Sadio Mane | LFC Player

[DWelbz19]

It's just too much of a risk for the bigger clubs now. If they had been thrust into a club like this with expectation at such an absurd standard like here, they'd most likely falter. They need the room to breathe a little, and clubs like West Ham, Southampton and Swansea provide that.

 

[RedRover]

This is one of the key points of contention I feel. Lots of players would improve United in its current state, because we do have a depleted squad by top European standards. But how many of them will help us win the Champions League? How many of them will be stars for the team in 2-3 seasons? If you plan to thoroughly overhaul the squad, why not aim for the absolute top?



Mate, hold on please. Is that a fact, or is this some made up statistic? One could argue that Premier League transfers aren't successes either. I definitely wouldn't count Young as a success, when better players moved in the same window, and we didn't opt to sign them. Similar with Fellaini. And they cost us £50 million+ combined. The ten that probably don't make it (based on your anecdotal evidence) probably aren't top shelf talents like Griezmann or Felipe.

People point to Di Maria and Falcao. But Di Maria had always been an inconsistent player, and his heart just wasn't in it. Falcao was a shadow of his former self, and had sustained a major injury. The players suggested as alternatives to Mane don't share that concern. De Gea, Silva, Aguero, Toure, Kompany, Cazorla, Sanchez, Mata at Chelsea, Zabaleta, Hazard, Azpilicueta - in recent seasons, there have been so many highly rated players that excelled in the Premier League.

And you could probably name 20+ Premier League transfers going awry just in the Top 4 itself. Being proven in the Premier League isn't an advantage in Mane's favor, when top players from other league have proven they can cut it in the Premier League, and perform on the European stage to boot.



It will have consequences. Every time United pays £35 million for a player like Mane, Premier League clubs will jack up prices even further. In 2 years players like him will cost £50 million, then £70 million. Where does it stop? Why not buy players who are equal to him, or better in terms of quality from other leagues? Is playing in the Premier League a hugely reassuring accomplishment?

You don't rate him - that's fine and it's you perogative. Van Gaal may not and may choose to go for other alternatives - again, fine. The fact is that's a matter of opinion, and to be honest not relevant to this debate.

The issue here is the facts that a lot of foreign players (from top internationals to average squad players) don't succeed in the Premier league for a myriad of reasons - not least how tough it is in comparison to other leagues. Therefore, I can understand why United (or any other big club) would part with more money for a player with a good grounding here, over and above a foreign player who hasn't played here. It mitigates risk and increases chances of success.

The fact is United will overpay all over the world because clubs know they have huge sums of money. What they had to pay for Martial totally undermines your point that we will overpay here but not elsewhere.

Added to that Premier League clubs are having to pay a fortune for players anyway. The likes of Newcastle United routinely paying £15 million for players tells you what you need to know - the world and its wife knows that PL clubs are rich.

The fact is the more money in the game the more players will cost. Its happened for the last 100 years and if you decide as a club not to get engaged in that you'll fail because the best players will go elsewhere. Clubs are now full of "Directors of Football" and "performance Analysists" who know square route of bugger all about football, but think they can look at figures on a spreadsheet, play "Moneyball" and sign players who will do well who nobody has heard of. Aston Villa is a great example - a commitee of men who've failed elsewhere and one who used to work for Gatorade telling Tim Sherwood - a man with a lot more footballing experience which players he should buy. It's a joke.

When we sign players, whoever they are I want the manager to be able to get what he needs. If he feels he needs a player who can come in, hit the ground running and do well, and that player costs more money because he plays in the PL then I have no issue with it.

 

[Brwned]

Like?

No idea, but I'd never heard of Martial before we signed him. It's not like Payet was an unknown quantity though, for example. I don't think he's significantly worse than Mané and he offers a lot of the stuff we'd be looking for. I'm sure there's others like that out there.

 

[Invictus]

You don't rate him - that's fine and it's you perogative. Van Gaal may not and may choose to go for other alternatives - again, fine. The fact is that's a matter of opinion, and to be honest not relevant to this debate.

