I wouldn't be too sure of that. Gladbach IMO will look to shift the 27 year old if a decent offer comes in. Plea is one one of the highest paid players at Gladbach and joined them in 2018 due to game time and the attacking nature of the league on Lucien Favre's advice. He is at a age now where it's ideal for him to take the step up and it would suit Gladbach too if they can shift him in the current crisis which would give Eberl and Rose funds to shape their squad for next season. Gladbach are a tier below Dortmund and will be affected even greater in comparison due to the lost revenue.
Moussa Dembele (Lyon) - Take Him?
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Not claiming to be an ITK or anything but I've heard there are legs to the Dembele thing after all. I'm not overly enthused though but probably signals an end to Ighalo
It was already answered on the post #186 on this page. If you are bored, why not just read the post instead of making a false claim.
The purpose of having depth in striker position is so we can have someone to challenge Martial and act as rotation with Martial & Rashford so we don't need to overplay them, but in your previous post, you believed it as "backup".
Being part of starting XI doesn't make them as the focal players. With Bruno, Pogba, Martial & Rashford in the team, Ole makes them more as focal players in the team, in contrast to the role of Greenwood & James on the right which gives them less pressure on their shoulder.
Greenwood starts 6 games on the right and scored 6 goals & 1 assist. He starts 3 games as a striker and scored 0. It'll give you an idea why Ole played him more on the right than lone striker. I know you missed this point that I posted before but I'll say it again, Greenwood physically & his holding up play with centre back behind his back are still lacking to play as lone striker, this is why in his current level, he's much more effective playing on the right or as two striker position. Both roles provide him more space to get away from defenders and score. Greenwood is more in a category of complete striker, playing on the right will benefit him to learn and improve some aspect like other strikers who done it before.
James is not good enough to start for us to be competing winning the league. As per what you mentioned previously, we are not in that yet. At this current stage, James can still do the job until 2021 before we have the fund to sign Sancho.
So? Means nothing because we also sent scouts to watch Dembele.
My unpopular opinion is about striker is more priority than RW, not based on Ole wants striker above winger. When I said "what Ole wanted" means that he really wanted a new striker & made it into priority. The fact that he wanted Lukaku to stay, he also wanted Haland despite having Greenwood. And despite of losing Haland, he still didn't want to put full faith on Greenwood and tried to sign striker in the last minute of the January window. At this point, Ole probably wanted both RW & ST equally. And realistically don't think we can sign both together if we can't secure Ighalo.
Heard? Do tell..
Just saw Simon Stone say it’s unlikely United want to make Ighalo permanent as he was brought in as Rashford cover.
He is doing pretty well as right forward too and will cost us only 30M.
Why do people seem to believe that a player coming in spells the end for a player in the current XI?
I said it throughout last year that our best XI was top 3 standard but our backup XI was probably relegation material. We can’t have such a reliance on individuals if we want to win trophies.
For me, a forward line with Rashford, Martial, Greenwood, James, Sancho and Dembele would be absolutely perfectly balanced
I said it throughout last year that our best XI was top 3 standard but our backup XI was probably relegation material. We can’t have such a reliance on individuals if we want to win trophies.
For me, a forward line with Rashford, Martial, Greenwood, James, Sancho and Dembele would be absolutely perfectly balanced
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I think everyone is in agreement on having a player like Dembele in the squad as back up would be good that’s not in question at all. I’d love to see us be able afford that this window but I can only see one and I’d rather Sancho be our focus now as he is more unique and slots right in.
If United are going to buy a backup striker, the smart business decision should be a relatively unknown young player with the physical ability and technical skills to develop into a high quality starter at a bargain price. Edouard for 25m makes perfect since.
If given the choice, I doubt Greenwood would turn down a lot of playing time as #1 RW to get some playing time as #3 Striker. WhoScored gave Greenwood a remarkable 8.15 grade at the position, so I believe he'll be confident about playing the position at a high level. I can't see more than 50m net spend by United in the next transfer window, so no Sancho until at least summer 2021, imo.
If given the choice, I doubt Greenwood would turn down a lot of playing time as #1 RW to get some playing time as #3 Striker. WhoScored gave Greenwood a remarkable 8.15 grade at the position, so I believe he'll be confident about playing the position at a high level. I can't see more than 50m net spend by United in the next transfer window, so no Sancho until at least summer 2021, imo.
