There's also a clip floating about of Vlaar beating Hazard in a straight 30ish metre sprint to the ball for Aston Villa.
Stefan de Vrij
- Thread starter gooDevil
- Start date
Prefer De Vrij to Martins Indi.
Stefan de Vrij is far better than Martins Indi.
I don't get why some rate de Vrij that high. Smalling is better than him, has more experience, and about reaching his peak age. But he's still on the 'assessment list' by LVG.
we need new defenders, no matter how good Smalling or any other CB is that we already have. Saying de Vrij is a good player and worth bidding for the rumoured fee doesn't mean he is considered better
We have lost 4 defenders - and got one defender in. Needless to say we need at least 2 new defenders. Would love to see De Vrij as one of those 2
You are right. But De Vrij is way better at actually playing football than Smalling, and being intelligent and composed on the ball is something LVG really rates.
Would be ridiculous if we let Smalling go and sign De Vrij. Keeping Smalling and buying de Vrij makes more sense. Still wondering who our second choice left back is going to be, and who would be our 3th choice? Probably Rafael or Jones, but that's not ideal, so a left footed (central/versatile) defender would make way more sense.
De Vrij is still pretty close to joining Lazio from what the Dutch media can telll. Problem is their first offer was 4.5 million pounds for him or something, cheapskate Italians might lose him because of that. Because Feyenoord already got good money for Pelle to Southampton and Bruno Martins Indi to Porto, they don't need to let De Vrij go for peanuts anymore.
The moment serious Dutch media will mention De Vrij to United is possible to judge how big the chance will be.
Eh? Indi was like a headless chicken - De Vrij was the better player the whole tournament. If you want bug eyes though BMI wins hands down!
BMI is long gone to Porto. But in a back two opposed to a back three I think BMI would be the better defender for sure. Could play left backt too. De Vrij would be better at the footballing aspects, so it would very much depend on what tactics you want to employ. All in all there's not much in between them, BMI was brilliant vs. Mexico showing that real winning mentality, De Vrij had a better World Cup obviously.
Indi passed the ball decently and pushed people over. That was his world cup
I thought De Vrij massively outshone Martins Indi at the WC. Not seen much of either otherwise though. Anyone know the Feyenoord fans' view of the two of them?
De Vrij had a better World Cup by far but I'd say BMI was more impressive for Feyenoord last season. That said, don't think either of them are good enough for us yet and doubt either will go on to be anything amazing. Think BMI will be better eventually but he's off to Porto & I wouldn't want us to sign De Vrij.
De Vrij is only 22. Admittedly haven't seen a lot of him but liked what i saw at the WC. Maybe this could be the making of him.
Wasn't much impressed by Martins Indi at all.
Wasn't much impressed by Martins Indi at all.
Damn right man. He's seems like an arrogant twat also.. Thank God we dodged a bullet with that fella..
How could you possibly come to that conclusion?
We hardly "dodged a bullet" with Martins Indi. He's a good player, basing him off World Cup performances isn't much considering he's been better than De Vrij for the past year. The fact SDV & Vlaar played in a 3 as opposed two a 2 man defence helped them massively, they really aren't that good.
I don't think he's any better than Evans, Smalling or Jones.
By watching his manner on the pitch. He seemed to have verbals with numerous players in every game, at the WC.
He's arrogant & aggressive off the ball. That type of player lacks concentration & seems more concerned to get into rows, more than do his bit for the team. I dont want players like that at United!
Smalling is solid but I just don't think he is going to be a regular starter in CB. On the ball he isn't great and he is always injured.
He's also a good defender who has the pace to play a high-line, and won't complain if he only gets 20-30 starts a season. When you have a defender who's pretty good at everything but nothing special on the ball, that's pretty much perfect for the #3 defender. I'd be surprised if LVG doesn't think he can improve Smalling.
Looking at age and natural talent and their athleticism, I'd say that Smalling, Rafael, Shaw, Jones, Januzaj, Herrera, Kagawa and Welbeck would be the players LVG is most likely to see as being able to improve and hit a higher level of performances than they've shown in their career so far.
I agree with that. Although, Welbeck for me doesn't have much of a future here.
Smalling is a fantastic athlete but anyone can see that his footballing abilities are nowhere near the mark that you need at the top.
I think he's one of the ones who'll benefit most.
Nothing what Evans couldn't do, he can pass as well. Michael Keane is good with the ball also, in dribbling sorta thing. Not sure how much he benefited from having Vlaar around him and how much better option he would have been defensively for us. But he is young and would take him much rather than Vlaar or Vermaelen if we really have to chose from those three. Anyway I've said it several times. If we go for a CB go for a world class nothing which is similar quality to what we have. I kinda trust Jones - Evans - Smalling. If he can play Indi in World cup Smalling can be payed anyday. Hopefully Evans is fit and Jones will surely start to fullfill his potential now on on CB. Keane is new Evans
I personally don't think any of our defenders are as good as him technically
His technique for a CB back is very good at the age of 22 and some of the runs he makes in this video could quite easily fool one to think he's a attacking mid.
His technique for a CB back is very good at the age of 22 and some of the runs he makes in this video could quite easily fool one to think he's a attacking mid.
I had no idea he was so good on the ball.
Yeah, by the end of the World Cup he really stuck out for me in that backline. Moved out of the defence well and looked very composed.
Actually his ball control is better than Jones. Then as a pure CB, I rate him higher than Evans and Jones. And I know many sharing my POV on him here.
De Vrij is most likely our realistic transfer target if we compare him with Hummels.
For the sake of our squad, I hope he signs.
For the sake of our squad, I hope he signs.
Based on yesterdays press conference, if any of these Dutch players end up signing, it's because van Gaal thinks they are better than what we already have and will fit into his "philosophy".
Would rather have that than shoe horn a player into the squad just because he's a superstar.
Would rather have that than shoe horn a player into the squad just because he's a superstar.
I think we could be a very good player here, especially under the new manager.
A talented player with a high ceiling of potential.
A talented player with a high ceiling of potential.
Really hope there is substance to this. Impressive defender.
He can bring the ball out of defence and will enable us to play three CBs, he would be a good signing IMHO. I think we can forget bout Hummels, who is a better and more experienced player, obviously, but he would be difficult to prize away from Dortmund.
Would not say no to him, impressed me at the world cup. Anyone on the Caf who watched him at Feyenoord this season and can give us a bit of an insight regarding his performances for the club?
Just from reading, I don't think he had the best season at Feyenoord. He was stripped of captaincy and wasn't really looking capable of such responsibility. However, he was very impressive at the WC, if that's not performing when tho need to, I don't know what is. I like him. I feel like he's a lot like Evans, more capable on the ball and stronger aerially.
We need an experienced defender like Vermaelen, or a top class defender like Hummels or Vertonghen. We have too many young defenders, and thats not good. Rafael is the only defender of ours that is truly United quality IMO. The jury is still out on Shaw.
For me personally, I don't rate Smalling, Jones or Evans at all.
For me personally, I don't rate Smalling, Jones or Evans at all.