The primary objective of a forum is to exchange opinions, or atleast that's what I've learnt so far. Whether Van Gaal rates him or not, is tangential to what Mane could add at United, which is the core point of contention here, especially considering his potential transfer fee.

The issue here is the facts that a lot of foreign players (from top internationals to average squad players) don't succeed in the Premier league for a myriad of reasons - not least how tough it is in comparison to other leagues. Therefore, I can understand why United (or any other big club) would part with more money for a player with a good grounding here, over and above a foreign player who hasn't played here. It mitigates risk and increases chances of success.

One could easily spin that around and list the Premier League players who proved to be bad investments for the top clubs. Folks fixate on the lesser talents that failed, but discount the likes of Suarez, De Gea, Aguero, Silva, Hazard, Kompany, Zabaleta - all of whom would probably make the Premier League XI for the past 5 seasons or so. Folks keep harping on the failures of imported players, but what about Carroll? What about Rodwell? What about Lovren, Lallana, Dembele? What about under-performers like Young and Fellaini? All players that a lot of United players wanted because they were proven in the league. Even Ings for that matter, who was being championed only a few months ago. There is no great mitigation of risk, when it comes to a club of United's scale.

The fact is United will overpay all over the world because clubs know they have huge sums of money. What they had to pay for Martial totally undermines your point that we will overpay here but not elsewhere.

Added to that Premier League clubs are having to pay a fortune for players anyway. The likes of Newcastle United routinely paying £15 million for players tells you what you need to know - the world and its wife knows that PL clubs are rich.

The fact is the more money in the game the more players will cost. Its happened for the last 100 years and if you decide as a club not to get engaged in that you'll fail because the best players will go elsewhere. Clubs are now full of "Directors of Football" and "performance Analysists" who know square route of bugger all about football, but think they can look at figures on a spreadsheet, play "Moneyball" and sign players who will do well who nobody has heard of. Aston Villa is a great example - a commitee of men who've failed elsewhere and one who used to work for Gatorade telling Tim Sherwood - a man with a lot more footballing experience which players he should buy. It's a joke.

Come on mate. The whole world knows Barcelona, Bayern, Madrid are loaded. But they are more methodical with how they spend that money. Not one of those clubs would spend £35 million on a player like Mane. Bayern got a superior player in Coman this summer for a £6 million initial loan, and if they buy him permanently from Juvetus, the total outlay will be £20 million. They also bought Douglas Costa for £21 million. Madrid bought Marco Asensio for £4 million. Those clubs reserve big fees for top talents, and for punts, they usually keep it in the £15-20 million range. Instead of buying a Mane and a Fellaini, they club the money together, and launch a bid for Bale.

United have the choice to not overpay for Mane, and instead plump up extra cash for someone like a Griezmann, who is arguably one of the Top 15 players in Europe, irrespective of position. United had the choice to dole out a few extra million for Aguero, Silva, Hazard but we instead plumped for Valencia, Young and co. because they were proven in the league. We delayed Ander's transfer by a season, and seemingly vetoed the deal for Thiago, because we wanted to activate the league proven Fellaini's buyout clause after its expiry date.

Our transfer dealings post Ronaldo have been quite poor compared to the Top 4-5 European teams, who have as much money as we do. The decline we find ourselves is in no small part because we opted to Premier League experience and sub-elite talent, while bigger talents were imported from other leagues. That needs addressing, we need to improve our dealings and our scouting system. We must stop overpaying for players who aren't top talents, because that's what helped land us in the current conundrum. We need a massive injection of quality still, not just improvement over what we have. No one is forcing them to overpay for Mane if they don't choose to, irrespective of how much money the club has.

When we sign players, whoever they are I want the manager to be able to get what he needs. If he feels he needs a player who can come in, hit the ground running and do well, and that player costs more money because he plays in the PL then I have no issue with it.

