You're kidding aren't ya? it wouldn't take nearly as long.
Virgil Van Dijk
- Thread starter Silverman
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Having two CB's that would have to go to the AFCON at the same time wouldn't be a great idea, plus I'm pretty sure he signed a new contract with Napoli and negotiating with their crazy owner would be impossible.
Certainly think he's better than Smalling and I rate Smalling highly. He's as physical as him but is a big improvement on the ball. Only thing is that he's prone to the odd lapse of concentration and can make the odd error.
They both are
our next must buy player IMO. He'd be perfect alongside Bailly or Smalling
Hard to say. Were we to buy him, I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up like Schneiderlin. Makes a couple of mistakes, loses confidence, drops down the pecking order and finds it hard to break into the team again.
Everyone is.
Lets see how he performs against Chelsea today. Wouldnt surprise me if he bosses it.
Liverpool interested in him, why am I not surprised?
They wont get him in January though. But would be an excellent signing, Mane like impact
If Liverpool get him then I think they are really getting their act together, fantastic, solid defender.
Can play a bit as well.
This
Virgil and Dante could take our defence from hell to heaven
Van Dijk signed a contract extension) club through to the summer of 2022.
Koulibaly signed a contract extension through to 2021.
Another African. You wouldn't want 2 of your main defenders leave for AFCON in Jan every 2 years.
Money talks....
Considering Napoli rejected £58 million prior to the contract renewal, it would cost an exorbitant figure which would be an inherently risky strategy.
Yep if we want top players we will need to spend and this guy looks top drawer. Would love him at United to partner Bailley. Him and a couple of midfielders should see us alright lol!
No central defender is worth comfortably exceeding £58 million imo.
I wanted him in the summer, as I felt he would be a good partner for Smalling. This was ultimately derived from the fact that Smalling has always looked more comfortable (be that with Vidic or Jones) being the sweeper, he rarely dives into challenges, and having a player alongside him that's aggressive, comfortable playing on the left side of central defence, composed on the ball would've ensured they suited each other.
However, given the acquisition of Bailly, I feel the attributes we need from a defender differ. Bailly isn't particularly dominant in the air, and whilst he's capable of maneuvering himself from attackers trying to press, his ball distribution is limited when the opposition give him time and space on the ball, knowing full well he won't make those incisive probing passes that a Boateng, Bonucci, Badstuber, Hummels, Ramos etc. would with consummate ease. Very often, will you see him pass the ball to Blind, and point forward, because as of right now, he isn't capable of doing it himself. Bailly lacks discipline as exemplified by the fact he's received 4 yellow in his past 9 games, and in some of those games, he was arguably fortunate to not receive a red card. He can be reckless, do quick to dive in the challenge, so ideally you'd want a player that is well disciplined, like Toby Alderweireld for instance, only accumulated 3 yellow cards last season, despite playing 38 games. If that examples isn't palatable, then another example would be Koscielny who is yet to receive a yellow card this season. One other example would be Daniele Rugani, who received his first yellow card ever in the Serie A after 53 appearances on April 2016. Furthermore, Bailly isn't particularly dominant in the air. It is the case, that Bailly has only won 53% of his aerial duels this season, 54% last season, and 50% the season before that. Ideally, we should have a central defender that is as close to as 70% as possible to partner Bailly.
January 1st:
Bailly is a young kid in a new league with bags loads of potential. Rugani I haven't seen much off so don't know. But koulibaly looks a rock to me who is a beast physically and comfortable on the left side. We get him and let Bailly Smalling fight it out who partners him. With Valencia and Shaw either side and DDG we would have a top class defence imo and the basis of a team to build titles on. After that there is still work to be done on the balance of our midfield so Jose needs time.
January 1st:
Wouldn't be surprised if he has his own office at St. Mary's.I hope United try and sign him either in January or next summer, he could combine well with Bailly. Was never sure how far he would go when he was at Celtic, but he is strong, quick, passes the ball well and is looking like he is from the same mould as Ferdinand.
Would be pretty pissed if he went to Liverpool. He's a very good player and I fully believe that he will develop further.
Meh. They will become another Southampton, if they aren't already.
Van Dijk would be a great signing. We should be all over that. He's much better than any of our CBs apart from Bailly.
He really is but the Smalling lovers will tell you different.
Bailly having bags of potential, is all the more reason why its imperative his central defensive partner has strengths which compensates for his flaws. Koulibaly is better suited to being a partner for Smalling, than Bailly so to speak. I'm not advocating that we should sign Rugani, the point was rather that having two very aggressive center halves in Bailly and Koulibaly could potentially be counter-productive, and in the previous examples, I went on to mention three examples of central defenders with exemplary discipline.
I think he'd cost a fortune, and could see Liverpool losing out in a bidding war to one of the European elite
Bought him on my fifa career mode. It's a sign! !
I get what you are saying but think this fella Koulibaly would be a good fit for both Smalling or Bailly. He looks ideal for the EPL and would be a great buy imo.
The type of player we are missing in the team. Takes responsibility, shouts orders at teammates. He and Bailly would be the foundation we need to build from. Who (besides Koullibaly) compares with him at the moment?
Thiago Silva next to Bailly would also look quite nice for a few seasons.
Thiago Silva next to Bailly would also look quite nice for a few seasons.
He's been fantastic for Southampton tonight. MOTM performance. I'd love us to sign him to play alongside Matip.
He is superb and would complement Bailly at the back so well. With those 2 we would be sorted for years.
In all the Liverpool rumors you've seen regarding the price, what was the general fee? I've only seen one which had £13mill, and that's just conjecture.
I haven't really seen any fees quoted but I'd assume it'd be at least £30 million to get him. Honestly I think he's as good as our best CB (Matip), maybe better and would be worth the money.
I'm wary of going for a Southampton player after they dry bummed us by getting 55M for Shaw and Schneiderlin.
He's fecking like Vidic and Terry at corners. Seems to win every header whether it is defending or attacking.
That's what Southampton bought him for off Celtic i think.
They're gonna make an absolute fortune off him now. Could even see him ending up somewhere like Barcelona.
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