They are hard to find, but even when they are available we never seem to be in as a possible destination for them.
We need 2 new CMs. Who do we sign?
- Thread starter luke511
- Start date
I agree we essentially need Casemiro’s replacement and a player to compete with or deputise for them and the same for Mainoo. Four players who actually play those positions and you allow Eriksen, Casemiro and Amrabat to leave.
You then use Mctominay as an impact player, Mount has to try and compete with Bruno and Mount and Mctominay are cover for other positions if required. If they don’t like that then they move on, as opposed to what we usually see at Utd which is trying to force square pegs into round holes and accommodate players.
We can’t go into another season with only one striker, simply have to get another one. If Wheatley keeps improving as well then could be looking a it stronger in that position in a year or two.
Ezequiel Fernandez (21) of Boca Juniors is apparently the most talented DM playing in South America.
I didn't know him until I read this article on transfermarkt: https://www.transfermarkt.de/ezequi...ri-in-argentinien-wertvoller/view/news/436523
The article says this:
At Boca, he not only organizes the passing game, but also sets the pace and ensures a balance between attack and defence. His main strength is winning balls and bringing them into the final third. Fernández prefers to play vertical passes, but can also shift play when necessary. One area where he can still improve is the final pass, i.e. balls into the penalty area. Only three assists and zero goals speak for his scoring qualities, which have been almost non-existent so far.
He's 1.79, so not tall, but not small either, similar to Varela who'd cost 50m at least. So we could probably get a less risky player with this guy?
I didn't know him until I read this article on transfermarkt: https://www.transfermarkt.de/ezequi...ri-in-argentinien-wertvoller/view/news/436523
The article says this:
At Boca, he not only organizes the passing game, but also sets the pace and ensures a balance between attack and defence. His main strength is winning balls and bringing them into the final third. Fernández prefers to play vertical passes, but can also shift play when necessary. One area where he can still improve is the final pass, i.e. balls into the penalty area. Only three assists and zero goals speak for his scoring qualities, which have been almost non-existent so far.
He's 1.79, so not tall, but not small either, similar to Varela who'd cost 50m at least. So we could probably get a less risky player with this guy?
The more you think about this area of the team, the more you look at Chelsea and Liverpool and their huge investment in this department and how they have still not got it right yet.
Chelsea bought ; Enzo(105m), Caciedo(110m), C Palmer (40m), and R Lavia (55m), C Nkunku (60m) and C Chukwuemeka (£20m) to add to Mount , Kovacic and Gallagher at time, sold Mount and Kovacic plus Ngolo Kante for combined £100m so they spent £290m net to upgrade, it hasn’t worked yet but they are all young enough to improve and hold some of their transfer value.
Liverpool bought; A Macallister (40m), W Endo(15m), R Gravenberch(35m) and D Szoboszlai(60m) so they spent £150m after receiving £50m for Fabinho and Henderson, they also released Oxlade Chamberlain, N Keita and J Milner, the club improved from a EL team to a Champions league team but they will fall massively next season.
We have a unique opportunity to have a mass clear out and make a statement in the engine room. The club must sell or release the following ; Hannibal(10m), DVB(5m), C Eriksen(5m), S Amrabat(R), Casemiro(25m)
I would keep Scott Mctominay, M Mount with Kobbie and Bruno. That means we have no specialist Defensive Midfielder, No true CM as Kobbie is a DLP and no real Physical BTB midfielder.
The reality is we might sell all of the players for a combined fee of £45m but more importantly we will free up £800k per week or £40m per year in wages. The fans need more than just young talent and promises. We Would like in ideal world maybe Barella, F Wirtz/J Musiala and FDJ any 3 from those 4 will cost £250m in transfer of £50m per year on books plus the same in wages so it can’t be done, however we need at least one marquee and one young emerging player.
I actually think we need a specialist BTB, therefore must go for A Rabiot/Freeplus 200k per week on a 3 year contract so £10m plus signing on fee will be £5m per year so A Rabiot Costs £15m per year amortised, We need a specialist CM so we should go get Jao Neves for £90m over 5 years with reasonable wages this kid who I believe is True Generational talent would cost £18m per year amortised on transfer fee and £6m in wages so £24m per year on the books and finally I totally agree with those who want a wildcard DM like Ezequiel Fernandez(21) from Boca for £15m plus £80k per week wages which is combined £7m on our books.
