For those who wonder what Ole is doing, I'd like to share this thread of a quite a nice account I am following.
Most important summer window in years (100-150m budget)
- Thread starter bond19821982
- Start date
Sancho is the genuine star, world class ability player in a position of need at a really young age. Hes the no brainer that we pay what's needed for, the talent that basically can't fail like Rooney in 04.
Past that, there isn't obvious players. So we have to look at value for what's left. Anything in the premier league won't provide value. Grealish will be pretty much overpriced by £35m, and for the price thats needed to get him we would be able to get 2 players of similar quality from other leagues. So unless he's 40-45m or less (not happening), he's not worth it. Go for players from Spain, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands or France. Far more affordable and teams that are more affected by the coronavirus as premier league teams are all loaded.
Past that, there isn't obvious players. So we have to look at value for what's left. Anything in the premier league won't provide value. Grealish will be pretty much overpriced by £35m, and for the price thats needed to get him we would be able to get 2 players of similar quality from other leagues. So unless he's 40-45m or less (not happening), he's not worth it. Go for players from Spain, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands or France. Far more affordable and teams that are more affected by the coronavirus as premier league teams are all loaded.
Rumours are just that but if there's only around 100m, then we burn all that in one Sancho move, and won't get any higher than third next season.
So VdB no? Seems like a good player who had CL experience, we could use him to rest Bruno or Pogba.
Yep! Van De Beek,Tonali, Partey, Aouar, Bennacer, etc. There's loads of midfielders out there with big potential or already being at a good level who could provide a good impact for different roles in our team. Scouting team has to earn their money and find some quality depth for normal prices.
Don't see us getting higher than third either way. We have a lot of catching up to do. Sancho is well worth it and we should to for him despite the fee. It'll be worth more to us than the Maguires of this world.
This is very good point to people who want to know why Ole's first season is better than our previous managers.
When clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool and others hire managers, these managers will be given the idea what the project & the aim is. The manager is then need to make plan & blueprint what they have to do to accomplish the club's project, and the board will view it and if it's acceptable then they hire the manager.
If the plan didn't work out as what it was originally planned & the manager decided to change the direction from it but cost big money, the board has a reason to question the manager's request. So far Ole is going into the right direction & the board is backing his plan.
I think if given a choice out of Sancho, Grealish & cheap CB or Sancho, VDB and premium CB I would go for the second one despite being a massive fan of Grealish.
So frustrating that we seemingly haven't got the finances to get all our first choice targets,unfortunately that is the tight budget this club works on though.
So frustrating that we seemingly haven't got the finances to get all our first choice targets,unfortunately that is the tight budget this club works on though.
Last edited:
Tbh we could sign Messi and we probably wouldn't get higher than 3rd. City with Pep and Klopp with Liverpool over the last few seasons have just been too consistent and they have world class starting 11s in their peak and quality squads. We have some potential world class quality in our starting 11, a few very good and on their day world class players, but generally a very young squad that is lacking consistency. The goal should be to reaffirm 3rd place and compete in the cups, we haven't had back to back top 4 finishes since Sir Alex left. Can't just jump to a title challenge from the first half of the season that we saw.
Anyway, if there's one realistic player who would make the biggest difference to us, its without a doubt Sancho. Solves depth issues in attack and a gaping hole in our starting 11 for ages.
Let's agree to disagree. Don't see how that's saying that we pre spent our summer budget. It's the same as saying, if we didn't use our Jan budget, then we would have more in the summer.
Also on the second part - he is always maintained that he won't make 6-7 changes in one window - which is why it's a 3 year project.
Nice Team
9 OUT and 4 IN, At the speed Ed works on transfers it will take him minimum 5-6 transfer windows to do 13 deals
Nice Team
9 OUT and 4 IN, At the speed Ed works on transfers it will take him minimum 5-6 transfer windows to do 13 deals
Yes that is true haha. My real main point here is we just dont get enough done especially outwards in any window, like you say in terms of numbers. I think most people would have been happy to see half the players on that list leave last summer when we did decent outs but over spent on our decent purchases as well.
Though we got Fernandes in January too late, it didnt really affect us as we would have finished third anyway. But if we had of negotiated better on Maguire/Bissaka and sold 2/3 of those players we could have made an extra signing last year.
