De Gea is much better at most aspects of goalkeeping (and playing out from the back) than Henderson is. Henderson doesn't have a good mentality either. His United career is done.
Our Biggest Needs Priority Order
- Thread starter FrankWhite
- Start date
.....er, surely he is not better at playing out from the back?
Striker by some distance!
Then RB & GK
Then CM and CB cover / quality
Then RB & GK
Then CM and CB cover / quality
I disagree. Goalkeeper is a position we've neglected for too long. We need a modern goalie who can enable our buildup from the back while provide the necessary assurance to the defence both from open play and set pieces.
Henderson is not that keeper.
Than Henderson? Yeah he is. Far better this season than anything Henderson has ever shown. Henderson is painfully average on the ball, and is tiny in goal and a below average shot stopper. Lower premier league is his level, nothing more.
I think that's well over the top, to be honest. I thought he generally did well for us when he replaced De Gea for a protracted period, and he's been an excellent shot stopper for both Sheffield Utd and Forest. Might have pulled off save of the year on that Liverpool header this week-end. Unlike De Gea, he's got a good presence outside his own line. And though De Gea has improved his sweeping and distribution this year, I would consider Henderson better in that part of the game.
Who do you think we could pick up on loan
Presumably you mean by this we need both a striker to hold up play and get involved but also a pure number 9 too. I would also add CB cover to the list as well with Varane picking up injuries.
1) ST
2) GK
3) RB
4) CM
5) PL
6) CL
2) GK
3) RB
4) CM
5) PL
6) CL
1) ST
...
...
26) RB
27) GK
Everything else
The obvious need for a ST is so glaring that everything else pales into comparison. From all of the noises, we didn't expect to spend anywhere near as much as we ended up doing this summer, so we'll be doing considerably less in the next couple of windows. As such, we'll have to address the most important position, striker, and then see what comes up.
...
...
26) RB
27) GK
Everything else
The obvious need for a ST is so glaring that everything else pales into comparison. From all of the noises, we didn't expect to spend anywhere near as much as we ended up doing this summer, so we'll be doing considerably less in the next couple of windows. As such, we'll have to address the most important position, striker, and then see what comes up.
Yeah get a striker ideally in January and we can hopefully turn draws into wins and get the goal difference in a positive figure
I would argue with this, it should be:
1) ST
2) ST
...
...
Etc.
Ronaldo is finished, Greenwood is finished, and Martial misses around 20 games a season due to injury.
The problem is that there are very few outstanding strikers around. Ronaldo, Messi, Benzema and Lewandowski are all in the twighlight of their careers, and Kane is not far behind, and will cost a fortune for a depreciating asset.
The two outstanding young talents are also unattainable. Haaland is with our biggest rivals and Mbappe is tied into a ridiculous contract at PSG.
Of the other strikers, there are many with potential, but they all seem to have obvious flaws and crazy price tags. None of Matrinez, Osimhen, David, or any of the others discussed are at the level of those mentioned above, and I doubt any will reach those levels.
I think the two most interesting young prospects are Sesko and Endrick, and would be excited to get either, but they are both very speculative, and Endrick can't actually join until he is 18.
Gakpo is another interesting player, but is not really an out-and-out striker, so even if we brought him in, we would probably have to bring in someone else as well.
I think Brobbey, whilst limited, could do a job, and would be an interesting player to have as a squad player to come in with one or more of the aforementioned players. I think Endrick could potentially play as a 9 or a 10, which means he could lead the line on his own, or play alongside Sesko / Brobbey / Gakpo.
Remember that we had 4 first team strikers in the great 99 team (Cole, Yorke, Sheringham and Solskjaer) which provided the squad depth to win a treble. Now we can use more substitutes, and when the manager wants to mix things up a bit, it is likely the strikers that will be changed.
Imagine ETH having to select a front line from Sesko, Endrick, Brobbey, Gakpo, Antony, Rashford, Sancho, Garnacho and Pellistri. (I expect Ronaldo, Greenwood, Martial, Amad and Elanga to have limited opportunities once the above players are brought in over the next few windows.)
when did he join Liverpool?
