Him and Guido Rodriguez on a free would allow us to sign a top class third CM (probably not J.Neves but someone in the 60m price class category) or LB (Theo Hernandez).
We need 2 new CMs. Who do we sign?
- Thread starter luke511
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I think the lack of goals is less about personnel and more about our inability to control games. The more you have the ball the more chances you create and the greater the likelihood of scoring. City pre-Haaland and Arsenal this year have shown that you can bang in goals without having a standout source of goals. Its all about having more control of the game.
My dream CM is a solid base made up of highly energic CMs capable of defending, passing the ball and joining the attack. That would eliminate the huge gaps we'll seeing between CM and defense. Taking in consideration our budget constraints then I'd go for Conor Gallagher and James Garner. Both are over 6ft tall, they are EPL proven, they are young, they are also superb in terms of interceptions (Gallagher is at par with Rice and Garner is even better), they can distribute the ball very well and they can defend and attack. Gallagher has 1 year left in his contract while we should recoup 15% of Garner's fee.
A lot of sense in that post and the idea of us buying a right back over a left back is insane D Dalot and a fit AWB are more than ok for 1/2 seasons, we really do need another elite number 9, Rasmus is still developing and personally I’d go after V Osimhen or E Ferguson whose stock would have reduced this season, he might be available for £65-70m now, if we can persuade Varane to stay then yes One young CB like J Branthwaite or A Silva added to Maguire, Varane, Martinez and probably J Evans for one more season is more than enough and Kambwala could be used at RB or CB or CDM.
Varane is injury prone and is already showing signs of decline. He's costing us 18m per year in terms of salary as well. If its true that Atalanta wants 52m for Scalvini then we should be all out for him.
Manoo and Barella in midfield base next season along with Bruno or another new playmaker midfielder.
Realistically we wont be selling McTominay, regardless of what happens with the manager seat. But we should be looking to find a new club for Eriksen, obviously send Amrabat back and sell Casemiro to the highest Saudi bidder.
I wouldnt mind getting Barkley in to replace Eriksen's role in the squad as a good backup/potential starter, while bringing a lot more physical presence and mobility than Eriksen.
Then whoever we sign to replace Casemiro has to be top of the line and someone who will complement Mainoo.
I wouldnt mind getting Barkley in to replace Eriksen's role in the squad as a good backup/potential starter, while bringing a lot more physical presence and mobility than Eriksen.
Then whoever we sign to replace Casemiro has to be top of the line and someone who will complement Mainoo.
Evan Ferguson is a United fan, he’s not setting the PL a blaze this year, he’s played 35 games all comps and scored 7 goals 1 assist, no goals in Europe which is surprising ? He’s on a contract to June 2029 so has 5 years left this summer. He’s on £30k per week, How easy would it be for a club like United with a new CEO and DOF, especially one who knows all about him to sell him the dream of helping rebuild United with a promise of paying him £80k per week plus goal bonus so nearly 3 times his current wage. I think we could do that deal at £75-80m.
What kind of CB is Scalvini , I think one of the posters here described him as pretty good footballer but average defender .
Well Osservatorio Calcio del CIES puts Scalvini in the best XI born after 2003. In that list there's Hojlund, Garnacho, Gavi, Balde and a certain Jude Bellingham. He's the best Italian golden boy of 2023, he already have 7 caps with Italy after making a debut at age 18 and is considered the hottest asset in Italy.
I am not saying that he's the finishing product however there's a lot to be optimist about. Scalvini is a modern CB stuck into the frame of an old school defender. He can read the game very well, his technique is excellent (in fact he is sometimes moved in CM), he can play a high press, his interceptions and tackles are top notch (this season it was better then Van Dijk, Martinez and Saliba) while his clearance is slightly weaker to Martinez but at par to Saliba and he's fantastic aerially in his 6ft4 frame. He still needs to improve on his passing (which is slightly better then Branthwaite but is still far off compared to Van Dijk and Saliba) and will need to adapt into a 4 men defense but the talent is there. My only issue is whether he's got the pace to play with United. He's not a Maguire but he's not a Martinez either.
Thanks for the detailed reply based on your description he looks set to play for one of the bigger Clubs in future , But his lack of pace and lack of experience to play in back four means unless we are bringing in two CB's in Summer we should stay clear for the time being .
