What do we still need? Aka The never ending story

Devil may care said:
I'm not familiar with Lala but I like Meunier for RB, of the CB's de Ligt would be my choice by far from those 3, I don't rate Manolas that highly, he's a bull in a china shop like Jones and Baily IMO. I've said numerous times on here I think Alderweireld is declining and not the ideal partner for Lindelof, but I could see the club cutting corners and bringing him in due to the low buyyout clause.

Pellegrini is a decent punt at €22M but he's a Pogba cover right now, we need a proper #6 addition that can at the very least rotate with Matic and Herrera isn't the answer, nor is Pellegrini.

As regards Suso, I honestly think he'd sink in the PL from the bit I've seen of him, I think he'd end up like Kagawa and Mkhitaryan rather than a David Silva, if we are going for that type of player and not looking to spend Dybala money, I'd go for Fekir, I'm not 100% sure about him in the PL but I think he's got a better chance than Suso. I've nopt seen nearly enough of Zaniolo to comment but he might be better on the 2020 list with Sancho, give him more time to develop.
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Agree on CBs and got the same opinion as you regarding Alderweired (short term solution) and Manolas, but they were meant as cheap options compared to the expensive ones like Di Ligt and Koulibaly.

Pellegrini can play in all the three central midfield positions(CDM, CM and CAM) and it is mainly this season that he has been used as a CAM. Would, as a minimum, be a good cover in all 3 positions. For that price he is a steal.

There is certainly a risk with buying Suso, as with most transfers. Difference between Kagawa/Mkhitaryan and Suso is that Suso regularly creates chances against balanced defenses, while Mkhitaryan was deadly on the counter and Kagawa found his role/space in a well functioning team. There is certainly a possibility that he will sink in the PL, but he has delivered well the last 3 seasons in a struggling team. And he is the best we can get for that price without going for unknown players (Something Woody is unlikely to do). And we need more creators beside Pogba in attack (creating chances without dribbling or counterattacking).
 
In Rainbows said:
None of us want to cut corners. We're just saying that because it's very likely it happens and also because we're going to target someone expensive. For example, if we get 200mil to spend, but target Sancho and De Ligt, then I won't consider RB a priority. If we don't target Sancho, then I would consider RB a priority because we would clearly have enough money to spend it on a RB. I'm posting on the assumption that we're going to be after Sancho because I think RW is our most important problem area.

We're in February. There are still games that Dalot can make an impression in or to improve in. There is preseason to make another impression on the manager. And I'm of the opinion that we should give Dalot a half season next season to showcase he's good enough to be the starter. If not, it's not like we can't buy a RB in January. They're a lot easier to buy than a CB or RW. Maybe I'm just more willing to give young players a chance. Just look at Liverpool with Alexander Arnold.
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I think you're underestimating how bad our fullback situation is, we have no depth there at all, Young is awful and yet he's one of only 3 we'll have. It's not about faith in young players, it's about what I've seen, and you have to factor in that Dalot wasn't even a regular at Porto when we bought him, he's very raw and as I said he can get plenty of games on both sides without us basically giving up half a season on wishful thinking, as he's not likely to get much opportunity the rest of this season, Ole wants the job and for that he'll need top 4 and Young is his captain, he will start almost all of the games left, especially given we could be out of the cup tomorrow and are already basically out of the CL, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if Young starts all of the 12 remaining PL games we have. If we are cutting corners then despite my doubts over him I'd just go cheap on Alderweireld for £25M and buy a RB.
 
Fosu-Mens said:
Agree on CBs and got the same opinion as you regarding Alderweired (short term solution) and Manolas, but they were meant as cheap options compared to the expensive ones like Di Ligt and Koulibaly.

Pellegrini can play in all the three central midfield positions(CDM, CM and CAM) and it is mainly this season that he has been used as a CAM. Would, as a minimum, be a good cover in all 3 positions. For that price he is a steal.

There is certainly a risk with buying Suso, as with most transfers. Difference between Kagawa/Mkhitaryan and Suso is that Suso regularly creates chances against balanced defenses, while Mkhitaryan was deadly on the counter and Kagawa found his role/space in a well functioning team. There is certainly a possibility that he will sink in the PL, but he has delivered well the last 3 seasons in a struggling team. And he is the best we can get for that price without going for unknown players (Something Woody is unlikely to do). And we need more creators beside Pogba in attack (creating chances without dribbling or counterattacking).
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These are all corner cutting options which I get was your template but I don't think we'll go as cheap as this, like I mentioned in the post above I could see us corner cutting with Alderweireld as a stop gap, but I think Pellegrini is only an option if we decide to give up on Fred and he can come in as a cheap cover option for Pogba and Herrera, IMO he's no DM and we need a specialist, if we just wanted a player to fill in Ander could already be doing that, and from what I've seen if you want real use out of Pellegrini he needs to be in a more offensive role.

