The left-back market…

Sarni said:
Has he been that good at Benfica?

Quite weird that ETH did not even consider him for a position in which we had no other players available and he's now starting for a better team.
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I think this was likely above him, as his sale provided profit for FFP and for some reason everyone seems to keep saying Shaw and Malacia will be back sooner than they ever are. Even if he did fancy him (like McTominay), he would have been sold.
 
Sarni said:
Has he been that good at Benfica?

Quite weird that ETH did not even consider him for a position in which we had no other players available and he's now starting for a better team.
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I honestly believe that it came down to ETH not wanting to admit that what we had in Alvaro was better than his own choice in Malacia, what was it we got for Alvaro ? £6 million ? There’s no way that came down to strictly an FFP/PRS decision when he originally went on a free loan with an option to buy.

I do hope that our outgoings from the academy are now more in the hands of Ashworth and Wilcox seeing as their job is the long term vision of the club as opposed to someone who is clinging to his job and only looking short term, Alvaro was brilliant in pre season last season and I really thought he’d find a place in the first team squad before being wrongly loaned out.
 
I think activating the £20 million buyback for Alvaro would make sense because A) Hes doing well statistically in his gametime for Benfica and B) He's 186 cms, 1 cm taller than Casemiro and 1 cm shorter than Lindelof... At first as I feel Amass is going to be better I wasnt sure, but with his height and improved defending stats from Benfica he can play leftback and if Amass did outdo him when he got to play, he could still cover and compete for LCB with Lisandro and the right footers, or as part of a back 3 if we were to use it.

I dont think there are many standout cheaper options that could play leftback and cover CB for a long period. I like Gasriowski at Valencia but he doesnt play every week and hes kind of the opposite, a CB who would be makeshift and have to learn to play LB
 
Ekeke said:
I think activating the £20 million buyback for Alvaro would make sense because A) Hes doing well statistically in his gametime for Benfica and B) He's 186 cms, 1 cm taller than Casemiro and 1 cm shorter than Lindelof... At first as I feel Amass is going to be better I wasnt sure, but with his height and improved defending stats from Benfica he can play leftback and if Amass did outdo him when he got to play, he could still cover and compete for LCB with Lisandro and the right footers, or as part of a back 3 if we were to use it.

I dont think there are many standout cheaper options that could play leftback and cover CB for a long period. I like Gasriowski at Valencia but he doesnt play every week and hes kind of the opposite, a CB who would be makeshift and have to learn to play LB
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Is it me or does Alvaro look very slow?

I only watched highlights tbh.
 
I like the look of Nuno Mendes. He's at PSG so might be a difficult buy but he looks pretty solid. Good going forwards as well
 
Mendes is the best young left back in the world and would be a 10/10 signing. Athleticism, technique, good on both ends - perfect profile. So far his contract runs out in 2026. A fee of 50m might be enough next summer, but I just don't see him coming to us. Getting Amorim as a coach could help.
 
I read yesterday that Shaw isn’t even anywhere near training let alone a first team availability so I think in the summer we should bring in two left backs with Alvaro at the £16 million buy back being one of them, I’d come to an agreement with Shaw to move him on and sell Malacia for whatever they can.

I just don’t get why Harry Amass has been called up countless times yet not given a single minute when he’s arguably the best under 18’s left back in the country and we’ve played Dalot, Lindelof, Evans and even Collyer there and it’s at the point now that our left back situation is the worse managed position around.
 
davidmichael said:
I read yesterday that Shaw isn’t even anywhere near training let alone a first team availability so I think in the summer we should bring in two left backs with Alvaro at the £16 million buy back being one of them, I’d come to an agreement with Shaw to move him on and sell Malacia for whatever they can.

I just don’t get why Harry Amass has been called up countless times yet not given a single minute when he’s arguably the best under 18’s left back in the country and we’ve played Dalot, Lindelof, Evans and even Collyer there and it’s at the point now that our left back situation is the worse managed position around.
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It’s cause Ten Hag is stupid and he trusts certain youngsters but not the others. His man management skills are horrid for a head coach.
 
For those suggesting that Amass should have got a chance by now or even be starting regularly I can see why he hasn’t been put into that position yet.

As good as he is going forward, and he is potentially very good, he still has a way to go defensively in terms of positioning, timing of the tackle and maybe robustness in those situations. He has improved in these areas since he arrived but I’d rather see him debut when the pressure is not as apparent.

No criticism just a different perspective. I rate the young man too and hopes he breaks through this season.
 
Borninthe80ts said:
For those suggesting that Amass should have got a chance by now or even be starting regularly I can see why he hasn’t been put into that position yet.

As good as he is going forward, and he is potentially very good, he still has a way to go defensively in terms of positioning, timing of the tackle and maybe robustness in those situations. He has improved in these areas since he arrived but I’d rather see him debut when the pressure is not as apparent.

No criticism just a different perspective. I rate the young man too and hopes he breaks through this season.
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He's still paperweight also. You can see it in the u21s. I really see him getting opportunities next year, but i think it would be detrimental to his development to throw him in now before he's truly ready.
 
JoeyJoJoJrShabadoo said:
He's still paperweight also. You can see it in the u21s. I really see him getting opportunities next year, but i think it would be detrimental to his development to throw him in now before he's truly ready.
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Yeah I can see your point on both issues. If he can develop like Grimaldo, who was similar physically, I’d be happy. I think we may see him before next year but only cameo’s.
 
https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...ws/man-united-receive-tyrell-malacia-30187054

It was May last year so we’re now at 17 months so by the start of next season we’d be at 27 months that Malacia would have been out for, it’s fecking ridiculous that ETH actually believed we could get by with Shaw and Malacia as our only left back options and Alvaro was moved on whilst Amass not even given a minute in cup games.

RDCR07 said:
It’s cause Ten Hag is stupid and he trusts certain youngsters but not the others. His man management skills are horrid for a head coach.
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The arguments I’ve had with people on United Facebook pages over ETH’s horrendous in game management and man management ‘skills’ or lack there of is insane, even had someone refer to me as “white folk” and “racist to anyone foreign” because of my belief on how poor ETH is which made them look a bit silly as they presumed I was the white person in my profile photo rather than the black one.
 
Red_toad said:
Yeah he's not the fastest and isn't that good at defending. He's a good player, but I think United should be looking elsewhere for a Shaw replacement.
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Fernandez should always have been a CDM in the Matic mould. I believe he would've been a success in the position had we changed him to play there instead of left back.
 
At this point we just need someone who can play the position to a decent level, not prime Evra.

How much would Fulham want for Robinson?

Apparently Lazio have a buy option for Tavares which they'll clearly trigger. We should be looking at him if he continues with this form.

Davies would be elite but not sure how much of a chance we really have there if Madrid want him.
 
FlawlessVictory88 said:
At this point we just need someone who can play the position to a decent level, not prime Evra.

How much would Fulham want for Robinson?

Apparently Lazio have a buy option for Tavares which they'll clearly trigger. We should be looking at him if he continues with this form.

Davies would be elite but not sure how much of a chance we really have there if Madrid want him.
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That’s exactly what was said about Yoro just this past summer, reality is we can offer whatever Real offer as far as wages go whilst also offering a spot as first choice whereas Davies would be competing with Mendy and Fran at Real and further forward at left wing Vinicius and Mbappe.

On a free it would be silly not to at least try seeing as Shaw and Malacia are pretty much done so if we could move them both on we’d be saving around £300K a week then bring Davies in on a free and Alvaro back for the €16 million buy back and along with Amass the left back role is set for a while.
 
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