What do we still need? Aka The never ending story

I think four positions would round this team off nicely and this would be title winning. It may be unrealistic this year but I also feel if the right player cannot be found this year then we won't go for a lesser option and will wait for a number 1 target. Ole has done a great job in building a good squad with mentality, so in theory we should just be adding the final touches to this, which should bring trophies.

Henderson
AWB----Varane-----Maguire----Shaw
Rice----Pogba
Sancho----Fernandes------Rashford
Kane​
 
Motorman said:
I think four positions would round this team off nicely and this would be title winning. It may be unrealistic this year but I also feel if the right player cannot be found this year then we won't go for a lesser option and will wait for a number 1 target. Ole has done a great job in building a good squad with mentality, so in theory we should just be adding the final touches to this, which should bring trophies.

Henderson
AWB----Varane-----Maguire----Shaw
Rice----Pogba
Sancho----Fernandes------Rashford
Kane​
Click to expand...
That’s a fantasy line up to be honest, those 4 would likely cost north of £350m.

I understand and agree with what you’re saying about not settling for option B, C etc but we’d do well to get even one of them in.
 
Motorman said:
I think four positions would round this team off nicely and this would be title winning. It may be unrealistic this year but I also feel if the right player cannot be found this year then we won't go for a lesser option and will wait for a number 1 target. Ole has done a great job in building a good squad with mentality, so in theory we should just be adding the final touches to this, which should bring trophies.

Henderson
AWB----Varane-----Maguire----Shaw
Rice----Pogba
Sancho----Fernandes------Rashford
Kane​
Click to expand...
Juicy. If we sign four players then those are probably the positions we should be addressing. But there’s no way we get more than one of the mega buys on your list. If we only get one of those I’d go with Rice and would be very happy.

But, as you suggest, we would still need a CF and a CB and probably a RW as well. We must either find players who are a bit cheaper or wait another season. The problem with the latter is that when you spend too long putting the team together, more holes appear in the squad when people get injured or leave or get old.

Still, the squad is already at a level where I’d rather get one “excellent” player than any two “good” players. I think we can win the league next year with a top quality DM and CF and with only one of those we can challenge hard.
 
Ali Dia said:
Varane is class but he rejected us to spend his prime at another club.
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He's the same age as Maguire. One can argue that Varane, as a CB, is about to enter his prime.
 
Motorman said:
I think four positions would round this team off nicely and this would be title winning. It may be unrealistic this year but I also feel if the right player cannot be found this year then we won't go for a lesser option and will wait for a number 1 target. Ole has done a great job in building a good squad with mentality, so in theory we should just be adding the final touches to this, which should bring trophies.

Henderson
AWB----Varane-----Maguire----Shaw
Rice----Pogba
Sancho----Fernandes------Rashford
Kane​
Click to expand...

I agree with the positions and the players, they would all be my first choice in those spesific positions. Drool-worthy.

8 English players in there as well, it doesn't really mean all that much but I must say I like it.

However, we aren't owned by some country from the Middle East, so this is just a pipe dream.
 
We need a big summer. Our first big chance to push on since the summer we only signed Fred and fecked that team up.

If we lose Pogba we will have a monumental job to just stay at our current level because our midfield will be bare bones and devoid of passing ability
 
This is my realistic team for next season. If we can't afford all 3 then buy Rice and Sancho and leave the CB. Our defence is much better with Henderson behind it and Rice will help sure it up some more too.

If we have ambition we our playing next season with a team like this. My fear is we will have a worse Midfield than this season if Pogba goes. The Glazers have never successfully replaced a top player leaving this club.

Henderson
AWB----New CB-----Maguire----Shaw
Rice----Pogba
Sancho----Fernandes------Rashford
Greenwood
 
Riz said:
That’s a fantasy line up to be honest, those 4 would likely cost north of £350m.

I understand and agree with what you’re saying about not settling for option B, C etc but we’d do well to get even one of them in.
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Your right but that's why it laughable that people make excuses for the summer we had last year.

We done next to nothing to improve the squad for this season. It was an absolute joke.
 