Fair enough. However, that doesn't mean we can't argue the merits/ demerits of said move. Just as we are within our rights to discuss his matchday, tactical, personnel decisions. The decision to sign a particular player isn't beyond reproach. And I for one strongly feel spending £35 million on Mane will prove to be a misguided decision considering the medium to long term. Just as I felt signing Benteke would've been a bad decision in the summer (open for discussion still depending on his performances for Liverpool).

 

[Rowem]

Why don't we buy these players, like Mane, Payet, Ayew directly from abroad rather than letting Premier League clubs get them on the cheap and then make a profit at our expense?

For every one success story like those three there are several failures.

 

[cyberman]

Shaw and Morgan didn't turn out too bad from Southampton, we signed Carrick from the 5th best team in England , Jones from Blackburn, Smalling from Fulham. Herrera from Bilbao. De Gea from an average Atletico.
It's our big name, celebrated signings that we are weak on. Has Mata lived up to expectations? Memphis was the most sought after teenager in Europe. Di Maria is all I'll say.
Falcao as this amazing player who was on the brink of returning to his best.
If we sign Mane we are signing a player from a club who doesn't want to sell, from the richest league in the world. Of course he would cost a bit more but it's all relative.
Anyway I wouldn't believe all these fees mentions in the reports. Wasn't Morgan rumoured to have a 35m price tag himself? 25m later and he's ours

 

[Sparky Rhiwabon]

It's just too much of a risk for the bigger clubs now. If they had been thrust into a club like this with expectation at such an absurd standard like here, they'd most likely falter. They need the room to breathe a little, and clubs like West Ham, Southampton and Swansea provide that.

Martial says "hi"

 

[DWelbz19]

Martial says "hi"

Martial is in a whole different tier to these players. He's a 19 year old who was being courted by Chelsea, United, Bayern, et al. Not a player in his mid 20s starting to pick up form and worth a punt.

 

[Sigma]

Its always funny when the caf completely writes of a player and then after a few good games completely changes it's opinion on said player. I said in the summer I would love to have him, my mind hasn't changed. Martial up top, Mane on the right/left. Mata/Herrera no 10. Rooney on the bench until he finds his feet again. Would have been perfect.

 

[KingMinger22]

Come on mate. The whole world knows Barcelona, Bayern, Madrid are loaded. But they are more methodical with how they spend that money. Not one of those clubs would spend £35 million on a player like Mane. Bayern got a superior player in Coman this summer for a £6 million initial loan, and if they buy him permanently from Juvetus, the total outlay will be £20 million. They also bought Douglas Costa for £21 million. Madrid bought Marco Asensio for £4 million. Those clubs reserve big fees for top talents, and for punts, they usually keep it in the £15-20 million range. Instead of buying a Mane and a Fellaini, they club the money together, and launch a bid for Bale.

United have the choice to not overpay for Mane, and instead plump up extra cash for someone like a Griezmann, who is arguably one of the Top 15 players in Europe, irrespective of position. United had the choice to dole out a few extra million for Aguero, Silva, Hazard but we instead plumped for Valencia, Young and co. because they were proven in the league. We delayed Ander's transfer by a season, and seemingly vetoed the deal for Thiago, because we wanted to activate the league proven Fellaini's buyout clause after its expiry date.

Our transfer dealings post Ronaldo have been quite poor compared to the Top 4-5 European teams, who have as much money as we do. The decline we find ourselves is in no small part because we opted to Premier League experience and sub-elite talent, while bigger talents were imported from other leagues. That needs addressing, we need to improve our dealings and our scouting system. We must stop overpaying for players who aren't top talents, because that's what helped land us in the current conundrum. We need a massive injection of quality still, not just improvement over what we have. No one is forcing them to overpay for Mane if they don't choose to, irrespective of how much money the club has.



Fair enough. However, that doesn't mean we can't argue the merits/ demerits of said move. Just as we are within our rights to discuss his matchday, tactical, personnel decisions. The decision to sign a particular player isn't beyond reproach. And I for one strongly feel spending £35 million on Mane will prove to be a misguided decision considering the medium to long term. Just as I felt signing Benteke would've been a bad decision in the summer (open for discussion still depending on his performances for Liverpool).