Though we did the right tpe of signings and players out, we didnt do enough. Just 1 or 2 more deals either way each season and we coul dbe right up there in 3/4 years if not less as Ole stated. Realistically I think there will be 2 maybe 3 players in and probably about Smalling/Rojo/Lingard/Perreira with maybe one more out....another window of good deals and not enough of them to close the gap
"It won’t be six or seven coming in, definitely. It will be a similar window. But, here we go again, January is not even done, but we are talking about the summer window. Hopefully we can do our business early on."
Mate, the interviewer was asking him about whether Bruno's signing will affect summer transfer plan. And this is his response: "Of course, signings and expenditure will affect your budget.”
And then he continued with that quote above.
Definitely need more than just Sancho in this window but fear you could well be right knowing this board
Mind you they will be ones looking stupid when we haven't got cover to rest Bruno/Pogba and Maguire's lack of pace gets exposed again.
Yeah it certainly is looking like the message of the last few summers again. Utd unable to do more than one transfer at a time.
This, anyone approaching the window as a full catching up exercise is off his head. Get key improvements, bed them into a young squad finding its stride and leave the rest to momentum in 21-22 while others are entering a proper rebuild.
Jimenez (40)/ Sancho(90) / Grealish (50)/ Partey(45) / Upamecano(40) = At least 4 out of these 5 would improve our team to great extent
We can get 80M-100M least on selling few players so we can easily make 4 signings with our 150M budget.
Asking 4 players in a single window is too much ?
We can get 80M-100M least on selling few players so we can easily make 4 signings with our 150M budget.
Asking 4 players in a single window is too much ?
That’s true. I think with a younger player like Sancho then the deal spread over say three years sounds responsible. With different clauses activating payments etc. If this is the case then maybe we continue the trend of younger players being brought in and Sancho, Grealish, Ake all sounding plausible.
Even if only Sancho is bought, that would be a huge improvement. The target for next season should be to finish in top 4 comfortably with a cup win. A back up st, cm and a cb is required but those options will be available next summer also whereas you don't get a chance to sign a top attacking talent without much competition. Ole may not be able to buy all these players in this window due to covid, but it is also the same reason why no body else can make a bid for Sancho. A front four of Rashford, Martial, Sancho with Bruno behind is brilliant with Greenwood being another option. There will be a couple of departures surely and I won't be surprised if utd board decides against spending big after Sancho which I don't think will be a bad decision.
If we manage to move on all of Dalot, Jones, Bailly/Smalling, Rojo, Pereira/Lingard and Sanchez then it’s believable we’d be able to bring in three players too with one obviously being Sancho.
Personally I believe we need a defensive midfielder as Matic always drops off form wise once he starts to get overused and tired which will happen due to him being our only defensive midfield, as we lack leaders in the squad I’d go for Declan Rice and let him gradually replace and learn from Matic (and Carrick as coach) rather than just throw him in.
I’d like you see us bring in Sancho, Rice and Aouar instead of Grealish due to how much Villa want and I think that sets us perfectly. If Tuanzebe can stay fit and Mengi progresses alongside a core of Lindelof, Maguire and a returning Smalling we’d have a great group of centre backs too.
Personally I believe we need a defensive midfielder as Matic always drops off form wise once he starts to get overused and tired which will happen due to him being our only defensive midfield, as we lack leaders in the squad I’d go for Declan Rice and let him gradually replace and learn from Matic (and Carrick as coach) rather than just throw him in.
I’d like you see us bring in Sancho, Rice and Aouar instead of Grealish due to how much Villa want and I think that sets us perfectly. If Tuanzebe can stay fit and Mengi progresses alongside a core of Lindelof, Maguire and a returning Smalling we’d have a great group of centre backs too.
If we made the 4 bolded signings our squad would be as strong as any other in the league.
Won't happen though
I don't think it is. I don't find it very realistic right now, but I think we should and can do it. I get why it wont happen, but we should be quicker in the market. Yeah, spend some time scouting and don't rush but surely we know who we want and it's just about getting those deals over the line quick enough.
It has been notably reported about the big money signings (sancho, grealish, a CB) but with a few positions we want to cover and potential sales/loans, has there been any talk of us getting involved in the free agent market?
I mean there seems to be some value there and some affordable wages.
We want Sancho which we know is 80-100 mill.
We want a CB and thats not going to be cheap.
And we kinda want to see Lingard go and bring in a newbie (grealish the luxury or a David Brooks/Cantwell style value pick)
Easily 150 mill goooooooone.
