My preferred choice would be Gerd Muller.
Failing that, van Basten or R9 would do a job for us.
Maybe Batistuta.
Striker options?
- Thread starter Messier1994
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My preferred choice would be Gerd Muller.
Failing that, van Basten or R9 would do a job for us.
Maybe Batistuta.
In that case then we might as well bring in a decent striker on the cheap and we don't sign Welbeck at all. If we want a third striker then we either promote from the academy or bring someone like Che Adams. What's the point in getting a 33 year old injury prone striker who will spend most of the time in the treatment room and when he's available he can't even score goals? Let's not forget that we can barely create chances so we really can't afford someone whose conversion rate is at par to that of a defender.
My list is
-Jonathan David (1 year left on his contract)
- Victor Roque (top talent whose agent had thrown a proper fit at Barca for lack of game play. He'll probably be available for the fee they bought him for ie 27m)
- Sesko (45m minimum fee clause)
- Pavlidis (1 year left on his contract)
- Guirassy (17m minimum fee clause)
The last guy you mentioned is probably easiest to get. Cheap aswell so wouldn’t be much of a gamble. Him and Højlund rotating would be decent.
The problem with him is that clubs in a better status then ours will probably pounce at him + at 28 he can't really be considered as part of the rebuild. However 17.5m is really really cheap. If he does well then we've got 4 years of good football out of him and if he does badly then it would be easy for us to sell and recoup most of the money invested on him.
A problem with Guirassy could be his wage demands. He already talked about how he declined offers even last summer, which were financially better than what he currently gets, simply because he likes Stuttgart and being a leading figure in the dressing room there. Surely there will be a nice bonus for playing in the CL in his contract, so I assume you would have to offer a lot to turn his head.
Like the names but they're all a risk. Welbeck plus two of those is easily done.
Hojlund, Guirassy, Victor Roque and Welbeck would work and not break the bank
I am being pragmatic getting a good pro, decent player, on a free.
Excellent suggestions.
I said cheap option - we have £100m to spend net. The players you have quoted are £40m+
- Jonathan David will still sell for 35-40m
- Barcelona paid 40m for Victor Roque
- Sesko - release claus of 45m
Do we need 4 strikers for one position though? I think that Hojlund and Guirassy should be enough for that position.
Maybe not but one injury and one out of form, you're back to trying Rashford up front. Liverpool have Jota, Nunez and Gakpo who all can play up top. Arsenal have Jesus, Havertz and Nketiah. I think a minimum of three is key. Don't have to be expensive but options.
I think Rashford up front is better than them though. So I think it is fine having just two, unless we plan on playing with 2 strikers (in which case 4 makes sense). I do not see any scenario when having Welbeck is a good idea though. He wasn't that good for us 10 years ago, and now he is worse and injury prone.
Am I truly seeing danny welbeck's name in this thread. Good Lord its worse than I thought
After being linked to Arnautović and Choupo, nothing looks impossible.
Had a dream last night that we permanently signed Weghorst this summer to lead the line for us. And for some reason we signed him from Barcelona.
I was absolutely fuming.
I was absolutely fuming.
All good options, though I've not seen Pavlidis at all so can't comment though he seems to be scoring quite well.
I'd have liked us to have looked at Marcos Leonardo who moved for €18m in January, but knowing Benfica he'll be lined up for a £50m+ move in a season or two now.
Gimenez at Feyenord is another who'd be worth looking at, though we may well have Eredevise PTSD at this point..
Trauma tends to have that effect on people.
I'm just being pragmatic, I see us having no money and needing bodies.
Tammy Abraham
Rafa Silva
Ademola Lookman
Rafa Silva
Ademola Lookman
I think we've got a budget of around 100m with the rest coming from sales. That's not much but it can get us a long way if we act smart. For example there's a number of half decent CBs available on a free from Tosin to Kelly right to Rugani and Hermoso. In midfield there's Guido Rodriguez and Rabiot on a free as well. Then one has to consider young talent such as Anselmino, Nypan and Roony and of course one can't forget very promising kids who had somehow made the wrong move and are causing all sort of mischief such as Roque + players with 1 year left on their contract such as Jonathan David. Clubs facing the latter two scenarios tend to be desperate to sell and will settle for financial arrangements that vastly accommodate the buyer especially since many clubs are not in a great financial situation. That include a loan with obligation to buy (in case of Roque it might also be a right to buy), comfortable installments spread across a number of years and who knows maybe swap + fees as well.
For the love of god I am not saying that all of these players are United level. All I am saying is that they are interesting options to consider especially around boosting the squad players department. For example we can sell Maguire for 10m-20m and bring Tosin on a free (2m-3m signing on fee?). Add the fact that Maguire is on an eye watering 10m salary per year while Tosin is on around 2m, then even if we double his salary then we look set to make a net profit of around 17m-23m between salary and fee. So yes money can be provided if we act smart
Guirassy scored 24 goals in 24 games this season in the Bundesliga. Some call him a one year wonder which I find it unfair. Sure this season was off the charts but previously he was a consistent goal scorer. Last season for example he scored 13 goals in 26 games including a goal vs Bayern. He also scored a goal against Brazil. The season before he scored 12 goals in 46 games in France and the season before that it was 12 goals in 31 games in France as well (1 VS Chelsea). Pavlidis scored 28 goals in 32 matches in the Eredivisie. Similarly to Guirassy he's been a consistent top scorer for quite some time. Are they the new Haaland? I doubt it. There again prior to joining City, Haaland was scoring goals in Germany, Norway and Austria which are hardly the EPL and La Liga. If we won't better talent then we'll have to dig deeper in our pockets. I don't necessarily agree with that considering that I believe that Hojlund is a good player and shouldn't become a backup player himself. There's also the issue that we've got too many positions to fill which means that the budget will be spread thin.