There is a key difference between Bayern, Barca and Real's spending.

1. They are buying from a position of strength. They don't need anyone. We have been and still are buying from a position of need (weakness) - we desperately need more quality players.

2. Every year the market is soaring up. We have been force to spend big this past two summers. Those three spent well for the previous six or seven summers. Much cheaper times to buy.

3. They operate in leagues that do not have near the financial resources of the PL. Every club in the PL has good revenues. You can't really bully them to sell. They don't need to. This is not the case in Spain and Germany.

Secondly, we have three clubs that compete with us for players domestically. They have money and can pay top wages. Bayern have no competition on that league in any sense of the word. Real and Barca only have each other.

 

[Invictus]

There is a key difference between Bayern, Barca and Real's spending.

1. They are buying from a position of strength. They don't need anyone. We have been and still are buying from a position of need (weakness) - we desperately need more quality players.

2. Every year the market is soaring up. We have been force to spend big this past two summers. Those three spent well for the previous six or seven summers. Much cheaper times to buy.

3. They operate in leagues that do not have near the financial resources of the PL. Every club in the PL has good revenues. You can't really bully them to sell. They don't need to. This is not the case in Spain and Germany.

Secondly, we have three clubs that compete with us for players domestically. They have money and can pay top wages. Bayern have no competition on that league in any sense of the word. Real and Barca only have each other.

1. If we need more quality, why not aim for the best that can lead us in Europe, and domestically for the near future? Our need for impact starting XI players who can form the core for the club in especially European competitions for the next 4-5 years is greater than the need to getting lower quality players just to make up numbers.

2. The argument isn't so much about how much we've spent. But rather who we've spent on. Scouting and identifying good targets has been our Achilles' heel in the recent past. We have spent way too much on average or above average players rather than targeting the absolute best. And signing a Mane instead of targeting a Griezmann and Felipe will just perpetuate that trend.

3. Precisely. Why do we need to bully Premier League clubs to sell? My argument was pretty simple - if Premier League clubs are demanding exorbitant prices, why not sign players from Spain and Germany? There would be loads of quality players from those leagues who would absolutely love to play for United, and get remunerated at a superior level. Why not sign someone like Nolito who's in his prime, could play at a good level for about 4 seasons, has been top shelf for about 18 months, and will likely cost half as much as Mane. Why do we need to fixate on the Premier League, when we know mid level clubs don't need to sell because of TV revenues?

We will have competition from the rest of the Premier League Top 4 if we target the same players. By expanding our reach in Europe, and streamlining the scouting system, we'll be able to expand the catchment area.

 

[cyberman]

No way were Douglas and Coman seen bargains or as examples of great business and they were bought.
7m for a two year loan for Coman who played 3 times for PSG before being loaned out and then only made 15 appearances for Juve. With a 20m option no less.
Everybody raised heir eyebrows to that, unless it's hindsight being used here then every transfer can be acessed 100%.
Costa was second option behind Sterling but Bayern were priced out, even then when rumours of his signing appeared it was greeted with great sceptisim and questions of what he would add.
His level of play has surprised everybody.
It's all well and good saying why can't we do the same after they prove to be a success. United signing Mane for 35m would be a lot less of a gamble, a lot less of a surprise than when Bayern signed Coman.

 

[Invictus]

No way were Douglas and Coman seen bargains or as examples of great business and they were bought.

Wut? Coman was one of the best U-21 attacking talents in a super-talented French generation. Costa was long heralded by Brazil fans, and people who watched him play for Shakhtar. You only need to read posts on him by fontaine and co. to realize how highly regarded he was.

7m for a two year loan for Coman who played 3 times for PSG before being loaned out and then only made 15 appearances for Juve. With a 20m option no less.
Everybody raised heir eyebrows to that, unless it's hindsight being used here then every transfer can be acessed 100%.

