Ah, that would be why then.
Potential Matic Replacements
- Thread starter FootyGirl88
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I’d love to see if we can get De Jong out of Barca, especially if the crap storm continues over there.
Unless we get Thiago it'll be a season of Matic having half a dozen good games, conking out and Ole having to pretend Fred or McTominay can do the job. Then next summer we'll try spending stupid money on Rice pudding.
Bump
How about Denis Zakaria? Is he any good?
injured.
I can’t believe this thread is 2 years old and the op says Matics form has been patchy since the second half of 2017.... and after a few good games instead of bringing in someone to be his understudy this year we ignore the problem and sign him up for 3 more years. More blatant mismanagement from above. It’s a hugely important and problematic position for us.
It looks certain we need a CB and a CDM to replace Matic in the coming windows, but I feel if Pogba goes, we’ll need a replacement for him too. Whilst VDB may have viewed as his replacement, we still need depth.
I’m hoping Zakaria comes back to full fitness and can push on.
I’m hoping Zakaria comes back to full fitness and can push on.
Had about 60m net spend and still need a CB RW(?) and DM. Sancho is still on the cards for RW and we should be looking at going in for Upamecano next season with his cheap release clause but why the hell didn't we go in for a DM? Matic can't play every game and Mctominay and Fred are not DMs. Could have gotten a cheap DM and loaned Mctominay out
I’m not sure that a Yorkshire boy would leave an exciting Leeds team for a Man Utd that is struggeling, but Kalvin Phillips looks like a nobrainer.
Ideally Rice or Ndidi.
Yeah I’m a sucker for a DM with that sniper pass on them. A perhaps more attainable option to Phillips though would be Koopmeiners who could very well prove to be the better player aswell.
Two years on from this post and we’re still no nearer to replacing him!
The Sheffield United guy?
Have to admit, only seen him a couple of times but he has impressed me. Much better passer than I thought he was.
Gave him a new contract
To be fair, we’re probably planning to replace Nani first and then move onto this one in 2026Gave him a new contract
Rice because we’ve no chance at getting Camavinga
We should look for one outside our league or else we'll be repeating 'The manager wasn't backed' line in future transfer windows because we'll have overpaid for either Kalvin Phillips or Declan Rice.
Declan Rice - he speaks with authority and confidence - we need strong personalities here, with leadership qualities. But I'm aware of his links to Chelsea, so could be challenging if he wants to go play with his academy mates such as Mount as James. Ndidi would be second choice. Either will cost a ton, but in my opinion will be worth it in the long run, and hopefully affordable with a good Pogba sale.
Some more DM's will emerge. This time a year ago the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Koopmeiners and Camavinga emerged for the first time.
But you can be sure Ole will be keeping an eye on the next generation of defensive midfield/deep-lying wonderkids out there - Argentinian Federico Redondo, Bulgarian Dimo Krastev of Fiorentina, Croatian Tomislav Duvnjak of Dinamo Zagreb, Edouard Michut 'The new Veratti' at PSG,
Norway's Odin Thiago Holm at Valerenga...
But you can be sure Ole will be keeping an eye on the next generation of defensive midfield/deep-lying wonderkids out there - Argentinian Federico Redondo, Bulgarian Dimo Krastev of Fiorentina, Croatian Tomislav Duvnjak of Dinamo Zagreb, Edouard Michut 'The new Veratti' at PSG,
Norway's Odin Thiago Holm at Valerenga...
Under the radar and you wont hear this name for another year or two if you dont follow French football but I was impressed by the FC Bordeaux's Toma Basic every time I watched him play. He was supposed to sign for AC Milan for 10 million this summer, for some reason he didnt. I watched him play a couple of times and every time I thought what does Declar Rice have that this guy doesnt. Nothing. And he can be had for about 10 million.
But just watch him go to AC Milan or a team like that and then in 2 or 3 years we will inquire about him and he might be valued at 35 million. We rarely make under the radar signings.
I still think its madness we didnt sign Fabinho when we had the chance. What the hell were we looking at, we should have jumped on that. Inexcusable. We just made too many errors of judgement in recent memory especially in regards to our midfield.
But just watch him go to AC Milan or a team like that and then in 2 or 3 years we will inquire about him and he might be valued at 35 million. We rarely make under the radar signings.
I still think its madness we didnt sign Fabinho when we had the chance. What the hell were we looking at, we should have jumped on that. Inexcusable. We just made too many errors of judgement in recent memory especially in regards to our midfield.
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Im down for a Redondo!
Federico Valverde. Maybe Cavani can play agent for us.
Two years later, and you were.And people thought i was mad at the time
I could just as easily say right now that Greenwood is finished. In 15 years, I'll be right. But by the same token, I'll have been wrong for the intervening 15 years.
We need someone who is positionally good, can control the tempo of the game, and be a link between defence and attack. Like a Thiago, Alonso or Carrick.
What about Ruben Neves? Is there a chance to get him?
Bit of a random shout - not sure if he’s been mentioned already - but I quite like the look of Brighton's Yves Bissouma.
I think Neves would be absolutely ideal for us in that deep role.
He is one of those players whose performances go under the radar, but I think he is an outstanding talent.
Would 1000% depend on what happens with Pogba. If he somehow gets back playing in the 2 then Neves mobility would be a huge issue.
If he keeps playing further forward (as he should) then it's not as much of an issue and I'd like to see Neves here.
If you accept this or not but DM signing should be our top most priority as he can unleash the power of Pogba/Bruno
Personally, I don't see it that way, Neves would come in to compliment Pogba & Bruno, bringing a bit more balance and tenacity, and freeing Pogba up a bit more.
If his performances go under the radar then he's not really outstanding. He's a good player but for the price Wolves would want we could do better, they're loaded so his price would be well north of £60m and I think we should be looking to move away from signing players of that calibre for those prices.
I'm still aboard the Zakaria train but we've no solid links to him which is a bit of a shame. @Sparky Rhiwabon I quite like the look of Bissouma as well, if he were avialbale for a decent price he may well be worth the gamble. If Madrid come in for Pogba maybe we should be cheeky and see if we can pinch Valverde in a swap deal, although that's very unlikely.
Pogba is not a player your build a team around, that would be Bruno.
I’d rather he be completely free and we bring in Grealish and a DM.
Grealish, Rashford, Bruno, Greenwood, Haaland, Martial.
Creativity and firepower with pellistri and the other lad maybe coming through.
One can dream.
80million will get you Grealish. We're not going to spend it and I doubt any team is. He's at Villa for the next 3 years at least
I see us linked with Zakaria, though I'm not one to know when it's a poor source.
Why I can see Zakaria moving here is because he can play as a CB, CDM and CM a bit like Fabinho.
We need this more than ever since we play 352.
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Zakaria or Koopmeiners for me. If Tuanzebe develops into a starter Koopmeiners is the better shout. If not then I can see the benefit of having a better recovery runner despite the drop in passing quality.
Timothy Fosu-Mensah has great pace, a very good engine, looked great as a defender when he came on and has NO attacking capabilities. He used to play as a DM in the Academy and dominated. He looks like a carbon copy of Kante (who was in his mid-20s when he broke through with Leicester) and could be perfect in the Makelele role.