Potential Herrera Replacements

If we are serious about getting a proper DMF along with replacing Herrera, than we either promote from withing, pursue a free agent or find ourselves some gem for cheap.

I think we should pursue Rabiot on a free. It's a no brainer for me, he's a very good player and can play DMF and B2B imo. Yes he comes with some luggage but nothing that we can't handle.

Then there's the option of promoting from within. Can we invest time in Pereira? Does he have enough in his locker? I rate him as a talent, but something is not quite right, it seems like he can do better but Ole should know the right thing.

Do we have another young CM in the youth teams ready to step in? I know about Garner but he's more of a DMF.
Dylan Levitt and Angel Gomes are both very talented CMs. I actually rate Levitt higher than Garner.
 
Well take Roma's Pellegrini for example, both him and his agent have come out and said they're happy and Roma and are not looking to leave Italy. Brandt is a German talent with a low release clause, he's got Bayern (whom are coincidentally in need of replacing their ageing wingers) written all over him. Also he does his best work on the left side and through the middle.

It's more of being a realist, than deluded really. Wolverhampton have Mendes pulling the strings and have sufficient financial power not to be having to sell their top players under market value. Now keep in mind that City made their interest in him known last season and you have quotes of Pep professing the love for his talent and distaste for the prices quoted (around 100 m). Fernandinho needs replacing and he'll fit them like a glove, get to work with one of the best manager's in the world and will challenge for the trophies.

Roma is a mess atm on and off the field, so both him and Zaniolo might want to jump that sinking ship. Also, we now that wages might influence this, and we could double Pellegrinis wages and he would still earn less than Herrera does now. Brandt might be off to Bayern, but we should still be after him.

Spending £60m+ on Neves (which he will cost) is not a good deal.
 
I wonder about moving Lingard back into a central role. He's never played well for us on the right and only gets games there because it's been such a weak position for us in recent years. His best form was as a #10 and he did reasonably well for England as a central attacking midfielder at the world cup. He's experienced and while he's nothing like Herrera in terms of defensive positioning and 1 on 1 defending he does press extremely well which is something I want to see us doing a lot more next season. It would also save us a transfer fee.

Of course playing him and Pogba in the same midfield would require a significantly better DM than Matic but we should be making that upgrade anyway.
 
We should at least be considering options to bid for Pellegrini and/or Barella,neither will break the bank!
 
Easy but potentially very expensive.
Yes. It will be expensive but it's a good chance for us to get an upgrade in that position. My only fear is buying someone like Fred for 50m. Whoever we buy needs to be starting immediately for us and should be an obvious improvement.
 
Roma is a mess atm on and off the field, so both him and Zaniolo might want to jump that sinking ship. Also, we now that wages might influence this, and we could double Pellegrinis wages and he would still earn less than Herrera does now. Brandt might be off to Bayern, but we should still be after him.

Spending £60m+ on Neves (which he will cost) is not a good deal.

Could be but if that is to be the case, Napoli, Inter, Milan and of course Juventus would all be willing to offer them a way out, double their current wages and enable them to stay in Italy.
 
I wonder about moving Lingard back into a central role. He's never played well for us on the right and only gets games there because it's been such a weak position for us in recent years. His best form was as a #10 and he did reasonably well for England as a central attacking midfielder at the world cup. He's experienced and while he's nothing like Herrera in terms of defensive positioning and 1 on 1 defending he does press extremely well which is something I want to see us doing a lot more next season. It would also save us a transfer fee.

Of course playing him and Pogba in the same midfield would require a significantly better DM than Matic but we should be making that upgrade anyway.
It's an interesting option. But we'll need someone like Kante in the DM role to make that work.
 


Now this would be how to upgrade big time over Herrera,really hope it's true. He'd have the potential to become the best holding/defensive mid in the Prem
 


Now this would be how to upgrade big time over Herrera,really hope it's true. He'd have the potential to become the best holding/defensive mid in the Prem


Now we're talking! Quick someone open a thread for Thomas
 
I still find it laughable how many people think a player with the commitment and character of Hererra could be replaced by someone like Rabiot...
 
Allan is the outstanding choice - the engine, tenacity and ball-winning ability of Kante, combined with typically Brazilian technical traits and a good passing range. He'd cost a fortune, though (PSG reportedly had an €80m offer turned down).
 


Now this would be how to upgrade big time over Herrera,really hope it's true. He'd have the potential to become the best holding/defensive mid in the Prem

As a DM this could be a very good move- I wonder how does his stats compare with the best players over here in the PL? Or even some other players we got linked with like Rice ?
 
Allan is the outstanding choice - the engine, tenacity and ball-winning ability of Kante, combined with typically Brazilian technical traits and a good passing range. He'd cost a fortune, though (PSG reportedly had an €80m offer turned down).

Agreed. But he's also 28. Worried his all-action style will disappear sooner than expected.
Also Ole wants to recruit younger.
 