Coman debuted for the French U-21 team at freaking 17. An 18 year old making 15 appearances for the eventual Champions League finalists is exemplary. That's on top of being one of the top attacking U-21 talents in France. A £6 million loan deal for a talent like that was exceptional business.

Costa was second option behind Sterling but Bayern were priced out, even then when rumours of his signing appeared it was greeted with great sceptisim and questions of what he would add.
His level of play has surprised everybody.

No it hasn't. Those who saw him play for Shakhtar knew exactly what kind of player he was, and what kind of potential he possesses. Him playing in Ukraine just lowered his exposure among fans, apart from Champions League matches where he was usually their best attacking player. Costa was always a massively talented player, who somehow got stuck in Donetsk because they had a large Brazilian contingent and paid loads of money. Just to gauge how highly rated he was even before the move to Bayern, Fergie tried to sign him numerous times, as did Real Madrid, and Barcelona.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...est-in-Brazilian-wonderkid-Douglas-Costa.html
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/jul/12/manchester-united-chase-gremio-douglas-costa

It's all well and good saying why can't we do the same after they prove to be a success. United signing Mane for 35m would be a lot less of a gamble, a lot less of a surprise than when Bayern signed Coman.

Hmm, let's see. £6 million loan for a player that's 19, debuted for France U-21 since he was 17, played 15 games for last season's Champions League finalists, and is rated as one of the best attacking talents in France; vs soon to be 24 year old, who has played at Salzburg and Southampton, and will cost £35 million. Yep, the latter does seem to be less of a gamble mate.

 

[VorZakone]

The priority should always be a Griezmann-level player. Only and only if those calibre of players are unattainable then Mane should be the next option. Mané is good, just not as good as guys like Griezmann.

 

[Lawman]

The priority should always be a Griezmann-level player. Only and only if those calibre of players are unattainable then Mane should be the next option. Mané is good, just not as good as guys like Griezmann.

Why not buy both? Both are an upgrade on Young and (Depay at the moment) plus we need competition for Rooney as well and I doubt Mata will be a long term solution on the wing. I haven't seen much of Griezmann but is he clearly better than Mane? If so he must be some player as Mane ticks all the boxes for us imo.

 

[bucky]

Why not buy both? Both are an upgrade on Young and (Depay at the moment) plus we need competition for Rooney as well and I doubt Mata will be a long term solution on the wing. I haven't seen much of Griezmann but is he clearly better than Mane? If so he must be some player as Mane ticks all the boxes for us imo.

Definitely.

 

[VorZakone]

Why not buy both? Both are an upgrade on Young and (Depay at the moment) plus we need competition for Rooney as well and I doubt Mata will be a long term solution on the wing. I haven't seen much of Griezmann but is he clearly better than Mane? If so he must be some player as Mane ticks all the boxes for us imo.

Both would be even better indeed but yes Griezmann clearly is better than Mané.

 

[cyberman]

Wut? Coman was one of the best U-21 attacking talents in a super-talented French generation. Costa was long heralded by Brazil fans, and people who watched him play for Shakhtar. You only need to read posts on him by fontaine and co. to realize how highly regarded he was.



Coman debuted for the French U-21 team at freaking 17. An 18 year old making 15 appearances for the eventual Champions League finalists is exemplary. That's on top of being one of the top attacking U-21 talents in France. A £6 million loan deal for a talent like that was exceptional business.



No it hasn't. Those who saw him play for Shakhtar knew exactly what kind of player he was, and what kind of potential he possesses. Him playing in Ukraine just lowered his exposure among fans, apart from Champions League matches where he was usually their best attacking player. Costa was always a massively talented player, who somehow got stuck in Donetsk because they had a large Brazilian contingent and paid loads of money. Just to gauge how highly rated he was even before the move to Bayern, Fergie tried to sign him numerous times, as did Real Madrid, and Barcelona.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...est-in-Brazilian-wonderkid-Douglas-Costa.html
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/jul/12/manchester-united-chase-gremio-douglas-costa



Hmm, let's see. £6 million loan for a player that's 19, debuted for France U-21 since he was 17, played 15 games for last season's Champions League finalists, and is rated as one of the best attacking talents in France; vs soon to be 24 year old, who has played at Salzburg and Southampton, and will cost £35 million. Yep, the latter does seem to be less of a gamble mate.