You're right that there's a risk with any transfer and we do need another creator in this team, but I just don't see it with Suso, I could be wrong but he looks lightweight, not all that fast, someone that would struggle with the nature of the PL overall, his buyout clause is attractive but I think we'll be pushing the boat out more for an attacker as Woody can market the guys we buy in those positions, so it'll either be a player that already has some status like with Falcao, Lukaku and Sanchez, or it will be the hot prospect like with Martial IMO.
 
Devil may care said:
These are all corner cutting options which I get was your template but I don't think we'll go as cheap as this, like I mentioned in the post above I could see us corner cutting with Alderweireld as a stop gap, but I think Pellegrini is only an option if we decide to give up on Fred and he can come in as a cheap cover option for Pogba and Herrera, IMO he's no DM and we need a specialist, if we just wanted a player to fill in Ander could already be doing that, and from what I've seen if you want real use out of Pellegrini he needs to be in a more offensive role.

You're right that there's a risk with any transfer and we do need another creator in this team, but I just don't see it with Suso, I could be wrong but he looks lightweight, not all that fast, someone that would struggle with the nature of the PL overall, his buyout clause is attractive but I think we'll be pushing the boat out more for an attacker as Woody can market the guys we buy in those positions, so it'll either be a player that already has some status like with Falcao, Lukaku and Sanchez, or it will be the hot prospect like with Martial IMO.
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We have neither the quality in the first team, nor the quality in our 2. options to compete for anything significant next year. Our goals should be to improve the first team and the squad depth and not try to close the gap to Liverpool/City over one summer. Buying players like Pellegrini and (imo) Suso have little/no downside. We improve the squad depth in key positions and potentially improve the first team as well. And both players can be sold for around the same price if they do not work out. And with the low price we can spend relatively big on 1/2 players in the summer as well. If we use all the available £££ on two players we will still be left with certain positions that can be regarded as big issues and with few players able to step in and perform at the needed level.

Lets take previous summer as an example: We spent £45m or more on Fred. Played in the ukrainian league... Arsenal spent £20m on Torreira, a younger player with experience and highly regarded in Serie A. If Fred does not work out we will not get anywhere near the same for him as we paid. If Torreira did not work out here, there would be many interested buyers in Serie A that would give us around the same price as what we paid for him. I agree that sometimes the club has to take chances and spend big on players with potential huge upsides like Di Ligt, Sancho and Martial... But at the same time one should also buy smart like Pellegrini.
 
Fosu-Mens said:
We have neither the quality in the first team, nor the quality in our 2. options to compete for anything significant next year. Our goals should be to improve the first team and the squad depth and not try to close the gap to Liverpool/City over one summer. Buying players like Pellegrini and (imo) Suso have little/no downside. We improve the squad depth in key positions and potentially improve the first team as well. And both players can be sold for around the same price if they do not work out. And with the low price we can spend relatively big on 1/2 players in the summer as well. If we use all the available £££ on two players we will still be left with certain positions that can be regarded as big issues and with few players able to step in and perform at the needed level.

Lets take previous summer as an example: We spent £45m or more on Fred. Played in the ukrainian league... Arsenal spent £20m on Torreira, a younger player with experience and highly regarded in Serie A. If Fred does not work out we will not get anywhere near the same for him as we paid. If Torreira did not work out here, there would be many interested buyers in Serie A that would give us around the same price as what we paid for him. I agree that sometimes the club has to take chances and spend big on players with potential huge upsides like Di Ligt, Sancho and Martial... But at the same time one should also buy smart like Pellegrini.
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We have to buy what we actually need though, to me Pellegrini is not a need, he's a decent player who could cover Pogba for the most part, we'd still not have cover for Matic and thus we haven't improved or addressed an issue, we've just added in a player that Fred might develop into next season anyway. Then with Suso we'd have a player IMO that would just be a sideways move from what we have, he wouldn't take Lingard's place so he'd be at best a minor upgrade on Sanchez, if we buy Alderweireld for £25M and Meunier for £35M that still leaves a sizeable chunk of money for a top holding midfielder and attacker.
 