If dalot makes that rb position his own we'll be pretty much set in our defense bar maybe a back up for him.
Striker is an obvious one, unless ten hag tries to play without one which could work as we've seen with the city and Liverpool teams of late.
Goalkeeper definitely needs addressing.
Those two are our priorities, depending on how injury prone varane is we might need to look for a replacement.
Striker is an obvious one, unless ten hag tries to play without one which could work as we've seen with the city and Liverpool teams of late.
Goalkeeper definitely needs addressing.
Those two are our priorities, depending on how injury prone varane is we might need to look for a replacement.
Don't think we have the quality of midfield and wide attackers to play without a proper striker
We'll find out soon enough.
Got to be striker, then probably a RB and then a GK. that would give us a world class 11. Then we need some quality back up/rotation options.
I'd personally put GK ahead of RB though that being said both DDG and Dalot have done well this season. CF obviously priority number 1
It would be nice to have a RB you know is top class, but Dalot is improving and still young. I wouldn't make that a priority. Top 3:
CF
CDM to rotate with Cas and Eriksen, but younger.
GK
CF
CDM to rotate with Cas and Eriksen, but younger.
GK
For winter window,
Try to get Frimpong, and try to sell AWB, Heaton, Jones and Tuanzebe for anything we can get
1. 70-90 mil striker
2. Bellingham (can’t let Real Madrid stack up their midfield)
3. Diogo Costa
4. Kim Min-jae
5. Ndicka on the free
6. Look for other bosman deals
Sell Maguire, Lindelof, Bailly, Williams, Henderson, Telles, VDB (if he doesn’t find any sort of good form), Martial (if he’s constantly injured)
Bye bye Ronaldo
Reduce DDG wages or let him go, Yann Sommer will be a free agent
Try to get Frimpong, and try to sell AWB, Heaton, Jones and Tuanzebe for anything we can get
1. 70-90 mil striker
2. Bellingham (can’t let Real Madrid stack up their midfield)
3. Diogo Costa
4. Kim Min-jae
5. Ndicka on the free
6. Look for other bosman deals
Sell Maguire, Lindelof, Bailly, Williams, Henderson, Telles, VDB (if he doesn’t find any sort of good form), Martial (if he’s constantly injured)
Bye bye Ronaldo
Reduce DDG wages or let him go, Yann Sommer will be a free agent
You need a striker but you it has to be a world class one. A Lewandowski, Benzema type. Below that you might want to pray for Martial's health and see what you can find in the bargain bin
Other than that, wingbacks, cover at CB, a ball-progressing CM, and i'm not at all convinced by your wing-forward options either, but none of those fixes as many problems and improves you like a world class CF can
Other than that, wingbacks, cover at CB, a ball-progressing CM, and i'm not at all convinced by your wing-forward options either, but none of those fixes as many problems and improves you like a world class CF can
We should look to get a deal done for Sesko or Gakpo this January. I think it's possible. I can't see us making Top 4 without someone who can put the ball in the back of the net. Martial just isn't reliable. Then in the summer get Diogo Costa, Frimpong, and a cheap, young back-up CB. Or skip on Frimpong, promote Laird, and get a CM if neither of Hannibal and Iqbal can make the cut.
Surprised at the level of snobbery CM is getting here. Reminds me how people were adamant we didn't need a CB last summer but we'd 100% be at least two times worse without Martinez. We desperately need a Connector in Eriksen's position. Without him midfield turns to shit and Eriksen himself doesn't have the energy of a Bellingham/FDJ, isn't a long term solution and gets gassed out from the 60th minute.
ST is still the biggest priority but CM a close second followed by GK, CB and RB if we decide to cut ties with Laird
ST is still the biggest priority but CM a close second followed by GK, CB and RB if we decide to cut ties with Laird
I definitely think a Striker is the number one priority to replace Ronaldo. Having Rashford, Martial, Sancho, Antony and then the younger players in Elanga, Garnacho, Amad, and Pellistri battle it out to be effectively sixth choice attacker is how we should be trying to work it. I think that will be good enough to start challenging for honours if we sign a top drawer striker and EtH can continue to influence and improve everyone. Maybe Harry Kane if Spurs finish outside the top 4?