The total outlay on these 3 would be about £46-48m per year on transfer amortised and wages. The headline would be Neves and a spend of £100m against sales of £45m but in real terms the cost is almost the same on our yearly accounts for a huge upgrade.
Chelsea bought ; Enzo(105m), Caciedo(110m), C Palmer (40m), and R Lavia (55m), C Nkunku (60m) and C Chukwuemeka (£20m) to add to Mount , Kovacic and Gallagher at time, sold Mount and Kovacic plus Ngolo Kante for combined £100m so they spent £290m net to upgrade, it hasn’t worked yet but they are all young enough to improve and hold some of their transfer value.
Liverpool bought; A Macallister (40m), W Endo(15m), R Gravenberch(35m) and D Szoboszlai(60m) so they spent £150m after receiving £50m for Fabinho and Henderson, they also released Oxlade Chamberlain, N Keita and J Milner, the club improved from a EL team to a Champions league team but they will fall massively next season.
We have a unique opportunity to have a mass clear out and make a statement in the engine room. The club must sell or release the following ; Hannibal(10m), DVB(5m), C Eriksen(5m), S Amrabat(R), Casemiro(25m)
I would keep Scott Mctominay, M Mount with Kobbie and Bruno. That means we have no specialist Defensive Midfielder, No true CM as Kobbie is a DLP and no real Physical BTB midfielder.
The reality is we might sell all of the players for a combined fee of £45m but more importantly we will free up £800k per week or £40m per year in wages. The fans need more than just young talent and promises. We Would like in ideal world maybe Barella, F Wirtz/J Musiala and FDJ any 3 from those 4 will cost £250m in transfer of £50m per year on books plus the same in wages so it can’t be done, however we need at least one marquee and one young emerging player.
I actually think we need a specialist BTB, therefore must go for A Rabiot/Freeplus 200k per week on a 3 year contract so £10m plus signing on fee will be £5m per year so A Rabiot Costs £15m per year amortised, We need a specialist CM so we should go get Jao Neves for £90m over 5 years with reasonable wages this kid who I believe is True Generational talent would cost £18m per year amortised on transfer fee and £6m in wages so £24m per year on the books and finally I totally agree with those who want a wildcard DM like Ezequiel Fernandez(21) from Boca for £15m plus £80k per week wages which is combined £7m on our books.
The total outlay on these 3 would be about £46-48m per year on transfer amortised and wages. The headline would be Neves and a spend of £100m against sales of £45m but in real terms the cost is almost the same on our yearly accounts for a huge upgrade.
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I realistically only see us getting two. As we need new players all over the squad. If we lose Casimero and Amrabat. I would be all for signing a Guido Rodriquez or Wilfred Ndidi on a free and then spend on a young CM/CDM. Like Onanna, Joao Gomes, Andre, Alan Varela. Joao Neves is the favourite on here but he will cost close to £100 million Euros. Cant see it with FFp and fact we will probably playing conference league football
I could see this sort of thing:
Out: McTominay, Casemiro, Eriksen
In: Expensive as hell DM, Fofana (30M), Barkley (free)
Bruno (Mount)
Mainoo (Barkley/Fofana)
DM (Fofana)
if Barkley prefers being a squad player here to starting for say Fulham, Brighton or Brentford.
It's still cheaper to sell McTominay and replace him with a new 6th midfielder, whether it's buying someone promising from a smaller league for 10M before Atalanta or whoever buys him and paying him half of McTominay's salary, or overpaying wages for a free signing. And we're never getting a better chance to make a good profit on McTominay then this summer with 2 years left on his deal and him scoring 1 in 3 for club and country, that will appeal to some low-possession team somewhere in the Prem you'd have to think.
I think someone like Rabiot will be ruled out as it’s handing a huge contract to a 29 year old and that’s what club is likely going to be moving away from. Neves is probably just too expensive given all the needs elsewhere, the market surely has to settle at some point and maybe he will be available for a more realistic price next summer.
I expect we will be shopping on different market and will be looking at cheaper players like Thuram, Gomes etc as well as younger players like Ezequiel Fernandez, Hugo Larsson and El Khannouss.
For me squad building comes down to age difference across positions, if you have 30+ year old defence and 18 y/o midfield, you're either not doing it right or looking for a last hurrah before changing the whole defence.
If we'd be smart, we would be focusing on Garnacho/Mainoo age group, cut losses with Bruno, while his stock is high, as well as other suspects in Eriksen and Casemiro, and invest in Neves/Wirtz type of signings to aim to compete/win in 2-4 seasons, or have an actual scouting system and try to get talent in before they establish themselves as 100 mil players.
McT can stay if he's happy with being 5th, 6th option, he's not good enough to start, but he's a good option for last 15 mins/injury cover. While we all wish we'd have someone like Modric, ideally, who we could send on as an impact sub, we don't have that luxury, and McT is homegrown and been at United all his career, so if he's happy with limited role, there's no reason a common ground can't be found. I think EtH too seems to have warmed up to him this season, having been bailed out couple of times.
If we'd be smart, we would be focusing on Garnacho/Mainoo age group, cut losses with Bruno, while his stock is high, as well as other suspects in Eriksen and Casemiro, and invest in Neves/Wirtz type of signings to aim to compete/win in 2-4 seasons, or have an actual scouting system and try to get talent in before they establish themselves as 100 mil players.
McT can stay if he's happy with being 5th, 6th option, he's not good enough to start, but he's a good option for last 15 mins/injury cover. While we all wish we'd have someone like Modric, ideally, who we could send on as an impact sub, we don't have that luxury, and McT is homegrown and been at United all his career, so if he's happy with limited role, there's no reason a common ground can't be found. I think EtH too seems to have warmed up to him this season, having been bailed out couple of times.
Don’t think we’ll have the cash to get 3 good midfielders which is the requirement.
I can see us getting a 50-60 mil onana from Everton given their financial burden. Hope we get this done early as Liverpool atleast will be looking.
Another one can be an Eriksen type signing for a couple of season that’s preferably free. Barkley has been called out, I have not watched him play, but looking at his stats he can be a good squad player.
The third mid can possibly be a promotion from our youth team. Not sure who’s likely to be the next Mainoo.
Rest of the budget should be spent on some Defensive reinforcements and possibly one cheap striker like a Guirassy.
I can see us getting a 50-60 mil onana from Everton given their financial burden. Hope we get this done early as Liverpool atleast will be looking.
Another one can be an Eriksen type signing for a couple of season that’s preferably free. Barkley has been called out, I have not watched him play, but looking at his stats he can be a good squad player.
The third mid can possibly be a promotion from our youth team. Not sure who’s likely to be the next Mainoo.
Rest of the budget should be spent on some Defensive reinforcements and possibly one cheap striker like a Guirassy.
Varela, Guido and Rabiot is a massive improvement on Eriksen, Casemiro and VDB and only Varela would cost anything as Guido and Rabiot are both available on frees this summer although I’d go a step further and move Hannibal on and try and bring Gomes back from Lille too.
Do we need to get all three? I am thinking the wages Rabiot would demand would be those of a starter, we would also pay a fee for Varela which will be in the 40 - 50m range and therefore considerable. In my view, we get Varela as the starter and Barkley as the back up. I agree on Hannibal and Gomes as the latter has the potential to be an elite playmaker.
If we act clever, we can sign 4 MFs for not too much money.
DM: Ezequiel Fernandez (20m), Casemiro's replacement
CM(B2B)/emergency DM: Kephren Thuram (30m), first partner for Mainoo, long overdue Fred replacement, also compensates the sales of Hannibal and VDB
CM(playmaker): Angel Gomes (25m), Mainoo backup/competitor and Eriksen's replacement
CM/CAM: Barkley (free), backup, physical MF, McTominay's replacement
It would make total sense to start a box to box player like Thuram and play Mainoo as DLP, while slowly integrating E.Fernandez as a holding 6, to have more tactical flexibility. Instead of going after Varela for 50m, we should go after the player that Porto would likely sign if they have to replace him. Just saying.
