Potential CB Options

Bondi77 said:
I love the similar player type comparison :wenger:
Must have been an edit by his agent.
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At the same age Van Dijk was being rejected by the big clubs in Holland, who said he was all physicality. He spent 10 years at Willem II who didn't even offer him a contract. He was spotted by Groiningen's, Chief Scout, Martin Koeman (Father of Ronald Koeman) who reccomended him to the Sporting director at his club and cited the player was blessed with physicality and pace, which were very important attributes for a player in the Eredivisie. He then played well for Groningen and even asked the then Sporting director (Hans Nijland) to approach Ajax but Marc Overmars refused to sanction a deal and instead he sanctioned a deal for Utrecht CB, Mike Van den Hoorn.

And regards young Nathan Collins, I just hope he lives upto his potential. Because if he does, then he will be a very good CB for both club and country due to his attributes/profile.
 
Adnan said:
At the same age Van Dijk was being rejected by the big clubs in Holland, who said he was all physicality. He spent 10 years at Willem II who didn't even offer him a contract. He was spotted by Groiningen's, Chief Scout, Martin Koeman (Father of Ronald Koeman) who reccomended him to the Sporting director at his club and cited the player was blessed with physicality and pace, which were very important attributes for a player in the Eredivisie. He then played well for Groningen and even asked the then Sporting director (Hans Nijland) to approach Ajax but Marc Overmars refused to sanction a deal and instead he sanctioned a deal for Utrecht CB, Mike Van den Hoorn.

And regards young Nathan Collins, I just hope he lives upto his potential. Because if he does, then he will be a very good CB for both club and country due to his attributes/profile.
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Very interesting,
Thank you for the insight.
 
I don't buy the 'United want a left-footed centre-back stuff', simply because for as long as I can remember, Harry Maguire has always played on the left and is comfortable there - similar to John Terry.

The only way I can see Ole bringing in a left-footed centre-back is if that centre-back is someone with potential, rather than the finished article. Someone like Botman, Carmo, Badiashile, etc.

If not, then if we are to bring in a centre-back, he must be considerably better than Lindelof and someone who will compliment Maguire.
 
Walters_19_MuFc said:
I don't buy the 'United want a left-footed centre-back stuff', simply because for as long as I can remember, Harry Maguire has always played on the left and is comfortable there - similar to John Terry.

The only way I can see Ole bringing in a left-footed centre-back is if that centre-back is someone with potential, rather than the finished article. Someone like Botman, Carmo, Badiashile, etc.

If not, then if we are to bring in a centre-back, he must be considerably better than Lindelof and someone who will compliment Maguire.
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I've always thought the left footed CB thing is overrated. Yes it might look like there's obvious advantages but there's been too many great defences without a left footer for it to be that important. Our 2 greatest CB pairings of the Premier league era. Chelsea's great team. Even the 'Pool of the last 2 seasons. I say get a great CB first. His preferred foot should only be a secondary consideration, if at all.
 
Something that is also open for debate on here is whether Kounde's height would be a disadvantage in this league
 
Seeing some noise for Ben White. Haven't paid much attention to him, any good? Seemed to me like a Lindelof type, which stylistically isn't the right match for Maguire IMO. Need aggression, pace, power next to him.
 
bosnian_red said:
Seeing some noise for Ben White. Haven't paid much attention to him, any good? Seemed to me like a Lindelof type, which stylistically isn't the right match for Maguire IMO. Need aggression, pace, power next to him.
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Ben White makes zero sense because the guy can't even be England national team regular and his club's experience is not enough means he is not ready to step up here to be part of the regular player to push us into title contender. I wouldn't be worried too much with the news, doubt we will go for him this summer.
 
What about this Sven Botman guy then - we've been linked with him apparently.

Left footed.

Any good?
 
jderbyshire said:
What about this Sven Botman guy then - we've been linked with him apparently.

Left footed.

Any good?
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Leftie, very strong in the air, good on the ball and decent in 1v1s. Lille have the best defensive record in Europe's top five leagues this season and Botman has been ever-present.

One of the best options available for us this summer. Not as quick as Konate, though.
 
With Lindelof and Bailly turning 27 soon and Maguire 28, I can't imagine Ole will bring in a centre-back of similar age like Varane, Koulibaly, etc.

People may not agree, but I don't think Ole is as worried at centre back position as some have alluded to. I also think the goals we concede are very rarely to do with individual errors from our centre backs, but more so set pieces, losing the ball in dangerous areas, etc. This article it explains it well.

