What do we still need? Aka The never ending story

If the £200M budget for the summer is true then we are going to have either neglet one position that needs strengthening or cut corners in the quality of player we recruit in one or two positions.
 
People suggesting Rabiot as a Matic replacement? From what I’ve seen off him he doesn’t strike me as a DM in the Matic sense. Am I mistaken here? Admittedly I haven’t watched a great deal of him.

Anyway..

RB - Dynamic and comfortable in attack
RW - pacey and creative
CB - leader
CM - Matic & fellaini replacement

We can’t revamp the whole squad in one summer so we need to be sensible. Players like Young & Mata that are not good enough can stay as back up. Then replace the following season.

OUT
- Sanchez (finished, too expensive to be back up)
- jones (can’t be relied upon)
- Rojo (is he still here?)

Give lukaku another 6months I reckon.
 
People suggesting Rabiot as a Matic replacement? From what I’ve seen off him he doesn’t strike me as a DM in the Matic sense. Am I mistaken here? Admittedly I haven’t watched a great deal of him.

Anyway..

RB - Dynamic and comfortable in attack
RW - pacey and creative
CB - leader
CM - Matic & fellaini replacement

We can’t revamp the whole squad in one summer so we need to be sensible. Players like Young & Mata that are not good enough can stay as back up. Then replace the following season.

OUT
- Sanchez (finished, too expensive to be back up)
- jones (can’t be relied upon)
- Rojo (is he still here?)

Give lukaku another 6months I reckon.

In any case, he's already signed for Barca hasn't he?
 
Personally, in an ideal world we'd get 4-5 signings in the summer, with about 4 outs.

CB- Koulibaly or Skrinar, £80-90m if not then then Jordan Tah who would be a decent bit cheaper.

CM- Either Neves or Rice but they could be quoted as upwards of £70m so my other preference would be Berge or Pellegrini likely £30m

RW- Tough choice as theres an abundance of quality LWs but not so many RWs, Sancho is the dream but unlikely, I'd be happy with Bergwin, Lozano or Chiesa.. £40m

RB- No one too high profile, Wan Bissaka ideally or Lala... £35m

And maybe a surprise.

With talks of a £200m kitty its difficult to see us getting any more than 3 quality players in today's market. I'd really like us to go after young upcoming players.. the likes of Havertz, Bergwin, Upamenco, Neves. Instead of older players like Perisic.
 
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We lack quality in certain positions, have some players that is not suited to the way we play now and hopefully will play next season, and we lack suitable cover/backups when the best players needs a rest/get injured. I don't think we will be able to fight for the big titles next season without improving our first 11 with 3/4 quality players and our squad as a whole. And we will not spend enough to do this. Better to improve gradually and close the gap over 2/3 seasons instead of trying to close it during a summer window.

There are 5 crucial problems with the team that we need to fix this summer, and hopefully make us a safe bet for top 4:
  1. Lack of depth in midfield. Outside of Matic, Pogba and Herrera we do not have players that can come in without the team falling down. Fred and Pereira might turn it around and become trusted/useful players but i doubt it. We should also start to prepare for when Herrera and Matic needs replacing.
  2. How do we play against a balanced defense when/if Pogba is injured or needs a rest? None of our players are currently able or used to be the focal point in attack/the initiator when attacking.(Sanchez did this for Arsenal, but that player is not the Sanchez we got.)
  3. CB: Lindelof needs a reliable partner. Bailly great when he has his day, but not the player you trust over a season to not make the mistakes. Smalling not good enough with the ball in his feet, and Jones is a walking error. Rojo is either injured or trying to get himself injured through making dangerous tackles.
  4. RW: Lingard is the perfect squadplayer, great movement and able to contribute in both ends, but is not the biggest threat on the ball like Martial is. We need someone able to be a threat on the right, so that we are not only creating chances from the left or on the counter(Makes us easier to defend against).
  5. RB: To early to trust Dalot over a season. Young is decent and can be a backup on both sides, but it can be argued that he is not good enough to be a starter next season.
Based on this the club should acquire;
RB: able to go straight into the starting 11 - Meunier. Contract ends in 2020, will not demand insane wages as he is a known fan of the club, can perform both ways, great movement and actions around the box against teams parking the bus. Around £25m seems sensible. Wan-Bissaka, Atal etc are all options for the future and fall into the same category as Dalot.
CB: comfortable on the ball and able to hold his own 1v1: Nathan Ake for £45m could be possible. Good player with experience in the league, and despite being fairly short he is effective in the air and on set pieces. Alderweireld for £25m is a good short term solution, Koulibaly for £75m+ might be a good deal, but will limit our ability to improve other positions.
RW: able to and experienced being the focal point in attack is Suso. Can play CAM as well. Despite not being fast, he is quick on the first meters making him able to take on players. Can shot, pass and cross. Clause at £35m. Good resale value. Pepe can be an option. Sancho should be the one we go after when we have fixed some of the big problems with the squad, and try to get him after next season.
CDM/CM: Pellegrini for £23m (clause) is a great deal. Can be a long term first teamer or at worst a good backup for Matic/Herrera. Or sold for the same value he was bought for.