I'd actually have Right Back as second priority as I assume we will try to offload Wan-Bissaka at the first opportunity, whilst I don't see us losing anyone from the midfield any time soon. Maybe if we sold Van de Beek? Given how the game has evolved, I think we need a bit more from our fullbacks than what we are getting from the most-part. I'd be more content with one more season of our current six midfield players, than I would with our fullbacks I think... Unless Wan-Bissaka comes back into the side and improves drastically.
Next would be a midfield player, but I think it's a tough one. I see a lot of people saying to replace Eriksen as CDM but I see Casemiro as the CDM. I suppose we are looking for a player in their early 20's with Erisken's ability on the ball, but Casemiro's positioning and physicality. I mean, if we could get Bellingham I'd just say do that!
That's where the difference in priority can come in. If we can get Kane & Bellingham as an example, then I'd be bumping them up to the highest priority instead and allow things like Right Back & Goalkeeper to be postponed until the season after. I think they'd make enough of a difference to compensate for the other shortcomings (in particular if we can shift the right players at the same time eg. Jones, Bailly, Maguire, Williams, Ronaldo).
I'd actually have Right Back as second priority as I assume we will try to offload Wan-Bissaka at the first opportunity, whilst I don't see us losing anyone from the midfield any time soon. Maybe if we sold Van de Beek? Given how the game has evolved, I think we need a bit more from our fullbacks than what we are getting from the most-part. I'd be more content with one more season of our current six midfield players, than I would with our fullbacks I think... Unless Wan-Bissaka comes back into the side and improves drastically.
Next would be a midfield player, but I think it's a tough one. I see a lot of people saying to replace Eriksen as CDM but I see Casemiro as the CDM. I suppose we are looking for a player in their early 20's with Erisken's ability on the ball, but Casemiro's positioning and physicality. I mean, if we could get Bellingham I'd just say do that!
That's where the difference in priority can come in. If we can get Kane & Bellingham as an example, then I'd be bumping them up to the highest priority instead and allow things like Right Back & Goalkeeper to be postponed until the season after. I think they'd make enough of a difference to compensate for the other shortcomings (in particular if we can shift the right players at the same time eg. Jones, Bailly, Maguire, Williams, Ronaldo).
I would love to see something like this before 1 September 2023.
Transfer budget: 100m
Salary : 220m (base salary, in total it’s like 380m, right?)
Players out:
-Antony Martial — 10-15m
//I would definitely move on from Martial. Too much water under the bridge. Not the biggest fan of his attitude. The injury issues.
-Harry Maguire — Loan
//Could we get a fee for him? Depends how the season goes. But it won’t be much given his wage. Chalked him down as a loan, to not be overly optimistic. There are just not many takers out there for him.
In any event he needs to go. The opposite of a ETH player. We don’t need the distraction
-Fred — 0m
//Even if it doesn’t hurt to have Fred as a squad player — we will develop and make players better under ETH. Rather give whatever playing time he would get to someone else. A younger players who can improve his value and potentially become a real contributor down the road.
-AWB — 10m
-Phil Jones — 0m
Salary savings: 13m + 9.8m + 6.2m + 4.7m + 3.9m = 37.6m
Transfer balance: 15m + 10m = 25m
Players not going out:
I am actually not counting on Ronaldo leaving. I just don’t see anyone taking him on in January. Sure, so much can happen. A severe injury at the WC could make a team desperate for a striker. You can’t rule out a team like Bayern going for him. Lissabon?
But do I think it’s likely? Probable? I don’t. I am just guessing, could definitely be wrong. But nobody stepped up during the summer, who will do it now?
And if he stays here for the duration of the season, sorts it out with ETH, I think him staying here for another season is better than the alternatives for him. He knows the lads here. I am in the minority, but with some luck on the injury front I think we are making top 4. Then he will get some CL games. Or he retires.
But I am actually still counting on him. Don’t mind him as a player who will play every now and then. Think his shortages as a pressing forward under ETH is blown out of proportion.
Players in:
-Jurrien Timber — 50m
//I think Timber is coming here.