Do I think we need a centre back? Yes, but I don't think we'll splash out on one. I think we could see a young, promising centre back, who will have the potential to take over when Maguire starts to hit the 30 bracket.

I say that because it seems like Ole is trying to emulate Sir Alex's transfer policy, regards age of players, which is something our previous managers were terrible at.

Gary Neville mentioned that Sir Alex's policy "was like a very slow conveyor belt. A few would come in, and a few would leave. Never more than a handful each season, never a massive adaptation of the squad.

"It was controlled, with six or seven young players, 10 in the middle, and three or four that were in their 30s. Every club that has had a dynasty has had that stability of players."

For example, Ole replaced Ighalo (31) with Cavani (34) as we have quite a lot of young attacking players.

I'd say the same for our centre midfielders, too. With Fred, Matic, and Pogba 28 or above, this may explain why Ole signed Vdb (23) and why he went in for Bellingham (17) and Moises Caicedo (19), and will probably continue to target a young centre midfielder but I guess that's for another thread.

Going back to centre back, as I said, I think Ole may be targeting a centre back with a high ceiling - someone he can slowly develop. If rumours are to be believed, we were after Upamecano (22) and were in talks with Gabriel's (22) representatives last season. Based on that, I feel signings Botman, Tapsoba, Kounde, Carmo, White, Bastoni, Zagadou, etc would all make sense.

It would then mean in two or three years, this player could step in as our first choice, whilst purchasing another centre back at that time. Of course, this all depends on the progress Tuanzebe, Mengi, and others make, too.
 
Walters_19_MuFc said:
With Lindelof and Bailly turning 27 soon and Maguire 28, I can't imagine Ole will bring in a centre-back of similar age like Varane, Koulibaly, etc.

People may not agree, but I don't think Ole is as worried at centre back position as some have alluded to. I also think the goals we concede are very rarely to do with individual errors from our centre backs, but more so set pieces, losing the ball in dangerous areas, etc. This article it explains it well.

Do I think we need a centre back? Yes, but I don't think we'll splash out on one. I think we could see a young, promising centre back, who will have the potential to take over when Maguire starts to hit the 30 bracket.

I say that because it seems like Ole is trying to emulate Sir Alex's transfer policy, regards age of players, which is something our previous managers were terrible at.

Gary Neville mentioned that Sir Alex's policy "was like a very slow conveyor belt. A few would come in, and a few would leave. Never more than a handful each season, never a massive adaptation of the squad.

"It was controlled, with six or seven young players, 10 in the middle, and three or four that were in their 30s. Every club that has had a dynasty has had that stability of players."

For example, Ole replaced Ighalo (31) with Cavani (34) as we have quite a lot of young attacking players.

I'd say the same for our centre midfielders, too. With Fred, Matic, and Pogba 28 or above, this may explain why Ole signed Vdb (23) and why he went in for Bellingham (17) and Moises Caicedo (19), and will probably continue to target a young centre midfielder but I guess that's for another thread.

Going back to centre back, as I said, I think Ole may be targeting a centre back with a high ceiling - someone he can slowly develop. If rumours are to be believed, we were after Upamecano (22) and were in talks with Gabriel's (22) representatives last season. Based on that, I feel signings Botman, Tapsoba, Kounde, Carmo, White, Bastoni, Zagadou, etc would all make sense.

It would then mean in two or three years, this player could step in as our first choice, whilst purchasing another centre back at that time. Of course, this all depends on the progress Tuanzebe, Mengi, and others make, too.
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I think you are probably overestimating how detailed our craft is when it comes to signing players. My hunch anyway. Think we signed Cavani as he was available, so opportunistic. And we could have got it done sooner, but were either saving cash on the wages or trying something else. Only a few months prior Ole wanted Josh King, 29.

VDB may not have been an Ole identified signing at all.

The only worry I have about the centre back issue is where it leaves Tuanzebe (assuming Bailly extends). I would love to see him get the opportunity Henderson is now getting.
 
Bastian said:
I think you are probably overestimating how detailed our craft is when it comes to signing players. My hunch anyway. Think we signed Cavani as he was available, so opportunistic. And we could have got it done sooner, but were either saving cash on the wages or trying something else. Only a few months prior Ole wanted Josh King, 29.

VDB may not have been an Ole identified signing at all.

The only worry I have about the centre back issue is where it leaves Tuanzebe (assuming Bailly extends). I would love to see him get the opportunity Henderson is now getting.
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I would have agreed with you if you said that when we had Moyes, Van Gaal and Mourinho, but not Ole.

