What do we still need? Aka The never ending story

L1nk said:
This would be an ideal summer for me, personally.. is it entirely do'able this summer? Money wise I think so when factoring in sales. But it will likely not happen, this could be a multiple summer thing even though I think the majority of these players would have moved on by next summer to over clubs. If all the stars aligned and we were ruthless as we should be, and really spent our money wisely I think this would be good.

ST - Goncalo Ramos - Rumoured around 80-100mill Euros (Cheaper Alts; Rasmus Hojlund or Evan Ferguson)
GK - Diogo Costa - Rumoured around 60mill Pounds (Cheaper Alts; Bart Verbruggen or David Raya)
CM1 - Enzo Le Fee - Rumoured around 25mill Euros (Alt; Alex Scott or Daichi Kamada who is free)
CM2 - Khephren Thuram - Rumoured around 40mill Euros (Alts; Kenneth Taylor or Nicolo Rovella)
CB - Evan Ndicka - This guy is leaving on a free after turning down all contract offers, his reports are all similar to Varane's, except this guy has only missed 8 games through injury since 18/19 (There is no alt, because he is perfect)

Bonus - RB/CB - Jurrien Timber - Don't think he will be cheap but I think Timber could solve a multi possition problem with his signing, rather than signing individual RB and CB, in that he is probably a starter RB for us but could either also start and/or deputize in CB quite comfortably, and with ETH liking his's fullbacks to step forward I think his unique skillset really lends itself to stepping up into CM when our formation calls for us during transition.

Bring back/Loan -
Amad Diallo - Bring back
Hannibal Mejbri - Bring back
Ethan Laird - Loan
Shola Shoretire - Loan
Alvaro Fernandez - This is a tough one because I think he's quality but he has 2 LB's infront of him here, another loan I think would be better first, or at least if we do sell we should sell with a buyback clause.
Zidane Iqbal - Loan
Teden Mengi - Loan
Kobbie Mainoo - Loan

Sell/Release
Phil Jones - Gone
Victor Lindelof - I'd keep him as backup but he's already hinted he would want to leave if not first choice
Harry Maguire - No words needed, he will also want to be first choice anyway
Anthony Martial - Hard to shift I feel because of wages, but clearly is not reliable enough to be our main striker, proved this over multiple years now, get rid already
Marcel Sabitzer - I'm not against signing him for cheap, but In researching I feel there are better alternatives for free/similar price now
Fred - I like the guy and every now and again he's good, but not always and not good enough, signings would be better
Scott McTominay - If Newcastle still want to buy him after the previous match then please get rid, worrying that ETH wants to seem to keep him, never ever good enough for this club, academy player or not.
Anthony Elanga - Just don't see it with him, much prefer Pellistri and Amad is a much more talented player than him too. Sell.
Wout Weghorst - Don't resign him
Brandon Williams - Easy sell
Dean Henderson - Easy sell
DVB - Easy sell
Eric Bailly - Easy sell
Axel Tuanzebe - Easy sell
Alex Telles - Easy sell

23/24 Squad
GK
Diogo Costa
David De Gea
Third GK

DF
Luke Shaw
Tyrell Malacia
Raphael Varane
Lisandro Martinez
Evan Ndicka
Diogo Dalot
Aaron Wan Bissaka

CM
Casemiro
Cristian Eriksen
Enzo Le Fee
Khephrem Thuram
Bruno Fernandes
Hannibal Mejbri

AT
Goncalo Ramos
Marcus Rashford
Jadon Sancho
Alejandro Garnacho
Amad Diallo
Antony
Facundo Pellistri

This could be a squad that works but might take some time to gel in as there are a few young players - but given a season or two I think it will look phenomenal personally..
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As you said, I struggle to see all the work we clearly require being done in one summer.

With the De Gea contract rumours I can see us reaching an agreement and pushing this down the priority list temporarily. Can see De Gea’s ball playing being the last obvious piece of the puzzle and we pull the trigger on Diogo Costa in Jan or the following summer.