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We can replace him.

Ndombele: 20 M
Eriksen: 25 M
Neves: 15 M

And if we want to splurge we can upgrade our attack with Sancho: 45 M

:D Makes a change to see someone with ridiculously optimistically low prices as opposed to every good young player being £80 million+

But ehh... Not going to happen
 
As a DM this could be a very good move- I wonder how does his stats compare with the best players over here in the PL? Or even some other players we got linked with like Rice ?


He's more like Fred. But mainly a dribbler, with a bit of tackling and passing mixed in.

If we get a real DM instead of Matic, he's probably better than Ander going forward in that RCM role.

If we stick with Matic god help our defense
 
He's more like Fred. But mainly a dribbler, with a bit of tackling and passing mixed in.

If we get a real DM instead of Matic, he's probably better than Ander going forward in that RCM role.

If we stick with Matic god help our defense
So he can't replace Matic you thinking? I was thinking he could slot in DM shielding the back four and we could fit an even better passer at RCM. Otherwise it could be too defensive.
 
So he can't replace Matic you thinking? I was thinking he could slot in DM shielding the back four and we could fit an even better passer at RCM. Otherwise it could be too defensive.

He can play the deepest in a 2 man midfield, but isn't a DM in a 3 man system where one man is specialized in sitting no. So he would directly replace Ander's role, not Matic's
 
Brooks, Rice and Madison. With Sancho, Hudson - Odoi, Wan Bissaka also signed. Bring Tuanzebe, Laird, Gomes, Greenwood, Henderson and Garner into the squad and we would have a potentially cracking team/squad, exclusively English, apart from Brooks.
 
I still find it laughable how many people think a player with the commitment and character of Hererra could be replaced by someone like Rabiot...

People are obviously thinking about who can replace Herrera’s position in the side - right centre midfield. Rabiot on a free makes him an obvious candidate. How is that a laughable notion? Do we have to go out looking for the player closest to Herrera in attitude and attributes in your opinion?
 
We're looking for a bit of a unicorn in truth. I don't believe people appreciate the dual contribution that Herrera offers in terms of defensive work rate to assist Matic along with attacking contribution to assist Pogba and our attackers.

For example my ideal replacement would be Neves as he offers the same variety of contribution at Wolves and is only 22 so has a greater potential. However when you compare it's clear that Herrera is still far ahead of Neves in terms of his contribution.

Likewise Neves is likely to cost £60m.

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The truth lies somewhere in between. Revised prices:

Ndombele: 25 M
Eriksen : 35 M
Neves: 25 M
Sancho: 55 M + add-ons.
Come on... You can’t be that out of touch with modern football. I have a feeling you’re just on the wind up, so I’ll leave you to it.
 
Personally, i would go for Tielemans, he wouldn't cost as much as the players stated above and is doing well at Leicester.
 
Agreed. But he's also 28. Worried his all-action style will disappear sooner than expected.
Also Ole wants to recruit younger.

In that case, F.Ruiz or Aouar would be my picks. Excellent all-rounders who can contribute greatly in both the attacking and defensive phases of play.
 
Personally, i would go for Tielemans, he wouldn't cost as much as the players stated above and is doing well at Leicester.
Got to get over the inconsistency. There’s no doubting his talent

As JPRouve stated, the problems are in his head
 
We're looking for a bit of a unicorn in truth. I don't believe people appreciate the dual contribution that Herrera offers in terms of defensive work rate to assist Matic along with attacking contribution to assist Pogba and our attackers.

For example my ideal replacement would be Neves as he offers the same variety of contribution at Wolves and is only 22 so has a greater potential. However when you compare it's clear that Herrera is still far ahead of Neves in terms of his contribution.

Likewise Neves is likely to cost £60m.

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Good post, though I would say as much as anything it shows the hype around Neves a bit. He's obviously a good ball player, but there seems to be this idea that with him in the team we'll dominate the ball. But Wolves dont do that. They play on the counter-attack like we do, and Neves is a cog in that machine like other players such as Moutinho.

Moutinho being the direct comparison with Ander, because he's the one who wins the ball a lot but also gets forward and supports attacks.

I'm not saying Neves isn't capable of being a deep lying playmaker in a team that dominates possession. But I am saying that he doesnt currently do that with Wolves and like Wolves we're a counter attacking team. So just adding him to our team probably isnt going to suddenly change us from a team that wants to counter attack to one that dominates possession against all our opponents.

Most likely we'd just get better at counter attacking. And unless Neves gets help defensively we may be weaker defensively than Ander+Matic too.
 
Dylan Levitt and Angel Gomes are both very talented CMs. I actually rate Levitt higher than Garner.
I’ve seen people rave about Levitt but not seen much so can’t comment. Garner has had some exceptional recognition by both Ole and Jose previously(by selecting him if i’m Not mistaken). Angel is very talented but can he cope in midfield with his frame just yet?
 