First of all, he can definitely play RB as well as CB. We wanted him late late during the window, he wasnt an alternative to Martinez, he is a back-up to Darlot and Martinez as well as Varane. And could very well depending on form play ahead of them.
Second of all, he is darn darn good. If you watch Ajax sporadically this season you will see a defense that is exposed every now and then and he will be at the center of it. But Ajax has been dismantled as a team. They play their style of soccer and have some really good players, but when you play that way the marginals are small and they just don’t have the personnel to do it against like Liverpool or Napoli. Too many break downs. That is not on Timber. He is fantastic with the ball. He is so good at breaking the lines. Pressing high. Stepping up.
Third of all, you get two players in one basically. Martinez is totally critical to us right now. VNL can fake being Varane, nobody in our squad can even remotely do what Martinez is doing for us. Timber gives us depth there and at RB.
In addition, Martinez was brought to Ajax to be a CDM if I remember correctly. ETH is flexible with his players and not afraid to move them around. Hence, Martinez can be a back-up to Casemiro of sort, if Cas is hurt long term, but that of course requires that we have an option at CB for Martinez and in Timber we get that. Varane is also getting older. I think ETH in most match-ups would be perfectly OK with playing Martinez-Timber as a CB duo.
-Enzo Fernandez — 40m
//Eriksson has been fantastic for us, but he is just not durable to carry our team playing every night. Without the abilities he has, our game risk falling apart much more often.
Enzo Fernandez is a fantastic passer. He has potential to grow into more of a CDM. Just fits the bill really well.
-Patrick Schick — 30m
//Is this the type of striker that will put us over the top? No, of course not.
But listen, we want to compete with City down the line. Win titles. To do that, we must have a world class striker. We all agree on that. There is one guy ‘on the market’ I would go for there, and that is Sesko. 70-80m, I would take the bet. But I think Chelsea will beat us out for him. Paying a ton of money for a striker means that we will go into next season with big big holes elsewhere in the squad. And if that striker is — not — the solution, the world class striker that down the road can put us in competition with City, it is just not worth it IMO.
I love Oshimen. Get him for 150m, and we aren’t getting anyone else. And is Oshimen really the exact type we are looking for? A perfect fit? He is best on the counter attack. His speed is his biggest asset. Honestly, don’t think it’s money well spent. Also, I also think the striker position can be a bit overrated when you play ETH’s style. Look at how Pep built his team. Jesus was a signing for the future for 35m, and they went a lot with Dzeko besides Aguero early IIRC. They spent the most money on a CB that could play the ball in Stones, Gundogan and the likes. A top winger in Sané. The year after it was Laporte, Mendy, Walker and Bernardo Silva. Auguero missed pretty much time, but they took their time to mold Jesus instead of getting another top name.
I much rather set us up with a stop gap striker — like Shick or whomever — and Ronaldo for next season and complete the squad elsewhere, because it still has many glaring holes — and then go for someone like Endrick, who can arrive a couple of years down the road. Like seriously, to get to where we want to get — we need an offensive player that is like top 3-4 in the World. I love Antony but that is not him. It’s not Sancho. It’s not Bruno. Whenever there the next Big Thing becomes available — we need to be all over him. And to get him, we must be an established CL side and have the platform in place.
Up until then, I rather go for a stop gap solution. It don’t have to be Schick. But I think he could be had fairly cheap. He isnt starting every game for Leverkusen. He is their highest paid player. It seems like they want to go with a bit more of a dynamic option to up their ability against the best teams and in games when can’t own the ball and overload with crosses against someone like Schick.
POSITION / DEPTH CHART
Striker:
Schick / Ronaldo
LW: Rashford / Sancho / Ganacho
AMC: Fernandez / van de Beek
RW: Antony / Sancho / Elanga
CM: Eriksson / Fernandez / Hannibal
DMC: Casemiro / McTominay / Fernandez / (Martinez)
LD: Shaw / Malacia
LCB: Martinez / VNL
RCB: Varane / Timber
RD: Darlot / Timber / Laird
GK: De Gea
Summary:
-With these moves and another year of ETH coaching this team, we should be a clear top 4 team.