Our secondary needs are important also but dont require a big outlay. Positions needed and possible free agents:
Midfield - Mathew Longstaff. I dont see any reports of us being linked which is strange. The kids 20 and has shown to be a deserved PL starter but is in a tough pickle of being at a club that needs a certain playing style to survive in the PL. Surely could add depth in the PL next season for us. Loves to win the ball but as youth was actually quite capable of being a number 10.
Striker - Ighalo was a success to close the season. I think we have him till January?? But given the option I believe we need abit of target man class for plan B. Rashford can fill in and Greenwood is the future. But offcontract we have Manzukic and Cavani. And on the cheaper side a respectable Max Kruse.
Fullback - Surely Clyne fits the bill perfectly? Experienced, and good reason to accept a lesser role at a big club with a suitable amount of match time for his body.
I mean there seems to be some value there and some affordable wages.
We want Sancho which we know is 80-100 mill.
We want a CB and thats not going to be cheap.
And we kinda want to see Lingard go and bring in a newbie (grealish the luxury or a David Brooks/Cantwell style value pick)
Easily 150 mill goooooooone.
Our secondary needs are important also but dont require a big outlay. Positions needed and possible free agents:
Midfield - Mathew Longstaff. I dont see any reports of us being linked which is strange. The kids 20 and has shown to be a deserved PL starter but is in a tough pickle of being at a club that needs a certain playing style to survive in the PL. Surely could add depth in the PL next season for us. Loves to win the ball but as youth was actually quite capable of being a number 10.
Striker - Ighalo was a success to close the season. I think we have him till January?? But given the option I believe we need abit of target man class for plan B. Rashford can fill in and Greenwood is the future. But offcontract we have Manzukic and Cavani. And on the cheaper side a respectable Max Kruse.
Fullback - Surely Clyne fits the bill perfectly? Experienced, and good reason to accept a lesser role at a big club with a suitable amount of match time for his body.
In Sancho £100m Out Bailly £25m - Dalot £20m - Smalling £18m - Sanchez £15m - Rojo £5m - JOnes £10m - Mensah £7m - Spent nothing
In Yeferson Soltoldo - Out Swap deal for Pererra = £10m Spent £10m
In Eze (QPR) £20m - Out Lingard £20m Spent nothing
In Gabriel £25m - Out Fred £25m Spent nothing
In Camavinga £50m - Out Mata £5m - DeGea £55m Spent nothing
Spend Zero
GK Henderson ROmero
RB Laird - Bissaka
CB Lindelof - Gabriel
CB Maguire - Tuanzabe
LB Shaw - Williams
DM Camavinga - Matic
CM Pogba - McTominay
AM Fernandes - Eze
LW Rashford - Soltoldo
RW Sancho - James
ST Martial - Greenwood
Rest of Squad - Ighalo, Mjebri, Mengi
Moral of the story is we can sell twice as many players as we buy this summer and still have a full squad. Never happening and unrealistic but 8 of those outs for me currently should definately be outs and 6 of them should have been last summer.
Our squad is top heavy already and we have more youngsters coming through. We really need to move out more players and quickly and replace them with less players but ones of QUALITY.
I wouldnt do the above I have written but the £150m budget even buying SAncho shouldnt be something we fear as it isnt bad if we move on players, the fear is we WONT move on the players
In Yeferson Soltoldo - Out Swap deal for Pererra = £10m Spent £10m
In Eze (QPR) £20m - Out Lingard £20m Spent nothing
In Gabriel £25m - Out Fred £25m Spent nothing
In Camavinga £50m - Out Mata £5m - DeGea £55m Spent nothing
Spend Zero
GK Henderson ROmero
RB Laird - Bissaka
CB Lindelof - Gabriel
CB Maguire - Tuanzabe
LB Shaw - Williams
DM Camavinga - Matic
CM Pogba - McTominay
AM Fernandes - Eze
LW Rashford - Soltoldo
RW Sancho - James
ST Martial - Greenwood
Rest of Squad - Ighalo, Mjebri, Mengi
Moral of the story is we can sell twice as many players as we buy this summer and still have a full squad. Never happening and unrealistic but 8 of those outs for me currently should definately be outs and 6 of them should have been last summer.
Our squad is top heavy already and we have more youngsters coming through. We really need to move out more players and quickly and replace them with less players but ones of QUALITY.
I wouldnt do the above I have written but the £150m budget even buying SAncho shouldnt be something we fear as it isnt bad if we move on players, the fear is we WONT move on the players
Last edited:
I can't see us getting Grealish with the type of fee Villa will demand now they've stayed up as well as Sancho. CB is surely more of a priority than another AM.
