I think he’ll be quality off the bench and add to squad depth. We really lack impactful squad players.
Saúl Ñíguez \ Joins Chelsea on loan
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Yeah and I read he was pretty shit overall too last year. So yes. Would be an underwhelming signing by all accounts.
People asking for Kalvin Phillips really don't understand the Leeds/Man Utd rivalry
Yeah because we've never bought players from Leeds
And we gave the Scott Wootton
He's had issues behind the scenes that are affecting his time with Atletico. He's quite obviously still a very good player, especially at that fee. It would be a very shrewd signing from any club.
I think he would be a good signing for United if Matic leaves but as Pogba's replacement? That doesn't make much sense to me. Unless van der Beek turns it around but somehow doubt he'll ever become useful for UTD.
Yeah and Pogba got slated on here endlessly. Albeit suffering from COVID and only getting back to his physical best mid season. Camavinga is work in progress. Can't compare him to a 26 year old midfielder that's regressed the last two seasons and isn't Philips playing much deeper than Saul?
Also not only were Saul's numbers pretty wank last year he seems to have regressed overall as well. Which would make it feel an underwhelming signing by all accounts.
I take your word for it. Not someone that would get me excited in the slightest but we are down to the bare bones in CM if Pogba leaves.
His passing stats over the last 2 seasons don't make for a good reading, he does do a lot of defensive work though.
Pogba hasn't delivered near enough consistency for us, so it won't be hard to replace his impact. He can't play centrally without leaving us open defensively, it's about having a functional midfield as much as it technical.
Saul is a very versatile player and will add much value in that regard.
He's just a very meh player for me. Like I don't think he's really better than Fred at anything if I'm being honest. Upgrade on Mctominay but much weaker physically and shorter so you lose the big plusses McTominay gives. In the 2 behind Bruno, we just need a different player IMO.
Or you have completely mismanaged the situation looking at the midfielders just by numbers. Roy Keane in his complete United career has scored 5 goals only 2 seasons. Going by the logic, he would be a very underwhelming signing.
Yeah. He offers good work rate but doesn't do much in terms of ball progression, isn't much of a passer, but that's about it for his value on the ball. Not like he's an anchor defensively either, he's decent and wins loads of tackles but I don't even know if he'd be a net upgrade over McTominay next to Fred all things considered.His passing stats over the last 2 seasons don't make for a good reading, he does do a lot of defensive work though.
Visual comparison between McTominay and him:
Just very... meh. I want a good progressive passer with good range and can handle themselves defensively/positionally, or a midfielder who is very good at shielding the defense and holding things together. Saul is neither. Like... he'd improve our midfield depth and IMO would still be a net upgrade over Pogba for squad value as I don't think Pogba makes a huge difference now that we have Sancho and Bruno. And behind Fred/McTominay, we don't really have many usable options there. So Saul would give us more equivalent depth... but we need higher quality to push McTominay to the bench IMO.
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Eh? You’re talking about Saul here? He’s not much like Matic at all. Saul is a classic box to box midfielder. I’d definitely take (peak) Matic’s passing through the lines over Saul’s, who is pretty mediocre in that sense.
He is nothing like Matic. He is an upgrade to McT for sure, not sure he can act as a base though.
Mismanaged the situation
. He's had a shit season by all accounts. Not much better the season before that. Sorry for not being over the moon over the prospect of us signing that guy.These “could be interested” “growing belief” “may make a bid” stories do nothing for me. Will be another midfielder next week.
All of a sudden Saul is mentioned in a swap deal for Griezmann, then out of the blue we're in for him? It's as if an agent just called us up and said, "Atletico doesn't want my client anymore, interested?" and we've gone, "Might do."
You can laugh all you want but your original post was this. Now you can change the goal posts as you wantMismanaged the situation
The desperation in that strawman. Incredible.
2004
I'm still waiting for the influx. Drop me a message when they all sign.
There's always been a PL interest I think.
Liverpool it seemed to be up until recently.
Yes, but in particular from us. I don't see why we should be in for a player who is clearly out of his performing prime. It's just throwing a potential 45m down the drain when it could be used to secure a much coveted actual DM. Last thing we need is another jack-of-all-trades CM.
He's not out of his playing prime. He's 26 and just needs a change of scene by the sounds of what has been going down.
Just because we joined the race reportedly recently doesn't mean we aren't evaluating him as a player. We've had a long term interest in him, so it's not surprising we'd be one of the clubs looking at him now.