In Defence, I struggle to see a world where we let go of both Maguire and Lindelof, purely because it would mean we need two CBs coming in as there doesn’t seem to be anyone emerging from u23s or out on loan. I can see Lindelof going (have seen repeated links to Inter in the past year who will need a CB next year) with Maguire still still clinging on due to his stubbornness to drop down a level / heavier contract to get rid of. Ndicka on paper looks interesting but I haven’t seen many links to us recently. I’m holding my hopes for Kim Min-Jae.

There’s also the question of RB, where Frimpong is increasingly getting linked. Would be very interested to see that happen to give us a pretty unique player that could finally help us become a more balanced (ie. less left-sided) team going forward. If not, then Timber could be interesting as you say albeit offering something very different and probably playing a more inverted full back role.

Not totally against Le Fee and Thuram. They definitely offer the type of midfield attributes we need, but I just fear that their Ligue 1 stats may not translate to the Prem immediately. Would prefer us to play make safer bets here given how crucial it would be. Excluding semi unrealistic / obvious choices like FDJ, Bellingham, Barella, I’m open to any two of Bennacer, Rabiot, Lavia, Caicedo. You also mentioned Alex Scott as an alt, I also follow Bristol City and I absolutely love the man. But I don’t think we’re right for him right now and would possibly ruin him. I think he should come in as Maddison’s replacement at Leicester or go to somewhere like Brighton. He has s bright future though.

In attack I just don’t see anyone taking Martial and I think we’ll need him as a back up anyway. Quite like the idea of Goncalo but I fear we’d get fleeced for him. My top choice is still Kane although would love Osimhen with the someone like Frimpong coming in to add what Shaw offers on the left, but £130m is absurd and out of reach I think.
 
daba said:
As you said, I struggle to see all the work we clearly require being done in one summer.

With the De Gea contract rumours I can see us reaching an agreement and pushing this down the priority list temporarily. Can see De Gea’s ball playing being the last obvious piece of the puzzle and we pull the trigger on Diogo Costa in Jan or the following summer.

In Defence, I struggle to see a world where we let go of both Maguire and Lindelof, purely because it would mean we need two CBs coming in as there doesn’t seem to be anyone emerging from u23s or out on loan. I can see Lindelof going (have seen repeated links to Inter in the past year who will need a CB next year) with Maguire still still clinging on due to his stubbornness to drop down a level / heavier contract to get rid of. Ndicka on paper looks interesting but I haven’t seen many links to us recently. I’m holding my hopes for Kim Min-Jae.

There’s also the question of RB, where Frimpong is increasingly getting linked. Would be very interested to see that happen to give us a pretty unique player that could finally help us become a more balanced (ie. less left-sided) team going forward. If not, then Timber could be interesting as you say albeit offering something very different and probably playing a more inverted full back role.

Not totally against Le Fee and Thuram. They definitely offer the type of midfield attributes we need, but I just fear that their Ligue 1 stats may not translate to the Prem immediately. Would prefer us to play make safer bets here given how crucial it would be. Excluding semi unrealistic / obvious choices like FDJ, Bellingham, Barella, I’m open to any two of Bennacer, Rabiot, Lavia, Caicedo. You also mentioned Alex Scott as an alt, I also follow Bristol City and I absolutely love the man. But I don’t think we’re right for him right now and would possibly ruin him. I think he should come in as Maddison’s replacement at Leicester or go to somewhere like Brighton. He has s bright future though.

In attack I just don’t see anyone taking Martial and I think we’ll need him as a back up anyway. Quite like the idea of Goncalo but I fear we’d get fleeced for him. My top choice is still Kane although would love Osimhen with the someone like Frimpong coming in to add what Shaw offers on the left, but £130m is absurd and out of reach I think.
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Nice to get an actual constructive reply!