Also a disappointment for the two big clubs he's played for.
Also stop believing the press mate, if Mane goes it will not be for 35m. I can cite morgan being quoted for the same price, Memphis being called a 30m buy and Martial being quoted at 75m
Edit: https://www.redcafe.net/threads/douglas-costa-signed-for-bayern-munich.405931/#post-17694534

Not exactly the greatest reaction on here about his Bayern move, a common reaction I've read on other fourms

 

[goin4glory]

The priority should always be a Griezmann-level player. Only and only if those calibre of players are unattainable then Mane should be the next option. Mané is good, just not as good as guys like Griezmann.

Definitely.

Both would be even better indeed but yes Griezmann clearly is better than Mané.

Not sure why people insist on comparing Mane to Griezmann, he's closer to Mata than he is to Mane. LVG has said we need speed and creativity which is why the reported interest in Mane makes sense. Griezmann has excellent movement in the box and often operates as a 2nd striker + his finishing is fantastic but he's not stretching the play and beating full backs 1v1 which is what we need.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Why don't we buy these players, like Mane, Payet, Ayew directly from abroad rather than letting Premier League clubs get them on the cheap and then make a profit at our expense?

Darmian and Blind I suppose. It's not like we don't try to do it, it's just rare for it to work out as well as Payet.

Let's not forget what we have now, SAF did it with De Gea (though expensive for a GK) and Smalling.

It's mainly down to being Manchester United why we don't get cheap players. Martial perhaps could have gone for a lot cheaper if he went to Tottenham and there wouldn't have been half the clauses that we'd have to pay.

 

[Invictus]

Also a disappointment for the two big clubs he's played for.

Wut? Who was a disappointment? Really hope you're not referring to Coman mate. He was the youngest player to debut for PSG at 16, and his game time was limited because PSG had just signed Lucas Moura, who plays in the same position, for £40 million, followed by Cavani who played striker and out wide. He joined Juventus on a free transfer after his contract expired because of that lack of playing time, and was also being followed by Wenger. 18 year olds aren't disappointments. Was Pogba a disappointment at United because we didn't give him enough playing time, and he left on a free transfer to Juventus?

Bayern were really please with the transfer when it happened:

'Kingsley Coman is one of the biggest talents in European football,' Bayern sports director Matthias Sammer said in a statement.
'So we are delighted we have been able to sign him for Bayern. Kingsley is quick, technically skilled and an attack-minded player. Hopefully we will benefit from having him at the club,' he added.

Also stop believing the press mate, if Mane goes it will not be for 35m. I can cite morgan being quoted for the same price, Memphis being called a 30m buy and Martial being quoted at 75m

Mane will definitely go for £35 million-ish, it's not about believing the press, but the trajectory of transfer fees within the Premier League. Morgan is a defensive/ box-to-box midfielder, Mane is an attacker, the latter kind goes for a premium, especially when they evidence the kind of form Mane is in right now. As for believing the press, where did you the info of Douglas being Sterling's backup from? Straight from Rumminigge and Sammer's mouth?

Edit: https://www.redcafe.net/threads/douglas-costa-signed-for-bayern-munich.405931/#post-17694534

Not exactly the greatest reaction on here about his Bayern move, a common reaction I've read on other fourms

Who cares about fan reactions? Most people haven't seen Douglas play on a consistent basis for Shakhtar, even in the Champions League. When Juventus signed Arturo Vidal for £13 million from Leverkusen, the average fan didn't even know who he was. Again, if you want more thorough opinions on Costa, read the posts of Brazilians like fontaine, who always maintained he was a major talent, and deserved to start for the national team.