Devil may care said:
We have to buy what we actually need though, to me Pellegrini is not a need, he's a decent player who could cover Pogba for the most part, we'd still not have cover for Matic and thus we haven't improved or addressed an issue, we've just added in a player that Fred might develop into next season anyway. Then with Suso we'd have a player IMO that would just be a sideways move from what we have, he wouldn't take Lingard's place so he'd be at best a minor upgrade on Sanchez, if we buy Alderweireld for £25M and Meunier for £35M that still leaves a sizeable chunk of money for a top holding midfielder and attacker.
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Previous years for Sassuolo and Roma Pellegrini has usually played as a CM, sometimes a CDM or wide player. We may disagree on him and Suso, which is based on our subjective viewings of the players in question. And it is impossible/difficult to come to a verdict on who is right and wrong in a potential scenario, as it is with predicting how Fred will perform next year... We will have to wait.

Regarding which roles/positions to improve i agree that we should improve a number of positions in the first team, but we also must consider the rest of the squad and improve our tactical flexibility. If we are going to buy a "specialized" holding midfielder as a cover for Matic we might as well buy someone better than him, but given the other issues with the squad we must prioritize what to improve. And herein lies our disagreement.
Ideally we should improve these positions in the first team: RB, CB, LB, CDM(Matic), CM(Herrera) and RW. IF we want to have the first team quality to be viewed among the favourites for the big trophies. And also have adequate backups in all areas on the pitch in case of injures. As of now we only have Romero among our players not part of the 11 starting that is up to the required standard. I don't think we will be close to the required standard next year regardless of who the manager is and which players we buy, and imo it is better to have a long term view on this as long as we are able to "safely" acquire top 4.
 
OUTS:

Lukaku - 50M
Sanchez - 20M
Mata - 15M
Valencia - Free
Bailly - 25M
Darmian - 10M
Pereira - 10M
Rojo - 10M
Fosu-Mensah - 8M

= 148M


INS:

Koulibaly - The signings speaks for itself. Leader and complete defender which is what we're crying out for - 80M

Pellegrini - An attack minded centre midfielder, who can play deeper if/when needed. Would be a good cover for Pogba or to play deeper in games we dominate - 35M

Werner - Like Rashford, he's all action and runs the channels very well. Contract expires in 2020 so we'd be getting him for cheaper. Has also said he would like a move to Man United. - 35M

Wan-Bissaka - We have a young right back in Dalot, but Bissaka to me has the potential to be on a complete different level. The guy truly has everything - 30M

N Pepe - Wouldn't be my first choice, but we need a direct winger, which Pepe is. Left footed too - 40M

= 190M

NET SPEND = 42M

Starting XI:

De Gea
Wan-Bissaka Lindelof Koulibaly Shaw
Herrera Matic Pogba
Pepe Rashford Martial​

Subs: Romero Smalling Young Fred Pellegrini Lingard Werner

Squad players: Grant Jones Dalot McTominay Gomes Chong Greenwood​
 
Walters_19_MuFc said:
OUTS:

Lukaku - 50M
Sanchez - 20M
Mata - 15M
Valencia - Free
Bailly - 25M
Darmian - 10M
Pereira - 10M
Rojo - 10M
Fosu-Mensah - 8M

= 148M


INS:

Koulibaly - The signings speaks for itself. Leader and complete defender which is what we're crying out for - 80M

Pellegrini - An attack minded centre midfielder, who can play deeper if/when needed. Would be a good cover for Pogba or to play deeper in games we dominate - 35M

Werner - Like Rashford, he's all action and runs the channels very well. Contract expires in 2020 so we'd be getting him for cheaper. Has also said he would like a move to Man United. - 35M

Wan-Bissaka - We have a young right back in Dalot, but Bissaka to me has the potential to be on a complete different level. The guy truly has everything - 30M

N Pepe - Wouldn't be my first choice, but we need a direct winger, which Pepe is. Left footed too - 40M

= 190M

NET SPEND = 42M

Starting XI:

De Gea
Wan-Bissaka Lindelof Koulibaly Shaw
Herrera Matic Pogba
Pepe Rashford Martial​

Subs: Romero Smalling Young Fred Pellegrini Lingard Werner

Squad players: Grant Jones Dalot McTominay Gomes Chong Greenwood​
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Very good shouts here, but it would be pretty hard to get Werner and Pellegrini and keep them on the bench.

In the midfield we need a direct replacement for Matic and Matic needs to become a bench option.
 
youmeletsfly said:
Very good shouts here, but it would be pretty hard to get Werner and Pellegrini and keep them on the bench.