Unfortunately or Fortunately - depending on which way you sit on the fence of course - i fear you are right considering ETH’s latest comments about DDG, this is why I feel someone like Verbruggen would be a good choice as he’d be cheap now and at 20 and showing the level he has currently he’d be good to start in cup games and then fully take over from DDG in a season or two (Ideally i want someone like Costa to start now though)

I don’t think Maguire will want to stay, he’s been undermined really at this point and I doubt he’s content to sit on the bench when he thinks he should be playing, but also Lindelof has hinted at wanting to leave if he doesn’t get game time so it’s a tricky one. Kim Min-jae was the second choice I was going to put down, but Ndicka pipped him based purely on the fact he’s younger and would be a free instead of a 40mill release clause.

RB I didn’t put down because I don’t know, there doesn’t seem to be any reports of wanting to let go of Dalot, and all the reports of AWB being sold have died down, and even reports of him working his way back into ETH’s plans came up more recently.. maybe that has changed again, especially as you say with these links to Frimpong, but I don’t see is buying one unless one of the two leaves and right now there doesn’t seem to be a push for either to be sold.

Bennacer I would take for sure, i’d even up be up for a punt on Lavia. So those would be the two i’d pick, I think Rabiot isn’t the personality we want in the dressing room, and unfortunately with Caicedo signing a new long contract I don’t see us being able to get him for a reasonable fee, as much as I like him. Shame what you think about Alex Scott even though you really rate him, I understand he’s maybe a little more underdeveloped compared to the other choices on the list but I figured his excellent work in the Championship at least put some grit and determination into the young lad that would translate well to the Prem and help him push on. I’d hate to see him go to Brighton or Leicester and then we have to stump up insane cash for him when he inevitably turns good!

I think our ST problem is all our top targets are going to fleece us regardless, if we go with one of them it’s more about how much we want to get fleeced before we say no, Kane and Ramos are going to cost close to 100mill regardless if reports are to be believed, with Osimhen costing more than that according to Napoli’s president. All obscene amounts of money. I think Ferguson or Hojlund could do wonders for us. Hojlund is very quick and good at holding up the ball too and can grow with the team at his age, the issue with stepping outside of the top 3 choices is we are left with choices that are great players in their own right and can potentially get to their level, but they aren’t quite there yet. So we either get absolutely fleeced or take a punt on a slightly more unknown quantity, it’s going to be a difficult choice I suspect especially if we want to invest in quality in other areas
 
L1nk said:
Nice to get an actual constructive reply!

Unfortunately or Fortunately - depending on which way you sit on the fence of course - i fear you are right considering ETH’s latest comments about DDG, this is why I feel someone like Verbruggen would be a good choice as he’d be cheap now and at 20 and showing the level he has currently he’d be good to start in cup games and then fully take over from DDG in a season or two (Ideally i want someone like Costa to start now though)

I don’t think Maguire will want to stay, he’s been undermined really at this point and I doubt he’s content to sit on the bench when he thinks he should be playing, but also Lindelof has hinted at wanting to leave if he doesn’t get game time so it’s a tricky one. Kim Min-jae was the second choice I was going to put down, but Ndicka pipped him based purely on the fact he’s younger and would be a free instead of a 40mill release clause.

RB I didn’t put down because I don’t know, there doesn’t seem to be any reports of wanting to let go of Dalot, and all the reports of AWB being sold have died down, and even reports of him working his way back into ETH’s plans came up more recently.. maybe that has changed again, especially as you say with these links to Frimpong, but I don’t see is buying one unless one of the two leaves and right now there doesn’t seem to be a push for either to be sold.

Bennacer I would take for sure, i’d even up be up for a punt on Lavia. So those would be the two i’d pick, I think Rabiot isn’t the personality we want in the dressing room, and unfortunately with Caicedo signing a new long contract I don’t see us being able to get him for a reasonable fee, as much as I like him. Shame what you think about Alex Scott even though you really rate him, I understand he’s maybe a little more underdeveloped compared to the other choices on the list but I figured his excellent work in the Championship at least put some grit and determination into the young lad that would translate well to the Prem and help him push on. I’d hate to see him go to Brighton or Leicester and then we have to stump up insane cash for him when he inevitably turns good!