In: Meunier ca £25m, Nathan Ake ca £45m, Suso £35m, Pellegrini £23m --> ca £128m. Any other players coming in would depend on the players being sold/released and how much we will spend. (Sancho, Tierney, Neves, Barella, Jovic, Aouar, Ndombele are names that must be on this list or for the next summer.)
Out without a doubt: Darmian(Activate 1 year clause and sell), Jones released, Mata released, Pereira(Activate 1 year clause and sell), Valencia released, Rojo sold.


Starters(2. option in position):
DDG(Romero)
Meunier(Dalot) - Lindelof(Bailly) - Ake(Bailly) - Shaw(Dalot)
Herrera(Pellegrini) - Matic(Pellegrini)
Suso(Lingard) - Pogba(Suso) - Martial(Lingard)
Rashford(Martial)​
Additional players for games against weak teams/unimportant matches/injuries/rotation; Young, Smalling, Tuanzebe, Fred, Sanchez, Lukaku.
Would also give; Laird, Garner, Chong, Gomes and Greenwood games next season.
We should sell and replace Fred, Sanchez, Smalling, Lukaku if possible and replace them with promising but capable players more suited to our style of play.
 
I'm gonna go for a realistic summer transfer window. No Bale, Coutinho or Neymar!

In
Tanguy Ndombele - Midfield
Kalidou Koulibaly - Center back
Aaron Wan-Bissaka - Right full-back
Douglas Costa - Right wing

Out
Alexis Sanchez, Juan Mata, Phil Jones, Marcus Rojo, Matteo Darmian, Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young

Loan out
James Garner & Scott McTominay

2019/20 Squad

Forwards......................................Midfield...................................Defenders ..............................Goalkeepers
Anthony Martial.............................Paul Pogba..............................Kalidou Koulibaly.......................David De Gea
Marcus Rashford............................Jesse Lingard...........................Victor Lindelof..........................Sergio Romeo
Douglas Costa...............................Ander Herrera..........................Chris Smalling..........................Lee Grant
Romelu Lukaku..............................Tanguy Ndombele.....................Axel Tuanzebe
Mason Greenwood..........................Nemanja Matić.........................Luke Shaw
Tahith Chong.................................Fred........................................Aaron Wan-Bissaka
...................................................Andreas Pereira........................ Timothy Fosu-Mensah
...................................................Angel Gomes............................Ethan Laird
 
I'm gonna go for a realistic summer transfer window. No Bale, Coutinho or Neymar!

In
Tanguy Ndombele - Midfield
Kalidou Koulibaly - Center back
Aaron Wan-Bissaka - Right full-back
Douglas Costa - Right wing

Out
Alexis Sanchez, Juan Mata, Phil Jones, Marcus Rojo, Matteo Darmian, Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young

Ndombele - £60m or more. Lyon does not need to sell, contract until 2023.
Koulibaly - £80m or more. Napoli does not need to sell, contract until 2023.
AWB - £30m minimum, and with a number of the top clubs in PL interested he will not be cheap. Contract until 2022.
Douglas Costa - Might be cheap, most likely not. Aging player dependent on his pace. Also he is not the most consistent player.