It all depends on the price really. At 51m I think he's worth having a second look especially if Everton are sticking to the ridiculous 75m price tag for Branthwaite
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Would love Barella in our team.
Barella would cost alot and he's 27. Considering the price tag and our ageing CM (Casemiro, Eriksen, Bruno) that's highly advisable. If we're ready to blow 100m then we might as well get the Benfica kid.
27 entering his prime and should be a mainstay for a good 5 years. It'd be a casemiro like signing but at the right age profile .
Will be tough if we think that Mainoo can be the rock of our midfiedl at 18/19 next year.
He needs someone next to him, but alos someone to replace him if (when) he will have some deeps in form.
If we sell Casemiro to Saudi Arabia, we'll have to rethink our midfield. With the season Scott has, I think he will probably seek for more minutes and may leave. Amrabat will leave and I guess that Eriksen too. Meaning that we'll only have Mainoo-Mount-Bruno. (I would loan Hannibal also for a full season) so assuming this we would need 3 midfielders, with one absolute starter and 2 for the rotation (but more 6s or 8s)
I like João Palhinha who could be the defensive wall behind Mainoo and will remove some burden to him. And the idea of having Palhinha-Mount-Bruno looks also less unbalanced.
Nevertheless, Ten Hag likes his number 6 to control the game and be the second passer, after Licha, so we need somebody technically strong. I alos like what Çalhanoğlu does for Inter. He plays deeper now, almost between the CB and has a super pass range.
Finally, I was really really impressed by Edson Álvarez from West Ham, and really liked how he bossed us recently.
So I'd go first with one of these options as a stater in the 6 position.
Then we would need to add two more players.
He needs someone next to him, but alos someone to replace him if (when) he will have some deeps in form.
If we sell Casemiro to Saudi Arabia, we'll have to rethink our midfield. With the season Scott has, I think he will probably seek for more minutes and may leave. Amrabat will leave and I guess that Eriksen too. Meaning that we'll only have Mainoo-Mount-Bruno. (I would loan Hannibal also for a full season) so assuming this we would need 3 midfielders, with one absolute starter and 2 for the rotation (but more 6s or 8s)
I like João Palhinha who could be the defensive wall behind Mainoo and will remove some burden to him. And the idea of having Palhinha-Mount-Bruno looks also less unbalanced.
Nevertheless, Ten Hag likes his number 6 to control the game and be the second passer, after Licha, so we need somebody technically strong. I alos like what Çalhanoğlu does for Inter. He plays deeper now, almost between the CB and has a super pass range.
Finally, I was really really impressed by Edson Álvarez from West Ham, and really liked how he bossed us recently.
So I'd go first with one of these options as a stater in the 6 position.
Then we would need to add two more players.
Legs are the first to go unfortunately so I can't see Barella showing the same amount of energy at 32. Also we have too many key players of similar age (Onana, Shaw, Martinez, Lindelof, Wan Bissaka, McT, Rashy and Bruno). I don't want us to spend 100m on a player but if we do let's aim for someone whose young and can give us 7-10 years of top level football. I mean its not like we're likely going to compete for the juicy stuff in the next 1-2 years.
Another former ETH player, that wouldn't go down well.
Mainoo has probably saved us 60/70 million in the transfer market. I would love to see an aggressive ball winning midfielder .Ideally we need a long term replacement for Bruno also. Amrabat struggling is still a mystery to me. Came off a good season and world cup. Seemed the Perfect age and profile to replace Casemiro long term. But it hasn’t worked for whatever reason. I am big fan of Paulina but he will want Champions league football
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Logically, we could well be shifting 5 Midfielders this Summer: Eriksen, Casemiro, Donny, Amrabat & Hannibal, so I think we would need to bring at least 2, perhaps 3 into the MF pool.
I'm liking that we are being linked with Barella & Joao Neves, class ballers.
Joao Neves & Kobie Mainoo could be like our version of Xavi & Iniesta...
Someone mentioned before how shrewd a signing such of Guido Rodriguez would be, and I'd completely agree with that.
I'm liking that we are being linked with Barella & Joao Neves, class ballers.
