I genuinely think it is difficult for us top assess without seeing what the manager sees on the training pitch. On the one hand we can look at the goal tally from Hojlund and say that it has been found wanting, but on the other hand you look at the data and it says he is doing a lot of the right things, we just aren't getting him the service. At his age, it is very hard to be sure of how a player will develop and if they will reach the required level. I think it is not contentious to say that we need another striker to compete with him and provide rotation options, the question is whether we need to spend big on a player already in their prime. Especially when other positions need to be addressed.
One of the biggest issues is the wide positions. When we play Amad at RWB it dramatically changes our ability to progress the ball up the pitch. Amad comes deep, can receive it under pressure, create space for himself, and also carry it forward at speed. This makes a huge difference to the entire team. When Dalot and Maz play there, they end up just recycling it backwards, which makes us very easy to defend against. The problem with playing Amad wide is that you lose his threat closer to the box. But then of course if you do play him furhter forward, the ball struggles to reach him because we have so much trouble progressing play from the back. Dorgu will help from an attacking perspective, in that when he have the ball higher up the pitch, his pace and power give us a genuine threat from wide areas. Where he won't help is trying to progress it from deep because he doesn't have the close control and technical ability that Amad does to receive it under pressure deep, and create space for himself. If anything Dorgu has a rather loose first touch.
This is why it makes so much sense that our first and priority signing be Quenda. It's a lot to put on a young lad, but he gives us what Amad gives us out wide, without sacrificing Amad further up the field. With Yoro, Mainoo, Quenda and Amad on that side of the field, I would be extremely excited about how that would develop for us over the next 2-3 seasons. So much game intelligence and technical ability in that quartet, and all young. The other side looks much, much worse with potentially Martinez, Ugarte, Dalot, and Bruno/Garnacho. Martinez isn't physical enough to hold down that spot, and with his injury we will need a proper LCB to play there. Ugarte is fine, fantastic in fact. Dalot isn't a LWB, not even close, if we play Dorgu on the left, that would work well I believe, but Amorim seems intent on the inverted option, so I am not sure what he is going to do there. The left 10 is a bit of a conundrum.....I like Bruno closer to goal, and cutting in on his right gives you the benefit of his inverted crossing and shooting, but he lacks pace to play as one of the front three. He can potentially play the Mainoo role in midfield and we go with Garnacho there, and while I consider Garnacho to be our second most dangerous player, he is also very, very careless with the ball. He remains very raw.
Looking at it as two groups of four, the four on the right and the four on the left, with a CB and CF anchor at each end, it becomes pretty clear to me where the problems will lie moving forwards, and that is on the left hand side. If Yoro is the RCB, and De Ligt plays as the central of the three, we desperately need someone for the left. Perhaps Inacio. Dorgu might be the one to play LWB, but if he is out, then what? Back to Dalot? Which is like not having a player there. Don't get me wrong, Dalot is a very good player, at right back. But not as left wing back / wing. So getting in a fast, technical right footed LWB would seem like a top priority to change the complexion of the team. Assuming we send out Sancho, Rashford, and Antony permanently, we will also need at least two forwards, which will be expensive. For that left sided 10 role, the ideal player would be Wirtz, which we know won't happen, but it's a player of that ilk that we need. If we can address those issues, in that way (along with more depth for midfield - such as Ederson at Atalanta), then we will have a squad to compete and I don't think we will need a big money replacement for Hojlund.
One of the biggest issues is the wide positions. When we play Amad at RWB it dramatically changes our ability to progress the ball up the pitch. Amad comes deep, can receive it under pressure, create space for himself, and also carry it forward at speed. This makes a huge difference to the entire team. When Dalot and Maz play there, they end up just recycling it backwards, which makes us very easy to defend against. The problem with playing Amad wide is that you lose his threat closer to the box. But then of course if you do play him furhter forward, the ball struggles to reach him because we have so much trouble progressing play from the back. Dorgu will help from an attacking perspective, in that when he have the ball higher up the pitch, his pace and power give us a genuine threat from wide areas. Where he won't help is trying to progress it from deep because he doesn't have the close control and technical ability that Amad does to receive it under pressure deep, and create space for himself. If anything Dorgu has a rather loose first touch.
This is why it makes so much sense that our first and priority signing be Quenda. It's a lot to put on a young lad, but he gives us what Amad gives us out wide, without sacrificing Amad further up the field. With Yoro, Mainoo, Quenda and Amad on that side of the field, I would be extremely excited about how that would develop for us over the next 2-3 seasons. So much game intelligence and technical ability in that quartet, and all young. The other side looks much, much worse with potentially Martinez, Ugarte, Dalot, and Bruno/Garnacho. Martinez isn't physical enough to hold down that spot, and with his injury we will need a proper LCB to play there. Ugarte is fine, fantastic in fact. Dalot isn't a LWB, not even close, if we play Dorgu on the left, that would work well I believe, but Amorim seems intent on the inverted option, so I am not sure what he is going to do there. The left 10 is a bit of a conundrum.....I like Bruno closer to goal, and cutting in on his right gives you the benefit of his inverted crossing and shooting, but he lacks pace to play as one of the front three. He can potentially play the Mainoo role in midfield and we go with Garnacho there, and while I consider Garnacho to be our second most dangerous player, he is also very, very careless with the ball. He remains very raw.
Looking at it as two groups of four, the four on the right and the four on the left, with a CB and CF anchor at each end, it becomes pretty clear to me where the problems will lie moving forwards, and that is on the left hand side. If Yoro is the RCB, and De Ligt plays as the central of the three, we desperately need someone for the left. Perhaps Inacio. Dorgu might be the one to play LWB, but if he is out, then what? Back to Dalot? Which is like not having a player there. Don't get me wrong, Dalot is a very good player, at right back. But not as left wing back / wing. So getting in a fast, technical right footed LWB would seem like a top priority to change the complexion of the team. Assuming we send out Sancho, Rashford, and Antony permanently, we will also need at least two forwards, which will be expensive. For that left sided 10 role, the ideal player would be Wirtz, which we know won't happen, but it's a player of that ilk that we need. If we can address those issues, in that way (along with more depth for midfield - such as Ederson at Atalanta), then we will have a squad to compete and I don't think we will need a big money replacement for Hojlund.