Nah.
 
I think we'll sign a fullback and maybe an attacker in the summer. And possibly a midfieler if one of Periera or Fred leaves. I doubt it would be any more than that.
 
We need an RB, 2 back up midfielders and one RW. At least 4 good players if we are going to really compete for the title.

If we go out again with Young and Lingard as starters Im gonna puke.
 
"Herrera can do a job" is something trotted out a lot in regards to the holding role but I don'tthink our previous managers or our current manager think so, Mourinho preffered Fellaini and even Pereira as cover for Matic who he hardly ever dropped and even now Ole has not rested Matic and played Ander there, and I think it's down to two things, one is that his long passing isn't good enough and two it takes away his best assets which are pressing and hunting the ball.

The need for another holding midfielder is si important, whether he starts off as deputy to Matic or comes straight in as the starter, we need another option there who's position it actually is, as opposed to trying to shoehorn someone into the role as a makeshift, we need to be planning for Matic's succcessor regardless.

The forward position is also going to be hard to sort if we renew Mata and don't manage to sell at least one of Lumpkaku or Sanchez. It might be a case of just focusing on CB, RB and HM this summer and having to bide our time to spruce up the attack.
 
With Fellani gone, we need 2 midfielders along with a cb and a right back .
 
The forward position is also going to be hard to sort if we renew Mata and don't manage to sell at least one of Lumpkaku or Sanchez. It might be a case of just focusing on CB, RB and HM this summer and having to bide our time to spruce up the

Diamond in the centre with two up top is a solution .Even pochh has experimented and implemented that system we should do it as well. But a right sided attacking full back with good deliveries is a must in that case, since Valencia too will be leaving.
 
"Herrera can do a job" is something trotted out a lot in regards to the holding role but I don'tthink our previous managers or our current manager think so, Mourinho preffered Fellaini and even Pereira as cover for Matic who he hardly ever dropped and even now Ole has not rested Matic and played Ander there, and I think it's down to two things, one is that his long passing isn't good enough and two it takes away his best assets which are pressing and hunting the ball.

The need for another holding midfielder is si important, whether he starts off as deputy to Matic or comes straight in as the starter, we need another option there who's position it actually is, as opposed to trying to shoehorn someone into the role as a makeshift, we need to be planning for Matic's succcessor regardless.

The forward position is also going to be hard to sort if we renew Mata and don't manage to sell at least one of Lumpkaku or Sanchez. It might be a case of just focusing on CB, RB and HM this summer and having to bide our time to spruce up the attack.

Herrera's mobility should allow him to cover more ground than Matic and he's turning 30 at the start of next year, would make sense for him to start dropping a bit deeper at this stage of his career as he loses a yard of pace but continues to slightly improve tactically, as a passer and in terms of poise on the ball.

If Pep was here this summer, for instance, I'd be real surprised if he didn't look at our midfield and see Herrera as a great option to be his starting 6, Matic a backup with good ball skills but a lack of mobility, and then for the 2 CM spots, Pogba in the same position he plays now (and basically De Bruyne) and then demand the board bring in a mobile and technically skilled CM to play next to Pogba while trying to see if Lingard or Pereira can be first choice backup or more likely demanding a 2nd signing to fill that role and having Lingard/Pereira fight to be the 2nd choice backup for the CMs.

And that's the model we should move to this summer, I think. A lot depends on Fred. If he's a lost cause, I'd rather sign a CM than a DM this summer and we can replace Matic properly with a new 6 in the summer of 2020. If Fred is expected to come good, it might make sense for the club to sign a DM.
 
With Fellani gone, we need 2 midfielders along with a cb and a right back .
We did buy Fred so there is that. Garner might be involved. If Pogba gets injured then Lingard might be able to take up that position, so what we do need is a right winger. I'd be happy with a CB, right winger and a full back and maybe a young midfielder if we let Pereira go.
 
If reported having 200m next summer is true

CM - Barella 50m
CB - Koulibaly 80m
CM - Pellegrini 23m
RB - Meunier 30m
RW - Dounga Costa - 60m

Sell Rojo, Smalling, Darmain for 50m and let Valencia leaving for free. Periera, Mctominay, Dean Henderson, Garners, Gomes, Mitchell, TFM go on loan. £243m expenditure and 50m player sales = 193m net.


