Victor Lindelöf

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We can still sign him if he wants to come
 
He's made quite some mistakes in the last 4-5 games, maybe he lost some focus with the transfer talks.
 
Oh for Christ sake - he is not better than any of our 4 central defenders - so why sign him ?
 
I'm confused.

I thought the only reason he wanted a CB in January was to add experience qnd leadership. I'm not sure Lindelof exactly fits that profile?

Bailly is obviously earmarked to be a first choice Cb for years to come, so I hope we aren't going to a back 3
 
lysglimt said:
Oh for Christ sake - he is not better than any of our 4 central defenders - so why sign him ?
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Sometimes you sign younger players for their potential to develop into something better than you have, I know it sounds crazy but it's just how the world works nowadays
 
Dont see the point myself. Can see one of our 3 CBs (Bailly excluded) going at the end of the season if that is the case.
 
Blind isn't counted as a CB in Mourinho's plan so a 5th CB isn't too out of the ordinary. We signed Jones when we had Vida, Rio, Evans and Smalling in the team.

Long term they will just have to fight it out.
 
For once we have a manager that I don't doubt in the transfer market, if Mourinho wants him then he has seen something there.

Especially regarding defensive players his transfer record is impeccable.
 
InfiniteBoredom said:
Blind isn't counted as a CB in Mourinho's plan so a 5th CB isn't too out of the ordinary. We signed Jones when we had Vida, Rio, Evans and Smalling in the team.

Long term they will just have to fight it out.
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Yeah but Jose works with a 23 man squad, GK's included. I would be surprised if we went with 5 CB's into next season. But maybe he doesnt trust them to stay fit. They were all injured at some point during the season.
 
SwansonsTache said:
For once we have a manager that I don't doubt in the transfer market, if Mourinho wants him then he has seen something there.

Especially regarding defensive players his transfer record is impeccable.
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Yeah me too. He knows his defenders

I just find it slightly odd because he normally has an experienced head in his CB's. If Bailly & Lindelof is the plan, it lacks that leading head a bit imo. But as you say, Mourinho knows his defensive players
 
I think the question is whether what we have is something sustainable or just a period of good form as we've not seen this consistently in either Rojo or Jones. I think both their form has even surprised Jose. As long as Smalling has been here, there still remains questions of whether he's the answer, so tbh I think only one player has shown immediately that he's quality and we potentially going to lose him for 9 games every session......
 
izec said:
Yeah but Jose works with a 23 man squad, GK's included. I would be surprised if we went with 5 CB's into next season. But maybe he doesnt trust them to stay fit. They were all injured at some point during the season.
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I think he needs to widen that pool a bit given the increasing number of games and travel. 25-26 seems more suitable if we have ambition to go far in 4 competitions.
 
Pointless signing if it were to happen. From what I've seen from him, he doesn't have any ability to make him good enough. I honestly think we already have five better CBs. I actually hope we don't sign any new CBs right now.
 
Despite our recent defensive improvement, the department isn't beyond strengthening, so this signing would make sense - especially when Lindelöf is one of the higher rated young players across Europe, and is barely scratching the surface of his potential in terms of first team football - where there's massive room for improvement given his skillset and mentality. So while he might not necessarily be better right now, he has the potential to become better once a centerback whisperer like José gets his hands on him - like Varane, Zouma and Bailly in recent years. With Bailly off to AFCON in a few weeks, it'll only take an injury to Jones or Rojo to create a bit of uncertainty at the back (even with the return of Smalling), and going by their collective fitness record, that scenario isn't implausible. Even medium to long term, adding someone who can play as an LCB at a comfortable level (with Luisão or Jardel usually staring at RCB for Benfica) will be useful for United because we have three centerbacks who're patently better on the right in Bailly, Jones and Smalling.