Yes internationally fine up front with those behind Kane, we dont have any centre backs though. I mean young or youngish strikers that could come straight into the side, not really any about, vast majority of the top strikers in the world are over 30
Only seen him in one game and a few highlights so cant really judge. Think its hard to judge players anyway in the Scottish league as the levels so low in comparison to other major leagues
You mean at club level? No, you're right. We need to produce a hell of a lot more premier League quality players to get back to where we were before the turn of the millennium. Realistically Dembele probably isn't any better than Kevin Campbell from Arsenal. You should be able to pick up domestic players of that level comparatively easily. The fact that it's difficult to do so isnt great.
Yeah but my point is, why do we have to label some players “starters” and some “backup”? Why can’t we just have six forwards who compete for three spots on a game-by-game basis and are selected according to form, commitment and who suits our chosen tactic the best?
Surely that’s the Utopia
That all sounds nice in an ideal world on paper, but at the end of the day only 11 players can play.
Back when we had the 4, Cole/Yorke were always the "first 2" and Solskjaer/Sheringham would fill in when needed. IF we can find players happy to do that then great, but I don't see it happening with somebody like Dembele.
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I think I’m using the labels based on expectation and reality of how a squad works and based on what I know of Dembele compared to what I know of Martial and honestly I don’t expect Dembele to push Martial out of our best XI. So I label Dembele “back up” as he’ll be rotated into the first XI when required but I believe when Martial is fit he starts.
Dembele is going to have the conversation about playtime if he’s going to sign for us and every manager knows a huge part of the job is managing expectations. You tell Dembele the likely scenario that yes you will get a lot of games but your job is to try and knock Martial off his perch and not the other way around.
So absolutely I’d love to have 6 who compete and we have Martial, Rashford, Greenwood and James for definite now. So as I’ve said in previous posts having another good striker and a starting quality winger are IMO the most important things to add.
It is. Sounds revolutionary but you're right. Cole, yorke, ole and Teddy were all starters really. They all just started different games.
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That’s not true.
In the PL alone in the 1998/99 season
Yorke 34 apps 34 starts 2876mins
Cole 32 apps 26 starts 2355 mins
Solskjær 19 apps 9 starts 859 mins
Sherringham 17 apps 7 starts 748 mins
Yorke and Cole were clearly the starters and Solskjær and Sherringham were the back up or rotation players. They were very good high quality squad players but there was a clear hierarchy and to suggest otherwise is factually incorrect.
https://fbref.com/en/squads/19538871/1998-1999/Manchester-United
Why not? Not all strikers like Lukaku refused to compete for the spot. Jesus been at City for years competing with Aguero and be part of the rotation. Martial being flexible that he can play on the left means Dembele or whoever coming will allow us to rest Rashford & Martial when needed.
Whether we sign Sancho or we sign striker, at this current level an additional player won't make us into challenging the league unless if Martial & Rashford transformed into world class which no guarantee next season. Imagine if Martial got injured until end of the season with only Greenwood to replace him, can't imagine club as caliber as United's expectation is going to rely on 19 & 20 years old front three for the rest of the season, might cost us top 4.
Why are people hung up over Ighalo's age? We paid £24m for van Persie and got 1 1/2 good seasons out of him. We could easily get 2 or 3 solid years out of Ighalo, he will get goals, be a great back up, give us something different and not cause any problems on or off the pitch.....and he wants to be here.
£20m for Ighalo would be great business. I would be really pissed if he went to Newcastle and we spent £60m on Dembele. That money could be better utilized elsewhere.
We wouldn't be taking a punt on Ighalo.
£20m for Ighalo would be great business. I would be really pissed if he went to Newcastle and we spent £60m on Dembele. That money could be better utilized elsewhere.
We wouldn't be taking a punt on Ighalo.
Yeah but as others have pointed out, players aren't solely confined to one role in modern football. Cole, Yorke, Solskjaer and Sheringham could 'only' play as forwards.
The current crop are far more flexible. One game you could have Rashford as AML, Martial as CF, Sancho as AMR. The next you could have Dembele as CF and Martial drops out. Then you could have Martial AML and Rashford dropping out. Remember, we will play 60 games next year
I think that he's just what we need for that No9 role. His hold up play and work rate are both excellent, and he will bring that new dimension in our attacking play that Martial doesn't have.
Attacking trio Rashford - Dembele - Greenwood or Rashford - Dembele - Sancho would be fantastic; and Martial would be great for the rotation on both left wing forward and central forward...
Similar to when Saha was bought after RvN left; he wasn't better football player than Ruud, but he brought important other dimension to our play (better work rate, great hold up play and overal physical presence in attack) that we lacked. As a result, both Rooney and Ronaldo played much better with Saha in team than with RvN in team.