DDG
(Romero)
Meunier (Dalot/Young) Lindelof (Bailly/Axel) Koulibaly (Jones/Lindelof) Shaw (Dalot/Young)
Herrera (Matic)
Ballera (Herrera/Fred) Pogba (Pellegrini/Fred)
Dounga Costa (Lingard/Lukaku) Rashford (Lukaku/Sanchez) Martial (Sanchez/Rashford)

Bench: Romero, Sanchez/Lingard, Lukaku, Matic, Bailly, Dalot, Pellegrini/Fred.

 
CD - Dayot
Rw - Jaydon

Rice would be nice but West Ham will want to keep him a bit longer.

Hopefully Lukaku to Juve or Bayern for 60 million and Danchez to China.
 
Koulibally, Wan Bissaka, Neves, Sancho would all improve our first team remarkably.

God knows what the fees would be like.
 
We did buy Fred so there is that. Garner might be involved. If Pogba gets injured then Lingard might be able to take up that position, so what we do need is a right winger. I'd be happy with a CB, right winger and a full back and maybe a young midfielder if we let Pereira go.

We play with a 3, one of whos legs are not the same and is constantly declining. I think we need two if we are to compete for top honours and everything. Fred is not enough.

Torn on pereira as well. A epl loan might help him I think. Don't think lingard can fill for pogba's absence .
 
We play with a 3, one of whos legs are not the same and is constantly declining. I think we need two if we are to compete for top honours and everything. Fred is not enough.

Torn on pereira as well. A epl loan might help him I think. Don't think lingard can fill for pogba's absence .
Like for like then Lingard obviously can't hang, but if we have an actual right-winger then Lingard's movement and pressing should come in handy in a more central position, if Pogba is injured. If Lingard is injured, we have no one to play on right wing and Lingard isn't even a right-winger. I agree with you though that we need to upgrade, but I'm afraid we can't pull off all aspects in one window. Matic is still very important to us, but it would be wise to get a competitor now so we can break him in slowly. Have little faith in Fred, if we can trade him then a transfer is more likely. Agree Pereira could get a EPL loan but we could also use him as a bargaining tool to get another midfielder, or as a backup to Herrera probably.
 
We play with a 3, one of whos legs are not the same and is constantly declining. I think we need two if we are to compete for top honours and everything. Fred is not enough.

Torn on pereira as well. A epl loan might help him I think. Don't think lingard can fill for pogba's absence .

We should have loaned Pereira to Huddersfield, their wingers and 10s are all mediocre Championship level guys, would have definitely gotten 30+ Prem starts even if they were as a winger whipping in balls at Mounie and Depoitre's thick skulls.
 
Do what Man United have always done and go for the best young talent in the country (or Europe).

For me that's this lot:

RB - Aaron Wan-Bisakka
LB - Ben Chilwell
CB - Matthijs de Ligt
DM - Declan Rice
RW - Jadon Sancho/Federico Chiesa

That list is very similar to my own. I’d put in Meunièr as a option in addition to Wan-Bisakka and I’d put Tierney and Cresswell as options alongside Chilwell to give us a wider ranger of players to go for.

Douglas Costa/Ousmanne Dembele as an alternative to Sancho if Sancho doesn’t want to make the move to us.

I think we have to once again spend big this summer but as long as it is with the long term in mind and having a young spine which can be the bedrock for future sustained success than so be it.

I’d also like to see Gomes and Greenwood take up the spots of Sanchez and Lukaku as squad options.

I’d also like to take either Rabiot or Ruben Neves.
 
Like for like then Lingard obviously can't hang, but if we have an actual right-winger then Lingard's movement and pressing should come in handy in a more central position, if Pogba is injured. If Lingard is injured, we have no one to play on right wing and Lingard isn't even a right-winger. I agree with you though that we need to upgrade, but I'm afraid we can't pull off all aspects in one window. Matic is still very important to us, but it would be wise to get a competitor now so we can break him in slowly. Have little faith in Fred, if we can trade him then a transfer is more likely. Agree Pereira could get a EPL loan but we could also use him as a bargaining tool to get another midfielder, or as a backup to Herrera probably.