-From that position and with the platform in place — we can go for a world class striker in the summer of 2024. The Next Big Thing. I’ve never seen Endrick, but he could fit that bill.
Transfer budget: 100m
Salary : 220m (base salary, in total it’s like 380m, right?)
Players out:
-Antony Martial — 10-15m
//I would definitely move on from Martial. Too much water under the bridge. Not the biggest fan of his attitude. The injury issues.
-Harry Maguire — Loan
//Could we get a fee for him? Depends how the season goes. But it won’t be much given his wage. Chalked him down as a loan, to not be overly optimistic. There are just not many takers out there for him.
In any event he needs to go. The opposite of a ETH player. We don’t need the distraction
-Fred — 0m
//Even if it doesn’t hurt to have Fred as a squad player — we will develop and make players better under ETH. Rather give whatever playing time he would get to someone else. A younger players who can improve his value and potentially become a real contributor down the road.
-AWB — 10m
-Phil Jones — 0m
Salary savings: 13m + 9.8m + 6.2m + 4.7m + 3.9m = 37.6m
Transfer balance: 15m + 10m = 25m
Players not going out:
I am actually not counting on Ronaldo leaving. I just don’t see anyone taking him on in January. Sure, so much can happen. A severe injury at the WC could make a team desperate for a striker. You can’t rule out a team like Bayern going for him. Lissabon?
But do I think it’s likely? Probable? I don’t. I am just guessing, could definitely be wrong. But nobody stepped up during the summer, who will do it now?
And if he stays here for the duration of the season, sorts it out with ETH, I think him staying here for another season is better than the alternatives for him. He knows the lads here. I am in the minority, but with some luck on the injury front I think we are making top 4. Then he will get some CL games. Or he retires.
But I am actually still counting on him. Don’t mind him as a player who will play every now and then. Think his shortages as a pressing forward under ETH is blown out of proportion.
Players in:
-Jurrien Timber — 50m
//I think Timber is coming here.
First of all, he can definitely play RB as well as CB. We wanted him late late during the window, he wasnt an alternative to Martinez, he is a back-up to Darlot and Martinez as well as Varane. And could very well depending on form play ahead of them.
Second of all, he is darn darn good. If you watch Ajax sporadically this season you will see a defense that is exposed every now and then and he will be at the center of it. But Ajax has been dismantled as a team. They play their style of soccer and have some really good players, but when you play that way the marginals are small and they just don’t have the personnel to do it against like Liverpool or Napoli. Too many break downs. That is not on Timber. He is fantastic with the ball. He is so good at breaking the lines. Pressing high. Stepping up.
Third of all, you get two players in one basically. Martinez is totally critical to us right now. VNL can fake being Varane, nobody in our squad can even remotely do what Martinez is doing for us. Timber gives us depth there and at RB.
In addition, Martinez was brought to Ajax to be a CDM if I remember correctly. ETH is flexible with his players and not afraid to move them around. Hence, Martinez can be a back-up to Casemiro of sort, if Cas is hurt long term, but that of course requires that we have an option at CB for Martinez and in Timber we get that. Varane is also getting older. I think ETH in most match-ups would be perfectly OK with playing Martinez-Timber as a CB duo.
-Enzo Fernandez — 40m
//Eriksson has been fantastic for us, but he is just not durable to carry our team playing every night. Without the abilities he has, our game risk falling apart much more often.
Enzo Fernandez is a fantastic passer. He has potential to grow into more of a CDM. Just fits the bill really well.
-Patrick Schick — 30m
//Is this the type of striker that will put us over the top? No, of course not.
But listen, we want to compete with City down the line. Win titles. To do that, we must have a world class striker. We all agree on that. There is one guy ‘on the market’ I would go for there, and that is Sesko. 70-80m, I would take the bet. But I think Chelsea will beat us out for him. Paying a ton of money for a striker means that we will go into next season with big big holes elsewhere in the squad. And if that striker is — not — the solution, the world class striker that down the road can put us in competition with City, it is just not worth it IMO.
