave them with only one or two positions left to fill when Messi leaves in 3-4 years.

Madrid on the other hand did nothing to prepare for Ronaldo's departure just like United. They have Benzema, Bale, Marcelo and Modric who are all declining fast. Ramos is getting old too. Kroos is still young but seems to have declined.
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Just like all these young players mentioned, the likes of Isco, Asensio, Viniscus were all ready to step into Ronaldos shoes and their future was sorted for pennies compared to how badly we spent our money etc etc. They've spent a shed load over the last 3/4 years and haven't done anything in Europe, if they were up against a side who were competent in attack last week that would have continued into 2019.
Fans get blinded by youth. Its extremley rare that you can sort out the next decade of your side within two transfer windows. I'd also say the availability of players fools people in to thinking they're the best of the next generation. The flavour of the month generational player always seems to be a player from smaller aides who are gettable so the perceived transfer battle between the top sides elevates that young player as if he's Iniesta himself.
Let's just wait and see how it pans out.
 
cyberman said:
Just like all these young players mentioned, the likes of Isco, Asensio, Viniscus were all ready to step into Ronaldos shoes and their future was sorted for pennies compared to how badly we spent our money etc etc. They've spent a shed load over the last 3/4 years and haven't done anything in Europe, if they were up against a side who were competent in attack last week that would have continued into 2019.
Fans get blinded by youth. Its extremley rare that you can sort out the next decade of your side within two transfer windows. I'd also say the availability of players fools people in to thinking they're the best of the next generation. The flavour of the month generational player always seems to be a player from smaller aides who are gettable so the perceived transfer battle between the top sides elevates that young player as if he's Iniesta himself.
Let's just wait and see how it pans out.
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True. You never know how things will turn out. Luckily for them, there is still a few more years before they reach that situation.
 
AgentP said:
Agreed. They will struggle a bit. Barca have always had great players and have managed to move on pretty quickly. Moving on from Messi would be a whole lot harder but they should be able to adapt. They won't dominate as much as they are doing now but they'll still be a top team.
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He's 32 soon. If it was going to be a smooth transition someone would be stepping up by now and starting to run games in his place. La Liga will always be a 2 horse race but I don't think they'll feature much in Europe for a while.

As much as it pains me to say it if you are a top young talent City is probably the best destination at the moment.
 
cyberman said:
Just like all these young players mentioned, the likes of Isco, Asensio, Viniscus were all ready to step into Ronaldos shoes and their future was sorted for pennies compared to how badly we spent our money etc etc. They've spent a shed load over the last 3/4 years and haven't done anything in Europe, if they were up against a side who were competent in attack last week that would have continued into 2019.
Fans get blinded by youth. Its extremley rare that you can sort out the next decade of your side within two transfer windows. I'd also say the availability of players fools people in to thinking they're the best of the next generation. The flavour of the month generational player always seems to be a player from smaller aides who are gettable so the perceived transfer battle between the top sides elevates that young player as if he's Iniesta himself.
Let's just wait and see how it pans out.
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Personally, I think Madrid's coaches are the architect of their problem. No doubt that they should have brought in a goal scoring forward who could have compensated for the loss of Ronaldo's goals rather than sticking with the likes of Asensio, Benzema, Vinicious or the injury prone Bale who weren't known to score as many goals like Ronaldo did for Madrid however majority of Madrid's woes were caused by their coaches.

For example, the midfield looks ageing and sluggish especially with the declining of Modric's mobility, considering it was his mobility that sustained Madrid's sluggish midfield of Kroos and Casemiro but with Modric declining, Madrid needs a reshuffle in the midfield. Ceballos should have replaced one of Modric and Kroos in the midfield. As a matter of fact, Madrid has won more games with Ceballos than without him except the game where the coach deployed him in the lone holding midfied role. The funny thing is the way Madrid's coach seem to dump him back to bench after a fantastic run in the team just to accommodate the more popular names like the sluggish Kroos or Isco who's actually mobile but dumb as regard to midfield play because he tends to hog the ball a lot and has a terrible movement and spatial awareness.

Secondly, Madrid's defence has looked abject so far with the ageing Ramos and Marcelo in defence. Both of them were players who were known as positionally suspect defenders but their weakness got covered by their pace which isn't what it used to be. Same happened to Boateng at Bayern. However, the problem is they don't have good replacement for Ramos in defence. They should have brought in a replacement in the summer. Moreover, Ramos is a big name that can't be shut out easily.

Hence, I would say Madrid need a more mobile midfielder which they already have in Ceballos but hardly utilise him. They need to replace Ramos in defence. I think they already replaced Marcelo. They need a quality striker to replace Benzema and lastly they need a X factor in the team and I think Hazard should solve that. A ball playing no 6 could also be signed to replace Casemiro to ensure more midfield dominance but that's not a necessity right now.
 
charlenefan said:
Serious questions need to be asked of us if he goes to Bayern. I get not trying to compete with Barca for a player but Bayern? Nah
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I think Bayern in this story is what PSG was to De Jong and what United has been on various occasions. They are the club that get you a better contract at the club you're really aiming for. Barca didn't want to pay Ajax top price and didn't offer De Jong a super contract at first, on the premise that they have such a good relationship and the player really wants to go there blah blah, and the agent/Ajax are like "nice try, but we're not into philanthropy, pay up the market price b*tch".
 
shaky said:
When Messi goes, or even before, Barca will splash out fortunes on players like Mbappe. Players who are going to be amongst the best in the world for the next decade. When Fergie left, we signed Fellaini and crossed our fingers.
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This.
 
Patrick08 said:
We can beat Barcelona to him if we show ambition in it.
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We beat Madrid to Pogba, but De Ligt doesn't exactly please the sponsors so we'll put in a cheeky late bid to make it look like we tried :)
 
We need to do whatever we can to sign this guy. Just an unbelievable performance today.
 
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