One defensive minded midfielder just cannot be done. Gone are the days when they can hold the midfield by themselves as most teams will just dominate them. Even if Pogba plays more defensively it wont work except in a few games and then all you are doing is limiting Pogba. You need 2 midfielders that put in the defensive work. Even if you dont agree with me then its obvious that Ole wants it that way hence playing McFred and pushing Pogba on the left. So that's the way it will be. The only way I can see this working is that we go to a regular 4-3-3 but that means Bruno in midfield and Bruno and Pogba is too attacking and would limit Bruno's strengths. Or and what I want is to play Bruno as a false 9.

-------------------Henderson
AWB----Lindelof-----Maguire----Shaw
--Bissouma-----Neves--------Pogba
Greenwood------Fernandes------Rashford

This is a much more balanced team. Bissouma and Neves have the ability to do the defensive work, plus keep the ball, plus pass forward, plus contribute to attack. It frees up Pogba to play his natural game. Bruno is the furthest forward pressing the keeper in a lot of games so false 9 should suit him. If Neves 30 mill and Bissouma 40 mill is ever a possibility then we would be crazy not to snap them up.

I think the team above is much better but it can obviously be improved. as below. But its a fantasy as we would never have the cash for all these players. I added Grealish if Pogba leaves. I think this is the team that can challenge City. Plus we would have Greenwood, Martial, VDB, McTominay, Fred, Telles, Lindelof etc to rotate. Not bad.

-------------------Henderson
AWB----Varane-----Maguire----Shaw
--Bissouma-----Neves--------Grealish
Sancho------Fernandes------Rashford
 
Nothing has changed, we are still 4 players short, 5 if Pogba goes. The words of Woodward "We can do things in the transfer market other clubs can't" should mean we get top signings in those positions, but we know that's not going to happen, if we manage 3 good signings I'd be over the moon.

I'm confident on us getting a CB as every journalist seems to agree we are in for one no matter what other positions they vary on. Midfield seems up in the air, the only midfielder we are getting linked with consistently is Rice and that might just be due to Lingard doing well at West ham and the media putting 2 and 2 together and getting 5. With the forward line I think it'll be either/or regarding the Striker and RW, I think Cavani will go so it's going to depend on if Ole is happy with Mason and Amad on the RW or if he's going to put faith in Mason as the Striker.


CB
Varane
Kounde
Pau Torres
White

CM
Rice
Bissouma
Camavinga
Locatelli

RW
Sancho
Raphina
Neto

Striker
Andre Silva
Ings
Lautaro Martinez
 
Devil may care said:
Nothing has changed, we are still 4 players short, 5 if Pogba goes. The words of Woodward "We can do things in the transfer market other clubs can't" should mean we get top signings in those positions, but we know that's not going to happen, if we manage 3 good signings I'd be over the moon.

I'm confident on us getting a CB as every journalist seems to agree we are in for one no matter what other positions they vary on. Midfield seems up in the air, the only midfielder we are getting linked with consistently is Rice and that might just be due to Lingard doing well at West ham and the media putting 2 and 2 together and getting 5. With the forward line I think it'll be either/or regarding the Striker and RW, I think Cavani will go so it's going to depend on if Ole is happy with Mason and Amad on the RW or if he's going to put faith in Mason as the Striker.


CB
Varane
Kounde
Pau Torres
White

CM
Rice
Bissouma
Camavinga
Locatelli

RW
Sancho
Raphina
Neto

Striker
Andre Silva
Ings
Lautaro Martinez
Click to expand...
I think Danny Ings would be a good signing if we can pick him up on the cheap. But I'm not sure if that's possible..
 
Adnan said:
I think Danny Ings would be a good signing if we can pick him up on the cheap. But I'm not sure if that's possible..
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I'm not huge on Ings but he's ok and in the last year of his contract and wouldn't be an obstruction to Mason developing as a Striker.
 
Devil may care said:
I'm not huge on Ings but he's ok and in the last year of his contract and wouldn't be an obstruction to Mason developing as a Striker.
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I don't think anyone is huge on Ings, but if Cavani does end up leaving, then signing a player like him, with his contract running down might be the best course of action. Especially with us requiring players in other positions too.
 
