Thanks! Interesting, I wasn't even aware of this guy.
Potential Centre-Back Signings
- Thread starter sullydnl
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Thanks! Interesting, I wasn't even aware of this guy.
Yeah, if my memory is good I think he has been linked with us a few seasons ago. In terms of ball-playing left-footed CB to rotate with Licha he could be a real bargain.
We should really be looking to sign a depth cheap young defender, even someone with a lower ceiling like Stanisic for Bayern, if we're letting go of Maguire, a RB, Williams, Telles, Jones and Bailly and only bringing in Frimpong and a CB to replace Maguire. Gotta be a player in League 1 or the Champo running down his contract or someone decent elsewhere in the UK or Ireland.
Have a feeling the L Martinez injury has maybe changed ETH priorities, he’s obsessed with a left footer playing LCB and Left footer playing Left Back. Probably wants to sell Maguire, keep Lindelof, but Victor as captain of Sweden wants to play can see him going to Milan or Inter Milan in a player plus cash deal, we probably value at £30m and Inter Value Bastoni at £60M and AC Milan value Tomari at £60M.
I think ETH believes R Varane body is letting him down he doesn’t rate H Maguire and if he can get £30-40M for him he will sell. Both Lindelof and Maguire Are close to 30 and not the quickest around. If United could get even £50-60m for both and spend another £30-40m on top of that for K Min Jae(40M release) and then get either A Bastoni or F Tomari(£55M) we are set for next 5/6 years. Add Frimpong for £35M, keep AWB and Dalot as Dalot can play LB as well and so could either Bastoni or F Tomari, I’d get rid of Mallacia, hugely unimpressed and our defender options for next year would be ; AWB(HG), Frimpong(HG), Dalot, R Varane, K Min Jae, L Martinez, A Bastoni Or F Tomari( HG)L Shaw(HG),A Fernandes(HG),
Nine Defenders, 4 or 5 HG, Alvaro Fernandes coming through, Good pace, physicality and we address the high issues by only having Frimpong at 5’8 and L Martinez at 5’9. Varane 6’3, Bastoni 6’3, K Min Jae 6’2, A Fernandes 6’2, D Dalot 6’1, AWB 6’0, L Shaw 6’0.
I think Mallacia is just not united class, reminds me of a decent Palace player and playing him, Martinez and Frimpong in the sane game, I could see we us get targeted massively at set pieces in PL.
I think ETH believes R Varane body is letting him down he doesn’t rate H Maguire and if he can get £30-40M for him he will sell. Both Lindelof and Maguire Are close to 30 and not the quickest around. If United could get even £50-60m for both and spend another £30-40m on top of that for K Min Jae(40M release) and then get either A Bastoni or F Tomari(£55M) we are set for next 5/6 years. Add Frimpong for £35M, keep AWB and Dalot as Dalot can play LB as well and so could either Bastoni or F Tomari, I’d get rid of Mallacia, hugely unimpressed and our defender options for next year would be ; AWB(HG), Frimpong(HG), Dalot, R Varane, K Min Jae, L Martinez, A Bastoni Or F Tomari( HG)L Shaw(HG),A Fernandes(HG),
Nine Defenders, 4 or 5 HG, Alvaro Fernandes coming through, Good pace, physicality and we address the high issues by only having Frimpong at 5’8 and L Martinez at 5’9. Varane 6’3, Bastoni 6’3, K Min Jae 6’2, A Fernandes 6’2, D Dalot 6’1, AWB 6’0, L Shaw 6’0.
I think Mallacia is just not united class, reminds me of a decent Palace player and playing him, Martinez and Frimpong in the sane game, I could see we us get targeted massively at set pieces in PL.
N'Dicka, he is literally free, great cover for Martinez as he's a left footed tall CB and is only 23
the problem is we overrate the clubs ability to do that level of wheeling and dealing. Unfortunately they havent shown the ability to move players in and out that efficiently. Would be nice if it was as easy as we would want to see. Add in ownership saga i just dont see how this window can be efficient enough to do this with our backline and still add to our midfield and glaring CF hole.
My choice
Lucas Martinez "Quarta" from Fiorentina, ex- River Plate. Had half an eye on him since then, but he's having a great all-action CB season in Serie A.
