I think we will sign two midfielders, a right winger, a right back and then maybe that youngster from Swansea.
Midfield is our key area for me.
We need atleast 3 central midfielders with Pogba staying. Tielemens to rotate with Pogba. I think he's a good and inexpensive replacement/ backup for Pogba. We need to have a replacement for Pogba before he even leaves the club. Tielemens will move this summer and 40m is fairly cheap in this market.
Neves - He's been decent but is still not as mobile and agile as I would like him to be.
Ndombele - What I like about Ndombele is his ability to drive with the ball. The kind of thing Pogba occasionally produces for us. He's a box to box player whose done fairly well. He's more of a team player
Bruno - The guy has goals and assists in him. He's a natural attacker but is a risk nonetheless.
Rabiot - Attitude aside, I think he's got the flair and the built to succeed in the PL. Also, he'd come for free.
With those options to consider from, Tielemens, Bruno & Ndombele would be my final options. I think all three of those options would work together as a team rather than being individualistic. Tielemens and Ndombele could play in a double pivot box to box style while Bruno could be the interlink between midfield and attack. I also feel Garner could offer us another option as the deep lying playmaker and two midfielders playing ahead of him.
Also, this may not be a popular opinion but turning TFM into a destroyer like Kante would be a great masterstoke by Ole.
If Pogba ends up leaving, I like the idea of double-dipping for Havertz and Brandt from Leverkusen using the proceeds from the Frenchman's transfer. Both of them are versatile, dynamic, modern midfielders and would give Solskjær the freedom to mix things up. e.g. you could play them as 10/8 hybrids in a 4-3-3 high-press scheme vs. smaller teams where you expect to dominate the proceedings, as wide attacking midfielders in a 4-2-2-2 (similar to how they frequently operate under Bosz), in a diamond, or rest one and play the other as 10 in a 4-2-3-1 — the possibilities would be endless.
The Bundesliga isn't quite as strong as it used to be, but a total of 28 goals and 18 assists in all competitions by the couple of them is still rather impressive — and they're both quite young to boot. Havertz is the bigger talent and probably as talented as Pogba, though a bit unrealistic and will be very expensive (if Völler decides to sell that is), and Brandt would be good value for money, even if he ends up being a glorified squad player at the elite level (has a reported exit clause of €25 million, which is peanuts in the current mercato). Considering Leverkusen have acquired Kerem Demirbay from Hoffenheim, they could be persuaded to sell the duo for a suitable fee...
Ideally, we would sign three (two of an offensive nature to improve our creativity from midfield and one of a defensive nature to steady the ship) because Herrera is set to leave and Matić has been in a downward spiral for a while — but if we use a slow-and-steady method to rebuilding, I wouldn't mind just the aforementioned duo as summer additions — leaving box-to-box and defensive midfielder as priority signings for 2020 (unless Fred/McTominay/Garner cement a Starting XI spot).
We all know there is the need for a lot of work this summer (and the next, as it'll take more than one season to rebuild us). One thing that I'm looking at very curiously is the midfield rebuild. In my opinion, we'll need pretty much a whole new midfield pretty soon.
Given we (and most other bigger sides these days) play with a midfield 3, that's usually split up into a holding mid, a pure central midfielder and an advanced midfielder. If Pogba decides to stay here long term, then he has the advanced midfielder locked up. But that still leaves 2 starting 11 midfielders to sign this summer next to him, and if Matic and Pereira leave this summer, that probably opens up squad space for McTominay to be first choice squad player in any of the midfield positions, Fred to be 2nd, and then James Garner possibly to be the youngster rotating in now and then. Get the feeling that Pogba might be off as well though, so that would leave us needing an entirely new midfield, which while it isn't an easy task, it is probably the easiest way for a manager to leave their stamp on how they want the team to play. Also since you are building the whole midfield, there really shouldn't be any talk of the midfield lacking balance or trying to shoehorn others in to get the best out of somebody. Neither McTominay and Fred will really cause up much of a stir if they're only squad players, that's probably what everyone expects out of them anyway. So this is a rare opportunity for a manager to build it how he wants and stamp their mark on the team and have them change how the team plays.
- Herrera announced today that he's officially leaving this summer, which we all suspected was the case.