Adnan said:
I don't think anyone is huge on Ings, but if Cavani does end up leaving, then signing a player like him, with his contract running down might be the best course of action. Especially with us requiring players in other positions too.
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Yeah, I think no matter how many corners we cut Ole will still end up 1 short, Ings would be cheaper than any other striker or winger we could get and leave more for CB and CM.
 
Michael T said:
I'm starting to think Sancho and Rice are nailed on for the Summer; hopefully Pogba stays too. I'll be happy with that.
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Would be very surprised if the board is willing to fund moves for two established players this summer, my gut feeling since it was suggested we are in for a relatively quiet window was that it's one first XI signing and two prospect ones, however no idea whether it's going to be

first XI CB, cheap RW/ST & CDM
first XI RW, cheap CB/ST & CDM
first XI ST, cheap RW/CB & CDM
first XI CDM, cheap ST/RW & CB
 
If we can sign a world class centre forward, I would be happy to go with Greenwood, Amad and Pellistri as our right wing options for next year.

I've been mad for us to sign a right winger and I like the look of Sancho, Kuluzevski and even Saint-Maximin, but as Scholes said last night, Greenwood is looking more and more at home as a wide attacker and if Cavani leaves, we desperately need a top class option up top.

We also need a midfielder who can form a pair with Pogba behind Bruno, a centre back who can play on the left of Maguire and possibly even some cover for Wan-Bissaka at right back. It's unrealistic to expect money to sign all of those plus someone like Sancho so I reckon that will be where we miss out this year.
 
diarm said:
If we can sign a world class centre forward, I would be happy to go with Greenwood, Amad and Pellistri as our right wing options for next year.

I've been mad for us to sign a right winger and I like the look of Sancho, Kuluzevski and even Saint-Maximin, but as Scholes said last night, Greenwood is looking more and more at home as a wide attacker and if Cavani leaves, we desperately need a top class option up top.

We also need a midfielder who can form a pair with Pogba behind Bruno, a centre back who can play on the left of Maguire and possibly even some cover for Wan-Bissaka at right back. It's unrealistic to expect money to sign all of those plus someone like Sancho so I reckon that will be where we miss out this year.
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Agreed. If we get a solid DM and CB to solidify our defense and get a top striker , I don't see how Greenwood on the right will stop us from challenging or winning the title
 
Devil may care said:
Nothing has changed, we are still 4 players short, 5 if Pogba goes. The words of Woodward "We can do things in the transfer market other clubs can't" should mean we get top signings in those positions, but we know that's not going to happen, if we manage 3 good signings I'd be over the moon.

I'm confident on us getting a CB as every journalist seems to agree we are in for one no matter what other positions they vary on. Midfield seems up in the air, the only midfielder we are getting linked with consistently is Rice and that might just be due to Lingard doing well at West ham and the media putting 2 and 2 together and getting 5. With the forward line I think it'll be either/or regarding the Striker and RW, I think Cavani will go so it's going to depend on if Ole is happy with Mason and Amad on the RW or if he's going to put faith in Mason as the Striker.


CB
Varane
Kounde
Pau Torres
White

CM
Rice
Bissouma
Camavinga
Locatelli

RW
Sancho
Raphina
Neto

Striker
Andre Silva
Ings
Lautaro Martinez
Click to expand...

Would be delighted with Varane, Rice, any of those RW options and keeping Edi for another season, however am well aware of our board so the absolute best we can hope for is ONE of those to sign
 
DM - Rice or Bissouma (if Rice is stupidly expensive)
CB - Varane or Torres (if Varane is using us)
ST - Ings (if he keeps performing till season ends) or Jimenez (if he's still good after the injury) or Silva (if he performs in Euros)
 
laughtersassassin said:
This is my realistic team for next season. If we can't afford all 3 then buy Rice and Sancho and leave the CB. Our defence is much better with Henderson behind it and Rice will help sure it up some more too.

