Sofyan Amrabat | signs for United on loan
- Thread starter TheReligion
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Imran (@Annihilate Now!) are here to discuss Amad saving our blushes in a win against Southampton as well as our now annual loss at home to Brighton. They discuss Amorim's post-match comments, revisit how mid-table we may or may not be, and discuss some transfer news.
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Based on there being quite a bit of rumour about us getting this guy, and considering his profile seems to be very EtH-ish, I think we’ll get him if we possibly can.
It doesn’t matter if we don’t get Amrabat specifically but we could sure use a guy with his skillset.
I’m guessing here but it could be that we just need to get one more senior midfielder off the wage bill and possibly a loan for Donny opens the door to bring another in.
It doesn’t matter if we don’t get Amrabat specifically but we could sure use a guy with his skillset.
I’m guessing here but it could be that we just need to get one more senior midfielder off the wage bill and possibly a loan for Donny opens the door to bring another in.
Please get him in. Casemiro at this point is either a slow starter or on the decline or needs his minutes managed. We need a solid back up for him
So what does our midfield look like if we get Amrabat? Does it mean that Mount is redundant already!
Mount is here to stay
We never needed him in the first place, a DVB of a singing if I ever saw one.
Mount can be backup to bruno, also so he doesn't play a ridiculous amount of games again.
We’ve literally got the 2nd highest net spend in the league.
No need to make a Mount out of a molehill.
Mount is a big signing for ETH and will figure a lot in advanced or deeper roles once the team starts getting more organized. We do need need cover for Case, perhaps a change tactically to play him alongside and also to give other players a rest. It would be good to have him around and he seems keen to stake a claim in the team but we do need to shift one or two more off the books.
Mount will end up playing wide right and wide left in games ETH wants to shut opposition down.
Yeah. For many years we’ve had a high net spend. It is arguably a problem in itself when other parts of the club required investment. If we sold more players we could have a higher gross spend.
When we are so far behind our competitors, we probably need to have the highest spend regardless of sales for a few windows. Spending smart is better than spending big but is also more difficult.
I think we need both, plus Casemiro and Bruno, for balance and squad depth.
The other options are either raw kids who won't start much this season and may yet be loaned out - Mainoo and Hannibal; an aging / declining player who is clearly going to have limited time - Eriksen. And two whose future here is still very much up in the air - McTominay and VDB.
So we currently only really have 3 main midfielders that you'd expect to start regularly for plenty of games for the 3 CM/AM roles. We definitely need a fourth of that similar level for tactical as well as rotational reasons. Then, at least one of the youngsters will likely be loaned out (probably Hannibal), and we'll probably be looking to sell at least one of VDB and McTominay.
But we definitely need another 'regular starter level' midfielder to go along with Casemiro, Mount and Fernandes. The rest are currently squad / bit part players.
To be fair that's more to do with being incapable of selling effectively than spending more than other clubs.
Honestly I will find it hard to take if we dont get Amrabat. I know we've spent a lot already, but the Wolves game exposed how badly we need more variety in midfield.
Our biggest problem is selling players. We’ve given too many average players big contracts. We are struggling to shift players out while the likes of Chelsea are scooping in cash with sales for the likes of Lewis Hall for £35m (looking likely).
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Dewsbury Hall? You sure about that?
Sorry Lewis hall.
It’s a major problem.
Mount is nothing like Fred. We don’t have a deeper midfielder to pick the ball up from Casemiro and carry it forward. Fred brought a bit of solidity to the midfield when he can be arsed, Mount is a forward attacker, even a winger at times. I would’ve thought Mount was brought in to provide a bit of competition for the either underperforming or inconsistent attacking midfielders/wingers we’ve got.
We desperately need an experienced box to box or holding midfielder.
Even if we do sign Amrabat I doubt we're going to move away from the Casemiro-Mount-Bruno midfield 3. Moreso a signing for depth I'm guessing
Let's just say we do sell Mctominay and DVB. I know this is an unpopular opinion but I still feel we won't get Amrabat and instead go for Gravenberch or Onana.
Maybe I'm wrong but I just feel like ETH would prefer the other 2.
Maybe I'm wrong but I just feel like ETH would prefer the other 2.
Fred was not a type of player that EtH wanted. He wanted a Mount type. There is no need to replace Fred as a type. In terms of numbers it was Mount in, Fred out.
Plus as a starter in the tougher games when we might want to go in with a more solid CM alongside Casemiro and move Fernandes or Mount wide instead of the likes of Antony (as Bruno often did last season).
