Radja Nainggolan

PoTMS said:
We've let so many promising midfielders go to other clubs in the past. Just off the top of my head Gundogan, Verratti, Alli, Kante, Nainggolan, Eriksen, both Dembele's all gone for snips. That said, he would've probably turned into Anderson under us.
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I've often wondered this myself, I wouldn't mind seeing the club taking one or two risks on players like this because you just never know. Yes some will turn out like Bebe and Obertan, the club will look stupid but we could unearth a few gems like Vidic for example.
 
I can only see sense in signing this guy if we also sign a holding midfielder. Against weaker teams we can play with a three of pogba/herrera/Nianggolan with Herrera holding, but against the best sides we need a proper anchor.
 
ROFLUTION said:
Is this the smart way of signing players though? 40 m gbp+ for a 29 year old where you can't recoup any of the fee later beacause of age. He might have 2-3 good seasons in him. Great player though.
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3 good seasons would mean 13 mln plus salary per year, is that too much to get our midfield sorted?
 
poleglass red said:
his age has to be a worry because as we know it can take players from Europe a while to adjust if at all. We've seen quality players such as Kagawa, Miki, Pogba all take longer to adjust than we'd like, even though they are quality players.He's a good player, I certainly wouldn't say world class. If he were to sign, I'd be happy enough but I just think we can do better
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Has been fine this season, just overstated because of the fee.
 
ROFLUTION said:
Is this the smart way of signing players though? 40 m gbp+ for a 29 year old where you can't recoup any of the fee later beacause of age. He might have 2-3 good seasons in him. Great player though.
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I think we are too wealthy to hesitate much over something like resale value. It probably barely comes into our thinking.
 
Marcelinho87 said:
Has been fine this season, just overstated because of the fee.
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no he hasn't. You can see him settling in a bit better now but earlier in the season he was below average. That game v Liverpool earlier in season, he was awful. That's my point, these players can take time to settle. Next season he will dominate, of that I have no doubt. Give him a proper ball winning mid next to him in a mid 3 and he will flourish. We are a team in transition, and that can make it hard for even domestic players to settle never mind those adjusting from European leagues
 
Even though I'm hesitant on the money-thing, I do think he'd be a great fit though. Has a shot on him, experienced and Herrera would be deployed in the dm role which I actually think suits him well - imagine him being Kanté-(or just Ander)-like and feeding Pogba and Naingolan to drive the ball further up field. That'd be like playing with two AMC's and more threat coming from the centre.
 
Ramshock said:
Why no chance? I said the same about Pogba last year. I think bar Messi we could have a shot with anyone assuming we were in the CL of course.
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KingMinger22 said:
No chance why? No chance we are interested? Other than that, I can't comprehend what there would be no chance of.
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I don't think he'll leave tbh. If he did I think Chesea would want him too, but I think he'll stay in Italy.
 
A midfield of Herrera, naingolan and Pogba would be the stuff of dreams.

If there's any sort of chance if us signing him we should go for it 100%.
 
LawCharltonBest said:
Thread title is too plain. This would have double the posts if you'd added "SSN say we're interested" or something. People scrolling probably think it's just another random player thread
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Sky Sports News also broke a story that we were going to sign Gundogan last year too then he went to City without so much as a bid from us so surely the link in the opening post would be enough ?

Murder on Zidane's Floor said:
Herrera, Radja, Pogba would be a great midfield.

Think Pogba would be really free to dominate games and express himself similar to his time at Juve.
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From what I've seen of Nainggolan over the past couple of days of looking he's very similar to Vidal of which for me is a big thing seeing as Pogba was at his best so far in his career alongside Vidal with Pirlo dictating from deep as Carrick does, I like Herrera but I'd prefer a like for like of Carrick if I'm honest.
 
VP89 said:
Hasn't it been reported that he loves life in Rome though?
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Yeah but money can do strange things to a player's love of a certain city. Especially if he's 29 and moving into his final lucrative contract before age catches up.
 
Raoul said:
Yeah but money can do strange things to a player's love of a certain city. Especially if he's 29 and moving into his final lucrative contract before age catches up.
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Maybe. But if wages were a persuasive factor for him he'd have accepted Chelsea's offer last summer - 28 is not too different to 29.
 