The same reason I think we should move in for Erikson over Sancho this summer given his contract situation at Tottenham, for multiple reasons. One being he being able to fill in both on the right and can fill in absence of pogba in the midfield, an upgrade on both mata and lingard and fits in our play style and will enhance our team in every way and he is on criminally low wages at Tottenham. Pochh situation can also be a decisive factor given the situation at the end of the season to lure him away from them too. In that case he can fill on the right for a year and even cover for the loss of creativity in pogba absence.

Secondly I don't think Sancho is ready to jump ship in the epl yet and make an instant impact given the pricing he will cost in this market. He's a great talent but I have my doubts about him being physically and mentally ready to take on such a big challenge on a big money move which adds extra pressure on his shoulders while not being at his physical best yet. He needs games and a pressure free environment to develop is what I feel. It's a risky investment I feel as of now.

The other could be neves/Ndombele. At centre back we can all zero in on one or two options who we want.

These three signings may exhaust our budget itsef, but if we stretch a little with outgoing players money coming in and wages which will be free a right back could be done as well, or may be a loan with an option to buy can be done and we could be ready for the season.

If we have a chance to land erikson type player if we push it given his contract situation than in my view we should go with that option over a right winger who will complicate the selection even further with the likes of forward options we have and we should be looking to use them more efficiently right now, as in modern football the width is more or less provided by the full back itself.
 
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The same reason I think we should move in for Erikson over Sancho this summer given his contract situation at Tottenham, for multiple reasons. One being he being able to fill in both on the right and can fill in absence of pogba in the midfield, an upgrade on both mata and lingard and fits in our play style and will enhance our team in every way and he is on criminally low wages at Tottenham. Pochh situation can also be a decisive factor given the situation at the end of the season to lure him away from them too. In that case he can fill on the right for a year and even cover for the loss of creativity in pogba absence.

Secondly I don't think Sancho is ready to jump ship in the epl yet and make an instant impact given the pricing he will cost in this market. He's a great talent but I have my doubts about him being physically and mentally ready to take on such a big challenge on a big money move which adds extra pressure on his shoulders while not being at his physical best yet. He needs games and a pressure free environment to develop is what I feel.

The other could be neves/Ndombele. At centre back we can all zero in on one or two options who we want.

These three signings may exhaust our budget itsef, but if we stretch a little with outgoing players money coming in and wages which will be free a right back could be done as well, or may be a loan with an option to buy can be done and we could be ready for the season.

If we have a chance to land erikson type player if we push it given his contract situation than in my view we should go with that option over a right winger who will complicate the selection even further with the likes of forward options we have and we should be looking to use them more efficiently right now, as in modern football the width is more or less provided by the full back itself.
interesting post and you make some good points

in terms of midfield we are reliant on Pogba's creativity and Lingard's movement - an injury to Paul and when Jesse has his out of form games we do struggle like at the weekend v Leicester

Fekir be a reasonable alternative to Erickson - available last summer for 60 million and can play centrally and on the right I think - he's 25 - 25 Games 10 goals 5 assists, last year 40 games, 23 goals, 8 assists - he's ready for a move too

still think we need someone like Sancho/Dembele who can play as a winger or RF/LF potentially - a good example last night was Sterling who really stretched the game for City
 
What do you think of Richarlison from Everton to replace Alexis as a backup for Martial ?

Also signings like Brooks from Bournemouth or Rice from Westham are more realistic options in midfield to cover Matic and Herrera ?
 
Thing is, an effective RW does contribute to our creativity. We're essentially having to play with 1 less attacker currently when it comes to creating. Lingard doesn't do that, he just provides options and contributes to some of the build up. And when we insert Mata, our right side has no creativity because Mata isn't a player that will keep width. A player like Sancho is someone that will dribble past players to give us width, but also can combine in central areas.

 
What do you think of Richarlison from Everton to replace Alexis as a backup for Martial ?

Also signings like Brooks from Bournemouth or Rice from Westham are more realistic options in midfield to cover Matic and Herrera ?