If we have ambition we our playing next season with a team like this. My fear is we will have a worse Midfield than this season if Pogba goes. The Glazers have never successfully replaced a top player leaving this club.

Henderson
AWB----New CB-----Maguire----Shaw
Rice----Pogba
Sancho----Fernandes------Rashford
Greenwood
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You could argue we need cb and cf if cavani leaves more than the RW. Again!

tuanzebe, Bailly, Jones all injury prone. Leaves us maguire and lindelof who is carrying a back injury. Not ideal! None of the young lads are ready.

RW we have pellestri looking promising and Diallo and the likes of Greenwood, James etc
 
Depends on who leaves us I guess...

Striker:
If Cavani out : Moreno / Vlahovic / Silva in

Wide Fwd:
If Mata / Martial / Lingard / James out : Grealish / Sancho / Bailey / Berardi in

AM:
If Pogba / VDB out: Buendia

DM:
If Matic out : Locatelli / Phillips

CB:
If Jones out : Tapsoba / Bade / Fofana / Romero in
 
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croadyman said:
Would be delighted with Varane, Rice, any of those RW options and keeping Edi for another season, however am well aware of our board so the absolute best we can hope for is ONE of those to sign
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If we manage to keep Cavani and Pogba signs a new deal it moves the needle a bit as Pogba on the left would mean Rashford on the RW as we know he'll start 95% of the time. That means we could scour the top leagues to completely refresh our double pivot.



PL: Bissouma/Rice/Ndidi
Bundesliga: Neuhaus/Bellingham
Serie A: Locatelli
Ligue 1: Camavinga/Aouar/Tchouaméni
 
sideshow_bob said:
Depends on who leaves us I guess...

If
Martial out : Vlahovic in
Cavani out: Daka in

Mata out : Sancho in
Lingard out : Grealish / Buendia in
Pogba out : F Ruiz in

Matic out : (Replace w DLP) Neuhaus / Bennacer in
OR
Matic out: (Replace w B2B) Camavinga / Saul / Rice / Locatelli in

Jones out: Varane in
Bailly out: Andersen / Torres / Konate / Romagnoli in
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So money DOES grow on trees!
 
It's been said already but I didn't focus too much because I don't think the club is interested in a DM. But we badly need one to upgrade on Fred and Mctominay and that really shouldn't be hard to find.

Rice, Locatelli, Anguissa, Bissouma, Brozovic, Kessie, Camavinga. All are solid DMs/combative midfielders that would be instant upgrades on Fred and Mctominay. Bar Rice all would be available at reasonable prices. I bloody hope we want a DM this window
 
On top of a replacement for Cavani and Pogba, both of whom I think will be leaving, we need a new shiny CM pairing. I am not a subscriber to McFred. Otherwise I am pretty happy with what we have and the progress of most of the players.
 
jamesjimmybyrondean said:
It's been said already but I didn't focus too much because I don't think the club is interested in a DM. But we badly need one to upgrade on Fred and Mctominay and that really shouldn't be hard to find.

Rice, Locatelli, Anguissa, Bissouma, Brozovic, Kessie, Camavinga. All are solid DMs/combative midfielders that would be instant upgrades on Fred and Mctominay. Bar Rice all would be available at reasonable prices. I bloody hope we want a DM this window
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A good cdm with fred could make a good and strong spine
 
Yeah, I was thinking that our interest in retaining Cavani and Bailly coud mean that we are focused on CM/DM and RW this summer. Or do we still think that we go for a new CB?
 
bucky said:
Yeah, I was thinking that our interest in retaining Cavani and Bailly coud mean that we are focused on CM/DM and RW this summer. Or do we still think that we go for a new CB?
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I personally think our signings should be obvious this summer.

Getting two of the Below options:
Rice/Bissouma
Sancho/Halaand/Grealish/Kane

And Keep Pogba

Anything after that is a Bonus.

I think with Rice we don't need a CB that badly if I'm honest.
 
laughtersassassin said:
I personally think our signings should be obvious this summer.