I wonder about moving Lingard back into a central role. He's never played well for us on the right and only gets games there because it's been such a weak position for us in recent years. His best form was as a #10 and he did reasonably well for England as a central attacking midfielder at the world cup. He's experienced and while he's nothing like Herrera in terms of defensive positioning and 1 on 1 defending he does press extremely well which is something I want to see us doing a lot more next season. It would also save us a transfer fee.

Of course playing him and Pogba in the same midfield would require a significantly better DM than Matic but we should be making that upgrade anyway.
Jesus Christ this place. On what planet is Jesse Lingard a defensive central midfielder? Based on what evidence would he be a good replacement for Herrera in a central midfield role? Do people come on this forum and post shite just for something to do or because they are bored? While we're at it, let's try Chris Smalling as our striker because he's tall and a good header of the ball. And maybe Lidelof can replace Matic because he is comfortable passing the ball from deep positions. Juan Mata writes a thoughtful, intelligent blog so maybe he should replace Ole as manager. Fred the Red puts in a shift at halftime entertaining the patrons so maybe he could do a job on RW for us next year instead of signing Sancho.
 
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Jesus Christ this place. On what planet is Jesse Lingard a defensive central midfielder? Based on what evidence would he be a good replacement for Herrera in a central midfield role? Do people come on this forum and post shite just for something to do or because they are bored? While we're at it, let's try Chris Smalling as our striker because he's tall and a good header of the ball. And maybe Lidelof can replace Matic because he is comfortable passing the ball from deep positions. Juan Mata writes a thoughtful, intelligent blog so maybe he should replace Ole as manager. Fred the Red puts in a shift at halftime entertaining the patrons so maybe he could do a job on RW for us next year instead of signing Sancho.

I didn't suggest Lingard play as a defensive midfielder. I said we could use him in a central role. Lots of top midfields consist of one defensive midfielder and then two more creative, attacking players. For example Fernandinho, Silva, De Bryune or Casemiro, Modric, Kroos or Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta. At the world cup England used Henderson as the defensive midfielder with Ali and Lingard ahead of him and Lingard played fine. United could try him in that role alongside Pogba and with a single DM behind them.
 
Good post, though I would say as much as anything it shows the hype around Neves a bit. He's obviously a good ball player, but there seems to be this idea that with him in the team we'll dominate the ball. But Wolves dont do that. They play on the counter-attack like we do, and Neves is a cog in that machine like other players such as Moutinho.

Moutinho being the direct comparison with Ander, because he's the one who wins the ball a lot but also gets forward and supports attacks.

I'm not saying Neves isn't capable of being a deep lying playmaker in a team that dominates possession. But I am saying that he doesnt currently do that with Wolves and like Wolves we're a counter attacking team. So just adding him to our team probably isnt going to suddenly change us from a team that wants to counter attack to one that dominates possession against all our opponents.

Most likely we'd just get better at counter attacking. And unless Neves gets help defensively we may be weaker defensively than Ander+Matic too.

I think Moutinho plays more of the Matic role in truth. Different player but both charged with good positioning and the idea is he's supposed to set the tempo.

I think Neves and Kante are the closest players to Herrera in the league (maybe Guaye also but I feel he'd be a big downgrade) and since we're unlikely to replace both Matic and Herrera we have a real conundrum.

I think we either look for a replacement for Matic who will be able to adequately cover for Pogba and Fred... Or we look for an all rounder who're a rare breed like Herrera.

If we opt for the former then we have to change the way we play, hope that Fred improves dramatically and I best £80+m. If we opt for the latter we either splurge £80+m on one of the best "Herrera type" players in the world, or spend £50-60m on a Neves type and hope he improves in time.

Anyone who thinks a £40m investment without a huge amount of fortune is going to seamlessly slot into Herrera's position and improve the team in my view is deluded.

Some of the more attacking options mentioned would simply mean Pogba having to defend more and probably failing at that task.
 
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Kante & Eriksen will sort it out. We will have top midfield trio and in additional it will weakened two of our rival. Worth the penny if you ask me.
 
I wouldn't mind Thomas Partey but I just saw a video of James Garner and what an incredible talent we already possess. The guy's vision and composure is awesome.

 
Ndidi or Gueye are better than Herrera. Even Doucoure. There's lots of quality out there.
 
I wouldn't mind Thomas Partey but I just saw a video of James Garner and what an incredible talent we already possess. The guy's vision and composure is awesome.



Yep, he's very talented, he should be in the squad for the Barcelona game.
 
Not particularly my ideal choice, but can’t shake the feeling that we’ll sell Herrera and bring in Rabiot to replace him, and Declan Rice to phase out Matic (never really liked Matic).

Neves and Ndombele would be much better choices, albeit super expensive. Guess we also need to reinforce RB, CB & RW too.
 
Just read that we offered Rakitic when he was a kid a lot of money to sign for us. His dad refused. Well, it would be great to sign him now. He would be just perfect:drool: