What do we still need? Aka The never ending story

We've just deservedly beaten the best team in Spain over 2 legs. We were narrowly beaten by the best team in England, at the moment, in their place, without our most important player.

Lads, we're not that far off. We don't need 4 or 5 new players. We can maybe muster 100m selling off all the extra players. Use that to buy a 9 and a backup CB.

Our 25 man squad next year
De Gea
Heaton
Butland
Dalot
Bissaka
Shaw
Malacia
Varane
Martinez
Lindelof
LCB
Casemiro
Sabitzer
Mainoo
Eriksen
Fred
Bruno
Sancho
Amad
Antony
Garnacho
Rashford
Martial
Weghorst
CF
 
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IMO, priorities should be:

1) Striker (needs to be world class level or world class potential)
2) A midfielder to replace Eriksen (preferably a press resistant ball carrier who can pass, like FDJ)
3) A modern GK who can distribute well and command his area
4) Any depth signings to replace outgoing players or strengthen some areas (potentially Maguire)

I am happy with our RB situation after the development of Dalot & AWB this season. I don't think we'll sign a new starting caliber GK either as DDG will likely sign a new contract, and remain as the #1. Best case scenario there is probably signing a young GK who can compete with DDG for starting GK over time. The first two bullet points there are a must though, and even if we were to add just those two (big money signings), I'd be more than happy. I think we're just a couple big signings away from being a major force on all fronts.
 
Olecurls99 said:
We've just deservedly beaten the best team in Spain over 2 legs. We were narrowly beaten by the best team in England, at the moment, in their place, without our most important player.

Lads, we're not that far off. We don't need 4 or 5 new players. We can maybe muster 100m selling off all the extra players. Use that to buy a 9 and a backup CB.

Our 25 man squad next year
De Gea
Heaton
Butland
Dalot
Bissaka
Shaw
Malacia
Varane
Martinez
Lindelof
LCB
Casemiro
Sabitzer
Mainoo
Eriksen
Fred
Bruno
Sancho
Amad
Antony
Garnacho
Rashford
Martial
Weghorst
CF
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I fully agree with your first paragraph: we're not that far away at all. I think a new cm is more important than a lcb.

I think we should bring in someone better than Sabitzer, personally. I think he's ok but similar to the likes of Fred and McT. A FdJ/Veratti type midfielder and a top level striker would be enough to compete for the prem and the CL imo.
 
Borussia Teeth said:
I fully agree with your first paragraph: we're not that far away at all. I think a new cm is more important than a lcb.

I think we should bring in someone better than Sabitzer, personally. I think he's ok but similar to the likes of Fred and McT. A FdJ/Veratti type midfielder and a top level striker would be enough to compete for the prem and the CL imo.
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I think Sabitzer will prove to be better than that but if we can sign somebody better again, then I won't complain. Caqueret perhaps
 
We are not far off to have a very good team.

We desperately need 2 players for our starting 11, a CM next to Casemiro and a CF to start games. Everything we get in addition to this is to improve the depth.

In addition, please don't expect us to sell many players even if you think there are a few players that should be sold. If you look at the last 5-6 years we have only managed to sell 2 players in average (players under contract) so don't get your hopes up. Currently we have Jones and Tuanzebe whose contracts are expiring, they would probably both leave the club at end of the season. In addition to those 2-3 more players would leave the club and I am sorry but I don't expect those to be any of the wage heavy players. My guess is Elanga has a market, is young, on relatively low wages and hence one of the easier to sell. Also, given the fact that he has played a lot and done well when played, I think Telles should also be possible to sell for a fee. The fifth person to be sold / released is to be seen. I am here only talking about permanent sales.
 
Gotta hope that they let go of Phil Jones cause that's an extra body in defence we can use if our first choice CB pairing get a knock.

For me:

- Oshimen
- De Jong
- Sabitzer (permanent deal)
- GK
 
Olecurls99 said:
We've just deservedly beaten the best team in Spain over 2 legs. We were narrowly beaten by the best team in England, at the moment, in their place, without our most important player.

Lads, we're not that far off. We don't need 4 or 5 new players. We can maybe muster 100m selling off all the extra players. Use that to buy a 9 and a backup CB.

Our 25 man squad next year
De Gea
Heaton
Butland
Dalot
Bissaka
Shaw
Malacia
Varane
Martinez
Lindelof
LCB
Casemiro
Sabitzer
Mainoo
Eriksen
Fred
Bruno
Sancho
Amad
Antony
Garnacho
Rashford
Martial
Weghorst
CF
Click to expand...
I think now is the time to be ruthless.

Outs:
- Martial
- Maguire
- McTominay

Ins:
- Sabitzer (permanent)
- Goncalo Ramos
- 4th choice centre back (left footed)
- Weghorst (Only if he is ok with being impact-sub)
 
Olecurls99 said:
We've just deservedly beaten the best team in Spain over 2 legs. We were narrowly beaten by the best team in England, at the moment, in their place, without our most important player.

Lads, we're not that far off. We don't need 4 or 5 new players. We can maybe muster 100m selling off all the extra players. Use that to buy a 9 and a backup CB.

Our 25 man squad next year
De Gea
Heaton
Butland
Dalot
Bissaka
Shaw
Malacia
Varane
Martinez
Lindelof
LCB
Casemiro
Sabitzer
Mainoo
Eriksen
Fred
Bruno
Sancho
Amad
Antony
Garnacho
Rashford
Martial
Weghorst
CF
Click to expand...
Have you taken into account the Home Grown rules for the squad? My understanding is that we're allowed a maximum of 17 foreigners (aged 21+), plus up to 8 home grown players aged 21+, and then as many U-21's as we like.

In terms of 8 home grown players for the 2023-24 squad, my guess is they will be Heaton, Butland (or Bishop), Shaw, AWB, Mengi, Elanga, Sancho and Rashford.

This would mean release/sale of 7 players who qualify as home grown (Williams, Jones, Greenwood, Henderson, Tuanzebe, Maguire and McTominay) and Laird, Galbraith and Bernard going out on loan.

Garnacho and Mainoo will still be U-21 but will be active members of the squad. The other U-21's (Mejbri, Shoretire, Iqbal, Fernandez, Fish, Savage and McNeill) will likely need more loan time.

As for the foreigners aged 21+, 13 seem certainties for the squad next year - De Gea, Dalot, Malacia, Lindelof, Varane, Martinez, Casemiro, Fred, Bruno, Eriksen, Anthony, Amad and Pellistri. Personally I'd like to see Martial and de Beek sold.

This would leave up to 4 squad places available for new recruits - all of whom could be foreigners if need be. My wish list would be Ramos, Kudus, Sabitzer and NDicka
 
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Oh_Dear said:
Have you taken into account the Home Grown rules for the squad? My understanding is that we're allowed a maximum of 17 foreigners (aged 21+), plus up to 8 home grown players aged 21+, and then as many U-21's as we like.

In terms of 8 home grown players for the 2023-24 squad, my guess is they will be Heaton, Butland (or Bishop), Shaw, AWB, Mengi, Elanga, Sancho and Rashford.

This would mean release/sale of 7 players who qualify as home grown (Williams, Jones, Greenwood, Henderson, Tuanzebe, Maguire and McTominay) and Laird, Galbraith and Bernard going out on loan.

Garnacho and Mainoo will still be U-21 but will be active members of the squad. The other U-21's (Mejbri, Shoretire, Iqbal, Fernandez, Fish, Savage and McNeill) will likely need more loan time.

As for the foreigners aged 21+, 12 seem certainties for the squad next year - De Gea, Dalot, Malacia, Lindelof, Varane, Martinez, Casemiro, Fred, Bruno, Eriksen, Anthony and Pellistri. Personally I'd like to see Martial and de Beek sold.

This would leave up to 5 squad places available for new recruits - all of whom could be foreigners if need be. My wish list would be Ramos, Kudus, Sabitzer and NDicka
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I hadn't considered it but yeah maybe the new LCB should be English so. We are close to breaking that rule in my squad.

Maybe Mctominay can be kept.
 
Do we need a new right back? No
Do we need a new goal keeper? No

We should make Sabitzer permanent, if possible.

We need a proper striker who can stay fit.

We should let Maguire go, so we'll need another back up defender.

It's incredible how Ten Hag has transformed the squad.
 
Sabitzer
Osimhen

Tbh another midfield depth option or a RW depth option would be useful too. Big squads compete better.
 
Order of priorities for me:
1. Striker
2. Central midfielder
3. Prospective defensive midfielder and perhaps a young CB happy to slowly rise through the ranks
 
I think this is the reason I couldn't buy into the title challengers idea.

There are 3 areas that instantly jump out where the first 11, your genuinely best first 11 players could be significantly improved.

I feel with the right RB, CM and CF we should expect to compete on top of what we already have.
 
Red Star One said:
Order of priorities for me:
1. Striker
2. Central midfielder
3. Prospective defensive midfielder and perhaps a young CB happy to slowly rise through the ranks
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Fair enough. Don't get me wrong I think AWB and Dalot are decent options under ETH...but I do think it's an area we could definitely seek to improve.
 
I'm happy enough with the squad at the moment but definitely need a starting striker and new starting centre midfielder at a minimum. I'd sign Sabitzer on a three year deal as well or see if Kroos would be open to a 12 month contract when he leaves Madrid this Summer. If we can get rid of the likes of Telles, Bailey, Jones, Maguire a new center half would be needed as well. I'd keep Lindelof. I'm surprised a lot of people want rid of Scott McTominay. He is no where near good enough to start but seems like he has a good head on him, happy to come on when needed to see out a game and low wages.
 
londonredmaniac said:
I think this is the reason I couldn't buy into the title challengers idea.

There are 3 areas that instantly jump out where the first 11, your genuinely best first 11 players could be significantly improved.

I feel with the right RB, CM and CF we should expect to compete on top of what we already have.
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Thing is, you don't need a perfect side to challenge. Right back and midfield is quite good, right back especially lots of potential while midfield is a bit older. But it wouldn't hold us back from a challenge. Get us a top striker and we would challenge properly. Maybe not win, you need luck, but we'd challenge for sure. We aren't far off this season despite getting so so little out of our attackers outside of Rashford for example.
 
honirelandboy said:
I'm happy enough with the squad at the moment but definitely need a starting striker and new starting centre midfielder at a minimum. I'd sign Sabitzer on a three year deal as well or see if Kroos would be open to a 12 month contract when he leaves Madrid this Summer. If we can get rid of the likes of Telles, Bailey, Jones, Maguire a new center half would be needed as well. I'd keep Lindelof. I'm surprised a lot of people want rid of Scott McTominay. He is no where near good enough to start but seems like he has a good head on him, happy to come on when needed to see out a game and low wages.
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Mctominay isn’t really much good at helping see out games though, and he’s going to play even less once more players are added. He is also currently worth a decent sum of money which can all be booked as profit. To navigate FFP we need to generate an income from selling players and Mctominay is an ideal candidate.

The two big areas of need are definitely a striker and an upgrade on Eriksen. Genuine cover for Casemiro would also be a huge benefit and assuming Maguire leaves depth at CB.
 
Osimhen/kane
Frankie/Bellingham
Raya/Costa
Antonio Silva/scalvini
 
For the starting eleven, we need a world class striker and a ball carrying midfielder to partner casemiro.

For the squad, we could use an extra CB if we're selling one.

Im unsure if Amad will be back in the first team next year, and im also unsure about the GK and RB situation.
 
A lot of people seem to want us to keep Fred and sell Mctominay this summer.

I dont think either is good enough to start but both are useful squad options. I personally think its so clear we need to keep McT and get rid of Fred. Fred has been good next to Case but hes touching 30 now and relies heavily on his energy and contract is close to expiry, do we really want to extend? If we're looking at a new CM to play next to Case and rotate with Eriksen our 4th midfield option needs to be versatile. McT has shown at the start of this season he can play as a 6 next to Eriksen even if he does prefer the box to box role. His height is also useful if we're gunna bring him on as a sub to see a game out.

McT has 4 years on Fred and we have to consider the homegrown rule, we're gunna be quite close to breaking the rule once Jones,Maguire,Williams,Tuanzebe etc are all let go this summer.

Casemiro (Mainoo/Iqbal)
New CM (Eriksen/McT)
Bruno (Hannibal?)

Gives us hopefully 5 experienced pro players for 3 positions (Bruno plays every game) and then 3 youngsters with hopefully one being able to stake a claim for a long term spot.
 
important thing about that is we have three very exciting young CM prospects in Hannibal, Zidane and Mainoo....the latter two just need the same experience that Hannibal is getting while at Birmingham
 
sideshowbob said:
A lot of people seem to want us to keep Fred and sell Mctominay this summer.

I dont think either is good enough to start but both are useful squad options. I personally think its so clear we need to keep McT and get rid of Fred. Fred has been good next to Case but hes touching 30 now and relies heavily on his energy and contract is close to expiry, do we really want to extend? If we're looking at a new CM to play next to Case and rotate with Eriksen our 4th midfield option needs to be versatile. McT has shown at the start of this season he can play as a 6 next to Eriksen even if he does prefer the box to box role. His height is also useful if we're gunna bring him on as a sub to see a game out.

McT has 4 years on Fred and we have to consider the homegrown rule, we're gunna be quite close to breaking the rule once Jones,Maguire,Williams,Tuanzebe etc are all let go this summer.

Casemiro (Mainoo/Iqbal)
New CM (Eriksen/McT)
Bruno (Hannibal?)

Gives us hopefully 5 experienced pro players for 3 positions (Bruno plays every game) and then 3 youngsters with hopefully one being able to stake a claim for a long term spot.
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Mctominay isn’t versatile though, he just moves around because he isn’t consistently good in any position or role. Fred contributes a lot more and is actually trusted to start games, it’s a no brainier to keep Fred ahead of Mctominay.

The homegrown rule will be easy to sort out, we only have 15 non homegrown players and that includes Weghorst, Sabitzer, DVB and Martial. Our 25 man squad also includes Bishop and Williams who are just there to make up numbers.

The homegrown rule just allows you to have a bigger squad, we effectively padded ours with guys that don’t even play and won’t be missed. Mctominay’s value as a homegrown player to us is relatively minimal because we have sufficient first team players who are homegrown. We also have likes of Mainoo and Garnacho who don’t even need to be registered.
 
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De Jong
Rice
Kane
Osimhen
New gk

Yes, we need two strikers. We can play both Kane and Osimhen together at times with kane in the hole just like Ten hag plays Sancho or even weghorst in that role and moves Bruno to the right.

Also, we need two midfielders, no question about that. There is no replacement for Casemiro and Eriksen is getting on. With so many games, it would be excellent IF we sign both de Jong and Rice. Also, sell Mctominay. But that would take £400m and that is only happening if we are bought by Qataris.
 
bosskeano said:
important thing about that is we have three very exciting young CM prospects in Hannibal, Zidane and Mainoo....the latter two just need the same experience that Hannibal is getting while at Birmingham
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We don’t know they are ready or not and even if they are we don’t know they are good enough or not. We can’t hang our hat in the hope that they would be equally good in the first team. That’s not fair on the kids too.

Players like Casemiro, Varane, Bruno are 30 or beyond next season. We need to complement them with quality players. There is no time for experimentation in my opinion.

Edit - Apologies if I misread your post.
 
I think everyone has pretty much identified the same problem areas.

First team upgrades needed for De Gea, Eriksen and Weghorst.

Low-cost reliable backups would be useful for Martinez (left-footed CB) and Casemiro.
 
If Kovacic is available on the cheap, then it's a no brainer. Put most of the money on a new CF, buy Kovacic and Sabitzer.
 
kaku06 said:
De Jong
Rice
Kane
Osimhen
New gk

Yes, we need two strikers. We can play both Kane and Osimhen together at times with kane in the hole just like Ten hag plays Sancho or even weghorst in that role and moves Bruno to the right.

Also, we need two midfielders, no question about that. There is no replacement for Casemiro and Eriksen is getting on. With so many games, it would be excellent IF we sign both de Jong and Rice. Also, sell Mctominay. But that would take £400m and that is only happening if we are bought by Qataris.
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Even if we're bought by the United States of America we're not spending 400m on players. FFP won't allow it. Nobody will be allowed cheat their way to victory anymore.

I think max net spend this year will be 100m
 
Olecurls99 said:
Even if we're bought by the United States of America we're not spending 400m on players. FFP won't allow it. Nobody will be allowed cheat their way to victory anymore.

I think max net spend this year will be 100m
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If we are bought and our debt is wiped out and we bring in some new sponsorship deals, doesn’t it mean we could spend more? I was also under the impression that we are due some renewal of sponsorships too.
 
A lot depends on who goes with this. But as a need right now its a Striker and another midfieder in the DNA of Eriksen.

kaku06 said:
De Jong
Rice
Kane
Osimhen
New gk

Yes, we need two strikers. We can play both Kane and Osimhen together at times with kane in the hole just like Ten hag plays Sancho or even weghorst in that role and moves Bruno to the right.

Also, we need two midfielders, no question about that. There is no replacement for Casemiro and Eriksen is getting on. With so many games, it would be excellent IF we sign both de Jong and Rice. Also, sell Mctominay. But that would take £400m and that is only happening if we are bought by Qataris.
Click to expand...

I mean what is this? Is this a serious post? Jesus wept.
 
kaku06 said:
If we are bought and our debt is wiped out and we bring in some new sponsorship deals, doesn’t it mean we could spend more? I was also under the impression that we are due some renewal of sponsorships too.
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I don't know all the ins and outs but I was under the impression there wasn't much to spend. I think even the Qataris have said organic growth.
 
Olecurls99 said:
I don't know all the ins and outs but I was under the impression there wasn't much to spend. I think even the Qataris have said organic growth.
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Regardless of who United's owners are this summer, there is not much headroom for spending due to the UEFA's new Financial Sustainability Regulations. Qualifying for the Champions League would help.
 
Olecurls99 said:
I don't know all the ins and outs but I was under the impression there wasn't much to spend. I think even the Qataris have said organic growth.
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I think the deal with teamviewer is ending before date and we are looking for a new shirt sponsor. If bought by Qataris, you can imagine how much big that new deal would be in addition to some new sponsorships. Also, Qataris said that ten hag would be given significant funds to strengthen the team. It might not be 400m but you can bet it would be well north of 200m easily to be even considered in the category of being significant.
 
kaku06 said:
I think the deal with teamviewer is ending before date and we are looking for a new shirt sponsor. If bought by Qataris, you can imagine how much big that new deal would be in addition to some new sponsorships. Also, Qataris said that ten hag would be given significant funds to strengthen the team. It might not be 400m but you can bet it would be well north of 200m easily to be even considered in the category of being significant.
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I've no doubt that if they mange to buy united, they will follow a similar playbook to the one they did at PSG, starting with a series of massive sponsorship deals with Qatari companies. That would take a bit of time, though, and probably wouldn't have a material impact this summer, even if United would perhaps be in a position to spend hundreds and hundreds of millions in future years as they buy up all the big names and create a team of mega-egos.
 
Goalkeeper

De Gea One of the best shot stoppers in the world and improving on his weaker areas

Heaton Capable backup PL keeper

Butland Capable backup PL keeper. Happy if we want get in a young prospect for 15m

Right full

Dalot One of our players of the season until his injury problems

Bissaka A shutdown full back. A great option to have in your squad

Left full

Shaw One of the best in the world

Malacia Perfect backup. Young and hungry

Centre backs

Varane One of the best in the world

Martinez One of the best in the world

Lindelof Brilliant backup. Has improved on his aggression this year

LCB A young prospect for 20m

Defensive Midfielder

Casemiro The best in the world

Sabitzer The player we'd get who would be happy to play backup to Casemiro won't be as good at 6 as Sabitzer. And he can play 8 and 10.

Midfielder

Eriksen Fantastic midfielder. One of the top PL assisters before his injury.

Fred Great rotation option for Eriksen

Mainoo A serious talent. Don't block his path

Attacking Midfielder

Bruno One of the best in the world

Sancho It'll be his last chance but can play across the attack

Right Wing

Antony Has been very good and has the ability to get better.

Diallo Can't wait to see him back. Fantastic ability

Left Wing

Rashford One of the best in the world

Garnacho A serious talent

Striker

Kane One of the best in the world. Sign him up Erik

Martial Whether it's his fault or not, he's unreliable so let him run out his contract or win another one. Nobody is buying him off us.

Weghorst Happy to keep him as long as we get Kane and have enough English players.
 
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In

Frenkie de Jong
Osimhen / Kane
Gvardiol / Kim Min Jae
Backup keeper

Out

Maguire
Dean Henderson
Phil Jones
Telles
Elanga
 
kaku06 said:
We don’t know they are ready or not and even if they are we don’t know they are good enough or not. We can’t hang our hat in the hope that they would be equally good in the first team. That’s not fair on the kids too.

Players like Casemiro, Varane, Bruno are 30 or beyond next season. We need to complement them with quality players. There is no time for experimentation in my opinion.

Edit - Apologies if I misread your post.
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no worries mate....you bring in sabitzer for 20m probably and that right there is a quality depth player who easily could make the starting Xi IF and its a big IF you don't go for Jude or Declan.

i think EtH is more than comfortable with Mainoo based on him being with the first time now almost exclusively ...the other two guys just need to get more experience but the point being that it's hopefully money we won't have to spend on the CM position until Casemiro, Eriksen, Bruno have run their course. We have at least 2 more years of these guys being at the top of their game which is plenty of time to blood the youngsters.
 
A few sensible buys (CM and CF) to increase the squad depth as well as improving the overall standard of the team.

Let EtH take a close look at Amad and Hannibal during pre-season.

Loan out Pellistri and Iqbal.

Decide to keep or return Sabitzer/Weghorst

Sell Maguire/McTom/Henderson. No one will have Martial so he will be here for next season.

Adding players around the 50-60 million mark would be perfect for integrating into team. The team is winning and the coaching staff settled.

United have enough star names already in Casemiro/Rashford/Bruno/Varane.

It’s a good time to join United.
 
Personally i'd love to see us bring in Enzo Le Fee from Lorient. Fantastic little player.
 
Who would you sign (instead of Kane/Osimhen and De Jong/Bellingham) for ST and MF? Do you have a 3rd good option?
 
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