Realistically, we're not going to have the funds to get all the players we need in one window - we are still short of a DM, LB cover and a proper striker for me . I'd probably enquire about Coutinho on loan as a short term alternative to Grealish even though he's an ex-scouser.
Realistically, we're not going to have the funds to get all the players we need in one window - we are still short of a DM, LB cover and a proper striker for me . I'd probably enquire about Coutinho on loan as a short term alternative to Grealish even though he's an ex-scouser.
Yeah there is no doubt the DM situation will be addressed but not in this window. I could also see us going for Haaland when clause is activated. In regards to LB cover think we will use what we have for next season.
What exactly do you want in that your striker that is not provided by Martial.
I am just asking, please don't take it as though am opposing you as you're entitled to your opinion.
We have zero catching up to do. We all start on zero pts!
I would be over the moon with just Sancho and Rice this summer on the basis Rice can also cover CB then look at the other positions next year.
Some competition for his place really so we can compete on all fronts. As good as Tony's been this season, he can't play every game.
Who would you play if he picked up a hamstring tear or a long term injury? i don't see Rashford as a viable alternative - he is too erratic centrally and it's a lot to ask of Greenwood at this stage. Ighalo has been ok as a stop gap but he's so immobile.
People need to remember this. We have a relatively young team who still haven't played that many minutes together as a collective. Sancho would undoubtedly improve us, but the team we have now will also improve anyway over time.
Our concern is getting adequate cover to these players, and that simply can't happen over one summer window because (a) we still have a lot of players we need to sell, and (b) the United tax generally prevents us from getting bargains anywhere.
Oh fine, I get your point. Thought you want someone to replace him. May be someone like Cavani for 2+1 years.
I probably didn't make myself clear when i said 'proper' striker - i was referring to an out and out centre forward rather than a more general forward.
It wasn't a sleight on Martial
Besides the obvious, fancy looking at the bargain bucket for a few gems.
Emi Buendia.
Great chance creation, great in tight areas, standout player in a duff Norwich side. Would happily join MUFC for rotation with Bruno. Questions on attitude, need to check he is the right fit/personality.
Allan Saint-Maximin
Mainly because I just love the way he plays, commits people, unpredictable, so tough to defend against, late game, tired legs, huge fear for full backs etc. Plus seems a cool character.
Adama Traoré
Same as Allan above, someone who will take a rotation role but like playing for MUFC. Purely rotation behind our front three, bulldozer of a player, destroy tired legs and a completely different option.
Nico Gaitán
Free agent. For the banter.
Why?
View is, do I want Pereira, Mata, Lingard, Chong, Ighalo coming on against a team or do I want those three above? No brainer to me. Depth and good rotation players. Plus injuries to Fernandes and Martial we then have options to play young, exciting, expansive attacking players.
If we need to counter attack after going up against a top side (seems standard fayre now) you have two fast, penetrating players. If you need someone who can unlock a defence that is sat back, you have someone like Buendia.
I would also look at Sarr as well but feel he might be a little much of a one trick pony. Could be had for cheap.
Now onto the defensive side.
Abdoulaye Doucouré
Decent ball winner and a player who could be an alternate to Fred although I like Fred and feel he has a place in this team with his energy and ground covering. Perhaps more a Matic replacement but again Matic is a player who either plays really well or falls off a cliff in terms of productivity. Also given his habit of taking 94 touches of the ball, I'd prefer someone who loved the football faster. A potential but by no means a must.
Mason Holgate
Young player, could be moulded into a top centre back, not doing too bad in an Everton side that has been mixed this season. Could be a decent understudy and look to break into the team should we need a quicker option next to Lindelof.
Jan Vertonghen
Experienced. Knows the PL. Left footed. Free agent. What is not to like? This makes good sense if you completely ignore his lack of pace. Next to Maguire he will either look like Desailly or Boumsong. I think he would be a good option, free, not extortionate wages (Give him Jones's wedge).
Malang Sarr
Seems highly rated, left footed, free agent, I also have zero idea about him so we could call this one a punt...
That's about it, some options to Go with our better, fancier signings such as Sancho or Grealish etc.
Emi Buendia.
Great chance creation, great in tight areas, standout player in a duff Norwich side. Would happily join MUFC for rotation with Bruno. Questions on attitude, need to check he is the right fit/personality.
Allan Saint-Maximin
Mainly because I just love the way he plays, commits people, unpredictable, so tough to defend against, late game, tired legs, huge fear for full backs etc. Plus seems a cool character.
