This. He's not world class, but he's a lot better than our current options, and would be relatively cheap which means we can throw money at other positions. If Dalot is the talent everyone is claiming to be, he'll get plenty of games too.
Thomas Meunier
- Thread starter RedMachine03
- Start date
This. He's not world class, but he's a lot better than our current options, and would be relatively cheap which means we can throw money at other positions. If Dalot is the talent everyone is claiming to be, he'll get plenty of games too.
Those saying hes crap, what have you been watching
Very solid honest hardworking pro who supports United, id say they are some much needed qualitys right now. Looked great going forward in the world cup.
My question what are his organisational/leadership skills like, is he vocal as we could do with a hell of alot of that too
Hes an actual rightback too which helps not an past it winger filling in.
Think cogs for systems instead of square pegs
Very solid honest hardworking pro who supports United, id say they are some much needed qualitys right now. Looked great going forward in the world cup.
My question what are his organisational/leadership skills like, is he vocal as we could do with a hell of alot of that too
Hes an actual rightback too which helps not an past it winger filling in.
Think cogs for systems instead of square pegs
I like him, and if Ole is an attacking manager or wants to have an attacking setup next season, he will fit right in. I dont think he is great defensively, but very good going forward though. Helps that he is a United fan too and not only would play for the money. I would say get him in, for the prices mentioned it is a win win.
He isn't vocal.
And I hate to burst your bubble, but he's a converted winger actually. I think it was only his last year at Club Brugge where he started playing full back. His attacking play is better than his defensive, for Belgium he plays as a very attacking wing back. That said, I'd still think he'd be a big upgrade from Young.
Well hes a converted winger who is competant at rightback and isnt past it
Have i redeemed myself haha
If we sign Meunier we definatly need a leader in central defence
Is Toby vocal
Have i redeemed myself haha
If we sign Meunier we definatly need a leader in central defence
Is Toby vocal
Belgium missed him badly against France, his crossing is quality. Admittedly his attacking game is mA, not so sure about his defensive contributions.. then again, we have Ashley Young 
Manolas is and so too is Milenkovic ( The New Vidic)
He's a very good player, I wouldn't mind giving him an extension.
Don't take the quoted €25-30m for granted, it's just speculation from L'Equipe.
Don't take the quoted €25-30m for granted, it's just speculation from L'Equipe.
He'd be a great signing. In his prime right now, can hit the ground running and decent going forwards too.
Not sure about the idea of Toby, if he's available as second choice, then great, but I want someone like Koulibaly or De Ligt as our main CB option. Mind you it's not like we don't have 3 CB's who offer us nothing at the moment - like Bailly, Rojo and Jones. All three could be upgraded by signing someone like Toby.
Not sure about the idea of Toby, if he's available as second choice, then great, but I want someone like Koulibaly or De Ligt as our main CB option. Mind you it's not like we don't have 3 CB's who offer us nothing at the moment - like Bailly, Rojo and Jones. All three could be upgraded by signing someone like Toby.
Is it me or they are getting worse by the day?
They're going the tabloid route and concerning PSG definitely getting worse, being in open conflict doesn't help.
he is better than what we have - and if he is available for a decent amount - take him. But I would prefer Wan-Bissaka, I simply fear he will be too expensive if we are to make 3-4 more signings
For sure, but he's also a backup RB at the moment who's entering his last year of contract. The price seems on par with his situation.
It can't be ruled out that Al Khelaifi will not get stubborn and choose to lose him next year on a free instead. But you'd be hard pressed to get more money for him out of teams.
On board with this..
Good player who can play multiple positions and for a good price United should be al over him.
How come PSG are willing to let him go?
What transfer fee should we expect to pay for your cat? Also, what kind of cat - tabby? Ragdoll? Maine coon?
Is he better than our current options? Yes. Now, woud he start at a top club? No.
We’ve had so many years without a proper RB that right now any decent option seems like a great option. We should focus on building a team that can win major titles, I don’t think Meneuier is a player that fits that description and he won’t get any better.