- Matic looks like he's excluded from the squad for the final day of the season for whatever reason, and he's barely been involved under Ole and frankly looked woeful all season. Don't think anyone would bat an eyelid if he left this summer
- Pogba there is always talk about if Real Madrid will manage to get him from us, but given that he probably is open to leaving, will either leave this summer or next
- Fred has struggled massively since joining and looks distinctly average, and while he is safe this summer (probably), he really needs to improve next season
- McTominay has impressed more and more, but question marks whether he is just a squad player level or if he can be more. Probably the only one who I'd bet is even in the squad 2-3 years from now
- Andreas Pereira has been tried in every position, hasn't really impressed in any while he's shown in the past that he is willing to move to play regularly.
Given all these points, and a pretty big budget (but no CL football to get maybe those most sought after players), how would everyone build their midfield? Assume Pogba, Matic, Herrera and Pereira leave, so we need 3 starting midfielders.
Some midfielders that have been talked about over the past year at some point or other (obviously not all realistic, but just throwing down names of players since we do need a whole new midfield):
Advanced mid - Bruno Fernandes, Houssem Aouar, Sergej Milenkovic-Savic, Donny Van De Beek, Christian Eriksen
Center mid - Youri Tielemans, Marco Verratti, Miralem Pjanic, Tanguy Ndombele, Saul Niguez, Nicolo Barella, Sandro Tonali, Adrian Rabiot, Thomas Partey, Franck Kessie, Abdoulaye Doucoure
Holding mid - Declan Rice, Ruben Neves, Rodri Hernandez, Idrissa Gueye, Wilfred Ndidi
Oh, don't disagree with your opinion, mate — in fact I've also advocated for defensive midfield signings over the last couple of seasons (mostly the likes of Rodri, Barella, Ndombele in holding or box-to-box capacities) — but if Pogba leaves (really hope he doesn't because he's by far the biggest difference maker we have from midfield positions), we would have veeery little creativity left in the center of the park to support an offense that is not particularly accomplished at creating goals for itself, and as such, productive offensive midfielders would become the biggest priorities, IMO. A defensive midfielder on top of that would be brilliant obviously, but if we're restrained in the market, I'd rather sign the offensive midfielders as soon as possible and make necessary defensive fortifications in subsequent windows — than the other way around. Pogba's status is central to the whole argument, really, if he stays and commits to the club, the midfield rebuilding picture would be much simpler and I'd have a #6 and a #8 atop my list.We must sign a defensive midfielder first and foremost I think. Matic is done and McTominay is neither a defensive midfielder not good enough to be a regular. Fred has shown glimpses, but not sure he’s a DM either.
Rice is a must for me. Most obvious deal we can make this summer.
Oh, don't disagree with your opinion, mate — in fact I've also advocated for defensive midfield signings over the last couple of seasons (mostly the likes of Rodri, Barella, Ndombele in holding or box-to-box capacities) — but if Pogba leaves (really hope he doesn't because he's by far the biggest difference maker we have from midfield positions), we would have veeery little creativity left in the center of the park to support an offense that is not particularly accomplished at creating goals for itself, and as such, productive offensive midfielders would become the biggest priorities, IMO. A defensive midfielder on top of that would be brilliant obviously, but if we're restrained in the market, I'd rather sign the offensive midfielders as soon as possible and make necessary defensive fortifications in subsequent windows — than the other way around. Pogba's status is central to the whole argument, really, if he stays and commits to the club, the midfield rebuilding picture would be much simpler and I'd have a #6 and a #8 atop my list.
With Pogba likely to leave it is depressing that we're left with Matic, Fred, Periera, McTominay. Not one midfielder you'd be confident in as a regular starter.
Sell Pogba for £150m. Buy Bruno for £60m, Tielemans for £40m, Rice for £50m. A superior midfield unit for no extra cost.
Then spend our actual budget on AWB, Sancho and maybe a CB.
Might be misreading this but do you think we can get 50m for Pereira???Sell Pogba and Pereira for 160 and get 50m, Bruno 60m and Van de Beek 50m.
Might be misreading this but do you think we can get 50m for Pereira???
What's the "get 50m" part?Yes you are
The price quoted for Pogba is a lot, close to 150. Pereira for around 10
What's the "get 50m" part?
I think he meant Rice for 50
Sell Pogba for £150m. Buy Bruno for £60m, Tielemans for £40m, Rice for £50m. A superior midfield unit for no extra cost.
Then spend our actual budget on AWB, Sancho and maybe a CB.