 

[cyberman]

I'm quoting fans reactions because they had the same reservations about signing Douglas as you have about Mane. This great transfer policy that had Douglas behind KDB, Sterling and ADM as priorities. It's not as if this were a policy that Bayern set out with, they were almost forced into it.
Again we're not even into November yet, calling these two successes that we should try and replicate is a tad premature.
Also with Coman, he's at his 3rd massive club at 19 and it's not as if either club out up a fight to keep him. We'll have to wait and see how he develops before we start lauding his signing
Why are we Bayern in your Coman example? We could easily have been PSG or Juve and have a player on our hands that doesn't suit us or settles at our club.
When we were on top we were taking punts on these types of players all the time. We'd sign Bebe or Orbaton because we didn't need them to impress right away for the team to succeed.
If Bayern are struggling do they push harder for Sterling? Do they themselves sign Mane instead if Coman if they had a choice?

 

[2mufc0]

Also a disappointment for the two big clubs he's played for.
Also stop believing the press mate, if Mane goes it will not be for 35m. I can cite morgan being quoted for the same price, Memphis being called a 30m buy and Martial being quoted at 75m
Edit: https://www.redcafe.net/threads/douglas-costa-signed-for-bayern-munich.405931/#post-17694534

Not exactly the greatest reaction on here about his Bayern move, a common reaction I've read on other fourms

Mane would be a great signing for 25m proven premier league talent it would be a much more of a risk buying some young Brazilian who plays in Italy /Germany.

 

[Steven Seagull]

Mane would be a great signing for 25m proven premier league talent it would be a much more of a risk buying some young Brazilian who plays in Italy /Germany.

Is there really any basis for that? Maybe 15 years ago and before that but the culture shock is less now in the footballing bubble. I don't think there's much difference at all these days, and £35m stretches a lot further on the continent at the moment.

 

[NoPace]

Not sure why people insist on comparing Mane to Griezmann, he's closer to Mata than he is to Mane. LVG has said we need speed and creativity which is why the reported interest in Mane makes sense. Griezmann has excellent movement in the box and often operates as a 2nd striker + his finishing is fantastic but he's not stretching the play and beating full backs 1v1 which is what we need.

Depends who the manager is going forward. Griezmann would do well out wide under lots of managers. Likely not LVG, though. But considering that if we signed him we'd have a forward line of Memphis-Martial-Griezmann I would think pressing high would make more sense, with us trying to get Martial on the ball to run at players and Griezmann and Depay getting between the fullbacks and CBs.

It's hard to find wingers who can beat a man or two like this LVG system demands. Bayern did find one in Costa. Hazard will be available but not to us. Di Maria didn't get a real chance for some reason.

 

[2mufc0]

Is there really any basis for that? Maybe 15 years ago and before that but the culture shock is less now in the footballing bubble. I don't think there's much difference at all these days, and £35m stretches a lot further on the continent at the moment.

I think we have to look at the case studies, Coutinho is one, he's been good at times but average most of the time it also looks like Firminho is heading down that route too. Mane has been a better player than both of them.

 

[Lewis.no.9]

if we get Mane when we could and should of gotten Griezmann, then Im going to be furious. Griezmann is not only the better player and more of a star signing but also a Utd fan AND one we wouldnt lose every other year to some garbage african comp mid way though the season.

We would need our heads testing to get Mane over other targets

 

[2mufc0]

if we get Mane when we could and should of gotten Griezmann, then Im going to be furious. Griezmann is not only the better player and more of a star signing but also a Utd fan AND one we wouldnt lose every other year to some garbage african comp mid way though the season.

We would need our heads testing to get Mane over other targets

I agree we should be chasing a player like Griezmann as priority, no reason why we can't go for Mane as well.

 

[prateik]

if we get Mane when we could and should of gotten Griezmann, then Im going to be furious. Griezmann is not only the better player and more of a star signing but also a Utd fan AND one we wouldnt lose every other year to some garbage african comp mid way though the season.

We would need our heads testing to get Mane over other targets

What?