Our squad is stacked with average players, I preffer to to buy a few quality players than a lot that are not up to it.
We’ve had so many years without a proper RB that right now any decent option seems like a great option. We should focus on building a team that can win major titles, I don’t think Meneuier is a player that fits that description and he won’t get any better.
Our squad is stacked with average players, I preffer to to buy a few quality players than a lot that are not up to it.
I seriously can't understand why people would choose Meunier over AWB!
A defenders priority is to defend, and keep a clean sheet. Lose a goal, and winning suddenly becomes much harder. A great team always has a rock solid defense first and foremost and AWB is a quality defender.
I agree he's no Kyle Walker (yet) but to say he can't attack is simply not true. Also I think we've become so obsessed about having a full on attacking RB simply because we've had absolutely nothing from the way of an attacking RM or RW in the last 4-5 years. Put this kid behind a decent attacking right sided player and I'm sure you'll see he is the real deal.
Secondly I couldn't care less if buying AWB stunts the development of Dalot and Laird. They will play if and when they are good enough, there simply should be no room for sentiment or loyalty at a club like Utd.
Finally this forum loves to talk about players with potential (Martial, Rashford, McT etc), well if you want to continue with that theme there's no better place to start than AWB.
Show some serious intent Utd and get AWB signed up (at any cost) ASAP. We're the world's richest club so it's now time to dispense with the dross and buy quality whatever the cost. I want to see Ole given some serious cash to spend and buying AWB would be a great place to start IMO.
A defenders priority is to defend, and keep a clean sheet. Lose a goal, and winning suddenly becomes much harder. A great team always has a rock solid defense first and foremost and AWB is a quality defender.
I agree he's no Kyle Walker (yet) but to say he can't attack is simply not true. Also I think we've become so obsessed about having a full on attacking RB simply because we've had absolutely nothing from the way of an attacking RM or RW in the last 4-5 years. Put this kid behind a decent attacking right sided player and I'm sure you'll see he is the real deal.
Secondly I couldn't care less if buying AWB stunts the development of Dalot and Laird. They will play if and when they are good enough, there simply should be no room for sentiment or loyalty at a club like Utd.
Finally this forum loves to talk about players with potential (Martial, Rashford, McT etc), well if you want to continue with that theme there's no better place to start than AWB.
Show some serious intent Utd and get AWB signed up (at any cost) ASAP. We're the world's richest club so it's now time to dispense with the dross and buy quality whatever the cost. I want to see Ole given some serious cash to spend and buying AWB would be a great place to start IMO.
You're never getting a similar caliber of player for that price. Renewing him as he seems willing to do would make more sense.
For context when Everton were asking for £35-40m in january for Gueye and inquired about including Meunier in a trade PSG told them to put money on top.
An option for Paris would be not to replace him and count on Kehrer, Dagba (kid from the academy) and Alves at RB. It would require adding another CB.
Finally. Been waiting for us to get linked.
Alves plays all over the pitch, usually in midfield and sometimes even in the attacking trio (with Neymar out).
She's a very angry, large, jet-black Maine Coon. She regularly hears me screaming at the TV when Young is playing, so she will probably accept a free transfer to put me out of my misery.
You just listed a bunch of young players we have that need coaching up, we don't need to add yet more in the form of an overrated RB for £50-60M, we need some proven players to help the younger ones we already have.
Sign Meunier and Toby on the cheap and free up cash for splurging on midfield and forwards. Should fix things a bit.
Not to mention Alves was bought and shown favourtism on Neymar's wishes.
Big difference between AWB and Meunier is the price, and since we need so much repair work on the 1st team and squad, getting this bargain in and splashing the cash on other key positions makes better sense than going big on a full back.
I'm someone that sees value in both players. I'd like to see the former start for United, and the latter start for England. I appreciate your grievances, and I agree with you in some areas, and disagree with you in others.
I said the following 2 years ago:
Fast forward two years, and we have three prospects in Laird who I rate particularly highly, and also Dalot and O'Connor.