I think Casemiro, Mount, Bruno would still be our starting midfield in games that we're looking to dominate. But plenty of matches where we might play Amrabat alongside Casemiro. And also, plenty of games where one of those three aren't available. So definitely need a fourth 'starting quality' midfielder (for depth) who is a level above the other 'squad' options that we currently have.
That is basically what we have been doing for the last decade. We have outspent every single club in England. The amount of money we spent on our current team is unbelievable.
Have we been watching a different Fred?
Fred is enigmatic and provided both the sublime and the bizarre, sometimes even in the same passage of play, but I don't think I'd ever describe him as providing solidity in midfield ever. Chaos if anything.
It's no coincidence that our worst period in the Premier league has come when Fred has been a regular midfield starter for us.
Liked the guy and can never doubt his effort, but the time was right to move him on and Mount is definitely an upgrade. Mount is a solid if uninspiring player, whilst with Fred you never knew what you were going to get.
That’s not exactly right. We have the highest net spend. But Chelsea and City have higher total spend. Which was the whole point of the post. If we sold players half as well as they do we could easily outspend them. They spend more but sell more so their net spend isn’t as bad as ours.
I see Amrabat as a version of Eriksen who can run. He's not going to fix any of our defensive midfield issues, but this myth seems to persist in our incredibly informed and intelligent fanbase.
Have we lost him to Liverpool yet?
And it is a problem that will take a number of years to correct, if able at all. Big contracts will be here until they’re done.
Have you even watched him?! You only need to watch his World Cup matches, or even a highlight reel to see how wrong this post is. But, apparently this intelligent opinion carries more weight than others so it must be right. 
If he goes to Pool I think i'll cry.
It will be the most upset i've been about a transfer since Kim Min Jae going to Bayern.
It will be the most upset i've been about a transfer since Kim Min Jae going to Bayern.
I'm guessing you haven't watched him and just looked at his fbref. Amrabat played dm very effectively for Morocco at the World Cup and from what I saw of him for Fiorentina he plays a pretty similar role. A dm doesn't always need to have high tackle volume. The position is much more about intelligent positioning, which Amrabat does have. Rodri's probably the best example of this type of dm, where his defensive numbers aren't particularly outstanding, but if you watch him play it's obvious he's an exceptional player. Carrick was a similar profile when he played for us.
If you look more in depth at Amrabat's defensive stats, his % of dribblers tackled is extremely high, in the 89th percentile, and his challenges lost is exceptional, ranking in the 96th percentile. This basically means anytime Amrabat actually needs to make a tackle, he will most likely do so successfully. His pure tackling numbers aren't as high because he's not pressing every player like a Fred for example. Instead, he focuses more on maintaining the shape of the team. Casemiro can normally do this while also having high volumes of tackles, but very few dms are capable of combining these, as it takes a combination of positional intelligence and incredible workrate.
His fbref for Fiorentina looks very impressive in terms of his progressive passes and carries, which would be a big benefit imo, because without Eriksen in the team we really struggle here and that's not the type of player Mount is. That being said, ETH seems to want to play a single pivot with both Mount and Bruno playing closer to the strikers for some reason. I don't really understand it tbh and I don't think it's going to work. Even in games not against the big teams, a player like Amrabat playing beside Casemiro would be much more effective imo. The Mount transfer is one I haven't been able to wrap my head around since the very first links. It favours an extremely direct approach.
Also his club defensive numbers are low because Fiorentina had the 2nd highest possession in seria a last year.
If this is dependent on the sale of players I’m not too positive of us getting it done.
I just don't think we need him and that's why we haven't bid for him. We have Casemiro, McTominay, Eriksen, Mount, Bruno, Mainoo and possibly Hannibal. Most teams will be extremely happy with McTominay as a 5th choice midfielder. I just cannot see what value Amrabat can add and how we can give him gametime without sacrificing Mainoo in the process. Just compare this to our 2021-22 team where we had McT, Fred, Bruno, Pogba, Matic, DVB.
McTominay doesn’t have any real role or purpose in this team. And Hannibal hasn’t impressed the manager. That leaves
Casemiro - DM
Bruno - AM
Mainoo - 8
Mount - AM / 8
VDB - crap
Thats one DM and possibly two 8s out which one is more of an AM atm. We definitely should be adding a second DM / playmaker and Amrabat fits as he seems to be more of a playmaker in deep areas than anyone we have even if he’s not rock solid defensively or top class.
It's more of:
Casemiro/Mainoo for deeper roles (albeit different)
McT/Mount for box-to-box
Bruno/Eriksen as the creator
McTominay is a terrible DM but he's decent as a box to box midfielder. Amrabat is not a Casemiro type DM either but will directly eat into Mainoo's development.
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