Joao Neves & Kobie Mainoo could be like our version of Xavi & Iniesta...
Someone mentioned before how shrewd a signing such of Guido Rodriguez would be, and I'd completely agree with that.
Garner is not even close to Rice’s level. In terms of defensive midfielders in this country, Rodri is a level above Rice, and Rice is two levels above everyone else (I don’t class Kobbie as a DM). We have to look overseas if we want to get someone to complement Mainoo and Bruno.
What’s the odds on getting rid of all the deadwood midfielders? Will we have any suitors for VDB? The only midfielder I think will interest teams is Casemiro. Can see Saudi clubs circling him. I think Eriksen will stay as back up, Mctominay will probably stay as a squad player and he’s probably earned it going of this season. Hannibal should be sold, Amrabat won’t be here. VDB will be sold. That leaves us with Bruno, Mainoo, Mctominay, Eriksen, Mount. So we should be signing a definite starter to compliment Mainoo and Bruno and another CM at least. Depends what roles we’re looking at, I’d say we need a pure DM who is a destroyer. We also need a DLP.
Just someone who leaves Kobbie at #8 so he can boss the PL tbh.
Rodri is the best DM in the world while Rice is WC. Both players are unavailable. Considering the massive rebuild ahead we need to cut the cloth according to our cloth. Garner and Gallagher has similar interception stats to Rice (and higher then Rodri), Garner has similar stats on clearances to Rice and Rodri and both have similar clearances stats. Garner will need to improve on his ability whose at a respectable 83.3 but still inferior to Rice and Rodri whose above the 90%. Both Garner and Gallagher are EPL proven, they are built for the EPL (pace, stamina, physicality and frame) and if played alongside Mainoo then we'll have two tireless CMs who'll close the huge gap CM and defense is constantly leaving behind while concurrently not costing us a bomb.
Midfield is all about balance not names. We won our last EPL title with Tom frigging Cleverley playing alongside an old Carrick and an ancient Scholes while Pogba was left on the bench. If you pick Cleverley as an individual then he was low EPL tier/high Championship tier player at best. I think that Garner/Gallagher, Mainoo and Bruno provide such balance
Being realistic!
United need 1 quality first teamer who can cement the no.6 position. With Mainoo and Bruno making up the midfield trio.
So you have Casemiro, McTom, Eriksen, Mount filling in the squad places.
I would give Eriksen's minutes to Gore/Hannibal. Give Mount another season. Look to replace one of Casemiro/McTom depending on funds/sales etc.
United need 1 quality first teamer who can cement the no.6 position. With Mainoo and Bruno making up the midfield trio.
So you have Casemiro, McTom, Eriksen, Mount filling in the squad places.
I would give Eriksen's minutes to Gore/Hannibal. Give Mount another season. Look to replace one of Casemiro/McTom depending on funds/sales etc.
Yep exactly this. But the qualities we should look for in that player and Mainoo's best position in the squad are a bit up in the air.
Will Ten Hag stay? Will he continue to play the single pivot? Will Mainoo play #8 next to Bruno? Assuming yes for all of these, we need a fast, physical DM with some playmaking ability. Needs a good engine so he can mop up counter attacks in the 85th minute but also enough technical ability to receive the ball while being pressed and find an outlet. I don't think we need to blow our budget on this - there are many DMs of this mould floating about.
Eriksen and Casemiro will leave. They are on too much salary to be relegated as squad players and quite frankly their legs are gone. The club will probably accept a bid for McT if the price is right and will look to offload VDB as well. I'll be surprised if we don't add 2 CMs.
I was trying to basically say the same in a previous post. But you have articulated a lot better than me. Gore is an interesting talent. I wonder if he needs a loan next season then he can replace Eriksen season after. Hannibal not sure if we should cash in the summer and put a buy back clause in.
I'd suggest following:
Sell Casemiro - buy Koopmeiners
Sell Eriksen and McTominay - buy Kephren Thuram or sign Barkley on a free
Release Amrabat - sign Guido Rodriguez on a free
Sell VDB - promote Gore
Sell Hannibal (with buyback option) if a good offer comes in
Sell Casemiro - buy Koopmeiners
Sell Eriksen and McTominay - buy Kephren Thuram or sign Barkley on a free
Release Amrabat - sign Guido Rodriguez on a free
Sell VDB - promote Gore
Sell Hannibal (with buyback option) if a good offer comes in
I’d Sign Onana and Haidara, as well as a squad player in Barkley
Can’t really take suggestions seriously if the reference point is our 2013 midfield that many lamented constantly and everyone agrees was basically held together by Fergie magic and RVP being the best striker in the world in front of them.
Also Gallagher isn’t a 6, and Garner is relegation level and the far lesser of the potential Everton prospects.
My point is that its all about balance. On paper a CM made up of an old Carrick, an ancient Scholes and a donkey shouldn't have made us win anything. Yet we ended up winning the league comfortably. Regarding positions well most of the time they are very fluid . Scholes was an all out attacking midfielder and ended up becoming a great deep lying playmaker. Keane was an offensive midfielder as well and he ended the best DM United had throughout SAF's reign and Carrick was a playmaker. In fact SAF hasn't played with a 'pure' first team DM since Ince.
What's important in my opinion is the player's skillset and the CM balance. Now I don't like a dedicated DM especially if we're playing a high line. Its put too much pressure on him and if he fails then the entire team would collapse. I would opt on having 2 defensive B2B midfielders instead who can provide energy and defensive cover without sacrificing too much on the creative side. One must also take in account our budget. Its easy to say just slot Barella and Rodri in CM and we're sorted.
Now let's have a look at Gallagher. He's got more interceptions and successful tackles this season then both Casemiro and Rice. He's also physically sound (6ft) and his work rate is off the charts. Garner's stats are quite significant too. He's got as many blocks as Rice, more interceptions, more clearances and more successful tackles. His passing is not up to the top guys out there but one has to take in account his age and the fact that he plays with Everton under dinosaur. If you ask me a base of Garner, Gallagher or/and Mainoo would protect defense (thus allowing the rear flank men to attack more) it would allow Bruno to stick to the no 10 position and will allow our flanks to focus on their game.
Regarding foreign imports well that's an option however we need to take things in serious consideration especially around the Serie A. I remember spoiling one of my earliest dates with my future wife as I spent in into an internet cafe as news of us signing Veron came in. I was 100% sure that Veron would totally destroy the EPL especially considering the wealth of talent we were surrounding him with. I also believed that Amrabat would do well in the EPL. The reality is that playing in CM in an EPL side is a proper blood bath as its very demanding in terms of skill, physicality and pace. Adapting there is tricky and no one understands that better then a British player.
It's difficult. You need managers that can inspire and command respect, plus players who genuinely, genuinely want to be at the club, and I no longer really know what that means. However, players that come to mind... Lobotka and Aguissa at Napoli both impress me.
I also like Ross Barkley, would be a great platform for him to really showcase his talent.
I also like Ross Barkley, would be a great platform for him to really showcase his talent.
Agree broadly with a few posters above, I think. Specifically, my take is:
Sell Casemiro
Sell Eriksen if he wants to go. Otherwise, he's cheap and only contracted for one more year so whatever.
Release Amrabat
Get Barkley (or similar, on the off-chance better is available) on a free. 3yr contract.
Keep McTominay, to use exactly as we are currently - mostly as a sub, for goals or muscle.
Buy a top-quality #6/DM. Ideally somewhere in the 22-26 age range. Focus on complimenting Mainoo: so physical, with an engine, and defensive positional discipline.
Buy a cheap young prospect #6/DM. There's no obvious DM talent about to come through from the academy so this is important too.
Bring Dan Gore into the squad. Unless a high-quality loan spell is on offer - PL or high in the Championship. Which is unlikely.
That leaves you with:
1st XI-------2nd XI-------------------------3rd XI
Bruno------(Mount)-----------------------((Gore))
Mainoo---(Barkley/McTominay)--((Mejbri))
DM 1-------(DM 2)-------------------------((Mainoo))
Hopefully you've bought one expensive player and one cheap one. And if Casemiro goes to Saudi, we might get enough from them to cover the cheaper player. So that still theoretically leaves enough budget for other needs like CB and CF.
Sell Casemiro
Sell Eriksen if he wants to go. Otherwise, he's cheap and only contracted for one more year so whatever.
Release Amrabat
Get Barkley (or similar, on the off-chance better is available) on a free. 3yr contract.
Keep McTominay, to use exactly as we are currently - mostly as a sub, for goals or muscle.
Buy a top-quality #6/DM. Ideally somewhere in the 22-26 age range. Focus on complimenting Mainoo: so physical, with an engine, and defensive positional discipline.
Buy a cheap young prospect #6/DM. There's no obvious DM talent about to come through from the academy so this is important too.
Bring Dan Gore into the squad. Unless a high-quality loan spell is on offer - PL or high in the Championship. Which is unlikely.
That leaves you with:
1st XI-------2nd XI-------------------------3rd XI
Bruno------(Mount)-----------------------((Gore))
Mainoo---(Barkley/McTominay)--((Mejbri))
DM 1-------(DM 2)-------------------------((Mainoo))
Hopefully you've bought one expensive player and one cheap one. And if Casemiro goes to Saudi, we might get enough from them to cover the cheaper player. So that still theoretically leaves enough budget for other needs like CB and CF.
In our current midfield I'd only keep Mainoo. Bruno is currently riding on his previous body of work.
That's daft though, isn't it. We literally wouldn't have the money to afford enough central midfielders to make a viable squad. Also, see Chelsea for what happens when you wholesale import an entire new XI's worth of players all at once. Real life is not Football Manager.
Bruno may be flawed, but with so many positions where we have struggled to actually field an appropriate player, he is clearly not a vacancy worth making.
I think we only need three coming in if we were to shift all of Casemiro, Eriksen, VDB, Hannibal and don’t sign Amrabat but even then we’ve got Mainoo, Fernandes, McTominay, Mount and Gore so could get away with just bringing in two which would then be seven players for three positions.
I’ve said a lot recently about liking Varela at Porto as a Casemiro replacement and I’d also like us to go for Neves who I see a lot of Carrick in, Varela and Neves would be similar to when we had Carrick and Hargreaves and we’ve also got players coming through the under 21’s and academy with lots of promise.
I’ve said a lot recently about liking Varela at Porto as a Casemiro replacement and I’d also like us to go for Neves who I see a lot of Carrick in, Varela and Neves would be similar to when we had Carrick and Hargreaves and we’ve also got players coming through the under 21’s and academy with lots of promise.
3 CM is too much for 1 transfer window only, if we bare in mind we also have other needs. But my shortlist would be this with no particular order and going for options that probably wont break the bank:
- Danilo (Nottingham Forest): this kid has tons of potential and his defensive attributes are actually very good, as one could check by his defensive stats. Some people might point we also want him to work his build-up but at this moment none of our midfielders bar McT are doing a good job on covering our defence.
- Éderson: seems to be justifying a career leap. He's doing a very solid season. I've been impressed every time I saw him play.
- Joey Veerman: I know we have reasons to be suspicious about the tulips league, but this guy plays very well even in European games. Ready for the next step IMO.
- Maxence Caqueret: Lyon's season has been a mess but this guy is really good. He won't be there next season.
- Aleix García: one of the main reasons of Girona's good season. He was a very promising player when young. Is he finally blooming? Won't be expensive, but rumours says Barça is interested.
- Alex Scott: I think this kid has so many potential: his stats are amazing, seems like a complete midfielder. Still has a lot to learn though.
- Archie Gray: despite playing on scum, he's clearly a massive talent.
- Hugo Larsson: another kid with tons of potential.
Koopmeiners has put in a transfer request for the end of the season and specifically talked about being interested in England.
He's someone who would probably be quite a good profile for our midfield. Played deeper earlier in his career, but in a more attacking position since joining Atalanta. Wouldn't have any issue with physical power in the PL and is good at pressing. Speed might be the only issue, considering he'd also be playing next to Mainoo. Neither are slow, but pace certainly isn't a strength either.
He's someone who would probably be quite a good profile for our midfield. Played deeper earlier in his career, but in a more attacking position since joining Atalanta. Wouldn't have any issue with physical power in the PL and is good at pressing. Speed might be the only issue, considering he'd also be playing next to Mainoo. Neither are slow, but pace certainly isn't a strength either.