Everton splashed 40+ million to get him, it would cost us at least double to get him from Everton and that's not something you do for a backup player.
 
If there ever was a time to splash £200m its this summer.

Not to mention we could have even more money if we offload Lukaku and Sanchez.

Who do we get in, though? We obviously need a CDM, RW, RB, CB and ST (if Lukaku is sold).

Could also promote Gomez or Greenwood to replace Sanchez :drool:
 
I think we need, a CB, a FB, a RW, and a CM squad player. I don't believe, one of our actual subtitutes for Matic or Herrera could do their job for just one big Game. Therefore we need one who we can bring in without being afraid.

CB: I would like Koulibaly or De Ligt. Koulibaly for me one of the best CB at the moment. De Ligt the most talented CB since years.
FB: I like the Fullbacks from Dortmund. Hakimi the best young Fullback at the moment with a enormous offensive style of playing. And Piszczek a expirienced FB who play constantly world class over years.
CM: I would like Weigel from Dormund. He has excellent passing skills and this seasons he also play well as CB. Would be a nice option for the Matic and Herrera Position. RW: I think everyone would like Sancho for this Position. One of the greatest Talents on the wing and from England. Dybala would be also a nice option if Juventus is interested in Lukaku and we can make a swap with some additional cash.

IN: Sancho 120M Koulibaly/De Ligt 80M Weigl 30M Hakimi/Piszczek 50/10M
OUT: Rojo (15M), Bailly(30M), Valencia(free), Peireira(20M), McTominay(15M), Darmian(10M), Wilson(5-10M)
Loan: Gomes, Tuanzebe, Fosu-Mensah, Chong, Pereira, Henderson, Greenwood, Borthwick Jackson, Mitchell, Gribbin, Bohui

TW: De Gea, Romero, Grant
CB: Koulibaly/DeLigt, Lindelöf, Jones, Smalling
FB: Hakimi/Piszczek, Shaw, ,Dalot, Young CM: Pogba, Matic, Herrera, Weigl, Fred, Mata ATT: Rashford, Martial, Sancho, Sanchez, Lukaku, Lingard

If we get a good offer for Sanchez, Lukaku or Fred, I would sell them too. They cost too much wages for their perfermance or didnt fit in our system.
I would also sell our young GKs if we get a good offer. If De Gea stays at the club it make no sense to hold them.
Fosu-Mensa and Borthwick Jackson could also be sold if we get a good offer. I think they wont make it at a top club like us.

About the loan players. I would send them to clubs in German or France, because these leagues are not that physcal like the Premiere League and therfore it is easier for young players to grow.

And if it is possible, I would go all in to add Joao Felix to my transfers. He isnt ready at the moment, but it seems that he could be a future Golden Ball winner. And if he transfers to a other big club it will be impossible to get him.

PS: Because of my transfer wishes i have to say, that I'm not a Dortmund Fan :-)
 
Commanding centre back

Right back
Creative midfielder for taking burden off Pogba

Left back
Right winger
DM unless McTominay steps up a lot.
 
Commanding centre back

Right back
Creative midfielder for taking burden off Pogba

Left back
Right winger
DM unless McTominay steps up a lot.
Think we should let Dalot have the RB role next season. Young will be the back up for both sides. Have O'Connor and Laird as depth in case of injury or needing to rest them. If we know Dalot isn't going to work out, buy a RB in 2020.

I know it will never happen, but the perfect creative midfielder to be Pogba's back up would be Ryan Gravenberch.
 
Koulibaly/ Toby / Skriniar
Nicolo Barella / Ndombele/ Declan Rice
Max Philip / Meunier
Sancho/ D-costa/Dembele/Chiesa


4 signings,one from each section would vastly improve our team I think
 
Think we should let Dalot have the RB role next season. Young will be the back up for both sides. Have O'Connor and Laird as depth in case of injury or needing to rest them. If we know Dalot isn't going to work out, buy a RB in 2020.

I know it will never happen, but the perfect creative midfielder to be Pogba's back up would be Ryan Gravenberch.

Nah, if Dalot is good enough he can displace Shaw or whoever we bring in at RB. He's still young and would get plenty of opportunities.
 