Reasons he's my pick :
- Communication with Lisandro Martinez, both Argentine
- 6 feet tall so taller than Martinez and wins the ball a lot in the air. Thats a strength of his, which would help Lisandro
- Although South American/Argentine he's already adapted to and doing very well in Serie A in the past year
Not as good on the ball as Lisandro, but wants to win the ball just as much and stronger in the air. An upgrade on Varane, Lindelof and Maguire imo whilst being a great partner for Lisandro, whilst also having the bravery and defensive appetite to enjoy doing plenety of it, which we miss when like right now Lisandro isnt starting. So works with and without him.
Look like good shout. Is he quick?
We will get no more than 20m for Maguire considering his wages. Tomori is a player I really like but can't see Milan taking Lindelöf or Maguire.
Can I just ask under what circumstances you think we can offload Maguire never mind for 30/40mn? Which clubs do you think would be interested or able to pay that fee while matching his salary? It just seems a bit pie in the sky to me.
Malacia is not maybe the required standard at the moment but he is young and one of the only players that if we develop him, we can sell for a good profit in the future. He's also quite good technically and tactically so is just a really useful profile for us at the minute. His decision making needs major improvement particularly in attacking phases but he's miles better than Williams and Telles so I just don't see replacing him as a priority at all.
I would probably try to offload AWB as soon as possible while his stock is at the highest its been since he joined. He still has too many deficiencies to ever be a really good player for us but could imagine getting a decent fee from a team like PSG or another European club that he has personally performed well against in the past.
Nobody is free though. Supposed to be looking for a big signing on fee and wages. Still probably not a bad option.
Watching a game like this, I could see Ten Hag going back for Timber. We're just not very good in possession when Shaw or Lisandro aren't at LCB, and Timber would give us an organizer on the ball on the right at least.
I have a yorkshire terrier only 10 inches tall but presses the ball like crazy when the kids have a kick about, wouldn't be worse than Maguire.
Buy all the centre backs.
Napoli's Korean CB. Varane is injury prone anyways.
Give me Champions League Upamecano at this rate.
Yeah kept Napoli very quiet
DeLigt
Facundo Medina from Lens should be an immediate buy. His an Argentinian like our own Licha, is young around 6'1 so is not a midget either.
His main strength is in his ball playing ability. According to FBref, has a weekly wage of 2300 euros. I know some people who make more in real. His profile: https://fbref.com/en/players/6f5ec8bb/Facundo-Medina
Is not going to be too expensive and should be a no brainer.
His main strength is in his ball playing ability. According to FBref, has a weekly wage of 2300 euros. I know some people who make more in real. His profile: https://fbref.com/en/players/6f5ec8bb/Facundo-Medina
Is not going to be too expensive and should be a no brainer.
How good is Kim Min Jae with the ball? Not sure ETH is that keen on him.
His ability to play a high defense is top notch and seriously, financially a player like that who would come with like 30m South Korean fans basically pays for himself, but we will be looking at the ball players.
His ability to play a high defense is top notch and seriously, financially a player like that who would come with like 30m South Korean fans basically pays for himself, but we will be looking at the ball players.
As a backup maybe, but most likely we want to pair Lisandro with a right footed partner to his right. He plays left CB in a 3. So he's one of the furthest from being a partner for him. Shaw for example at least plays in a 2 man CB partnership when he plays CB, so even he is a more suited partner.
I'd be quite annoyed if we don't even compete for Kim.
Ideally we’d get someone reasonable however if Kim is as good as people say he is then just spend the money. Sorting a position out with top class talent for 6/7 years is something you don’t pass up. Especially given Varane’s fitness issues.
He's a left footed unfortunately. We are looking for someone who can be rotated with Varane who we have concern with his injuries.
It's a LCB we need as we shouldn't have to be playing Shaw there when Martinez isn't available (even if he has been pretty good). We should get Ndicka. I think we're okay at RCB with Varane, Lindelof and Bailly as options for next season.
Defensive-wise, I can agree it is a different story playing with 2 or 3 CBs and requires different responsibilities for different spaces, but in possession, I think formations are barely just numbers and we should have a closer look at the principles of play and shape of the team while in possession to see the whole picture.
Here is Medina's passing map this season with what should be an average shape of Lens as a team in possession.
What we can see is that there are numerous similarities in the way they are positioned and how our usual shape was in most of our matches and I previously described that here. One difference that I forget to mention here is that when we have both Shaw at LB and Rasfhord at LW we can see a passage of play when Shaw maintains the width and Rashford attacks the half-space.