LCB: Rojo, Lindelöf
RCB: Bailly, Jones, Smalling

Plus, he can deputize as a situation based defensive midfielder or a defensive minded right fullback, thus negating the need for someone like Fabinho who's not much cop going forward; and, he is quite decent on the ball as a consistent genesis of attacks from the deep - something that we lack with say Smalling. Bayern Munich are reportedly going to sign Süle despite having Boateng, Hummels, Martínez and Badstuber. That's how you renew and build from a position of apparent strength (apparent because while their personnel group looks great at face value, it's not perfect in terms composition under Ancelotti - much like United where we haven't seen enough of Jones and Rojo over a sustained period of time to form conclusive views). Mourinho has a great record with defensive signings, and a great record at United so far with Ibrahimović, Pogba, Mkhitaryan and Bailly. So we have to trust him on this.
 
lysglimt said:
Oh for Christ sake - he is not better than any of our 4 central defenders - so why sign him ?
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Rojo is meah, Smalling lack brains, Bailly will soon feck off to the African cup and Jones will probably return to the treatment room as soon as the January transfer window is closed. I think that Mou wants to keep everyone on his toes just in case any of our CBs do not carry their weight. The guy can play as RB too if needed
 
It's worth pointing out that Lindelöf can also play as a RB and is quite comfortable there (not a Jones situation under Fergie). He's much more versatile than the CB's we already have. He's also 6ft 2 and only 22 years old. I've always seen him as a viable option to replace Darmian should Mourinho sell him.
 
crossy1686 said:
It's worth pointing out that Lindelöf can also play as a RB and is quite comfortable there (not a Jones situation under Fergie). He's much more versatile than the CB's we already have. He's also 6ft 2 and only 22 years old. I've always seen him as a viable option to replace Darmian should Mourinho sell him.
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I think its a shrewd signing from Mou. He'll keep our CBs on their toes + he'll get a potential cover/competitor for Valencia. As they say form is temporary and class is permanent so I wont be surprised if soon enough Jones/Rojo form changes
 
This guy is known for his mentality. They call him Iceman.
 
He was our (Sweden) youngest ever captain against Hungary last month as well.
 
So he's not the next Vidic like I've read then?
 
Bailly's going to the ACON and I'd be surprised if one of the remaining three weren't sold in the summer (just a gut feeling that Mourinho would like to get some more of his own men into the team rather than a comment on their quality) so I wouldn't be amazed if this happened.

An injury to Rojo, Jones or Smalling leave us awfully lightweight next month.
 
NinjaFletch said:
Bailly's going to the ACON and I'd be surprised if one of the remaining three weren't sold in the summer (just a gut feeling that Mourinho would like to get some more of his own men into the team rather than a comment on their quality) so I wouldn't be amazed if this happened.

An injury to Rojo, Jones or Smalling leave us awfully lightweight next month.
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In a weird sort of way, his injury has made this easier to take. We know we can still defend well without him.
 
crossy1686 said:
It's worth pointing out that Lindelöf can also play as a RB and is quite comfortable there (not a Jones situation under Fergie). He's much more versatile than the CB's we already have. He's also 6ft 2 and only 22 years old. I've always seen him as a viable option to replace Darmian should Mourinho sell him.
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What kind of full back is he? Ive wondered if he might be seen as a short term right back while he adapts. Could he be an Ivanovic type player? I imagine having a 6ft + fullback gives you an extra man on corners, hence Chelsea always scoring plenty from corners.
 
I don't know much about him but I think What we have at the mo whilst showing good form is only a kick away from a downward turn. Don't want to wish it on them and maybe Jose has waved some fairy dust but fundamentally I need to see them maintain this over a significant period of time.

I also suspect that ultimately in the summer that one of the CB will be moved on anyway and I suspect it's going to be Smalling.....
 
My Benfica mates have been raving about him since roughly this time last season. Say he's good with the ball and has a great mentality.

Contrary to the current form of Jones and Rojo (with Bailly and Smalling still to return to fitness), it is an area we need to strengthen further as we all know our injury record at CB.

Mourinho has always purchased well when it comes to CB's and he should all have our trust when it comes to this signing.
 
We have Rojo, Jones, Smalling Bailly who are all class. Then we have Fosu-Mensah and Tuanzabe as back up who should start getting minutes here and there. We need wingers, not central defenders.
 
