Sky Sports News were reporting earlier we’d opened contract negotiations with Pogba so on that basis it’s NAY for me, I’d much rather we signed Rice as we don’t have a pure out and out defensive outside of Matic who’s legs are shot and needs upgrading on immediately.
Saul Niguez, Yea Or Nay
- Thread starter Inigo Montoya
- Start date
Nay.Works hard just standing still.I don't see a gifted footballer here just another Fred type.
If a midfield three of Saul, Bruno and Pogba is viable then yay. If not nay. We need a player that can mesh those two into a functioning midfield.
Worth a punt if he's cheap
If Madrid ask more than £40m then do not want
If Madrid ask more than £40m then do not want
Definitely down for a loan with option to buy
Probably nay. There would have been a time when I would have been all over him if I was us, but with his loss of form and us not really needing a player of his kind at the moment, it seems a waste of time and money. If he was a really cheap punt, I'd be more tempted. We have more priority positions, one of which is a central midfield player but a different type entirely.
If this deal was to go ahead, it would comparable to the Van De Beek deal. Potential good player, but wrong time.
If this deal was to go ahead, it would comparable to the Van De Beek deal. Potential good player, but wrong time.
Think it’s more it brought him to the attention of the casuals that don’t understand football.never forget? He literally made his career off the back of that goal
If Atletico are happy to sell him it means he isn't good enough.
Be better off going for Tielemans. Same type of midfielder but better.
A holding midfielder is what we really need.
Be better off going for Tielemans. Same type of midfielder but better.
A holding midfielder is what we really need.
Good price. Probably not the player this forum seems to think he is. But he is a two way player so could be well suited to the double pivot
On that logic, Cantona wasn't good enough for us. I think you may be oversimplifying just a tiny bit here.
Yes because we’d be getting Tielemans really cheap
Plus he’s the type that will get pelters on here with one bit of madness that he’s prone to
Because every player who is deemed surplus to requirements at their current club will end up like Cantona if we sign them? Not that Cantona was surplus to requirements at Leeds, I'm pretty sure they weren't hawking him around at the time.
Yes because we’d be getting Tielemans really cheap
Plus he’s the type that will get pelters on here with one bit of madness that he’s prone to
Yes exactly, because Leicester wouldnt want to lose him. Exactly the point.
£60m+ for someone who isn't in Atletico's current favoured starting eleven sounds ridiculous to me.
I beg anyone that backs this signing to please give me a reference game to watch. There has been hype on Saul for years now, and probably because I don't follow la liga, the few times I have watched At. Madrid he was either missing or rather quiet I guess.
I can't see this transfer happening, he's a good player but not what we need at this moment, we need a specialist DM to go straight into the team not a player who can play multiple positions but a master of none.
Spanish McTominay really. Same strengths, same weaknesses. He's a good player but hes good at things that Fred and McTominay are already good at. Left footed though so would be an obvious Matic replacement.
If we were replacing Matic then this might make sense from a squad balance perspective as Saul is also left footed.
We need a DM.
I think people on here are being really short term. He had a average season, not terrible. Many players have an off season, can loose there place and rebound. Form is temporary, class is permanent and at 26, he still has a lot to offer in the game. At 40m to 60m, i think its a great deal,. Is he better than Fred, yes, better than Mctominay, yes, better than Matic, yes. Does he fit into our team? Now that's the question I am unsure with. The DVB transfer leaves me nervous, I don't understand what Ole wants from his midfield. I just hope that Ole makes the decision on what he wants. I'd also like to see Garner given more minutes this coming season. He is ready for a squad role, along with Hannibal.
Was watching the Spain game looking for him, alas...
All the Spaniards look so average tbh. Pretty much resort to Moyes tactics of 1000 crosses, talk about a fall from grace.
Quoting for posterity.
Yeah should be all over it around this price but any more than that is too much in my opinion
With what intention? Hes 26, hes at his peak. Hes not a 'bad' player but hes far from world class. Is he good enough to play here? Yes. Is he the kind of player who'd push us up a level? No, not in my opinion.
I’d say Saul from breaking bad instead of looking at Fred for another season
Really only stats to go on as I've not seen him play nearly enough, but from that perspective at least, it's very hard to understand why we'd sign him. Some posters have pointed out on other threads that's he's had a bit of a weak year this season which limits the usefulness of his 20/21 stats, and that checks out to an extent, but still.
The stats should at least say something useful about what are the strong and weak areas of his game. Looking at his past three seasons and comparing to Fred and McT:
- he's had much less game time this past season than in the previous two, despite figuring in a basically similar number of games
- npXg has nosedived from two years ago, and is roughly similar to McFred
- Shoots a good deal more than McFred, but has varied quite a lot over the past three seasons
- Has been steadily increasing his number of completed passes, but still has much fewer than Fred, and a little bit fewer than McT. This is mainly because his passing accuracy is worse, to a lesser extent because he attempted fewer passes.
- For progressive passes, he did much more in 19/20 (where he's roughly on par with McFred) than in the preceding or following seasons (where he was considerably below).
- Fairly even over the years in Shot creating actions/90 - similar to McT this year, but well below Fred.
- Steadily better in tackles won, and a bit better than Fred in that category, and much better than McTominay
- Dribbled past more than McT, but less than Fred
- Pressing stats not as good as Fred, but better than McT. But this heavily depends on role and system, of course. It's striking that 19/20 for him stands out in many categories compared to 18/19 and 20/21. Better passing stats, but not as good in things like goal-creating actions and pressing.