Ruben Neves
Jadon Sancho
Kalidou Koulibaly


These additions would put us firmly into the title race. Very fecking expensive. All would be completely worth the money.

Getting rid of Lukaku and Sanchez and promoting Greenwood wouldn't hinder us either, we'd have a fluid set of attackers to choose from.

If we made these 3 additions we could struggle on for one more year relying on just Dalot and Shaw as our starting fullbacks with Ashley Young and the youth as cover. The following Summer investing in the full backs would complete a really strong team IMO. Possibly Ben Chilwell and Aaron Wan Bissaka.
 
Would like us to sign some young PL talent like Rice, Wan-Bissaka, Brooks etc. We seemed to do a bit of that under Fergie.
 
Essential: RW (any one of Pepe, Sancho), CB (Koulibaly, Skrinar, Alderweireld), CM (Ndombele, Neves)

Would be useful: LB, RB

Add in Chong, Gomes, Garner and Greenwood from the youth ranks in to bolster the squad in terms of numbers and I think we'd have a pretty strong squad all the way through. Hopefully Fred will be acclimatised by this point too, and we can see what he brings to the club.
 
Diamond in the centre with two up top is a solution .Even pochh has experimented and implemented that system we should do it as well. But a right sided attacking full back with good deliveries is a must in that case, since Valencia too will be leaving.

The twice we've used it I think it's looked good but we'd need to upgrade Lingard in that false 9/#10 role to maximize it's effectiveness.

Herrera's mobility should allow him to cover more ground than Matic and he's turning 30 at the start of next year, would make sense for him to start dropping a bit deeper at this stage of his career as he loses a yard of pace but continues to slightly improve tactically, as a passer and in terms of poise on the ball.

If Pep was here this summer, for instance, I'd be real surprised if he didn't look at our midfield and see Herrera as a great option to be his starting 6, Matic a backup with good ball skills but a lack of mobility, and then for the 2 CM spots, Pogba in the same position he plays now (and basically De Bruyne) and then demand the board bring in a mobile and technically skilled CM to play next to Pogba while trying to see if Lingard or Pereira can be first choice backup or more likely demanding a 2nd signing to fill that role and having Lingard/Pereira fight to be the 2nd choice backup for the CMs.

And that's the model we should move to this summer, I think. A lot depends on Fred. If he's a lost cause, I'd rather sign a CM than a DM this summer and we can replace Matic properly with a new 6 in the summer of 2020. If Fred is expected to come good, it might make sense for the club to sign a DM.

I get that a lot of fans want us to gravitate to the City way of doing it, or even Real, with two creative #8's ahead of the holder, but I think we are looking more at the Juve midfield from a few years ago and that requires the deepest CM to have good long range passing, something Ander just doesn't have in his locker. It was telling that when Ole chose to rest a CM against Burnley he rested Ander instead of putting him as a DM and resting Matic who has had his legs ran off over the last 18 months. I just don't see this conversion of Ander to DM happening.
 
If Solskjaer stays, based on who he seems to trust, here are the profiles of players I think we need -

1) Top quality commanding CD
2) Diamond in the rough attacking LB
3) Diamond in the rough Matic competitor
4) Talented Herrera competitor (higher profile than the diamond in the rough signings but not yet recognised as top quality)
5) Top quality RW who can play AM

I would love -
1) Matthijs De Ligt
2) Youcef Atal (usually a RB but is two footed apparently and has played on the left)
3) Sandro Tonali
4) Nicolo Barella
5) Jayden Sancho

The 'diamond in the rough' signings could be so so important. That's why I'd love a DOF like Campos or Misilintat who have great track records in signing such players. I don't think we can afford all these so one of Sancho or De Ligt need to be scaled down (Alderweireld for De Ligt, Suso for Sancho perhaps - both have release clauses) and the other one can be signed next year.
 
Unless we sell out to the Saudis there is no way we can sort this team out. CB,RB,CM,RW and thats just for starters. Toby -25, Wan-Bissaka - 50, Neves 70 and Pepe -50 are all gettable and within budget. Wont win the league but should be a good first window