Ole, since joining the club, has slowly but surely started to offload a lot of players, and whilst we're not 100% there, our squad is much better balanced in terms of positions and age. Personally, I think that is largely to do with the welcomed advice he's getting from Sir Alex, whereas I doubt the other three previous managers would have wanted that advice, given their experience.

As for Josh King, as you said, he's 29, which further backs up my point of Ole wanting an experienced player due to our young forward line.

Tuanzebe will hopefully get his chance but its a cut-throat career. Granted it hasn't been a lot, when given his chances, Axel has failed to impress.
 
Walters_19_MuFc said:
I would have agreed with you if you said that when we had Moyes, Van Gaal and Mourinho, but not Ole.

Ole, since joining the club, has slowly but surely started to offload a lot of players, and whilst we're not 100% there, our squad is much better balanced in terms of positions and age. Personally, I think that is largely to do with the welcomed advice he's getting from Sir Alex, whereas I doubt the other three previous managers would have wanted that advice, given their experience.

As for Josh King, as you said, he's 29, which further backs up my point of Ole wanting an experienced player due to our young forward line.

Tuanzebe will hopefully get his chance but its a cut-throat career. Granted it hasn't been a lot, when given his chances, Axel has failed to impress.
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He's not had too many chances has he, Tuanzebe. He was outstanding away in Paris and then there were a handful of appearances (not a run, if I recall). Some of which were as right back, or an extra defensive body in the last 20 minutes of matches to hold onto a lead.

The Josh King thing is really different to a 34 Cavani. Buying Josh King at 29 means we're set with a striker presumably for 3 years. That's low quality occupying an important position (even if that's being backup to Martial). Whereas Cavani is much higher quality and less of a bottle neck if there is an actual belief that we have a bona fide #9 coming through. Does Josh King have relevant experience for our forward line?

Maguire and AWB were thought out targets in the sense that they fit the cultural reboot, but playing out from the back (AWB) not soo much, or playing a high line (Maguire) - side note: I'm happy with both.

Our buying a right winger was a scattergun approach if ever there was one. Spending all summer waiting on Sancho and then pulling last minute raids for Pellistri and Amad.

Bruno was a jackpot win. I don't think anyone expected him to be as efficient as he has been, and such a leader in the team (kind of similar to Salah, in defying expectations).

I'm not saying there is no thought there, clearly there is, I'm just not totally buying into some super honed vision of where we're going. I think it's a bit of a vision and quite a bit of making it up as we go along. Which is also reflected in our team's performances over the last coupe of seasons.
 
Walters_19_MuFc said:
With Lindelof and Bailly turning 27 soon and Maguire 28, I can't imagine Ole will bring in a centre-back of similar age like Varane, Koulibaly, etc.

People may not agree, but I don't think Ole is as worried at centre back position as some have alluded to. I also think the goals we concede are very rarely to do with individual errors from our centre backs, but more so set pieces, losing the ball in dangerous areas, etc. This article it explains it well.

Do I think we need a centre back? Yes, but I don't think we'll splash out on one. I think we could see a young, promising centre back, who will have the potential to take over when Maguire starts to hit the 30 bracket.

I say that because it seems like Ole is trying to emulate Sir Alex's transfer policy, regards age of players, which is something our previous managers were terrible at.

Gary Neville mentioned that Sir Alex's policy "was like a very slow conveyor belt. A few would come in, and a few would leave. Never more than a handful each season, never a massive adaptation of the squad.

"It was controlled, with six or seven young players, 10 in the middle, and three or four that were in their 30s. Every club that has had a dynasty has had that stability of players."

For example, Ole replaced Ighalo (31) with Cavani (34) as we have quite a lot of young attacking players.

I'd say the same for our centre midfielders, too. With Fred, Matic, and Pogba 28 or above, this may explain why Ole signed Vdb (23) and why he went in for Bellingham (17) and Moises Caicedo (19), and will probably continue to target a young centre midfielder but I guess that's for another thread.

Going back to centre back, as I said, I think Ole may be targeting a centre back with a high ceiling - someone he can slowly develop. If rumours are to be believed, we were after Upamecano (22) and were in talks with Gabriel's (22) representatives last season. Based on that, I feel signings Botman, Tapsoba, Kounde, Carmo, White, Bastoni, Zagadou, etc would all make sense.

It would then mean in two or three years, this player could step in as our first choice, whilst purchasing another centre back at that time. Of course, this all depends on the progress Tuanzebe, Mengi, and others make, too.
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Good post, man. Can't fault Ole about always looking for United's best interest.
 
