Tiemoue Bakayoko
- Thread starter Devil may care
- Start date
- Status
I honestly haven't seen him play, but I do like what I'm hearing about him. The thought of an athletic driving DM in a Mourinho team is definitely appealing.
If that's his highlights on YouTube then please hope we stay clear. Physically imposing but doesn't have a clue on the ball and just plays instinctively. I'd rather have a more intelligent player as the number 6. (This is based solely on this YouTube video)
Here's an updated one btw.
FWIW, I don't see anything in these clips that TFM couldn't do. That's not to say they're at the same level however. The experience of TB executing this stuff in CL and L1 vs fleeting minutes clearly sets them apart today. In fact, the nature of TB in these clips reminds me of a young Yaya Toure.
Last edited:
based on the new video by @FC Ronaldo he seems to pass well enough. Plus he rarely seems to get disposessed. we can play him in the herrera role with herrera in the carrick role if we get him
Looks very good.
How is the distribution of workload between him and Fabinho? Does Fabinho hold more while Bakayoko roams, or are Fabinho on the bench for this guy?
How is the distribution of workload between him and Fabinho? Does Fabinho hold more while Bakayoko roams, or are Fabinho on the bench for this guy?
He seems like he has an eye for a pass but I don't know if he's defensively disciplined enough to play in a 2 with Pogba, which seems like it would be the case because this signing goes in line with that £150m quartet story that came out a few weeks ago.
I only base that on that video posted so I don't say more as have not seen enough but in that video he was poor in awareness and you need that to play midfield for United.
Please don't advocate Herrera for holding player as he is very limited in this position due to his skill set (he is doing well as our 8).
That's the problem with the clips aka focusing on ball/ challenging for ball. You only have the feel about the game rhythm, the tempo, the style the team play... so you can understand his role. Take TFM yesterday 15 minutes for example. He hardly do anything wrong (even came alive when we attack), but if you watch the whole game, then you can clearly see he's out of sync with the team when he came on and looked quite confused when we don't have possession. Sure TFM can make passes, tackle, drive forward... you name it, like this guy. The thing is to string all those together as a first team player is different than random piece of skills here and there. There are bunches of new X Y Z with clips, but hardly any are as good as the original.
If we sign this guy, this guy pretty much up there behind Carrick Herrera and Pogba and save us from seeing more of Fellaini. In long run, if he keeps progressing like he has from the beginning of this season, he's pretty the partner for Pogba, being a more defensive one of the two.
Last edited:
of course but against most of the PL side, we could get away with a midfield of
Herrera
Someone else with a bit of defensive awareness-Pogba
Carrick of course is a different class to herrera
If we use that video as guide, I believe that he's much more similar to Pogba than to Carrick or Ander, right?
How this guy fits in the pivot role?
How this guy fits in the pivot role?
That would be shoehorning players into roles they don't fit in. It's would be a very strange way to build a midfield.
If we bring in a guy like Bakayoko then we also need a playmaker who can pass from the deep similar to how we played Schweinsteiger with TFM against Reading.
If we don't then Pogba is the only one who can do it which would limit his ability to get into offensive positions, making him much less effective and the team would become very blunt in attack.
Herrera has got the interception ability to hold but wouldn't pick out Rashford in the way Carrick did. DM, yes, playmaker, no. But that could be balanced by Pogba and another creative passing 8.
Very odd that they don't mention his propensity to drive forward and/or occupy the left side of the field. He seems to be almost an identikit of the way Pogba plays, just without the same skill.
Makes me wonder if they could play together without getting in each other's way.
Fabinho is The starter at Monaco, he is the player who is always playing and he is the one holding.
This guy a fecking rocket, though. Like Yaya when he was young.
This Bakayoko is capable of medium range pass. With his ability to drive forward, there would be less reliant on long range pass which Pogba is more than capable enough. Should we need long range pass, Pogba would drop deep and do that while this guy can in Pogba place, offer the presence and drive forward. This is more unpredictable for our opponent than then set up with Carrick.
Last edited:
He could just be the third choice CM in rotation for Pogba/Herrera. We definitely need numbers in midfield, an injury or rest to any of our current three and we switch either back to a 4231 or we bring Fellaini in... Beyond that, we're left with Schweinsteiger, who looked gassed after three minutes yesterday.
I would agree that he provides the driving runs if Pogba as well as adding the physicality. He would be backup for Pogba but also replacing the Fellaini late sub option. For this last reason alone, worth considering. Think he wouldn't be first IX except for certain physical games.
I hope that it's the plan because he likes to roam and defending isn't his strong suit, he is the all action type.
Could play TFM as the dm and him and Pogba ahead
Oh. No. I misunderstand you.
I thought your post said 'hope that isn't the plan'. I'm tired.You misunderstand me. Not that he'll be the 'third CM' (aka Carrick role) but be used in rotation with Pogba or Herrera if one of those two need rest or are injured. More like the role Fellaini plays currently.