What's also a big advantage in a player like Saul is his dedication to the team. It's bloody mental, he was apparently fine losing a kidney during his injury just to play more for his team. Obviously he didn't, but the guys dedication is second to none. I'm sure he's going to do well wherever he goes.
Lee Sharpe, Gordon strachan etc
Not sure there's any truth to this.
We've scouted him for years so we must be well aware that his progress has stalled.
We've scouted him for years so we must be well aware that his progress has stalled.
I’m not sure about Saul in a midfield 2.
He’s tailor made for our midfield 3 as a wijnaldum replacement and makes perfect sense for our system where we need runners/ball carriers/pressers/defensive workers in the centre of the pitch to allow our full backs and front three to do the attacking so it’s entirely understandable why we’re looking at him.
He’d make a lot less sense if you’re looking to play him in a double pivot in your system, unless OGS is looking to mimic klopp’s midfield setup and go to a 433 with high fullbacks and a workmanlike midfield. In which case you’d wonder where Fernandes fits into that setup.
He’s tailor made for our midfield 3 as a wijnaldum replacement and makes perfect sense for our system where we need runners/ball carriers/pressers/defensive workers in the centre of the pitch to allow our full backs and front three to do the attacking so it’s entirely understandable why we’re looking at him.
He’d make a lot less sense if you’re looking to play him in a double pivot in your system, unless OGS is looking to mimic klopp’s midfield setup and go to a 433 with high fullbacks and a workmanlike midfield. In which case you’d wonder where Fernandes fits into that setup.
Still an upgrade on our best eleven. I'd rather go for a natural holding midfielder with progressive passing through the lines and the ability to dictate play, but they're few and far between.
I feel like three years or so back we would all be able in awe at the prospect of signing Saul. Now, it seems every poster is saying they don’t want him, he isn’t an upgrade, etc. I think, for the price, he is well worth a punt to see if he can recapture that form he use to have. He isn’t old so maybe he just needs a change of scenery.
I don't question his resolve. He wouldn't play in a Simeone team if he lacked that particular attribute, but there's two things that concern me, which have been compounded by a significant number of Atletico fans on their forum, and it is that (1) he is much less press resistant than he was 2-3 years ago, and (2) this has significantly affected his passing success ratio, which can be corroborated by Bosnian's post up this page, demonstrating that his passing is both inaccurate and considerably less progressive than even McTominay.
Again, I'm not questioning his heart, but we need players who can resist the press, because we just don't have those in CM. Neither Fred or McTominay are particularly excellent when forced to play in tight spaces. We'd just be adding one more of that type to the mix. I'm sure he's got more in his tank in terms of his career, but is he what we need? Not on your life.
I think last year stat skew the numbers a little bit. Question is should we blow 60-70m on him? Then on current form maybe not but if we can get him for 40m, he will be instantly our best MF option ( considering Pogba goes). If you can upgrade first team for 40m then it would be a wise investment.
Also he is 26. Small blips can occur in anyone's career.
We need a Spanish shithouse to replace Herrera.
I'm not denying he's had a downturn in form but he's 26 - so to suggest he's past his playing prime is certainly pre-mature. For what it's worth, Pogba isn't what we need either. There are dozens of posts that lament how we didn't build a team round him and how we still should buy midfielders to compliment him. That boggles my mind a bit.
I think Neves would be a better ball playing midfielder than Saul would but both would add to better functionality in our central midfield than what Pogba has offered us. This is because with Bruno, Rashford, Sancho feeding Greenwood/Cavani/Martial, we have ample creativity in wider/central areas. A lesser yet functional player in Saul (or Neves) would bring the desired balance we need in the middle.
My worry is that his performances are at this level for 2-3 seasons now whilst playing for Simeone in a defensive-first shape that looks to counter-attack; it's not too dissimilar to Ole's approach. You could argue that Ole isn't quite as pragmatic as Simeone, but there are similarities in approach and I do worry that Ole's tendency to play reductively will yield much of the same fruit from Saul than he did under Simeone.
No signings from Oxford and MK Dons either. Must have a rivalry with them too!
I think Liverpool will sign him for a fee in the 30s. He fits what they're looking for.
He used to be better a few seasons ago. I would stay clear
You're kidding right? He goes straight into our starting XI if he signs, assuming Pogba leaves.
As strange as it sounds, I would prefer a move for Neves. Proven in the PL and can play the deep lying playmaker role (like Carrick though not as good yet) perfectly for us
Did you read that on the CAF though? Because he wasn’t. Simply LLorrente was a better option and player and replaced him as a first teamer. But at the start of the season and the previous season he was easily one of their best players.
So this idea he is somehow out of form or a dud is way left field.
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