Rossa said:
We have Rojo, Jones, Smalling Bailly who are all class. Then we have Fosu-Mensah and Tuanzabe as back up who should start getting minutes here and there. We need wingers, not central defenders.
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Rojo - in form but generally has been poor for us
Jones- I think he is very good, but has been injury prone
Smalling- Was very good for 2 months then his normal level reappeared- physically he's very what you want but prone to errors and not the best with the ball
Bailly- been excellent apart from occasional erratic moments- has amazing potential but still raw

We need a reliable centre back in January, and ideally a midfielder who can replace Carrick when he needs a rest- although I would expect the latter to be more difficult to achieve in January and could be put off til the summer.

There are plenty of positions that need to be improved, we have weaknesses at fullback- Shaw hasn't shown anything too special on his return from injury and Valencia is getting on in age- but perhaps we can 'make do with what we have'. Without an in-form Martial or Mkhitaryan- as you say our wide players aren't ideal and (this may be unpopular) we should be looking to improve on Herrera in the long term if we are sticking with 4-3-3.

Throw on top of that - Ibrahimovic is our only reliable striker and he is 35.. there are plenty of areas for improvement in the squad!
 
I Re- read duncan's article, he says "Champions league level" player which makes me think mou doesnt think he will be the last defender we buy. I also think Lindelof will be used like ivanovic was by Mourinho. a centre back who can be very helpful and play very well at right back. I think he will more be a signing for long term to play at right back unless he really really impresses at cb from january to may. I think rojo will still leave at end of the season and maybe even blind and darmian.
 
I don't know much about him to be honest, a little bit like Bailly when he came, and it's a good surprise so far.

To me, it's important for us to get a new CB asap.

Bailly is out until February for us.
Smalling is not good enough for us this season.
Jones is very good atm, but we all know that an injury is always around him.
Rojo is suprising us also, but can he does that until the end of the season ?

We have some real questions in this position, and if Lindelof can actually play right back, it will be perfect as we need a cover for Valencia, and as Mou said, we need more physicality behind.
 
Rossa said:
We have Rojo, Jones, Smalling Bailly who are all class. Then we have Fosu-Mensah and Tuanzabe as back up who should start getting minutes here and there. We need wingers, not central defenders.
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Please define class. Playing 5 good games in 2 years 2 of which should ended with a red card isn't class. Same as living most of their career in the treatment room. But hey they kept Rondon at bay. That serious business indeed
 
I trust Mourinho to judge players far better than most and I think he knows how to spot a defender, Lindelof is a very strong centerback and has been very good in most matches with Benfica. I see in him a defender in the mould of Vidic,Terry and so on. I´m not saying he´s at their level yet but he´s strong and clearly has a leader´s mindset.
 
Drainy said:
Rojo - in form but generally has been poor for us
Jones- I think he is very good, but has been injury prone
Smalling- Was very good for 2 months then his normal level reappeared- physically he's very what you want but prone to errors and not the best with the ball
Bailly- been excellent apart from occasional erratic moments- has amazing potential but still raw

We need a reliable centre back in January, and ideally a midfielder who can replace Carrick when he needs a rest- although I would expect the latter to be more difficult to achieve in January and could be put off til the summer.

There are plenty of positions that need to be improved, we have weaknesses at fullback- Shaw hasn't shown anything too special on his return from injury and Valencia is getting on in age- but perhaps we can 'make do with what we have'. Without an in-form Martial or Mkhitaryan- as you say our wide players aren't ideal and (this may be unpopular) we should be looking to improve on Herrera in the long term if we are sticking with 4-3-3.

Throw on top of that - Ibrahimovic is our only reliable striker and he is 35.. there are plenty of areas for improvement in the squad!
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Looking at our season thus far, the centre back position is the least of our worry. Rojo is in great form; Jones is performing like there is no tomorrow, and I disagree wholeheartedly with your assessment of Smalling. He actually makes few mistakes, but unfortunately he has made a few in important matches where people like you will not let anyone forget. He is remembered for making silly challenges and red cards where his red card stats are really good - compare his with Vidic for instance, even in important matches. He is poor on the ball though.

Jones and Rojo are playing very well, and it is a wrong signal to send if we bring in a new defender. Moreover, a defender from a different league may well take time to adjust. I don't think a quick fix is needed, and I would much rather we focus on the attack as we don't score enough goals.
 
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