Getting two of the Below options:
Rice/Bissouma
Sancho/Halaand/Grealish/Kane

And Keep Pogba

Anything after that is a Bonus.

I think with Rice we don't need a CB that badly if I'm honest.
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Obvious in a sense that those are the players United are interested in or obvious that you would want us to sign those players? If we were to sign Rice, we at most would sign one of Grealish or Sancho, and even that I would find unlikely. I don't think there's any chance we are willing to spend as much as would be needed for Haaland or Kane.

Either way, I think Rice and Bissouma are decent, but I am not sure whether they wouldn't be too expensive for what they would offer.
 
The summer windows does not look bright for MU imo. Basically because we kick off with one quality player off on each position bar GK to actually look forward to challenge in all comps.

  • CB: it seems it has been settled with Bailly renewal, something I deem unfortunate at the very least
  • FB: missing a back up to AWB but I doubt we move for this position, still have Williams and somehow Dalot on the books, one of whom will be shipped out
  • CDM/CM: we need a proper upgrade on Matic that should sit on top of Fred/McT and play alongside Pogba. IMO we will be moving for the likes of Bissouma and it actually sounds good as he is a very good player with room for improvement. That assuming Pogba stays, otherwise we should be investing heavily in the likes of Camavinga, Bellingham, Aouar, someone that will grow and develop with us. I frankly see us going for Ramsey instead
  • AM: Mata, Lingard and Andreas all leaving they leave a whole in the back up AM position. Not seeing this reinforced and not needed since we have oung players coming in plus VdB and obviously a fixated starter in Fernandes
  • RW: This, with CM, is the most needed position. Sancho is the man to go to, and Neto as an alternative (although stronger through the left)
  • ST: If Cavani leaves, which is increasingly likely, we will need to reinforce here, although in Martial and Greenwood we have two very good options (I don't think Greenwood will continue to develop on the right side), but we still need depth. I'll call for Vlahovic, young, determined and very capable. I already stopped dreaming about Haaland.
Granted, we will be capable to aford only two out of these even with the players outgoing, hopefully we see, Bissouma and Sancho in, with Pogba staying will definitely improve on current squad. We will still need to improve said positions in upcoming windows.

Hendo/De Gea
AWB - Linfelof - Maguire - Shaw
Bissouma - Pogba
Sancho - Fernandes - Rashford
Greenwood/Martial

Subs: GK, Tuanz, Bailly, Williams, Telles, Fred, McT, VdB, Mejbri, Amad, Pellistri, Vlahovic​
 
bucky said:
Obvious in a sense that those are the players United are interested in or obvious that you would want us to sign those players? If we were to sign Rice, we at most would sign one of Grealish or Sancho, and even that I would find unlikely. I don't think there's any chance we are willing to spend as much as would be needed for Haaland or Kane.

Either way, I think Rice and Bissouma are decent, but I am not sure whether they wouldn't be too expensive for what they would offer.
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Obvious in that what we should be doing if we are trying to be a football club.

No reason we shouldn't get two starters this summer after getting none last summer.

Lingard can surely be used as good leverage to get Rice. That leaves one other big signing.
 
jamesjimmybyrondean said:
Grealish? Doesn't play in a position of priority
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If we can't get the other two personally I believe Grealish is so good that you buy him anyway. He could start for us in multiple positions.

If Cavani is staying then Ole would probably opt to play Rashford on the right more as he has done in many games that Cavani has started.
 
laughtersassassin said:
Obvious in that what we should be doing if we are trying to be a football club.

No reason we shouldn't get two starters this summer after getting none last summer.

Lingard can surely be used as good leverage to get Rice. That leaves one other big signing.
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I agree, just think there other players that I'd prefer to Rice and Bissouma. Forgot about Lingard to be honest.

jamesjimmybyrondean said:
Grealish? Doesn't play in a position of priority
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It's the second season Rashford is playing through injury. James isn't good enough, Martial probably has used up his last chance and Diallo isn't ready. And frankly there's a case to be made that we would be better with Rashford up top and Grealish on the left, than Rashford on the left and Martial up top.
 
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