Bastian said:
He's not had too many chances has he, Tuanzebe. He was outstanding away in Paris and then there were a handful of appearances (not a run, if I recall). Some of which were as right back, or an extra defensive body in the last 20 minutes of matches to hold onto a lead.

The Josh King thing is really different to a 34 Cavani. Buying Josh King at 29 means we're set with a striker presumably for 3 years. That's low quality occupying an important position (even if that's being backup to Martial). Whereas Cavani is much higher quality and less of a bottle neck if there is an actual belief that we have a bona fide #9 coming through. Does Josh King have relevant experience for our forward line?

Maguire and AWB were thought out targets in the sense that they fit the cultural reboot, but playing out from the back (AWB) not soo much, or playing a high line (Maguire) - side note: I'm happy with both.

Our buying a right winger was a scattergun approach if ever there was one. Spending all summer waiting on Sancho and then pulling last minute raids for Pellistri and Amad.

Bruno was a jackpot win. I don't think anyone expected him to be as efficient as he has been, and such a leader in the team (kind of similar to Salah, in defying expectations).

I'm not saying there is no thought there, clearly there is, I'm just not totally buying into some super honed vision of where we're going. I think it's a bit of a vision and quite a bit of making it up as we go along. Which is also reflected in our team's performances over the last coupe of seasons.
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Still think it was a real shame that Axel was just cast aside rather than given a chance to partner Harry for a few games, he might have really gained some match rhythm from that and not come in cold for Sheff Utd & Everton
 
Bastian said:
He's not had too many chances has he, Tuanzebe. He was outstanding away in Paris and then there were a handful of appearances (not a run, if I recall). Some of which were as right back, or an extra defensive body in the last 20 minutes of matches to hold onto a lead.

The Josh King thing is really different to a 34 Cavani. Buying Josh King at 29 means we're set with a striker presumably for 3 years. That's low quality occupying an important position (even if that's being backup to Martial). Whereas Cavani is much higher quality and less of a bottle neck if there is an actual belief that we have a bona fide #9 coming through. Does Josh King have relevant experience for our forward line?

Maguire and AWB were thought out targets in the sense that they fit the cultural reboot, but playing out from the back (AWB) not soo much, or playing a high line (Maguire) - side note: I'm happy with both.

Our buying a right winger was a scattergun approach if ever there was one. Spending all summer waiting on Sancho and then pulling last minute raids for Pellistri and Amad.

Bruno was a jackpot win. I don't think anyone expected him to be as efficient as he has been, and such a leader in the team (kind of similar to Salah, in defying expectations).

I'm not saying there is no thought there, clearly there is, I'm just not totally buying into some super honed vision of where we're going. I think it's a bit of a vision and quite a bit of making it up as we go along. Which is also reflected in our team's performances over the last coupe of seasons.
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In terms of buying players of a certain age? You make it sound like it's rocket science. It really isn't!
 
croadyman said:
Still think it was a real shame that Axel was just cast aside rather than given a chance to partner Harry for a few games, he might have really gained some match rhythm from that and not come in cold for Sheff Utd & Everton
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In some way it’s a shame but that’s how it is for bench players. He played well against PSG but so did the whole defence. Then he got to play against Istanbul Basaksehir and was so bad he had to be taken off at half time. That experiment cost us the CL. After that Bailly was fit and both him and Lindelof (and Harry) have played well so there have not really been any need to change, and we couldn’t afford more experiments.
 
Only way I can see Varane here is if it’s a straight swap Pogba for Varane. I don’t think Madrid would want cash on top, straight swap. I can’t see them selling to us.
 
Cheekiey said:
Only way I can see Varane here is if it’s a straight swap Pogba for Varane. I don’t think Madrid would want cash on top, straight swap. I can’t see them selling to us.
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Why would they not sell to us if he wants to come here and he's on the last year of his contract with no intention to renew?
 
Adnan said:
At the same age Van Dijk was being rejected by the big clubs in Holland, who said he was all physicality. He spent 10 years at Willem II who didn't even offer him a contract. He was spotted by Groiningen's, Chief Scout, Martin Koeman (Father of Ronald Koeman) who reccomended him to the Sporting director at his club and cited the player was blessed with physicality and pace, which were very important attributes for a player in the Eredivisie. He then played well for Groningen and even asked the then Sporting director (Hans Nijland) to approach Ajax but Marc Overmars refused to sanction a deal and instead he sanctioned a deal for Utrecht CB, Mike Van den Hoorn.