VP89 said:
Maybe. But if wages were a persuasive factor for him he'd have accepted Chelsea's offer last summer - 28 is not too different to 29.
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We pay more than any other club, so in the end, if he cares about wages he will come here.
 
Raoul said:
We pay more than any other club, so in the end, if he cares about wages he will come here.
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I'd be surprised if Chelsea's wage offer were much different to ours for a player like Niangolan though. Yeah, we probably push the wage bill out further for the marquee talent in the 200+k mark but we would never offer Niangolan that sort of money in the first place?

I'd love to be wrong though, would be great to see him with us.
 
Murder on Zidane's Floor said:
Alas would that mean his heart and commitment weren't full?
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Not necessarily. Players are always incentivized to consider their post football futures, and at the age of 29 that means getting a final, lucrative multi-year contract that will carry them well into their 30s. If they were to wait til they were 32-33, the money and length of contract would be far less.
 
I'd be surprised if he leaves. Think he loves Rome a lot.

But he'd certainly be a great addition even though he's played as an advanced midfielder this season.
 
Raoul said:
Not necessarily. Players are always incentivized to consider their post football futures, and at the age of 29 that means getting a final, lucrative multi-year contract that will carry them well into their 30s. If they were to wait til they were 32-33, the money and length of contract would be far less.
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Good point. I do feel though that I'd want a player who wanted to come here, not made to leave a club due to a decent financial offer the board couldn't turn down.
 
He's probably my favourite player in our national team, so obviously I'd love him at United. I'm getting a bit annoyed that all my other favourites, such as Alderweireld, Hazard, De Bruyne and Courtois are playing for rival sides! Nainggolan is the sort of player that instantly becomes a fan favourite where he goes. A couple of his trademark tackles and long range goals is all it would take.
 
Money.

If we move for him, he will come.

It's quite amusing how much some people undermine the money factor in these things. It's everything.
 
The links to this guy suggest to me that Mourinho possibly sees Herrera as a holding midfielder, the DM just behind the two CM's. The question is, if we go 4-3-3 with Nainggolan do we have enough goals? Goals have been our biggest weakness and it's why 4-2-3-1 has some justification for us. Especially because it looks like Mourinho wants Bernardo Silva based on the reports lately, who isn't much of a goalscorer himself.

Mkhitaryan - ST - Silva
Pogba - Herrera - Nainggolan
LB - Rojo - Bailly - Valencia
De Gea/Romero​

Does this line up have enough goals to win the league? Maybe with Aubameyang as the striker it does but otherwise I'm not so sure.

Could also go 4-2-3-1 with Pogba as a #10 though.

ST
Mkhitaryan - Pogba - Silva
Naingollan - Herrera
LB - Rojo - Bailly - Valencia
De Gea/Romero
​
I think Naingollan would be more suited to a double pivot than Pogba due to his defensive dilligence.
 
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I think that if he leaves Roma, Chelsea will be a strong contender since he has been a target for Conte for a long time. He has had a great season but he is 29 relying heavily on his athleticism but with a very poor lifestyle and I am not so sure he has many seasons left in him so it might be an expensive investment
 
B&Wandmore said:
I think that if he leaves Roma, Chelsea will be a strong contender since he has been a target for Conte for a long time. He has had a great season but he is 29 relying heavily on his athleticism but with a very poor lifestyle and I am not so sure he has many seasons left in him so it might be an expensive investment
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Where would he play? If my memory serves me correctly, Kante was Chelsea's plan B if they couldn't get Nainggolan, so I don't see where he'd fit now.
 
He wont leave Roma for Milan, seems to have too much love for Roma. Premier League or staying seems the only options this summer
 
He'll definitely not leave Roma for anyone in Italy. I don't think he'll leave at all.
 
Great player, better than Herrera. But to get the best out Pogba we need a DLP like Weigl/Xhaka or a younger Motta/Carrick
 
Would be a dream signing of mine (for Liverpool, don't know about United's situation). Great character, great leader, a true warrior.
 
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