I think our ST problem is all our top targets are going to fleece us regardless, if we go with one of them it’s more about how much we want to get fleeced before we say no, Kane and Ramos are going to cost close to 100mill regardless if reports are to be believed, with Osimhen costing more than that according to Napoli’s president. All obscene amounts of money. I think Ferguson or Hojlund could do wonders for us. Hojlund is very quick and good at holding up the ball too and can grow with the team at his age, the issue with stepping outside of the top 3 choices is we are left with choices that are great players in their own right and can potentially get to their level, but they aren’t quite there yet. So we either get absolutely fleeced or take a punt on a slightly more unknown quantity, it’s going to be a difficult choice I suspect especially if we want to invest in quality in other areas
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Not against a Verbruggen-type of signing for GK in the summer but our scouts need to be confident that who they sign can step up in a year’s time as we can’t wait that long IMO. Costa seems like a safer, albeit expensive bet though and will be at a more secure stage of his development to step up to the mantle.

Maguire is a tricky one, I just think he’s deluded enough to think he will get back in the side. Maybe if we signed Kim he might get the hint, but even then we still need a buyer ready to take on his wages or we accept a lowish fee for him. If we were to go for Ndicka on a free, maybe he’d still think he has a good shot of getting in at RCB.

I think RB is an area we’ll defo invest in. Antony’s struggles and our lop-sided play is still there to see. I imagine ETH recognises Antony hasn’t quite hit the ground running as he might have hoped, and will double down on him by providing a RB to make those aggressive over-lapping runs to help him do his thing cutting in. Currently I get so frustrated by AWB’s slow, half-arsed over-lapping jogs that don’t fool any LB’s which makes it so difficult for Antony. Saying that, Antony needs to do better with his final ball as well.

Rabiot is only there because he’s free, having a great season and at a prime age. He’d just be such an upgrade on McT in terms of quality that it’s hard to ignore. I know he’ll apparently request a high salary and there’s all this talk of his mum (don’t know if that’s just media hyperbole though), but he’s a quality player and I would trust ETH to make a call on whether his personality is right for what he wants in the team. Sometimes you want some contained arrogance in the dressing room, which I actually think we’re missing slightly at the moment.

On Alex Scott, I’m pretty confident he’ll make it to a top 6 side in good time, I just think we’re a season or two too early for him to be part of the squad and playing (which I think is crucial for him right now). A Leicester, Brentford or Brighton play the type of football he will suit and at a level where I think he could surprise a few and break into their teams.

Agree on ST, given who we are and how limited the options are, we’re going to get fleeced regardless. Just up to ETH and the team on whether they go ready-made and pay a premium with Kane or Osimhen or go for something less proven like Hojland and Ferguson. It’s an awkward situation, as I like the idea of Kane to maximise the talent we have in the squad that is currently at its peak (Varane, Casemiro, Bruno, Shaw), rather than relying on a younger player learning his trade still.
 
daba said:
Not against a Verbruggen-type of signing for GK in the summer but our scouts need to be confident that who they sign can step up in a year’s time as we can’t wait that long IMO. Costa seems like a safer, albeit expensive bet though and will be at a more secure stage of his development to step up to the mantle.

Maguire is a tricky one, I just think he’s deluded enough to think he will get back in the side. Maybe if we signed Kim he might get the hint, but even then we still need a buyer ready to take on his wages or we accept a lowish fee for him. If we were to go for Ndicka on a free, maybe he’d still think he has a good shot of getting in at RCB.

I think RB is an area we’ll defo invest in. Antony’s struggles and our lop-sided play is still there to see. I imagine ETH recognises Antony hasn’t quite hit the ground running as he might have hoped, and will double down on him by providing a RB to make those aggressive over-lapping runs to help him do his thing cutting in. Currently I get so frustrated by AWB’s slow, half-arsed over-lapping jogs that don’t fool any LB’s which makes it so difficult for Antony. Saying that, Antony needs to do better with his final ball as well.