In the midfield we need a direct replacement for Matic and Matic needs to become a bench option.
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My ideas is that Pellegrini would play a lot of games in the 8 position, with Herrera dropping as the holding midfielder, giving us a midfield three of Pellegrini, Herrera and Pogba.

De Gea
Wan-Bissaka Lindelof Koulibaly Shaw
Pellegrini Herrera Pogba
Pepe Rashford Martial

Subs: Romero Smalling Young Matic Fred Lingard Werner

I know what you mean about Werner but he would still get plenty of games over the season. Be similar to Jesus and Aguero.
 
Walters_19_MuFc said:
My ideas is that Pellegrini would play a lot of games in the 8 position, with Herrera dropping as the holding midfielder, giving us a midfield three of Pellegrini, Herrera and Pogba.

De Gea
Wan-Bissaka Lindelof Koulibaly Shaw
Pellegrini Herrera Pogba
Pepe Rashford Martial

Subs: Romero Smalling Young Matic Fred Lingard Werner

I know what you mean about Werner but he would still get plenty of games over the season. Be similar to Jesus and Aguero.
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I see what you mean now, thanks, it surely looks good, even if it would cost a feckton of money.

I do not know much about Pepe, but nevertheless it seems that there aren't so many options for the right wing anyway.
 
Barella/Pellegrini, Koulibaly and Chiesa would be some good business for the summer from Serie A. I reckon we could get the lot for 150m as well. I think we could get away without a RB if we're determined to give Dalot a chance. Maybe a back up LB would be a wiser investment.
 
Fosu-Mens said:
Previous years for Sassuolo and Roma Pellegrini has usually played as a CM, sometimes a CDM or wide player. We may disagree on him and Suso, which is based on our subjective viewings of the players in question. And it is impossible/difficult to come to a verdict on who is right and wrong in a potential scenario, as it is with predicting how Fred will perform next year... We will have to wait.

Regarding which roles/positions to improve i agree that we should improve a number of positions in the first team, but we also must consider the rest of the squad and improve our tactical flexibility. If we are going to buy a "specialized" holding midfielder as a cover for Matic we might as well buy someone better than him, but given the other issues with the squad we must prioritize what to improve. And herein lies our disagreement.
Ideally we should improve these positions in the first team: RB, CB, LB, CDM(Matic), CM(Herrera) and RW. IF we want to have the first team quality to be viewed among the favourites for the big trophies. And also have adequate backups in all areas on the pitch in case of injures. As of now we only have Romero among our players not part of the 11 starting that is up to the required standard. I don't think we will be close to the required standard next year regardless of who the manager is and which players we buy, and imo it is better to have a long term view on this as long as we are able to "safely" acquire top 4.
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I don't think we are miles apart on this as I do think it will take us at least another season to become challengers, we agree there are 6 positions that we need to buy in, I think it comes down to which ones we would prioritize and where we'd look at the cheaper options. Lets say we only buy 4 players this summer which seems reasonably logical, then the two spots for me that we hold off on are LB competition and CM competition for Herrera, unless of course we sell Fred or the unthinkable happens and Ander doesn't sign a new deal.

That leaves 4 positions to buy in, at CB we could go high end and pay the big fees for Koulibaly (the best fit with Lindelof IMO) or de Ligt, but we could cut corners here with Alderweireld at £25M. At RB most options we would be talking between £30-50M. The forward role we could could all out for £100M+ options like Eriksen, Dybala or Sancho, or we could go with your budget option like Suso who is £33M. The DM role is harder to call but I maintain my position that Herrera won't be used there and that we need someone to at the very least understudy him with a look to taking over by the following season.
 
Devil may care said:
I don't think we are miles apart on this as I do think it will take us at least another season to become challengers, we agree there are 6 positions that we need to buy in, I think it comes down to which ones we would prioritize and where we'd look at the cheaper options. Lets say we only buy 4 players this summer which seems reasonably logical, then the two spots for me that we hold off on are LB competition and CM competition for Herrera, unless of course we sell Fred or the unthinkable happens and Ander doesn't sign a new deal.

