Rice has Chelsea written all over him. He'll probably force a move there, so we can write that one off imo. Zakaria or Koopmeiners should be the ones we look at. Either one should be attainable.
Potential Matic Replacements
- Thread starter FootyGirl88
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As unspectacular as Rice looks I think he can improve a lot in a better team and look like a very smart signing if the money wasn’t bananas. 100% a Fergie type of signing. Rice Pogba Bruno could work.
Pogba is done at this club. Rice is a good player but don’t feel his passing range is anywhere good enough to play DM for a team with title aspirations. Frankly, I’d rather stick with what we have and play Fred behind VdB and Bruno. Tons of energy and technical ability. Use the Pogba money to bring in Camavinga, who can cover at 6 and 8, just like McTominay. Luring a close to bankrupt Barca to part ways with De Jong, would be the dream.
Still think we will give Diallo a proper go on that RW when he comes in,yes I know he is similar age to Pellestri but see him as a first team squad player.
I would like us to sign a CB in January but are our top targets going to be available then.In regards to a DM I think that all hinges on how that Fred & McTominay combination perform for the rest of the season.
Depends. I imagine someone like Torres who has a release clause is available
What's Berge been like? Seeing as he's definitely not going to stay at Sheffield united and everyone thought he was a bit of a coup in the summer. @Blades1889
Yeah that would be great. What about getting Alaba in from Bayern to play in CDM? We might not have a chance there, now that we're firmly a UEFA Cup team.
Didn't realise he had a release clause and scored a quality header from a corner in a game the other day
In all honesty he’s been underwhelming when I’ve seen him at CDM. Big risk at his wages and age.
De Jong behind Fred and Fernandes would be an absolute dream.
Not necessarily. There's always this warning about going there just because it's the club you used to support. He would want to be guaranteed starting time and with the 100s of players they sign, they can't guarantee that.
At least we could say, ' we want you to make that position your own as Matic is nearer the end of his career, and we don't have a player in your position'
I dunno, I'd have both of our needs in that DM position being essentially the same, with the current players there making do rather than being the long-term holders of that position (pun intended). Chelsea have Kante and Jorginho there, while we have Fred, Matic and McTominay. Kante isn't positionally disciplined enough (same as Fred and McTominay) while Jorginho lacks the athleticism (similar to Matic who hasn't got the legs to play there anymore).
Like I said, the good thing is, there are plenty of alternatives for us to choose from. It isn't Rice or bust, in the same way as it was Sancho or bust last year. Even looking in the Prem, I'd take Yves Bissouma from Brighton or Wilfred Ndidi from Leicester in a heartbeat. Though, again, the options on the continent would be my first port of call.
I will take your word for it as I haven't seen him there recently I don't think. And its a risk with a big injury he's had.
So, ignore my putting his name forward.
Zakaria then?
I think we should be seriously considering Yves Bissouma.
Maybe offer £30m plus Pogba to Barca. They get a bigger marketing player to sell shirts plus a chunk of change. We can reunite De Jong and Van De Beek.
Then get De Ligt in the summer to complete the trio and plug the defensive gap!
Could do with him & Caciedo because would then have someone for first XI and a potentially talented backup too
Not familiar with him but it's clear Ole wants dogged players in the middle of the park, who can protect the back four, thus allowing our front four to attack.
If Caciedo is a similar player and one for the future, then as you said, it'd be good back up.
With Pogba and Matic potentially leaving the club next season, we're going to need options.
Worth checking out the thread on Caciedo if you want to know more about him, there are some interesting bits from some South American journos which will help to give you a better picture of the kind of player that he is and what he could offer to this team
Rice and Philips would be at the top of my list but we would need to West Ham or Leeds to go down to have any chance.
Would you prefer them to someone like Zakaria or Bissouma then
Leeds just might if they keep playin as open as they are.
Sergej Milinkovic Savic will be perfect
Always felt he was a Jose target
Yes, want players who I know will adapt well to English football and not complain about the weather or being homesick.
True, wonder how a Leeds lad would feel about joining Manchester United.
My concern about Bissouma is that he gets away with murder every week. And maybe this is unfounded, but in my head I see him getting booked more frequently if he was with us.
Right now the refs aren't as quick to card him because he is battling for little ol Brighton. But if he is with United, then they will book him for his first tackle.
I doubt it would matter, we’ve hot had a rivalry with them for how long, two decades? If he’s a real professional he’d make the move if he felt it was the right thing for his career.
Thats not my only concern. I should have clarified that it is just one concern. I also wonder if he is good enough of course, or maybe just looks decent in a small side. But for some reason I see him a yellow card machine.
I think this will split Utd fans but i’d go all in for Declan Rice
Sorry for dragging up a 5 day old post but I think the case for a DM in the Rice/Ndidi mode is made weaker by the fact that Pogba is one foot out of the door. In my view we needed a Rice type of player to anchor a three men midfield of Pogba - Bruno and another so as cover for Pogba's defensive weaknesses.
With him going and Bruno being so influential I think the smart money would be on using Scot/Fred/VDB next to a playmaking DM in the Carrick mode. In this way the team's build up from deep is improved massively and we no long rely on just Bruno to open up teams whilst McTominay/Fred provide the legs in a box to box role with VDB coming in depending on the opponent.
I'll have a look. Cheers!
Such a hard position to fill, but every top club seems to have one these days. My gut still tells me Ruben Neves, I just think he has so much more quality than the likes of Rice and Phillips, and although I really like the look of Zakaria, I haven't seen enough of him to know how he would adapt.
My barometer is judging how each player would perform in the latter stages of the CL, against the real top teams. Rice just seems way to technically limited to ever be comfortable at that level. The two best players at the moment in that role for me are Kimmich and Fabinho, and its difficult because I don't really see anyone near that level. Closest I can think is maybe Casemiro but he's not really at the level he was anymore.
My barometer is judging how each player would perform in the latter stages of the CL, against the real top teams. Rice just seems way to technically limited to ever be comfortable at that level. The two best players at the moment in that role for me are Kimmich and Fabinho, and its difficult because I don't really see anyone near that level. Closest I can think is maybe Casemiro but he's not really at the level he was anymore.
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Just bring in Koopmeiners and be done with it. Replaces the qualities that Matic had in his best and replaces Pogba’s deep playmaking ability as he’s a really gifted passer of the ball.
We already have our all action midfielders in Fred and McTominay
We already have our all action midfielders in Fred and McTominay
He actually really reminds you of Matic in many ways. Same build, same size, same ambling gait, same deceptive speed, same cool-headedness. But more one for forward runs into the box than Matic are, and not really a defensive midfielder. Also, not good enough for United, in my opinion.
He's not a CDM he's more of an 8, similar to Pogba really.
There's not a lot of good CDM that are available being honest. Some options would be Ndidi and Zakaria, although they would be really expensive. The ecuatorian youngsters Caicedo seems really promising but I doubt he's ready to fill a starting position.
I think that is a very valid concern indeed,who would you like to go for just out of interest.
To be fair we are playing 4231 anyway. I don‘t think we must sign specialist CDM.
Started looking at him for a while, got love his style. The pass spraying is amazing.
As a CDM or a more defensive CM that protects the defense?