I love Oshimen. Get him for 150m, and we aren’t getting anyone else. And is Oshimen really the exact type we are looking for? A perfect fit? He is best on the counter attack. His speed is his biggest asset. Honestly, don’t think it’s money well spent. Also, I also think the striker position can be a bit overrated when you play ETH’s style. Look at how Pep built his team. Jesus was a signing for the future for 35m, and they went a lot with Dzeko besides Aguero early IIRC. They spent the most money on a CB that could play the ball in Stones, Gundogan and the likes. A top winger in Sané. The year after it was Laporte, Mendy, Walker and Bernardo Silva. Auguero missed pretty much time, but they took their time to mold Jesus instead of getting another top name.
I much rather set us up with a stop gap striker — like Shick or whomever — and Ronaldo for next season and complete the squad elsewhere, because it still has many glaring holes — and then go for someone like Endrick, who can arrive a couple of years down the road. Like seriously, to get to where we want to get — we need an offensive player that is like top 3-4 in the World. I love Antony but that is not him. It’s not Sancho. It’s not Bruno. Whenever there the next Big Thing becomes available — we need to be all over him. And to get him, we must be an established CL side and have the platform in place.
Up until then, I rather go for a stop gap solution. It don’t have to be Schick. But I think he could be had fairly cheap. He isnt starting every game for Leverkusen. He is their highest paid player. It seems like they want to go with a bit more of a dynamic option to up their ability against the best teams and in games when can’t own the ball and overload with crosses against someone like Schick.
POSITION / DEPTH CHART
Striker:
Schick / Ronaldo
LW: Rashford / Sancho / Ganacho
AMC: Fernandez / van de Beek
RW: Antony / Sancho / Elanga
CM: Eriksson / Fernandez / Hannibal
DMC: Casemiro / McTominay / Fernandez / (Martinez)
LD: Shaw / Malacia
LCB: Martinez / VNL
RCB: Varane / Timber
RD: Darlot / Timber / Laird
GK: De Gea
Summary:
-With these moves and another year of ETH coaching this team, we should be a clear top 4 team.
-From that position and with the platform in place — we can go for a world class striker in the summer of 2024. The Next Big Thing. I’ve never seen Endrick, but he could fit that bill.
Last edited:
The biggest priority is a striker, closely followed by a goalkeeper. With such a limited budget, Laird can return and compete with Dalot, while Hannibal and Mainoo can be used as squad players for the midfield. Due to his injury issues, we should also be on the lookout for a long term replacement for Varane.
1) Goal scoring centre forward
2) play making goal keeper
3) right back competition for Dalot
2) play making goal keeper
3) right back competition for Dalot
Yup. In this order.
However I'd prefer a starting RB and Dalot being the competition for the spot.
Given Varane’s lack of fitness, I think we also need a CB.
Fair point. Maguire must also step up to the plate though now. No more excuses
My current guess is we just keep De Gea and sign a #9, a CM, a CB and a RB. The latter two are modest spends with the CB being younger. Big money for the striker and CM. Eriksen can give Bruno actual rest and competition as a 10 if we sign a quality CM. So something like this:
Jonathan David
Frenkie De Jong, Caqueret, one of the young Croatians or Ruben Neves
Bundesliga RCB I haven't seen much of (Lacroix?)
Frimpong
Jonathan David
Frenkie De Jong, Caqueret, one of the young Croatians or Ruben Neves
Bundesliga RCB I haven't seen much of (Lacroix?)
Frimpong
How would Ronaldo still be there on 1st September? Doesn't his contract run out?
And De Gea as well for that matter
They have an option for De Gea right?
Of course not saying it’s a given, but this is how Ronaldo still at Old Trafford scenario could play out.
-We try to sell him in January, but find no takers.
//There have been varying reports on whether we had any takers in August — but it’s not far from a given that anyone will take him in January. It is a fluid situation, but all of a sudden like Benzema is hurt and Real goes hard for him, but right now, I can’t see which CL team that would be interested in Ronaldo.
- This team does fairly well this year and Ronaldo plays a fairly good amount of football.
-We also qualify for the Champions League.