That leaves 4 positions to buy in, at CB we could go high end and pay the big fees for Koulibaly (the best fit with Lindelof IMO) or de Ligt, but we could cut corners here with Alderweireld at £25M. At RB most options we would be talking between £30-50M. The forward role we could could all out for £100M+ options like Eriksen, Dybala or Sancho, or we could go with your budget option like Suso who is £33M. The DM role is harder to call but I maintain my position that Herrera won't be used there and that we need someone to at the very least understudy him with a look to taking over by the following season.
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LB can wait for a season, and the second CM addition may depend on wheter we trust Fred or not and if we are able to change our typical midfield setup from 2 defensive to 1 being the main defender. Forward and CB dependent on how much we will use, and if we are just long term "top 4" to get the £££ or actually going for the long term success. I would not mind two class players or megatalents like Di Ligt and Sanhco, but only if we are able to strengten other positions.

CDM and Matic. Struggle to find adequate replacements. If we want the player most similar to him: Rodri at Atletico.
We could get Toussart from Lyon, Rabiot if we want drama, not sold on Neves....
The best option imo based on affordability, ability and positional flexibility is still Pellegrini. Can cover for both Matic and Herrera.
 
Anyone watching last night could see how excellent Pogba was last night. Towards the end though he was throwing everything into it and was falling over himself to dominate the match. He won't be able to do that level of performace regularly. He'll get tired and he'll get injured. Against the very best they'll mark him out of the game.

It's essential we get another CM who can also make a mark on the game in a creative manner. Double the threat, half the workload. We'd be unstoppable if we had a KDB or a Silva alongside him. Obviously not those two, but other players to set the tempo in our side.

The best sides have options, our best sides had options. in the 98/99 season you had to shut down Giggs, Scholes and Beckham to stop manchester united creating chances, you had to watch Yorke and Cole all the time. In 07/08 it was Scholes, Tevez, Ronaldo and Rooney who needed to be marked out of a game to stop us making chances. You had to watch out for the overlapping Evra. Even after that we had Carrick who could make something from deep.

In this side Martial, Rashford and to a lesser extent Lingard and Lukaku provide the threat teams need to look out for, but they only tick if Pogba does. We don't have anyone else they have to worry about. He's a single point of failure, no successful business model has a single point of failure.

Martial is becoming more a threat in his own accord, that's great. We need someone on the right wing who'll do the same. Rashford is growing into someone people will always have to assign two CB's to mark to keep out of the game. At the moment though, we can't use the threat these guys are, if they oppo have a leash on Pogba. If we have 1 more player who can be a creative heartbeat from the middle of the park - we'd be too much for sides, just like City are.
 
Koulibaly Neves and Sancho is now the dream for me
 
JJ12 said:
Koulibaly Neves and Sancho is now the dream for me
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Would love this, but it would require a huge sum of money : 80+70+110 at least.Would also like a FB who is primarily a LB who can cross well but can also play RB. Young seems to be doing a good job atm and hopefully Dalot improves next year, if not Wan Bissaka would be a great addition.

But if we can move on some of our deadwood like Rojo, Darmian, Jones we can get it down to a net spend of nearly 200 mill.
I also like the idea of bringing in Werner as a replacement for Lukaku, he'd cost a lot less because of his contract situation but I doubt he'd be happy to sit on the bench
 
Ndombele or Kante*.


*If Sarri stays for next season, there may be a possibility of Kante leaving. They sold us Matic before, so you never know! Kante in DM position would great. Unmatched midfield. Ole praised him as world class DM yesterday.
 
Fosu-Mens said:
LB can wait for a season, and the second CM addition may depend on wheter we trust Fred or not and if we are able to change our typical midfield setup from 2 defensive to 1 being the main defender. Forward and CB dependent on how much we will use, and if we are just long term "top 4" to get the £££ or actually going for the long term success. I would not mind two class players or megatalents like Di Ligt and Sanhco, but only if we are able to strengten other positions.

CDM and Matic. Struggle to find adequate replacements. If we want the player most similar to him: Rodri at Atletico.
We could get Toussart from Lyon, Rabiot if we want drama, not sold on Neves....
The best option imo based on affordability, ability and positional flexibility is still Pellegrini. Can cover for both Matic and Herrera.
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I think we are pretty much in agreement bar how we see Pellegrini and Neves, to me Pellegrini's Pogba cover, at a push Ander cover, I just haven't seen anything to suggest he'd be able to deputise for Matic in the holding role, but I would take him as a replacement for Fred in the squad if we cut our losses in the summer.
 
