He was brought in to be used. EtH does everything for a reason. WW was the only guy he could get and we all know how limited he is but he wasn’t just making up numbers.
My point earlier was that EtH does not purposely buy benchwarmers. Having served his purpose WW was released with thanks because, again, he was not going to compete once we were able to get a top forward in.
Competition for places in every position with every player believing they have prospects to play. That’s what EtH said. It’s obvious if you want a strong team that can challenge over a long season but some people won’t let go of the idea that there is a First XI and back up. That’s the ancient past.
Sure, some players are so good that it’s hard to get into the team ahead of them - Bruno, Martinez, Rashford, Shaw (although he needs to stay on it because we have Malacia pushing him). Most of the other players are a dodgy performance or minor knock away from losing their places - that’s because we’re getting decent competition into the squad.
I’m very happy with how it’s going and if we get Amrabat it will have been one of our best windows in a long time imo.
Don't think thats true to be perfectly honest. I mean, it isn't like you can't have a a strong team that can challenge (each other) because you have backups around. Nobody advocated for not bringing in competition for places. But with limited resources, you have to be smart where to allocate them. And a big part of what should be considered is squad composition and planning. You can only field 11 players and you have to keep your squad competitive and hungry while also being aware of well serving veterans. Of course you also have to manage physical peaks, form and expectations - a young player who comes in as an understudy will expect less minutes than your marquee signing from Real Madrid in his first year. Nobody asks for players who are mere backups, stand ins for the rare case of injuries. But bringing in competition, adding youth or making use of utility players isn't against the idea of backups in terms of skill set. The perfect example is blonde and sits on our bench. People were so happy that we finally had Donny, as a backup or rotation option for Bruno. But Donnies skillset is absolutely different to Brunos so he never really found his feet. Casemiro and Amrabat are seemingly this as well - playing in the same area on the pitch but having different strength.
Going for Amrabat means, we will add a player with a profile that currently isn't really available in the squad. But from what we know, it also isn't necessarily needed. Amrabat will not be able to replace Bruno as a 10 (he isn't a 10 and is not considered a goal threat), isn't able to replace Casemiro (nothing to suggest he has those defensive capabilities even if we consider him not incapable) but he could be an alternative to Mount as an 8. Mount is more attacking though which might suit ETHs ideas with two attacking 8s more than Amrabat who would rather sit next to a defensive midfielder. We shouldn't just expect him to suddenly be able to play a single pivot role. Even less so for United where he won't find a drilled machine where the whole team is working perfectly together - even Casemiro struggled because attack was so far away from defense for quite some games.
Also: we have currently Eriksen, who could be cover for Bruno (to a degree) and for Mount (as Eriksen did play that role last season), currently we have also McTom and DVB, both of them are known to (if anything) have use in the 8 position. Youthwise, we have Mainoo, Gore and Meijbri, all of them are more known for their abilities on the ball, not for getting it back. So we are overstocked at the 8 position with available potential in youth team. We have good backup for Bruno. We have NO ONE to cover for Casemiro should he miss games (which is to be expected). Would Amrabat be better than the other 8s to cover for Casemiro? Most likely yes, but why would we go for somebody, who isn't an ideal fit skillset wise? Thats kind of wasted money. Add to that, that Amrabat is 27, so is peaking right now. That is good, but it also means, we should expect him to leave his prime in 2-4 years time, which means he will be added to quite a long list of players who are also in this age bracket and will need to be replaced.
I get it, you'd like to have an readymade alternative, makes sense for this season. But how much sense does it make further down the line? And lets not try and force-connect him or his transfer with judging our overall transfer business. Lets evaluate player for player, not against the player he would replace, but against our rivals and how the squad benefits from the addition.
OK let's have some suggestions then
Understand your point but that line of argument doesn't really add up. Again - when adding a player, the due process should be who is capable of fulfilling the role assigned to them, who fits the age profile and salary structure. You don't just go out look around and take the "best" thats out there. Nobody wants to take anything from Amrabat as a player, he sure could help us. But that applies to many players and we shouldn't just buy them because they exist or are available. There are many who are in favor of this transfer, there are a few more who won't be angry when it goes through.
Nobody here is a professional scout but lets not act as if there is simply no chance at all that out there there is a player who also ticks all the boxes for now. And if not - consider delaying adding another midfielder when you feel the right one isn't there. If ETH wants him, then fine, go for it. But lets not act as if everything turns right just because the manager does it.
Clearly none of them caught the eye sufficiently for this summer window. That probably suggests our scouts aren't doing their job well enough
This argumentation style suggests you feel personally insulted by the notion of questioning Amrabat... Not sure if this is what you are going for.
I've specifically replied to you on this thread a good few times with suggestions every time you've asked me that same question. They haven't really changed. André Trinidad, Oscar Zambrano, Federico Redondo, Fabricio Diaz. Add Arthur Vermeeren, Lucas Gourna Douath to the mix for some Europeans with good potential.
If money wouldn't be an issue, I'd be with you. As described in my earlier posts though, for me, there are a few warning lights that indicate a squad filler. Something we are so happy about seeing them go this summer. And I'd rather see the money into players without warning signs. Be that because nobody knows them and they are kind of cheap punts or because they are known entities.