DM: Ezequiel Fernandez (20m), Casemiro's replacement
CM(B2B)/emergency DM: Kephren Thuram (30m), first partner for Mainoo, long overdue Fred replacement, also compensates the sales of Hannibal and VDB
CM(playmaker): Angel Gomes (25m), Mainoo backup/competitor and Eriksen's replacement
CM/CAM: Barkley (free), backup, physical MF, McTominay's replacement
It would make total sense to start a box to box player like Thuram and play Mainoo as DLP, while slowly integrating E.Fernandez as a holding 6, to have more tactical flexibility. Instead of going after Varela for 50m, we should go after the player that Porto would likely sign if they have to replace him. Just saying.
Does Rabiot come here and do anything but stroll around? Got the feeling when we approached him last time it was like "what's in it for me?". We need hungry players and his mum felt like a liability last time around.
That's the fear, would rather a younger player but we also need a starting DM and a squad option. The way I see it we lack depth at LB, DM, LCB and striker - these are just back ups/competition. I wouldn't trust Rabiot to come here and not lose interest when things go south.
To be honest no we don’t really even need Rabiot but I’m more using him as an example, I’d be far happier with Varela and Guido which brings a lot of solidity and a strong foundation then bringing in Gomes too as I really think Gomes could be a brilliant playmaker.
damn looks like Guido Rodriguez is joining Barcelona. Would have been a decent free signing to replace Casemiro as an older DM
Saw that BUT clubs from the same league can’t do pre contracts with other clubs for players in the last 6 months of their contract so Barca couldn’t have anything sealed so if we’re swift we could legally sign him to a pre contract.
Lucas Gourna-Douath (one of the key players of RB Salzburg) also looks like a future DM star. He's 20, 1.85 tall, French U-21 NT player, seems to have both great technical and physical qualities, great work rate, good tackler, and is also good at passing and build up. A well-rounded modern DM, that we could build up alongside Mainoo. You guys (and our scouts) should check him out.
Saw Youssuf Fofana play well again for Monaco Vs Lyon. They lost in the end but he had an impact on the game with a strong presence in midfield. Not wasting touches and also got an assist for the equalising goal.
Bursts forward remind me of Pogba.
Bursts forward remind me of Pogba.
Angel Gomes could be a utility player for us. Could be a back up to Mainoo, or in matches where we can get lots of possession, can slot next to him. He is like Mainoo in that he can play out from the back, but can also get forward and provide the last pass. Ideally you still want 2 other midfielders, where we get a DM, and also someone athletic.
A very obvious signing. Wouldn't be expensive either.
I was looking at Angelo Stiller recently on fbref and youtube - he looks like he reads the game well, has good positioning, and his clear strengths are his short and long passing. He would give us another option with a left-footed set piece taker since Shaw is almost always out injured.
There are the usual names that pop up as well - Maxime Caqueret, Youssouf Fofana, Enzo Le Fee, Angel Gomes. From Championship - Hayden Hackney, Gabriel Sara, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
DM: Joao Palhinha / Joris Chotard / Angelo Stiller
CM: Palacios
LB: Mittelstadt
CB: Todibo
CM: Palacios
LB: Mittelstadt
CB: Todibo
This is the model we should follow but spread it out over the next two summers. With Casemiro, Eriksen and Donny leaving we should get either a 60 and 15 mil type signing or a couple 40 mill type signings this summer then do the other next summer. That will get us 4 new cms who can be part of the future along with Mainoo.
Angelo Stiller, Youssuf Fofana, Amadou Onana. I'd like two out of those 3. Cheers.
Is the lad Man Utd Koné from Monchengladbach still highly rated? I remember people raving about him.
EDIT - His first name is not Man Utd but it autocorrects to Man Utd
EDIT - His first name is not Man Utd but it autocorrects to Man Utd
If it really was his name he would be a must have signingIs the lad Man Utd Koné from Monchengladbach still highly rated? I remember people raving about him.