Devil may care said:
I think we are pretty much in agreement bar how we see Pellegrini and Neves, to me Pellegrini's Pogba cover, at a push Ander cover, I just haven't seen anything to suggest he'd be able to deputise for Matic in the holding role, but I would take him as a replacement for Fred in the squad if we cut our losses in the summer.
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Pellegrini is a player that is fairly good on most elements of the game. Two footed, defending, can pass and dribble, got mobility despite his size etc. I'm not saying that he can have the same impact as i thought Torreira would have, but he can perform in many different roles in the midfield given his "balanced" abilities and because of his time in Serie A playing in multiple positions already. (players seems to be more tactically adept if they have played there.). He might not be the "specialist" as a holding midfielder as Neves is, but our biggest problem in midfield is not the lack of quality among those starting, it is the players replacing them. Pellegrini solves this to some extent.
 
JJ12 said:
Koulibaly Neves and Sancho is now the dream for me
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Thus far the dream for me is De Ligt and Sancho. I'm still unsure of who I want after those two. I think United are positioned to dominate football in the 2020s if we can get those two as our core of players have potentially 7+ years of top football left in them. Plus this is the strongest our academy has been in a while.
 
Ideal summer market in a world where the Glazers and Woody supports Ole/Poch and really invest to compete for the PL.

Experience and quality at the back. Power and speed in midfield with pace and creativity upfront.

Then “only” missing two better fullbacks (if Dalot and Shaw are not turning WC) and a replacement for Matic, but this side, if well coached can compete


In: 280M
Koulibaly (80M)
Alderweireld (25M)
N’Dombele (65M)
Sancho (110M)

Out : 67M
J.Pereira (1M)
Bailly (20M)
Rojo (10M)
Fosu-Mensah (5M)
Valencia (Free)
Darmian (10M)
Tuanzebe (1M)
Sanchez (20M)
Mc Tominay (Loan)

My team :

De Gea (cap) / (Romero)

Young / (Jones)
Alderweireld / (Smalling)
Koulibaly / (Lindelof)
Shaw / (Dalot)

Matic / (Herrera)
N’Dombele / (Fred)
Pogba (Pereira)

Martial / (Lingard) / (Chong)
Rashford / (Lukaku) / (Greenwood)
Sancho / (Mata) / (Gomes)
 
Chaky_Best said:
Ideal summer market in a world where the Glazers and Woody supports Ole/Poch and really invest to compete for the PL.

Experience and quality at the back. Power and speed in midfield with pace and creativity upfront.

Then “only” missing two better fullbacks (if Dalot and Shaw are not turning WC) and a replacement for Matic, but this side, if well coached can compete


In: 280M
Koulibaly (80M)
Alderweireld (25M)
N’Dombele (65M)
Sancho (110M)

Out : 67M
J.Pereira (1M)
Bailly (20M)
Rojo (10M)
Fosu-Mensah (5M)
Valencia (Free)
Darmian (10M)
Tuanzebe (1M)
Sanchez (20M)
Mc Tominay (Loan)

My team :

De Gea (cap) / (Romero)

Young / (Jones)
Alderweireld / (Smalling)
Koulibaly / (Lindelof)
Shaw / (Dalot)

Matic / (Herrera)
N’Dombele / (Fred)
Pogba (Pereira)

Martial / (Lingard) / (Chong)
Rashford / (Lukaku) / (Greenwood)
Sancho / (Mata) / (Gomes)
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20 mill for Sanchez and 1 million for Tuanzebe
:wenger::wenger:
 
If we get top four then this summer will really show what the aspirations of the board are. No more excuses for them. If they are happy to stay just a top four team we will go for cheaper options and make excuses while City sign tier one players. If they have ambitions to gain on City and Liverpool then we will sign top talent. Be very revealing.
 
Maybe Felipe Luis from Atletico Madrid would be an option as FB for us. His contract expire at the end of the season and he could be a nice expirienced back-up for Shaw.

Two years ago he was one of my favourit LBs and I'm still a fan of him.
 
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I would like to see Rojo, Darmian and Alexis leave this summer. They seem like a bunch of misfits that don't play to the required level, and they play in positions were we have good coverage.

I think we need a new RB, and would like to see us bring in Wan-Bissaka. Defensively very solid, young, british, PL-proven and probably attainable for a reasonable price. Ashley Young has done a decent job and Dalot has shown some potential, but Wan-Bissaka looks like a more solid player short-term.

Similarly, we need a CB that strengthens our starting 11 from day 1. Toby Alderweireld has a release clause of 25 mill pounds, and should absolutely be on our list. Very good with the ball in his feet, PL-proven and attainable. In our situation, we cannot afford to bring in a young CB that needs 2-3 years to become a top player. Toby is turning 30 soon, but he should have at least 3 seasons left at the absolute top level. I am more comfortable paying 25 mill for Toby than paying 100 mill for Koulibaly who is 2 year younger and would have to adapt to PL from Serie A.