Now at the big elephant at the room ie Welbeck. Danny loves us, he used to have quick feet, decent workrate and technique. The former two qualities might go with time, the latter less so. However we also know his weaknesses. First of all he is horrible in front of goal. Welbeck have not scored double digits in a season since 2017-2018 and prior to that he managed to do so in 2014-15. Our forwards do not trust Hojlund despite having one of the highest goal conversion in the EPL. Can you imagine them trusting Danny Welbeck?
Then there's the issue of him being injury prone. According to transfermarkt Welbeck has been out of injury for a staggering 1236 days in 13 years. Now consider his age, the fact that he's injury prone and that we're not very good in dealing with them then what's the point in even signing him? Assuming that by some miracle he's fit when we need him would you really trust the guy to score goals?
During the treble season we had 4 strikers covering 2 roles. Fast forward to present time and the squad is far from perfect, we have to replace half the squad, the treatment room is crowded as it is and we'll probably be out of Europe. We certainly do not need a backup of the backup especially if the guy in question is not very good in his job and is always injured. Che Adams is hardly a world beater. In fact I believe that he's nowhere near to United level. However there's no denying that he's more likely to make the bench then the treatment room which is a great asset to have from a backup
Batitstuta, Muller and Van Basten probably won't work if no service from midfield and the wings. The only exception is the pre-knee injury R9.
Please explain: why would another club buy Maguire off you rather than try to get Tosin themsleves?
Because Maguire has a big name, big transfer fee, big salary. He is also an experienced international and will retire from football in couple years. Most importantly, they are all dumb.
By the time Hojlund turns with the ball we could have another 16 year old superstar like Rooney and he retire at 40. Hojlund might have turned by then
I know sales are difficult for us to make given the contracts we have handed out but come on, we could get Tosin on a free and if he accepts our offer then whatever club we sell Maguire to won't have Tosin as an option. And I'd imagine that the clubs who might be attracted to Maguire are not necessarily the ones in for Tosin.
Because there is more than one football club outside of us and Fulham
Why would they not? Maguire is homegrown, he's EPL proven, he's an English international, he's rarely injured and he's excellent in a low block, that's a tactic most EPL sides outside the top 6 would use. At 10m he'll prove a bargain.
Ah, Schroedinger’s Maguire: good enough to sell, not good enough to play.
Mehdi Taremi worth a punt? Out of contract with Porto at the end of the season, although will be 32 come the summer.
Coming off his worst goal scoring season with Porto with 9 in all competitions (had 31 last season, 26 the season before) but has a lot of experience and wages would be peanuts.
By all accounts we’re in the market for a more established striker for next season, going into next season with a new striker in his mid to late 20s, Hojlund who’s 20 and Taremi at 32 could be a good mix.
Coming off his worst goal scoring season with Porto with 9 in all competitions (had 31 last season, 26 the season before) but has a lot of experience and wages would be peanuts.
By all accounts we’re in the market for a more established striker for next season, going into next season with a new striker in his mid to late 20s, Hojlund who’s 20 and Taremi at 32 could be a good mix.
He's going to Inter.
Ben Sesko is looking good and apparently has a release clause
But the rumour is the release clause is likely to increase significantly from the current price because of a "minutes played" clause. The price i saw mentioned was 75 Million, can't remember if that was pounds or euros.
I like Guirassy. His release clause is only £15m and he's 28. Reliable goal scorer but wouldn't stop Hojlund's development. I like Sesko but due to his performances I believe his release clause is up to €70m and we would also face the problem of who to play between him and Hojlund which could stunt one of their developments. Definitely out on Toney, he's not worth the money. Gabriel Barbosa is available on a free I think. Not my 1st choice but another option if we want to save more.
Vitor Roque's agent is getting pissy about lack of gametime and Barca need to sell players. Might be a cheeky option also
Vitor Roque's agent is getting pissy about lack of gametime and Barca need to sell players. Might be a cheeky option also
Joshua Zikrzee or Jonathan David as cheap(ish) options. They would be happy to rotate with Hojlund too.
If Barca want to swap Mason for Roque then we might be wise in taking that as we will get ripped if we want to buy a new young striker as was done with Rasmus.
There's a deal to be done there.
He really is the next big thing, my wife’s slovenian and they think he’s going to be their best player of all time, Balkan football is stronger than most fans think, but this guy is an upgrade over Hojlund, not quite as quick, much better at linking the game, both footed, better finisher and he will develop quicker, we need to get a CF who can lead the line. He’s also really good aerially, if this can be done for £60m we should do the deal he’ll be worth double that in 2 years!
It’s €75m but that’s £65m however his wages will be low possibly £80-100k per week so a 5 year contract would be amortised at £13m transfer plus £5m wages it makes sense.
All the people even mentioning Welbeck as an option should go and check their heads. Maybe we should get back Lingard too? Maybe they are the same people defending their pathetic performances for years only because they are home grown.
Yeah he could be a great signing for us if we get him, Hojlund isnt good enough so maybe we could sell him this summer while he still has value and then put the money towards Sesko's release fee.
Although amortised on the books I’m pretty sure release clause need to be paid in full. Therefore it messes up our cash at the bank for transfers (I might be wrong I’m not an accountant).
If we have £100m to play with before selling and buying after June. We might go in a different direction. Olise still requires the full release clause and a CB won’t be cheap. But the free market might free up some cash and hopefully an academy sale like Rashford.. I believe we will price Greenwood out of a move (conspiracy thinking).
My preference is the Sporting striker or Zirkzee.