My point is that, despite roles being different, the positioning of players, the spaces they occupy, and the passing lanes are very much like ours so Medina should be ok with what is his strongest ability as a CB - progressing the ball further up the pitch.
When you already mentioned Shaw, the truth is that Shaw already showed that he can be a backup for Licha and we could be looking for someone to rotate with Varane instead. But if Lindelof can maintain his recent form and cover the RCB position, it will be a big positive for our performances with Medina in our squad that we could rest Licha and play Shaw at his natural LB position without having to field Maguire.
That alone makes him an attractive option as he shouldn't cost much and if we are looking for a rotation option for LCB position he could be the best bargain option in the market.
Defensive-wise, I can agree it is a different story playing with 2 or 3 CBs and requires different responsibilities for different spaces, but in possession, I think formations are barely just numbers and we should have a closer look at the principles of play and shape of the team while in possession to see the whole picture.
Here is Medina's passing map this season with what should be an average shape of Lens as a team in possession.
What we can see is that there are numerous similarities in the way they are positioned and how our usual shape was in most of our matches and I previously described that here. One difference that I forget to mention here is that when we have both Shaw at LB and Rasfhord at LW we can see a passage of play when Shaw maintains the width and Rashford attacks the half-space.
My point is that, despite roles being different, the positioning of players, the spaces they occupy, and the passing lanes are very much like ours so Medina should be ok with what is his strongest ability as a CB - progressing the ball further up the pitch.
When you already mentioned Shaw, the truth is that Shaw already showed that he can be a backup for Licha and we could be looking for someone to rotate with Varane instead. But if Lindelof can maintain his recent form and cover the RCB position, it will be a big positive for our performances with Medina in our squad that we could rest Licha and play Shaw at his natural LB position without having to field Maguire.
That alone makes him an attractive option as he shouldn't cost much and if we are looking for a rotation option for LCB position he could be the best bargain option in the market.
I see. Yeah as a backup that does fit. And if we were to play a 3 at the back we could potentially have Lisandro at CB, Medina at LCB and Shaw could be in the LM role. Not sure he'd want to be our backup though rather than starting somewhere that doesnt have Lisandro Martinez already.
Can't say I've seen enough of him but is he so good that you guys would be prepared to potentially defer the signing of a quality midfielder or striker because we spent €40mn on a position we already have 3/4 options on the books (Varane, Maguire, Lindelof and Tuanzebe).
Would want both if we had the money
L'Equipe suggesting we're one of several sides interested in Todibo from Nice.
I want the lad Thiaw that plays for AC Milan. This guy will be a top defender and we have to go all in for him.
He will be immense for us and the potential is massive.
He will be immense for us and the potential is massive.
Looks a great player, but there’s no way we’re getting him. He’s too good and Martinez is too young.
Agreed.
Didn't know he was left footed, so doesn't really make a lot of sense for us considering we have Martinez. Todibo on the other hand could represent a good deal and at 23 years of age, he has the ability to be a good rotation option for the RCB spot.
How much this guy is going to cost I wonder?
The most OGC Nice have ever received for a outgoing transfer is €30m, when they sold Jean Michael Seri to Fulham in 2018. Last year they sold Amine Gouri to Rennes for €28m (£24m) which is their second highest fee received for a outgoing transfer.
I think around £30m might be enough for Todibo.
Maxence Lacroix
It looks like weare intersted in Goncalo Inacio. He is a great defender even a starter. Let's face it, Varane is great but too injury prone. We need a starter CB.
KMJ from Napoli seems a good option suited next to Licha - due to his release clause. Would be interesting to see if we’d be able to lure him away as he’d be competing with RV (when he’s not injured) for a starting spot.
More than enough rotation to give everyone minutes though, plus a higher salary and hopefully also UCL football on offer.
More than enough rotation to give everyone minutes though, plus a higher salary and hopefully also UCL football on offer.
I haven't seen enough of KMJ but one thing that concerns me is that he looks like a big lump of a defender a la Maguire and that he may not have the capacity to do the things Lisandro does at LCB in that he can receive the ball and progress it out of defence while under pressure. It's something I feel is really important especially if we want to play out from the back and even more especially if DDG is extended as he is not good at pass selection under pressure and defenders and midfielders are frequently given hospital passes.
His passing and carrying looks good but I often look at successful take on percentage as a crude proxy for press resistance and his is not good. Maybe someone with more familiarity with him can set me at ease though.