In midfield, I would like to see us bring in some more creativity, and Christian Eriksen would be the ideal alternative. He will have only one year left of his Tottenham contract this summer, and I recon we could get him for about 100 mill pounds. A partnership of Pogba and Eriksen in a 433 would be unstoppable going forwards, and both are extremely hard-working players tracking back. This would also give the alternative of using Herrera as backup or potential replacement for Matic in the holding role.

A new RW is also needed, and I would like to see Nicolas Pepe. A very direct left-footed RW with an eye for goal, that has done very well for Lille this season. He also delivered some great performances last season.

Transfers
Out: Rojo (8 mill), Darmian (7 mill), Alexis (15 mill).
In: Wan-Bissaka (50 mill), Alderweireld (25 mill), Eriksen (100 mill), Nicolas Pepe (50 mill)
Net spend: 195 mill pounds

Starting 11
De Gea
Wan-Bissaka, Lindelöf, Alderweireld, Shaw
Eriksen, Matic, Pogba
Pepe, Rashford, Martial
 
The board/owners should splash the cash this summer similar to what city did a couple years back with Pep. Get what we need no matter the cost

Get rid of:
Darmian
Jones or Smalling (prefer Jones, hope his new contract is to increase value)
Rojo
Valencia
Mata
Pereira
Sanchez
Grant
TFM

Loan:
Mctominay

Get in:
R. Nevez
Ndombele or Aouar
J. Sancho
Wan Bissaka
De Ligt

Keep an eye on for summer 2020:
Declan Rice
Brooks
J. Felix
Tierney

Leaves us with a group of
GK: De Gea, Romero, Pereira
DL: Shaw, Young, Dalot
DR: Wan Bissaka, Dalot, Young
DC: Lindelöf, De Ligt, Bailly, Smalling (or Jones), Tuanzebe
MC: Pogba, Herrera, Nevez, Ndombele (or Aouar), Matic, Fred
MR: Sancho, Lingard, Chong
ML: Martial, Lingard, Chong
ST: Rashford, Lukaku

We would also have Gomez, Greenwood, Garner to use in crisis or for cups and few minutes here and there, Laird perhaps as well

Sure there are holes and perhaps Lukaku wants away or at least we should probably get rid no later than summer 2020 due to new style, especially if OGS gets the job but we can't change an entire team over one summer and some need to go now/are running out of contract, we also have some holes in the first team that need focus now like RB and RM in my opinion. With these buys we would also be adding a core of young exciting proven talent within the league or in champions league to a squad, our key players would have years together to gel and become a real force.

Or maybe I have just played to much FM/Fifa, I have no idea, but these are the players around that excite me and I would like to see at Utd
 
It’s obvious that any of: Jones Rojo Darmian Valencia Young Mata Sanchez Pereira can probably go. However you can’t change that many players in one go. These posts always get a bit FIFA style, but, but talking Realistically, I would like to see us sign Tierney and Wan Bissaka in the full back positions to provide cover and competition. Both have good ability already, bags of potential and won’t cost a fortune. I’d like to see a more mobile DM, Neves is proven, then there’s Ascacibar at Stuttgart who looks good, Ndombele and some others. I’d like to see us sign Sesegnon if Alexis goes and he would be available at a better price after Fulham are relegated. Upemacano looks like a very good player and would be my shout for a CB. And right wing is a no brainer we should break the bank for Sancho. I think we would be able to sign any of those players from their respective clubs no problem, it’s not like trying to prize a galatico from Madrid or Atletico, but who knows. That would be a lot of signings in one summer but our squad needs a kick
 
Also if Pogba play well as an No.10 I could imagine him as an 8.
If Dybala and Sancho are available this summer and we sell Lukaku like the latest rumours mention. )

Martial-Rashford-Sancho
Dybala
Matic(Herrera)-Pogba

These could work. Maybe not against every team, but I think it looks nice. And my favourite as substitute in the front would be Joao Felix. For me the most exciting talent at the moment.
Many invests in the attack, but it seems, that all these players are available this summer.

