Ruben Neves | Signed for Al Hilal (SA)

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Borys said:
Why would he be required to push so high though? You can have attacking fullbacks and just have CBs and Neves staying back, why is that an issue?
Also, I think we bought Martinez to have someone fast in CB position? Fred isn't slow as well, his problem is lack of strength (therefore can't play DM role as he gets bullied).


This has happened to us already with McTominay and Fred running around like headless chickens. If anything, I would be more confident going against those teams with somebody in the middle who knows how to position himself without the ball.


What do you mean by the bolded part? We are just at the beginning of the road and I hope every single part of the game will be changed. Starting from midfield setup.

Neves staying back is all we need from him IMO.
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he will need to push high in order to play passes to our forwards, with wolves he can play it in around the back off them as they spring the trap, most of his stats show him to be a through ball and long passing machine from deep. That doesn’t work when teams sit back from you. You are going to just be pumping it into players, in order to play passes for our forwards, he will need to pick the ball up in the middle third move forward and try to release our players as the opposition come toward him. if you are just going to sit him in front of the cbs as a screen you are losing anything he is really good at, and relying on Fred to create those chances.

Whilst it’s true mcFred are shit in there , fredes would be not much better

My point is not about some simple coaching, no amount of coaching is making neves mobile. We would need to build a team who somehow plays on the counter or draws teams into us. Either that or we buy a dm who can do all the running and covering so neves can play further forwards
 
Redcy said:
You need to watch his highlights, instead of say accelerating over 5 yards he is really slow, almost looking like he decelerates. Very obvious when you watch it.
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I've watched him play quite often over the years, which I'd take ahead of highlights. But let's say I've just overlooked that (it is possible), which highlights would you recommend which showcase it? I watched this one after your other post and specifically watched for his mobility, and it just strengthened my belief that you're over-stating it:

 
I do think he's slow, but our best play on the tour has seen us play fairly tight in midfield so I think he'd do alright here as a #6 with the RB tucked in alongside him, a #8 and a #10 in front of him and Martinez being aggressive and pushing into midfield on his left. It's not Ole-ball, where I think he'd have struggled defensively with more space to cover.
 
Redcy said:
he will need to push high in order to play passes to our forwards, with wolves he can play it in around the back off them as they spring the trap, most of his stats show him to be a through ball and long passing machine from deep. That doesn’t work when teams sit back from you. You are going to just be pumping it into players, in order to play passes for our forwards, he will need to pick the ball up in the middle third move forward and try to release our players as the opposition come toward him. if you are just going to sit him in front of the cbs as a screen you are losing anything he is really good at, and relying on Fred to create those chances.

Whilst it’s true mcFred are shit in there , fredes would be not much better

My point is not about some simple coaching, no amount of coaching is making neves mobile. We would need to build a team who somehow plays on the counter or draws teams into us. Either that or we buy a dm who can do all the running and covering so neves can play further forwards
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IMO in a team loaded with attacking midfielders, I really don't think that would be his job. To be honest what you're describing is in my honest opinion exactly what we're missing - player spreading clever (but safe) passes from deep and screening back four. This will not only make it easier for defenders, but also free Fred & Eriksen or Bruno.
By the way, does Rodri get so high up the pitch to get involved in play in final third? Genuine question.

I get your concerns about mobility, but I think this team has enough mobility to cover for Neves being a bit slow. This will be Fred and McTominay main job.
 
Powderfinger said:
He is a bit overpriced at 60-70m but Neves is a really good player - great passing range and decision making with the ball, great in terms of positioning, anticipation, and football intelligence in general, extremely durable. Yes, he is somewhat limited athletically but he would be a huge upgrade on McTominay. And he would work well in a double pivot with Fred for the same reasons that Kante and Jorginho (previously, Kante and Matic) has been a very good pairing.

IMO, he would be the best DM United has had since Carrick. That isn't saying much given the players who have come in during that time but its wild to me that people turn up their noses at him.
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He's not a DM.
 
Borys said:
IMO in a team loaded with attacking midfielders, I really don't think that would be his job. To be honest what you're describing is in my honest opinion exactly what we're missing - player spreading clever (but safe) passes from deep and screening back four. This will not only make it easier for defenders, but also free Fred & Eriksen or Bruno.
By the way, does Rodri get so high up the pitch to get involved in play in final third? Genuine question.

I get your concerns about mobility, but I think this team has enough mobility to cover for Neves being a bit slow. This will be Fred and McTominay main job.
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He's a deep lying playmaker, could fit perfectly.
 
arthurka said:
A part of me wants us to fail the FDJ transfer just to see many of us eat a humble pie regarding this guy.
He would be an excellent addition to the squad and will take the step up without any problems what so ever.
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Not been watching him that much, but he's been alright in a much weaker team, would be interesting to see what he could do with the likes of Eriksen, Bruno, Sancho and Rashford in front of him.
I'm sure i read somewhere that the alternative to FDJ is Neves+Tielemans, if that's true, i'd personally take the latter. Not seen FDJ much either, but our midfield has been so bad the last 10 years that i'd rather have 2 new upgrades than 1 bigger upgrade.
Can't remember where i saw that we'd be in for both, and not sure i believe it, but if...
 
