Mehdi Benatia | Signed for Bayern Munich

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I'm delighted if we really buy him. From what I've seen he's the only available centerback I consider an upgrade on what we have. I really like him as a defender and he looked quite good on the ball in Italy. The only questionmark would be how he reacts to all the crazy pressing in the Bundesliga, which means he has significantly less time in the build-up than he had at Roma. I'm a bit worried that it could take him a while to adapt, especially in the central defender role in our back three.

Still, if we sign him, this transfer window was exceptional, strengthening the squad with two outstanding players in attack and defense. If only 2 of our 3 starting CMs were fit at the same time throughout the season :(.
 
Balu said:
I'm delighted if we really buy him. From what I've seen he's the only available centerback I consider an upgrade on what we have. I really like him as a defender and he looked quite good on the ball in Italy. The only questionmark would be how he reacts to all the crazy pressing in the Bundesliga, which means he has significantly less time in the build-up than he had at Roma. I'm a bit worried that it could take him a while to adapt, especially in the central defender role in our back three.

Still, if we sign him, this transfer window was exceptional, strengthening the squad with two outstanding players in attack and defense. If only 2 of our 3 starting CMs were fit at the same time throughout the season :(.
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hmmm. I am not really sharing your sentiment, because it indicates, that we´ll stick to the back3. It also means, that we´ll see Lahm back in midfield. He is a great central midfielder, but he is an even better defender. He add flexibility and balance to the backline like no one else on the planet. He is great in defence/midfield/attack and is almost never out of position.
Benatia is a fantastic player, but I am not sure if he is really better than Boateng, Badstuber or Javi. Its never bad to buy quality, but I am not too thrilled either. I´d have preferred to see him in the United jersey. He would be an upgrade on every other alternative and he could hold the whole defence together.
 
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It's simply a case of one season too early for us because, as far as I am concerned, we need to see who from the CB quartet we now have will emerge as a leader at the back. Right now defensive midfield is more pressing and that's where all our focus should be/ have been.
 
PedroMendez said:
hmmm. I am not really sharing your sentiment, because it indicates, that we´ll stick to the back3. It also means, that we´ll see Lahm back in midfield. He is a great central midfielder, but he is an even better defender. He add flexibility and balance to the backline like no other else on the planet. He is great in defence/midfield/attack and is almost never out of position.
Benatia is a fantastic player, but I am not sure if he is really better than Boateng, Badstuber or Javi. Its never bad to buy quality, but I am not too thrilled either. I´d have preferred to see him in the United jersey. He would be an upgrade on every other alternative and he could hold the whole defence together.
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I'm not sure buying Benatia has any influence on the decision between 3 or 4 at the back. Our 3 man defense will always include one of Alaba or Lahm along with two centerbacks in my opinion. I'm also not the biggest fan of Dante and don't mind him being phased out of the team this season and while I enjoy watching Badstuber finally play again, I struggle to accept that you can plan with him as a regular starter this season. I also believe that Benatia gives us a lot more stability when we have to defend deep. I like Martinez as the central defender in a back three but was never a big fan of him as a regular centerback in a back four. The fact that we saw Alaba in midfield and Lahm in the back three in the first game this season, means that it's far from a given that Lahm will play in midfield (though it probably was influenced by the fact that we had only left footed centerbacks available).

I didn't know that you actually support United? I just enjoy reading the drama here, but don't really care what player they get :lol:. Yes, they should have signed him, probably instead of Rojo, but van Gaal's love for the 352 at the moment along with his left foot idiocy meant that was never going to happen. In his mind, he needed a left footed defender more than quality. Should be interesting how Rojo develops.
 
I hate when people say "surprised we weren't in for him".

We have no idea whether we were in for him or not. If we were, who's to say he rejected us straight away.
 
Balu said:
I'm not sure buying Benatia has any influence on the decision between 3 or 4 at the back. Our 3 man defense will always include one of Alaba or Lahm along with two centerbacks in my opinion. I'm also not the biggest fan of Dante and don't mind him being phased out of the team this season and while I enjoy watching Badstuber finally play again, I struggle to accept that you can plan with him as a regular starter this season. I also believe that Benatia gives us a lot more stability when we have to defend deep. I like Martinez as the central defender in a back three but was never a big fan of him as a regular centerback in a back four. The fact that we saw Alaba in midfield and Lahm in the back three in the first game this season, means that it's far from a given that Lahm will play in midfield (though it probably was influenced by the fact that we had only left footed centerbacks available).

I didn't know that you actually support United? I just enjoy reading the drama here, but don't really care what player they get :lol:. Yes, they should have signed him, probably instead of Rojo, but van Gaal's love for the 352 at the moment along with his left foot idiocy meant that was never going to happen. In his mind, he needed a left footed defender more than quality. Should be interesting how Rojo develops.
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:confused:

Boateng will never play on the left-side in a 3-4-3 and Badstuber will never play on the right-side in a 3-4-3
 
Hernandez - BFA said:
I hate when people say "surprised we weren't in for him".

We have no idea whether we were in for him or not. If we were, who's to say he rejected us straight away.
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yup and people insist on saying it too with pretty much every player. Just because its not plastered across twitter or the press.

Could be as simple as the agent said early days that he was not interested and we left it at that.
 
Sean_RedDevil said:
:confused:

Boateng will never play on the left-side in a 3-4-3 and Badstuber will never play on the right-side in a 3-4-3
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Which is why I included the love for the 3-5-2 in the comment. The whole "this squad is best suited to play a 3 man backline" theory never made the slightest bit of sense to me, especially if it means that you have to ignore better centerback options to buy someone depending on being left or right footed and not depending on quality.
 