For sure just a Dream:-)
 
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Fosu-Mens said:
Pellegrini is a player that is fairly good on most elements of the game. Two footed, defending, can pass and dribble, got mobility despite his size etc. I'm not saying that he can have the same impact as i thought Torreira would have, but he can perform in many different roles in the midfield given his "balanced" abilities and because of his time in Serie A playing in multiple positions already. (players seems to be more tactically adept if they have played there.). He might not be the "specialist" as a holding midfielder as Neves is, but our biggest problem in midfield is not the lack of quality among those starting, it is the players replacing them. Pellegrini solves this to some extent.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, I actually do think the quality of the starting midfield isn't quite there, not against better teams, we've seen us struggle to control the game in midfield in the 2nd half against Spurs, Arsenal, PSG and Chelsea, and Ole has mentioned this several times himself, not retaining possession well enough which invites a lot of pressure onto the defense, we need another ball player who is press resistent in there who can help dictate the game as first choice IMO, with Matic becoming a squad player. .
 
Devil may care said:
Fair enough, I actually do think the quality of the starting midfield isn't quite there, not against better teams, we've seen us struggle to control the game in midfield in the 2nd half against Spurs, Arsenal, PSG and Chelsea, and Ole has mentioned this several times himself, not retaining possession well enough which invites a lot of pressure onto the defense, we need another ball player who is press resistent in there who can help dictate the game as first choice IMO, with Matic becoming a squad player. .
Click to expand...
Gomes

Come on Butt. Start the transition.
 
Devil may care said:
Fair enough, I actually do think the quality of the starting midfield isn't quite there, not against better teams, we've seen us struggle to control the game in midfield in the 2nd half against Spurs, Arsenal, PSG and Chelsea, and Ole has mentioned this several times himself, not retaining possession well enough which invites a lot of pressure onto the defense, we need another ball player who is press resistent in there who can help dictate the game as first choice IMO, with Matic becoming a squad player. .
Click to expand...

I'm not saying that the starting midfielders are good enough to challenge the likes of PSG, but the biggest problem is the lack of cover. If we play without Pogba we will struggle, the same is the case for Matic/Herrera. I can agree your argument with buying class, press resistent etc etc and making Matic to be a backup. But being press resistent and retaining possession is also dependent on the players around them (fullbacks and wingers in our case) and the movement. And some of our players are terrible with their movement and passingdecisions.
 
This thread has turned into 'what I want for Christmas FM edition" wishlist imo. £100 million for 27 y old last year of his contract Eriksen so that we can play him in the MF, get Toby so that we can pair him up with Lindelof and have turtle brother's for our CB's, somehow sell Sanchez for £20 million but in the same breath sell Tuanzebe for £1 million...and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
 
Probably 3 in 3 maybe 4 out

Possibly in
Koulibaly
Ndombele
Dybala ( this is more what I would like rather than what will actually happen )

Out
Lukaku
Sanchez
Rojo
 
These are my current thoughts (changes by the week haha).

We need one experienced fullback who can cover both sides but mostly play RB. Kenny Lala looks a good fit - he's on the periphery of the French squad, is very productive in an attacking sense and won't cost too much more than 15m. A good stop gap while Dalot and/or Laird develop. Controversial but I wouldn't buy a CD due to all of ours except Rojo improving a lot under Ole. Maybe we should hope De Ligt is still available in 2020. I'd sign 2 upcoming central midfielders to challenge Herrera and Matic in the long term. Let's go with Lorenzo Pellegrini with his 27m clause and Denis Zakaria for 35m approx. In attack, Sanchez is on way too much money to justify not being undisputed first choice so I'd give him away if possible. I'd keep Lukaku as he offers a physical presence. I'd sign Jadon Sancho for 140m. It's a heck of a lot of money but I truly believe he'll be an elite superstar for over a decade and he's English which is a bonus for home grown rules too. Realistically, there's no way Dortmund would sell him for less than they sold Dembele to Barcelona for. Total spend would be 217m approx. with some of that covered by departures.

GK: De Gea, Romero, Grant
RB: Lala, Dalot, Laird
LB: Shaw, Young
CD: Lindelöf, Smalling, Bailly, Jones, O'Connor
CM: Herrera, Matic, Zakaria, Pellegrini, Garner
AM: Pogba, Gomes
RW: Sancho, Mata
LW: Martial, Lingard
ST: Rashford, Lukaku, Greenwood
 
I think Sancho and Rice would be a fantastic start.

Try for Hudson-Odoi.

I think we need to build for the future.l by buying younger players with genuine top quality potential as we are miles-off the top teams and unlikely to catch up in the next year or two.

We simply will not be able to bring in the quantity of top quality established players that we need to close the gap that quick.
 
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