 

[Lewis.no.9]

What?

African cup of nations or whatever

 

[devilish]

Is there really any basis for that? Maybe 15 years ago and before that but the culture shock is less now in the footballing bubble. I don't think there's much difference at all these days, and £35m stretches a lot further on the continent at the moment.

Well you're right, considering the incredible impact the likes of Rojo, Veron, Ando and ADM had on our team

 

[stevoc]

Why don't we buy these players, like Mane, Payet, Ayew directly from abroad rather than letting Premier League clubs get them on the cheap and then make a profit at our expense?

Not really worth the risk, for every Mane there would be 4-5 Bebe, Obertan or Manucho's we went down that route without much success.

Seems better to just let other teams take the initial risk and develop them and then just pay the premium for the more finished and guaranteed product 2-3 years later.

 

[mav_9me]

Not really worth the risk, for every Mane there would be 4-5 Bebe, Obertan or Manucho's we went down that route without much success.

Seems better to just let other teams take the initial risk and develop them and then just pay the premium for the more finished and guaranteed product 2-3 years later.

Definitely better to pay a premium.

As somebody has already said for every Mane/ayew/payet there is another foreign flop.

The other thing is he wouldn't have gotten the time to develop with us like he has with Southampton. There he gets game time and more importantly a chance to develop without the pressure to produce right away.

 

[YouOnlyLiveTwice]

I think Mata would benefit from having Mane in the side, they could interchange and with Mane's runs behind defence he would create alot more.

 

[Steven Seagull]

I think we have to look at the case studies, Coutinho is one, he's been good at times but average most of the time it also looks like Firminho is heading down that route too. Mane has been a better player than both of them.

There's also Lallana, Lovren, Mignolet etc. Generally I think if you buy top quality they will come good, unless they're a fanny like Di Maria.

I'd be interested to see the top 50 transfers of each and maybe draw some conclusions from that.

Well you're right, considering the incredible impact the likes of Rojo, Veron, Ando and ADM had on our team

Yet another well thought out and quality response at the levels we can all aspire to. Are you under contract to post nonsense in every thread or is it just habit now?

 

[devilish]

Yet another well thought out and quality response at the levels we can all aspire to. Are you under contract to post nonsense in every thread or is it just habit now?

Im just highlighting how stupid your post is. We've yet to sign a South American talent who wasn't either a cnut or a failure. Mind I do agree with widening our horizons to players from other leagues. However if I had to choose between signing a quality player whose doing well in the EPL and another one of equal quality whose doing the same in a foreign league than Ill opt for the former every time

 

[Steven Seagull]

Im just highlighting how stupid your post is. We've yet to sign a South American talent who wasn't either a cnut or a failure. Mind I do agree with widening our horizons to players from other leagues. However if I had to choose between signing a quality player whose doing well in the EPL and another one of equal quality whose doing the same in a foreign league than Ill opt for the former every time

Did I say I was only talking about United? Or South Americans?

Maybe I should just respond with "Carroll, Fellaini, Shaun Wright Phillips, Torres" or "Suarez, Aguero, Silva, Hazard" and we can play silly buggers all afternoon.

 

[ATXRedDevil]

Mane's exactly what we need in January. Would offer us so much more versatility up front, especially with Memphis playing rubbish

 

[Shark]

I genuinely think he'll be a January signing. Just have a gut feeling and the fact we've already made enquires about him in the summer makes it more believable.

 

[devilish]

Did I say I was only talking about United? Or South Americans?

Maybe I should just respond with "Carroll, Fellaini, Shaun Wright Phillips, Torres" or "Suarez, Aguero, Silva, Hazard" and we can play silly buggers all afternoon.

This is a United forum so yes we're talking about United. I am perfectly aware that SA had sometimes done well with other EPL clubs. However we've yet to find one who did well with us without actually being a mercenary cnut of the highest degree. So unless a SA talent is truly special than Id like us to avoid them if possible

Also we're talking about SA players and not foreigners as a whole