Nah, Bakayoko isn't that type of player. He would be backup to Herrera/potential upgrade and would offer us more depth that we need. He can be played in Carrick role against teams that come to park the bus cause his positioning infront back 4 wouldn't be an issue and his ball retention and his ability to impose him self would greatly benefit us. Carrick would then play away games and against better teams at OT. He's just 22 and has huge potential and could be developed further to suit our needs. Either way, just the fact that we are looking for more midfield depth and to move away from likes of Fellaini is encouraging.
No, Bakayoko isn't the type of player to pair with Pogba in midfield two, not at the moment at least. He's more Herrera than he's Carrick, so to say. Albeit a bit more defensive, and more physical.
That's all fine and well but TFM is years away from being what we need in that position. He's just 18...potential is there and he will get games here and there for now but we need someone who we can actually count on and TFM is not that, just yet.
Exactly my feeling, I really hope this go through in this transfer window, it would be immense for to have another proper midfield option once February rolls and our congested fixtures. As much as I like TFM, he can't offer that to us right now. Apart from immediate impact of that kind he has insane potential going forward.
I dunno why people are getting caught up in him apparently not being a perfect Carrick replacement. In the next 6-18 months you'd imagine we may need to replace Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Carrick, Fellaini and Rooney, all of whom have been playing in midfield for us. In terms of players Mourinho actually seems to rate, we're really light in that position. It's hardly surprising that we may want a young, promising midfielder who could be rotated with players like Pogba and Herrera.
I did think about rotation, but it's a horrible position for a youngster to be in when their competition for places are both fit, young and hungry themselves. That could be ruinous for his own development. I'm not against him for thaty, though, just think it's a hard sell to take a young up-and-coming starter and dump him on our bench.
From what little I've seen, he looks like an understudy to Pogba particularly, which is even worse for him because Pogba is one of the mainstays of the team.
@JPRouve do you think Pogba and this guy could play together in a 4-3-3 without getting in each other's way?
Mourinho's aim might be to go from a backward facing triangle to a front facing triangle in the midfield, ie.
From this:
^^^Attack^^^^
Pogba-----Herrera
-----Carrick
To this:
^^^^^Attack^^^^
--------Pogba
Bakayoko----Herrera
In that sense, it would make it easier to rotate the likes of Mata/Rooney in for Pogba, and TFM/Pereira in for Bakayoko/Herrera. We wouldn't need to sacrifice our shape when first teamers needed a rest or suffered an injury.
We'd effectively be replacing Carrick with two players because no one player seems to be good enough. Also, both Bakayoko and Herrera seem good enough to support Pogba when he needs it. It looks like a combination that could work on paper.
From this:
^^^Attack^^^^
Pogba-----Herrera
-----Carrick
To this:
^^^^^Attack^^^^
--------Pogba
Bakayoko----Herrera
In that sense, it would make it easier to rotate the likes of Mata/Rooney in for Pogba, and TFM/Pereira in for Bakayoko/Herrera. We wouldn't need to sacrifice our shape when first teamers needed a rest or suffered an injury.
We'd effectively be replacing Carrick with two players because no one player seems to be good enough. Also, both Bakayoko and Herrera seem good enough to support Pogba when he needs it. It looks like a combination that could work on paper.
But we need to have an exact replacement for Carrick, just like when Carrick was an exact replacement for Keane...
He hasn't fell out with anyone, he only had Jardim as coach and Makélélé doesn't have a coaching role at Monaco.
good point well made..
I don't know if he rarely seems to get dispossessed. If it's a Youtube highlight reel that tries to show how good he is, surely they wouldn't show him getting dispossessed because it makes him look worse? Same with passing.
They should be able to do it without problem. I have never seen Bakayoko play on the right side of the midfield but most players aren't Matuidi and are able to do it.
This guy is very much like a peak Essien from those videos. Maybe Mourinho wants Herrera to take over the Carrick role, so it will be a midfield of Herrera, Bakayoko, Pogba.
He's a defensive box-to-box midfielder. A tackler. Like Kante, like Schneiderlin, like Khedira.
That's an interesting take and removes the need for a DLP, but at the same time, you've got 2 players 'holding' who don't want to do the job and are going to have mental lapses during a high pressure game because their instinct won't be to sit.
It would be all action and aggressive, but it is a departure from Mourinho's M.O where he always has a dedicated sitter cleaning up behind the rest of the midfield.
Thanks. Just wondered about that because it looks like this guy does everything down the left.
Surely Monaco won't sell now anyway. If he's that highly sought after then the interest will still be there in the summer and they'll get a bidding war going. Wouldn't really make sense for them.
This sounds like a plan. Two box to box midfielders with a more limited supporting role and Pogba linking the midfield to the attack.
----------Zlatan---------
Martial---Pogba----Mhki-
-------Baka----Ander----
Shaw--CB-Bailly--Valencia
The potential for overloading down the left sound great, in theory.
Interesting idea but for me Pogba plays better when he's deeper than at #10. And where would Griezmann play?
Atletico MadridInteresting idea but for me Pogba plays better when he's deeper than at #10. And where would Griezmann play?
Interesting idea but for me Pogba plays better when he's deeper than at #10. And where would Griezmann play?
Paris Saint Germain.
- Status