And regards young Nathan Collins, I just hope he lives upto his potential. Because if he does, then he will be a very good CB for both club and country due to his attributes/profile.
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Superb post and thank you for sharing. I didn't know.
 
Infra-red said:
Leftie, very strong in the air, good on the ball and decent in 1v1s. Lille have the best defensive record in Europe's top five leagues this season and Botman has been ever-present.

One of the best options available for us this summer. Not as quick as Konate, though.
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Botman and Maguire
 
What about Alessio Romagnoli?

Contract expires in 2022, still only 26 and very experienced with over 180 games for AC Milan.

Left footed ball playing CB. 6'2 and good in the air.
 
TheReligion said:
What about Alessio Romagnoli?

Contract expires in 2022, still only 26 and very experienced with over 180 games for AC Milan.

Left footed ball playing CB. 6'2 and good in the air.
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I mentioned him a few weeks ago but only because Tomori who’s on loan at Milan from Chelsea is keeping Romagnoli out of the side or at least was, I’ve stopped watching Milan now they’re not a Europa rival.
 
davidmichael said:
I mentioned him a few weeks ago but only because Tomori who’s on loan at Milan from Chelsea is keeping Romagnoli out of the side or at least was, I’ve stopped watching Milan now they’re not a Europa rival.
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I'd be interested to hear your full assessment of him as a potential United signing?
 
TheReligion said:
I'd be interested to hear your full assessment of him as a potential United signing?
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I don’t watch much Italian football anymore, I used to love Serie A but barely watching coincided with Milan struggling as I grew up loving Milan as my second favourite team due to Van Basten.

My view is that if Tomori is able to go to Milan on loan from Chelsea and take Romagnoli’s place when Romagnoli is also Milan captain then it says a lot about Romagnoli, I used to see people rave about him years ago but haven’t seen anyone rave about him for a long time.

If we’re after a left footed centre back then Torres, Alaba or Botman would surely be way ahead of Romagnoli as our preferred options although I’d rather we look at aggressive centre backs with pace rather than simply getting a left footer simply because they’re left footed and I’d like us to look at Tapsoba from Leverkusen or Elvedi at Monchengladbach.
 
Benoît Badiashile should be mentioned as an option for left footed centre back, 65 apps for Monaco and just turned 20 last month.
 
I agree with the posters that have said that we may not sign a ready made CB to step in and may instead sign a young high potential CB (or maybe two). Bailly may leave so we have to replace him. Maybe Milenkovic as a cheap replacement and then another young CB who can be developed.
 
Infra-red said:
Leftie, very strong in the air, good on the ball and decent in 1v1s. Lille have the best defensive record in Europe's top five leagues this season and Botman has been ever-present.

One of the best options available for us this summer. Not as quick as Konate, though.
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If he's on the pitch and able to move he's one up on Konate.
 
Pau Torres seems to be geared up as a prime target, but I imagine he stays in Spain.
I'm not too sold on him. But tbh, I'm not sold on any of the names being mentioned.
It doesn't seem like any of them are a notable enough upgrade on Lindelof. They may have more pace, but then they lose ground in something else.
 
MattofManchester said:
Pau Torres seems to be geared up as a prime target, but I imagine he stays in Spain.
I'm not too sold on him. But tbh, I'm not sold on any of the names being mentioned.
It doesn't seem like any of them are a notable enough upgrade on Lindelof. They may have more pace, but then they lose ground in something else.
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With Bailly signing a new contract and Lindelof/Maguire having a strong finish to the season, if we do sign a centre back, I can only imagine it will be a young one with a high ceiling.
 
Walters_19_MuFc said:
With Bailly signing a new contract and Lindelof/Maguire having a strong finish to the season, if we do sign a centre back, I can only imagine it will be a young one with a high ceiling.
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Agreed. I don’t see Bailly signing a new contract to be fourth choice, even if it was only a two year extension to the current one. The only way I can see that working is Ole has said he’ll let him go if we get a good offer and sign another centre back.
 
Dan_F said:
Agreed. I don’t see Bailly signing a new contract to be fourth choice, even if it was only a two year extension to the current one. The only way I can see that working is Ole has said he’ll let him go if we get a good offer and sign another centre back.
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If he’s fourth choice at United, who would pay to match his salary? I don’t know his new salary but his old was reported €5 mill per year. Inthink it will be difficult for him to leave if he wants to keep that salary.
 
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