Balu said:
I'm not sure buying Benatia has any influence on the decision between 3 or 4 at the back. Our 3 man defense will always include one of Alaba or Lahm along with two centerbacks in my opinion. I'm also not the biggest fan of Dante and don't mind him being phased out of the team this season and while I enjoy watching Badstuber finally play again, I struggle to accept that you can plan with him as a regular starter this season. I also believe that Benatia gives us a lot more stability when we have to defend deep. I like Martinez as the central defender in a back three but was never a big fan of him as a regular centerback in a back four. The fact that we saw Alaba in midfield and Lahm in the back three in the first game this season, means that it's far from a given that Lahm will play in midfield (though it probably was influenced by the fact that we had only left footed centerbacks available).

I didn't know that you actually support United? I just enjoy reading the drama here, but don't really care what player they get :lol:. Yes, they should have signed him, probably instead of Rojo, but van Gaal's love for the 352 at the moment along with his left foot idiocy meant that was never going to happen. In his mind, he needed a left footed defender more than quality. Should be interesting how Rojo develops.
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I thought we might just play Badstuber - Benatia - Boateng. I guess I shouldnt assume the obvious with Pep. Maybe I am just misinterpreting the whole thing. :lol: I am just not entirely sure how he fits into the big picture and would love to see Boateng and Badstuber as starter. Dante is declined quite a bit, but I am okay with him as backup. Buying quality is never a bad thing, but I am not entirely hooked yet. That could change fast so.

I am usually not really into football tribalism. Sure, its fun to mess with "rival" fans, but in the end I have no sentiment against any club (or their fans) in germany, spain, italy or any other country where I occasionally watch matches. In england thats a quite a bit different. I cant stand Liverpool one bit. They are an incredible annoying club. Most of their players are idiots. Their officials are idiots. Their fans are idiots. Their smugness is just unbearable. I am also not the biggest Fan of Mr. Wenger. He is a very good manager, but I hate his personality. All that together pushed me in the corner of United some time ago. I wouldnt call myself a fan, but I really want them to do better than pool (and arsenal).
 
imagine we sign him and Vidal :drool:

...................DDG
RAFAEL BENATIA ROJO SHAW
........HERRERA.......VIDAL
....DI MARIA MATA JANUZAJ
............ROONEY

fecking mental, eeh?! :devil:
 
I doubt we are in for him he's a late Bloomer for CL not many seasons left for him to miss another chance this year, Bayern bound. We have to GO all out for Hummels next year
 
Off to Bayern for €24m up front + €6m in add ons, medical tomorrow. Great signing for Bayern, good price aswell considering what others have gone for.
 
Great signing, yet another massive fail from Barcelona's board to instead go for the left footed & injured Vermaelen
 
Why didn't we bid £30m? Even if we didn't get him, we should have made those bastards overpay rather than getting another bargain.
 
Well, at least he went to an already strong team. You could argue the improvement to Bayern will be gradual than if he joined City or Barca etc.
 
Bojan11 said:
Why didn't we bid £30m? Even if we didn't get him, we should have made those bastards overpay rather than getting another bargain.
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Tbf, it's not as if we've got anything against Bayern or something unless I've massively missed something.
 
Adam-Utd said:
Well, at least he went to an already strong team. You could argue the improvement to Bayern will be gradual than if he joined City or Barca etc.
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They want to play 3 at the back and there 2 main options are Boateng who is now improved a lot and Dante who has dropped off from the Treble season and then Badstuber whose coming off 18 months break and a terrible injury. After that it's makeshifts like Alaba and other youth players.

They needed him and it's a improvement.
 
We can't exactly compete with Bayern at the moment. They're in a much stronger position.

I'm not too fussed about missing out on him. He's already 27 and has had one good season at Roma where he isn't playing against top class strikers, he's still unproven and would be a risky investment given his age.
 
FromTheBench said:
They want to play 3 at the back and there 2 main options are Boateng who is now improved a lot and Dante who has dropped off from the Treble season and then Badstuber whose coming off 18 months break and a terrible injury. After that it's makeshifts like Alaba and other youth players.

They needed him and it's a improvement.
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Yeah I agree, I just don't think he is head and shoulders better than Martinez, Badstuber or Boateng. No doubt he is fantastic, but it could have been worse had he gone somewhere with lesser quality already.
 
Skills said:
Tbf, it's not as if we've got anything against Bayern or something unless I've massively missed something.
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I am bitter about Thiago. And bastards because what they doing to Dortmund and their latest comments over Reus.

We should have bid and raised the price. Not watch them get another bargain.
 
It's odd that Pep has actually bought a real centerback instead of investing in a midfielder and converting him into one.
 
Ole's_toe_poke said:
It's odd that Pep has actually bought a real centerback instead of investing in a midfielder and converting him into one.
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Maybe Barca's transfer business wasn't Pep's fault after all. They still play Mascherano at centerback and Pep is gone for more than 2 years now and they're still shit at signing quality defenders.
 


€26m is an absolute steal. Seriously, how do Bayern get players for so cheap? Bernat was only €10m too!
 
Is it not possible that Benatia said he didn't want to come to us (or that we weren't interested) so Roma decided to cash in on Bayern's offer? They're certainly a more attractive prospect at the moment so I'm not really sure where this "we should have driven up the price" stuff is coming from. I'm no expert, but I'm fairly sure transfers don't work like an ebay auction.
 
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