Adama Traoré
Same as Allan above, someone who will take a rotation role but like playing for MUFC. Purely rotation behind our front three, bulldozer of a player, destroy tired legs and a completely different option.
Nico Gaitán
Free agent. For the banter.
Why?
View is, do I want Pereira, Mata, Lingard, Chong, Ighalo coming on against a team or do I want those three above? No brainer to me. Depth and good rotation players. Plus injuries to Fernandes and Martial we then have options to play young, exciting, expansive attacking players.
If we need to counter attack after going up against a top side (seems standard fayre now) you have two fast, penetrating players. If you need someone who can unlock a defence that is sat back, you have someone like Buendia.
I would also look at Sarr as well but feel he might be a little much of a one trick pony. Could be had for cheap.
Now onto the defensive side.
Abdoulaye Doucouré
Decent ball winner and a player who could be an alternate to Fred although I like Fred and feel he has a place in this team with his energy and ground covering. Perhaps more a Matic replacement but again Matic is a player who either plays really well or falls off a cliff in terms of productivity. Also given his habit of taking 94 touches of the ball, I'd prefer someone who loved the football faster. A potential but by no means a must.
Mason Holgate
Young player, could be moulded into a top centre back, not doing too bad in an Everton side that has been mixed this season. Could be a decent understudy and look to break into the team should we need a quicker option next to Lindelof.
Jan Vertonghen
Experienced. Knows the PL. Left footed. Free agent. What is not to like? This makes good sense if you completely ignore his lack of pace. Next to Maguire he will either look like Desailly or Boumsong. I think he would be a good option, free, not extortionate wages (Give him Jones's wedge).
Malang Sarr
Seems highly rated, left footed, free agent, I also have zero idea about him so we could call this one a punt...
That's about it, some options to Go with our better, fancier signings such as Sancho or Grealish etc.
If the reported 60mil (54mil pounds) upfront for Sanco are correct, and we we do have 150mil to spend, this transfer will only take 1/3 of the budget and that is before sales.
Think we have to be bold in this window.
Its clear Sancho is the main target but we do need more balance and transfer activity.
Firstly, outgoings:
I think we can sell 5 players:
Smalling/Sanchez/Rojo/Lingard/Jones
If we can get deals done for further outgoings, great:
Periera/Mata/Bailly
So Sancho is the dream.
He covers RW but also offers us cover across the front line.
I still think we need the following:
AM/DM/CB
Signing a CB for me means we HAVE to sell 3. Im ok with that, we dont need Smalling or Jones anyway and New CB replaces Bailly in the squad and hopefully is a starter to displace Lindelof, job done.
AM I still think Grealish is the best option.
DM is essential cos Matic cant play a whole season and McTom/Fred arent good enough there. Could Fred be sold if we sign a DM? He could but considering Matic will more or less be so far declined come 2022 he may as well stay.
We need a summer of 5/6 out and 3/4 in minimum.
I just hope we dont act slowly and have such protracted negotiations. We need to react and improve. Squad needs work, lets get it done early
Its clear Sancho is the main target but we do need more balance and transfer activity.
Firstly, outgoings:
I think we can sell 5 players:
Smalling/Sanchez/Rojo/Lingard/Jones
If we can get deals done for further outgoings, great:
Periera/Mata/Bailly
So Sancho is the dream.
He covers RW but also offers us cover across the front line.
I still think we need the following:
AM/DM/CB
Signing a CB for me means we HAVE to sell 3. Im ok with that, we dont need Smalling or Jones anyway and New CB replaces Bailly in the squad and hopefully is a starter to displace Lindelof, job done.
AM I still think Grealish is the best option.
DM is essential cos Matic cant play a whole season and McTom/Fred arent good enough there. Could Fred be sold if we sign a DM? He could but considering Matic will more or less be so far declined come 2022 he may as well stay.
We need a summer of 5/6 out and 3/4 in minimum.
I just hope we dont act slowly and have such protracted negotiations. We need to react and improve. Squad needs work, lets get it done early
Is this the same Ferran Torres I told you about two weeks ago in a newbies thread? The player you had never heard of?
He's going to City now and how many Ferran Torres exist in the world who play professional football that made you confuse which Ferran Torres I was referring to?
You might as well framed your comment saying: "Hey I googled his name before you did, so I know about him more than you"
Answer my question please, you hadn't even heard of him until I mentioned him had you.
Insulting another member
You are annoying
Thanks for that, was just a question.