Attacking trio Rashford - Dembele - Greenwood or Rashford - Dembele - Sancho would be fantastic; and Martial would be great for the rotation on both left wing forward and central forward...
Similar to when Saha was bought after RvN left; he wasn't better football player than Ruud, but he brought important other dimension to our play (better work rate, great hold up play and overal physical presence in attack) that we lacked. As a result, both Rooney and Ronaldo played much better with Saha in team than with RvN in team.
That's true but players also need consistency. We saw that happened with Rashford/Martial being moved from pillar to post and they never got settled. You don't see City/Pool moving their forwards around to keep everybody happy.
Fully agree. Ighalo can be a good squad player for next 2 years. It will also give enough space to Martial and Greenwood to grow into more central role.
Greenwood's development over the next three seasons is the key here. He is clearly talented and really it is a matter of how he plays and when he becomes a top player that will determine where we go in attack. It's very risky to have Martial as our go to no.9, having dembele as competition is reasonable. However, I would actually like us to sign an older player to make up for the youth of the rest of our front line. A player that is reliable and that would fade out when Greenwood starts coming to the forefront. Good enough to compete and possible replace Martial, but old enough to allow for a smooth transition to Greenwood. I also expect us to sign a right winger regardless of whatever we decide to do. If we signed one that could also consistently provide goals, we would not need as much goalscoring reliance on Martial and Rashford and would not have to get a rotation striker. A great modern team should have 5 good attackers in the squad; the real question here is is Greenwood good enough at the moment to take up one of those space given the inconsistencies of Martial. For this to be true Martial or Greenwood need to show improvement. If not, it would make sense to get good competition for Martial. On his own he may not be a title winning striker, but with competition, he may prove to be. Drogba/Gudjohnson/Crespo from 04-06 comes to mind.
Given that profile, I think I'd have a look at Victor Osimhen at Lille, rather than Edouard.
RVP was the best ST in the PL at the time. 24m was a huge bargain Ighalo is nowhere near the same quality and paying 20m for him when he`s almost 31 on the basis of 2/3 good months is short sighted thinking. For all we know his performances will seriously dip if he makes his move permanent. In this current market he`s worth no more than 10m and the 60m Dembele fee is likely just speculation. Likely he costs 30-40m which is better value for money than Ighalo.
This. In a couple of years when Odion is showing his age Greenwood will have matured enough to be relied on incase of a long-term injury
How does Dembele compare against Victor Osimhen?
Edit -- spitballing on other forward options -- what about that guy from Club Brugge, Dennis I think. He was a young Nigerian and I remember being impressed by him.
I was also impressed by two of AZ young forwards, so maybe I am just easily swayed by our opposition.
Edit -- spitballing on other forward options -- what about that guy from Club Brugge, Dennis I think. He was a young Nigerian and I remember being impressed by him.
I was also impressed by two of AZ young forwards, so maybe I am just easily swayed by our opposition.
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You've got no basis on which to make that assumption and there's just as much chance of Dembele coming to United and flopping. You don't necessarily have to be the best to make an impact in a team.
I have United at 50m net spend for the summer window. The highest rumoured offer for Edouard is 25m from Arsenal; Osimhen's highest rumoured offers are 75m from Liverpool and Tottenham. Osimhen doesn't fit in my budget.
Started only 5 games out of 12 and has 0 goals and 0 assists this season. What's happening there? Surely there's a PL team where he could shine (Brighton? West Brom? West Ham?).
Not sure what has gone on thst has led him to be in quite such poor form. However as I stated earlier in the thread, I've never rated him at being Premier league level, certianly not the top end. In any case from when I've watched Lyon they've preferred Deapy over Dembele so perhaps Depay has just outright won that battle and Dembele is unable to get any rhythm.
Edit: Just got his first goal of the season, 3 minutes after coming off the bench.
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truthfully, if we are going for a winger, I'd take Adam Traore above him but surely there must be better than both... somewhere
Moussa Dembele the striker. Not Ousmane Dembele the winger.
No thanks
Kadewere's come in and scored some important goals in recent weeks so starting upfront along with Toko Ekambi (ex Villareal) and Memphis.
Get the feeling Lyon probably wished they cashed in on him 12 months ago when his stock was much higher.
wouldn’t want either, nor for that matter the midfielder Dembele.
What about the young attacker, Karomoke Dembele?
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Bullet dodged here?
Back up striker at best.
Back up striker at best.