Price. If United are going to spend exorbitant amounts as an attempt to address numerous deficiencies in the squad, then it is paramount for United to be thrift when possible so all the positions can be addressed. It is exceedingly likely, that Meunier would be a cheaper option than AWB as the former has 1 year left on his contract, and has previously expressed interest in Man Utd.
Currently, United's forwards couldn't score in a brothel, and that's partially due to United's impotent right side. In that sense, it could be beneficial to have a full back that is offensively orientated. That's not to say AWB is a lost cause in the attacking phase, he's someone that when given the ball in the third and fourth phase of play can carry the ball infield to the half spaces before releasing the ball to someone more capable in possession, this would create space if we had someone capable of simultaneously providing width, and a threat from out wide. We don't. In any case, Meunier carries a greater offensive threat as not only is he a good crosser which I quoted earlier, he's also a good passer and a goal threat.
He would also provide some much needed experience. He's someone that has played in high pressure games domestically, and internationally.
27 isn’t just ideal age because we have young fullbacks in the ranks, but it’s an ideal age for a footballer hitting their prime, especially a defender. Just for the context Jordi Alba is 30, both Walker and Trippier are 28. If Munier is good enough, this is precisely the time to bring him in.
Just get him. Anyone but Young please.
100% my pick for RB unless we're calling time on Dalot in which case AWB is the obvious one to get
I would argue that AWB at the age of 21 has already proven himself to be a very consistent and defensively excellent RB. Week in week out he receives rave reviews and is most definitely fulfilling his potential with excellent performances. Thus I wouldn't describe him as overrated in the slightest.
Whereas Martial and Rashford (IMHO are vastly overatted) and haven't proven anything yet except that they are woefully inconsistent. In fact their inconsistency is the only facet of their play that is consistent.
I totally get what you're saying in that we need some experience to strengthen the team but my point is that just because OUR youngsters are not doing it doesn't mean we should dismiss other youngsters too. The likes of Sterling, Alli, Sancho, TAA, Sane are all young but are delivering regularly, you'd be foolish to dismiss these players simply because they are young.
We built title winning teams around the Class of '92, we shouldn't be afraid to purchase youngsters that are already delivering as I believe AWB is.
And finally so what if AWB will cost £50-60m, we're Man Utd and of course every player associated with us will come with a premium price tag but Barca and Real have also had to deal with this problem but they recognise its an inconvenience that they simply can't get around, hence they pay the big bucks and deliver outstanding teams on a regular basis.
After seeing our feckwits being so shit at defending individually and collectively, I just want defenders who can actually defend first.
Can he defend properly?
Can he defend properly?
Naturally, there will be outliers, not everybody has linear progression, and team chemistry plays a significant role. Yeah, it's not so much his age, as you can be a 27 year old only now having your breakout season, that example would be experience in a restrictive definition. He's a 27 year old that has top performances in the Champions League, Euros, and World Cup under his belt. Even then, I'd prefer it if we signed him on the back of a fantastic season. But if that was the case, PSG would be under no inclination to allow him to leave
I'm not convinced Alba is at his peak because he's at an "ideal age.' I feel team chemistry has played a far more important role. The departure of Neymar who:
A)Constantly demanded the ball
B) Would often use Alba as a decoy to demonstrate his individual brilliance
C) Had a propensity to look for Messi, and Suarez than the other Barcelona players
D) Provided width to isolate full backs
Also, the progression of Messi has played a substantial role. Messi from a young age had exceptional passing ability, but since the departure/decline of Xavi, he's become even more of a play maker, and with that, chemistry with Alba has blossomed. Not to mention, he no longer has Alves to link up with.
To reiterate what I earlier, progression isn't linear. Last season, Trippier was exceptional in the Champions League, and Spurs fans were predominantly happy with his performances in the EPL. In addition, he was one of England's better players in the last World Cup. However, this season he's stagnated, and several Spurs fans have been less than impressed with his performances. Moreover, Kyle Walker has been underwhelming this season.
As you say, he'd be a sensible acquisition.
Why is he not a regular nowadays at PSG? Is it because of Dani Alves being better than him?