Like why would Ronaldo not resign here? It’s possible he might not want to, it’s possible ETH goes ‘over my dead body that we resign Ronaldo’. But objectively speaking — I don’t see why he would want to go to like Napoli if we were in the CL and he and ETH gets along.
Are you.. under the impression we actually want him here?
He's not playing for Man Utd next season not because he doesn't want to be here. He's not playing for Man Utd next season because, like all other clubs that rejected him, we don't actually want him.
And he definitely does not get along with ETH. His transgressions are just being tolerated because it's only for 1 more season. Why would ETH sign up for more of this shit?
It's not his choice. It's ours, and we don't want him.
You make it sound like he's this elite player that is coveted by everyone while the truth is he stinks, both on and off the pitch, and unwanted by everyone.
I'm not asking whether if we have an option to extend or not. We can extend even if there's no option as long as both parties are willing.
I'm asking why would ETH want him here next season?
Yep, it's an absolute necessity.
Not only don't we have any connector apart from Eriksen but we also don't have any midfielder who isn't profligate with his passing.
Midfield is undoubtedly the biggest concern. The drop off in quality between Eriksen / Casemiro to Fred and Mctomminay is far too significant that when the latter two come on control of the midfield is instantly ceased. Fernandes also doesn't recycle possession well enough for a pivotal first team player. He adds alot being captain but after a striker I think the club need to look at his position to add quality. CM, ST, CAM and RB.
You could be right, like I said in the post you replied to, ETH might be ‘over my dead body’.
For me it comes down to how problematic Ronaldo’s bad sides really are. I don’t know.
In addition, we are not Manchester City. ETH does not have unlimited funds at his disposal. From now until the summer of 2024 he might have 100m give or take to work with. The January window of 2023, the summer window of 2023 and the January window of 2024. 100m in total? 150m in total? Stop some random dude on the street and ask for 1,000£, giving super strong arguments for why you need it, and that dude will never give it to you. That is how the Glazer’s treat this team, it’s not in their universe to give this team money, this team solely exists to give them money (in their world, needless to say).
We need a CB, RB, CM and a ST as it is. A GK if DDG option isn’t exercised. And another striker if Ronaldo leaves. That is 5-6 new players. Simple math gives ETH a 20m budget per player. The striker options we are looking at are at like the 60m (Tony) to 150m (Oshimen) range. Honestly, I am having a hard time seeing how we can afford — one — of those strikers without leaving glaring holes in other parts of the squad.
I am not surprised — at all — that ETH is trying to turn Rashford into a striker. Is he best at LW? Of course. But we need a striker. Remember, for ETH, our situation is still a step up from what he experienced in Ajax where other teams had a field day snatching his best players. He is definitely a pragmatic type. He has what he has to work with. He can keep all his players, and as a couple of new ones give or take per season. That is a big step up vs Ajax.
Hence, if he can make it work with Ronaldo as a rotation striker (ie the back up option) — I wouldn’t rule it out.
This game showing exactly why we need a RB ASAP. Malacia is a fighter and I expect him to settled into the game eventually but man... we need and RB.
RB that can rotate with Dalot (doesn't need to be expensive signing, may be something like Malacia type of signing but right back).
Young CB to be integrated to the team (30m-35m max).
Deep playmaker (because we only have Eriksen).
Striker (because we only have injury prone Martial so we need a new striker whether false 9 or proper no 9.)
Goalkeeper that can keep possession even under pressure (if DDG shows no improvement)
The list is not in order but IMO these are the five positions/roles we must sign in 2023.
Young CB to be integrated to the team (30m-35m max).
Deep playmaker (because we only have Eriksen).
Striker (because we only have injury prone Martial so we need a new striker whether false 9 or proper no 9.)
Goalkeeper that can keep possession even under pressure (if DDG shows no improvement)
The list is not in order but IMO these are the five positions/roles we must sign in 2023.
Il swap that to the below:
1) Oust the yanks
2) Oust the yanks
3) Oust the yanks
4) Get order, management, INTEGRITY & Discipline restored, repair/upgrade the aging facilities, resource, networks
5) Then shop for the tools need to plug the gaps in the team