EDIT - His first name is not Man Utd but it autocorrects to Man Utd
About his performances... feels a bit as if he faded into irrelevance, just like the whole club.
The guy in the pic resembles Hitler
What happened to that young guy from Ecuador that was getting a bit of talk a while ago?
I'm not sure where this Angel Gomes hype comes from.
Is it hype? He's young, doing well in France, and will be relatively cheap. People are discussing him as a backup to Mainoo.
He's made a huge step up in France, would be cheap and didn't leave on bad terms. We'd be fecked if Mainoo gets injured. So why not?
How much would be cost? Can he make it in the PL? Bit risky.
He's also homegrown on top of his obvious qualities, which would help if we do sell McT but he's definitely coming back only if he is a starter, which I don't think he will be.
Good shout this. I really like him and reminds me so much of Tchouameni as a DM, who can also play as a B2B midfielder. I think if we have reservations of Onana, rather go for Gourna-Douth, who will be cheaper, as athletic and also relatively tall, so we don't lose out on height. If we got him and lets say Youssouf Fofana/Barkely as a B2B to rotate with Mainoo. That would upgrade our midfield physicallity and athleticsm significantly at decent transfer cost. I hope with Wilcox on board, we will gravitate towards this type of signing.
Yeah, thought he left for game time so hard to imagine him coming back in as a back up option.
I thought he left because of game time as a youth player. Now that he's made the step up to a senior player, I think situation is different. He'll challenge Mainoo for the CM spot and replace Eriksen/Amrabat, so he'a getting plenty of playing time.
We really need to look into Hayden Hackney from Middlesborough. He is a 21 year old CDM/CM who has shown some great glimpses in the championship. He looks like he has the progressive traits in his game that would translate to the premier league.
He is playing under Carrick at the moment and I actually see so many similarities in their game. Carrick has also mentioned throughout this season that Hackney has a leadership mentality and a great attitude.
Would probably cost 15-18 million and would be a phenomenal fit next to Mainoo.
He is playing under Carrick at the moment and I actually see so many similarities in their game. Carrick has also mentioned throughout this season that Hackney has a leadership mentality and a great attitude.
Would probably cost 15-18 million and would be a phenomenal fit next to Mainoo.
I don't know how we are going to sort it out but I find our central midfield and defense situations pretty grim. Besides Mainoo, Dalot and a fit Martinez, I don't see any other players we have for those six positions as part of the long term solution.
In Defense:
- Varane, Maguire, Lindelof, AWB and Evans need to leave.
- Malacia is terrible, even as a back-up.
- We need to find solution for Shaw. He can stay another season as back-up LCB/LB, but I don't see a use for him beyond that.
In Central Midfield:
- Casemiro and Eriksen need to leave.
- Amarabat is shit and won't have his loan extended.
- McTom is as mediocre as they come. We need to find a solution for him as he only has one year left on his contract. Ideally I wouldn't give him a new contract. Our serious lack of numbers in the position might force us to extend his contract. On top that he is homegrown, so that is a bonus.
- I personally think that Mainoo should be playing in the #10 position for now rather than in central midfield.
Too much to do. It would be interesting to see how this is managed in the transfer window. 3 CM's and 5 defensive addition in one summer is impossible and won't happen.
In Defense:
- Varane, Maguire, Lindelof, AWB and Evans need to leave.
- Malacia is terrible, even as a back-up.
- We need to find solution for Shaw. He can stay another season as back-up LCB/LB, but I don't see a use for him beyond that.
In Central Midfield:
- Casemiro and Eriksen need to leave.
- Amarabat is shit and won't have his loan extended.
- McTom is as mediocre as they come. We need to find a solution for him as he only has one year left on his contract. Ideally I wouldn't give him a new contract. Our serious lack of numbers in the position might force us to extend his contract. On top that he is homegrown, so that is a bonus.
- I personally think that Mainoo should be playing in the #10 position for now rather than in central midfield.
Too much to do. It would be interesting to see how this is managed in the transfer window. 3 CM's and 5 defensive addition in one summer is impossible and won't happen.