There's a huge difference between AWB and Martial and Rashford, and I do agree the latter 2 are indeed proving to be overrated. However they play up front for Manchester United, AWB plays defense for a garbage relegation battling side, not hard to stand out when the sole remit of your job is to destroy, it is much harder to create and score for the biggest team in the country that is never out of the spotlight, there are vast differences in the levels of pressure and scrutiny in regards to the jobs these respective players are tasked with.
You listed some young players doing well, I don't count Sterling as he's older, but look at the top class experience around which those young players are thriving, I mean Sane plays with Aguero, De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva, Dele plays with Kane, Eriksen and Son, TAA has van Dijk and Fabinho protecting him defensively and in front of him he has a world class forward in Salah. You mention the class of '92, when they came into the fold they had Schmeichel, Pallister, Bruce, Irwin, Keane and Cantona to carry the burden of the club while they settled in. Now look at our current team, we have no leaders or personalities or world class players to shoulder the team for the youth we have, nevermind adding more.
As for the price, in an ideal world it wouldn't matter, but we aren't Real or Barca, clubs that ran for the glory of winning trophies. We are ran by businessmen who care about top 4 CL money and nothing else, so we have a budget, hence when Barca lost Neymar they went and spent north of £300M on Dembele, Coutinho and Arthur, we lost Ronaldo and bought Valencia and got a broken Michael Owen on a free, we just got away with it because we had the greatest manager of all time.
Last edited:
He's not great defensively and signing a RB for his age 28 season seems like a dumb idea, particularly if Rashford (who can't head a ball yet) is our 9, but he'd also clearly be our best RB by a fair bit and if we don't sign Sancho, odds are whatever RW we get won't be a traditional winger and we'll need dangerous width going forward, which he'll provide.
My sense is there's a similar quality 23-25 year old RB out there for the same transfer fee and less wages, but tough to trust our club to find them. If we're spending 250M this summer, 10% of it on a RB who can give us a B+ for the next 2 seasons seems sensible even if it's not the sort of thing we should be doing in a macro sense.
We've really become Inter Milan so quickly, eh?
My sense is there's a similar quality 23-25 year old RB out there for the same transfer fee and less wages, but tough to trust our club to find them. If we're spending 250M this summer, 10% of it on a RB who can give us a B+ for the next 2 seasons seems sensible even if it's not the sort of thing we should be doing in a macro sense.
We've really become Inter Milan so quickly, eh?
Meunier, plus a decent right winger will instantly transform our right side. For €25-30m it's a no-brainer.
Not a watcher of ligue 1 but doesn’t he get benched by 35 year old Dani Alves when he is fit?
Can’t be that good if PSG are willing to sell him.
Can’t be that good if PSG are willing to sell him.
@Devil may care, an excellent reply and some really valid points. Perhaps I was a bit hasty with my buy at all costs mentality. I guess I'm just so disillusioned with the decline of the Utd team that I'm desperate to snap up anyone who is delivering and would be of long term benefit to our team.
I also take on board the fact that many of those good youngsters I mentioned do play with some extremely gifted players. It is easy to knock the likes of Rashford and Martial but they are equally surrounded by such mediocrity.
What I find absolutely incredible however is when we objectively look at the quality (or rather lack of it) in our squad it's unbelievable how far that quality has regressed. 10 years ago it would be unthinkable that we would have a front line so technically incapable as we have now, or a converted left winger captaining us from right back, or a CF that incredibly cannot control the ball or amazingly the fact that for years we've had nobody that can simply deliver a decent cross from out wide.
I'm not arrogant enough to think we have a god given right to always be the best, but just from a succession planning perspective it's outrageous what we have become, that is a team so full of average talent and mediocrity it's beyond belief. I think only the most loyal and die hard Utd fans would hand on heart say we realistically had a team anywhere near where it should be.
Therefore as much as I don't want to see Pogba and DDG leave I believe that is the only way we'll be able to fund this huge rebuilding project that will get Utd delivering again. I just hope if we do spend big we spend much more wisely than we have spent in the last 4-5 years.