- Markedly weaker than McFred in interceptions, over all 3 seasons
- Has the ball less than McFred, though his number of touches have been steadily increasing
- Much better dribbler than McFred, though he has been declining over the seasons
- Significantly better ball-carrying stats than McFred
- Unlike McFred, his team did worse with him in the lineup than they did without him, in all three seasons
Player Comparison: Saúl Ñíguez vs. Scott McTominay vs. Saúl Ñíguez vs. Saúl Ñíguez vs. Fred | FBref.com
The stats should at least say something useful about what are the strong and weak areas of his game. Looking at his past three seasons and comparing to Fred and McT:
- he's had much less game time this past season than in the previous two, despite figuring in a basically similar number of games
- npXg has nosedived from two years ago, and is roughly similar to McFred
- Shoots a good deal more than McFred, but has varied quite a lot over the past three seasons
- Has been steadily increasing his number of completed passes, but still has much fewer than Fred, and a little bit fewer than McT. This is mainly because his passing accuracy is worse, to a lesser extent because he attempted fewer passes.
- For progressive passes, he did much more in 19/20 (where he's roughly on par with McFred) than in the preceding or following seasons (where he was considerably below).
- Fairly even over the years in Shot creating actions/90 - similar to McT this year, but well below Fred.
- Steadily better in tackles won, and a bit better than Fred in that category, and much better than McTominay
- Dribbled past more than McT, but less than Fred
- Pressing stats not as good as Fred, but better than McT. But this heavily depends on role and system, of course. It's striking that 19/20 for him stands out in many categories compared to 18/19 and 20/21. Better passing stats, but not as good in things like goal-creating actions and pressing.
- Markedly weaker than McFred in interceptions, over all 3 seasons
- Has the ball less than McFred, though his number of touches have been steadily increasing
- Much better dribbler than McFred, though he has been declining over the seasons
- Significantly better ball-carrying stats than McFred
- Unlike McFred, his team did worse with him in the lineup than they did without him, in all three seasons
Player Comparison: Saúl Ñíguez vs. Scott McTominay vs. Saúl Ñíguez vs. Saúl Ñíguez vs. Fred | FBref.com
I just thought it was a funny description. Think he's a lot better than what we have, just whether he fits or not - or what Ole actually wants to do with the midfield, as someone said before.
edit: I'd describe him as a better version of Ander Herrera.
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I think he will go to Liverpool.
Someone will sign him very quickly for a lovely price, but it won't be us, unfortunately.
Very interesting signing for someone, if its us, I'll be very surprised
Bayern seem to be the team with the strongest links in media. You can see it happening too.
Personally dont think we should be opening negotiations with Pogba, nor do I think we should be going for Saul. I think he is a very good technical hardworkign and versatile player....I also dont think he is an elite player like he has been made out though and I dont see how he trsnforms us. Is he better than we have for central midfield yes, is he what we need though....no. Forgetting the fee I would also rather Rice than Saul, not saying he is better, just think he suits our needs more. If he was younger, I woul dsay Koke would actually be ideal for us, but he seems jsut past his peak and is 29 now too.
The thing that concerns me, almost anybody we sign....I kind of think bar putting faith in Pogba having the right partner when he hasnt really worked out in central midfield for us...I kind of think we need a second signing there anyway.
Fofr me personally I would be selling Matic, VDB, Pereira and Pogba as none of them are the answer there for me....neither are Fred and McTominay but they can be valuable squad players....I would like a totally new partnership, so two new signings.....a Zakaria/Kamara liek signing at around £30m along with the likes of a Camavinga at £50m ideally would be better than signing Rice for £80M
Not sure we can pull the above off, but I like your thinking.
I don't think Pogba will be signing a new deal. I think that is a huge long shot. Hoping performances like today will get PSG all excited and they will overpay for him. That's the best case scenario for me, and the league/team would suit him perfectly.
I also think there is no way we go for two central midfielders, not sure we actualyl even try and sign one unless Pogba goes which is all the more reason for me I am in agreement with what you hope will happen though we should be signing central midfielders regardless of that
They don't play the same role so it won't be replacing Matic. If anything it will be for Pogba or Donny.
Yeah I have heard that comparison made before a few times and the general consensus is that we would still need to sign a proper DM to play alongside him as he's more of a CM with both defensive and attacking capabilities, it is also rumoured that we would need to move a midfielder or two first and there doesn't look to be much sign of that happening at all
Yeah a new partnership would ideally be the perfect solution but have ruled out any possibility of that happening
If Pogba is off, then Saul + a DM would make sense. But with Pogba, I can't see it happening.
Me too and I think we could sell all those players as well as lets face it, currently with Ole.....they are all second choice behind McFred in the double pivot. Whether or not that is right or not, many of them have barely even played at all. I dont see why the lkes of Hannibal and Garner couldnt replace some within the squad at least when its a case of 3-5 starts over a season....still its all wishful thinking as I liek you, see little chance of it happening whatsoever when as a net spend at least, it isnt costly at all almost regarldess of who we sign if we sell too.....even signing Saul and Rice who would be two of the most costly....selling those players would onlymake it a net spend of £60m odd
Also if the press is to be believed it appears striker seems to be mre of a priority than cm, which if true, even at his age, when having Cavani there and other options like Martial and Greenwood within the squad, short term at least, seems like madness with current concerns
Maybe a move will help him rediscover his form. A motivated Saul with a point to prove (Niguez with attitude, if you will) could be a real asset for the reported fee.
He has been poor for a long time now, so it's no loss really. We might as well sign John McGinn or Kalvin Phillips, they were both better than Saul this season.