Plant0x84 said:
Nor is Frenkie. I don’t think Erik is looking for for a DM. He seems to want a playmaker.
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Yea agreed, he would need someone like fred or some other b2b in midfield as well, I think neves would be a great pick.
 
He could work pretty well alongside Fred. Neves is not Matic who's just lazy to cover. Not very fast but certainly likes to get stuck in and would provide slightly better cover. Not runner with the ball but better passing ability over long distance than de jong which could work wonders in transition. Better goal threat as well.

For 50-60 million he would be a good piece of business now because he would work harder for the team than a certain overpriced player who prefer to play elsewhere. Meanwhile we can develop Garner, Iqbal or Hannibal in a deeper role and in a half season, one more season another player emerges. But we can't afford to go this short of midfield quality to the next season, playing Fred deep. I am sure he would od the job under Ten Haag there, but he's way more effective as an 8.
 
Poborsky's hair said:
He could work pretty well alongside Fred. Neves is not Matic who's just lazy to cover. Not very fast but certainly likes to get stuck in and would provide slightly better cover. Not runner with the ball but better passing ability over long distance than de jong which could work wonders in transition. Better goal threat as well.

For 50-60 million he would be a good piece of business now because he would work harder for the team than a certain overpriced player who prefer to play elsewhere. Meanwhile we can develop Garner, Iqbal or Hannibal in a deeper role and in a half season, one more season another player emerges. But we can't afford to go this short of midfield quality to the next season, playing Fred deep. I am sure he would od the job under Ten Haag there, but he's way more effective as an 8.
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Couldn't agree more.
Good point about the youngsters, I imagine it would be better for their development to play them with someone like Neves covering rather than make them cover for de Jong (he still needs that player).
 
Strootman's Finger said:
Why is it DeJong or this guy? If I go shopping for a new car I don't go to the Porsche dealership, take a few test rides, post some pics of me in the drivers seat on facebook, then turnaround and head to the Kia dealership and pick up a Rio.
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This doesn't make that much sense as an analogy because if FDJ is the Porsche, then it's clear it's the last one on the forecourt. There isn't a comparable option. Not stylistically, and probably also not in terms of proven quality of player. Which is probably why we're hell-bent on that particular opportunity. I think everyone else we've been linked to is a Kia Rio in your example. It's that or we buy a project car and spruce it up ourselves (Sangare and the like)
 
We seem to be linked with him every window, never really been convinced there’s anything in it and still not.

He’s a decent player but just can’t see he’s worth what Wolves will want.
 
I think he’d do well enough for us, his passing range and accuracy from deep is something we could really use right now. Would be going into the season with major worries though about our squads ability to transition between defense to attack without a quality ball carrier at CM though.
 
He's got everything Fred and McT lack, passing, composure, awareness and technique. He might be a bit slower and less physical, but I'd take any midfielder who can use the ball properly over those two any day of the week.

All comes down to the price, is he worth what Wolves want? Probably not.
 
Would ruffle up the McFed partnership and give us more options. But in a similar way a fitter girl appearing on the council estate does.
 
All wolves fans I know locally rave about Neves, they say he is a box to box workhorse, a ball winner and a brilliant technical footballer ...they all think he is easily good enough to make the step up.and he has always dominated our midfields. They are loathed to see him leave.

He fits the role far more than Tielemaans who is more of an attacking link player, we already have players like that in Bruno, VDB, Eriksson...

Would be very happy if we went for him but not over 50mill.....
 
Not smart business going for Neves late in the window, even more so after a failed FDJ bid...Wolves would do a Leicester/Maguire and take United to the cleaners.
 
RuudTom83 said:
Not smart business going for Neves late in the window, even more so after a failed FDJ bid...Wolves would do a Leicester/Maguire and take United to the cleaners.
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What would be smart business though? Clearly we are (were?) balls deep for de Jong. Imagine this place if we let this one go and bought Neves early in the window.
Everyone knows we're desperate for that kind of midfielder, not replacing Matic and letting him go puts us in this situation. There's no positive end to this story, either we have another window without addressing midfield (no value in the market), or we're getting skinned by Wolves or whoever.
 
Neves is on the last year of his contract isn't he? So he shouldn't cost much surely?
If we can get him for a decent fee I wouldn't mind him at all. Any upgrade on McFred is welcome in my book

Also, I think any progress would be gradual, and that would mean signing players that weren't as good as we'd like, but would be a nice bridge to the quality that we want.
 
ETh wants FDJ for his dribbles in midfield. Receive the ball turn and dribble if pass is not on… that’s a good place to start in looking for replacement
 
amolbhatia50k said:
Probably to preserve our funds for a CM who is actually really good rather than chuck it on this bloke.
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Yeah, my thoughts as well.

We already have a ton of deadweight which we seem to be having trouble offloading no need to add to it.
 
amolbhatia50k said:
Probably to preserve our funds for a CM who is actually really good rather than chuck it on this bloke.
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Exactly this. I'm not doubting he's good. But he would immediately be benched if say we got Bellingham and FDJ. I want someone on their level.
 
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