Rabiot is only there because he’s free, having a great season and at a prime age. He’d just be such an upgrade on McT in terms of quality that it’s hard to ignore. I know he’ll apparently request a high salary and there’s all this talk of his mum (don’t know if that’s just media hyperbole though), but he’s a quality player and I would trust ETH to make a call on whether his personality is right for what he wants in the team. Sometimes you want some contained arrogance in the dressing room, which I actually think we’re missing slightly at the moment.

On Alex Scott, I’m pretty confident he’ll make it to a top 6 side in good time, I just think we’re a season or two too early for him to be part of the squad and playing (which I think is crucial for him right now). A Leicester, Brentford or Brighton play the type of football he will suit and at a level where I think he could surprise a few and break into their teams.

Agree on ST, given who we are and how limited the options are, we’re going to get fleeced regardless. Just up to ETH and the team on whether they go ready-made and pay a premium with Kane or Osimhen or go for something less proven like Hojland and Ferguson. It’s an awkward situation, as I like the idea of Kane to maximise the talent we have in the squad that is currently at its peak (Varane, Casemiro, Bruno, Shaw), rather than relying on a younger player learning his trade still.
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Yeah Rabiot on a free is an absolute no brainer as is Thuram as well. I also totally get your point on signing Kane in order to make the most of those players at their peak
 
L1nk said:
This would be an ideal summer for me, personally.. is it entirely do'able this summer? Money wise I think so when factoring in sales. But it will likely not happen, this could be a multiple summer thing even though I think the majority of these players would have moved on by next summer to over clubs. If all the stars aligned and we were ruthless as we should be, and really spent our money wisely I think this would be good.

ST - Goncalo Ramos - Rumoured around 80-100mill Euros (Cheaper Alts; Rasmus Hojlund or Evan Ferguson)
GK - Diogo Costa - Rumoured around 60mill Pounds (Cheaper Alts; Bart Verbruggen or David Raya)
CM1 - Enzo Le Fee - Rumoured around 25mill Euros (Alt; Alex Scott or Daichi Kamada who is free)
CM2 - Khephren Thuram - Rumoured around 40mill Euros (Alts; Kenneth Taylor or Nicolo Rovella)
CB - Evan Ndicka - This guy is leaving on a free after turning down all contract offers, his reports are all similar to Varane's, except this guy has only missed 8 games through injury since 18/19 (There is no alt, because he is perfect)

Bonus - RB/CB - Jurrien Timber - Don't think he will be cheap but I think Timber could solve a multi possition problem with his signing, rather than signing individual RB and CB, in that he is probably a starter RB for us but could either also start and/or deputize in CB quite comfortably, and with ETH liking his's fullbacks to step forward I think his unique skillset really lends itself to stepping up into CM when our formation calls for us during transition.

Bring back/Loan -
Amad Diallo - Bring back
Hannibal Mejbri - Bring back
Ethan Laird - Loan
Shola Shoretire - Loan
Alvaro Fernandez - This is a tough one because I think he's quality but he has 2 LB's infront of him here, another loan I think would be better first, or at least if we do sell we should sell with a buyback clause.
Zidane Iqbal - Loan
Teden Mengi - Loan
Kobbie Mainoo - Loan

Sell/Release
Phil Jones - Gone
Victor Lindelof - I'd keep him as backup but he's already hinted he would want to leave if not first choice
Harry Maguire - No words needed, he will also want to be first choice anyway
Anthony Martial - Hard to shift I feel because of wages, but clearly is not reliable enough to be our main striker, proved this over multiple years now, get rid already
Marcel Sabitzer - I'm not against signing him for cheap, but In researching I feel there are better alternatives for free/similar price now
Fred - I like the guy and every now and again he's good, but not always and not good enough, signings would be better
Scott McTominay - If Newcastle still want to buy him after the previous match then please get rid, worrying that ETH wants to seem to keep him, never ever good enough for this club, academy player or not.
Anthony Elanga - Just don't see it with him, much prefer Pellistri and Amad is a much more talented player than him too. Sell.
Wout Weghorst - Don't resign him
Brandon Williams - Easy sell
Dean Henderson - Easy sell
DVB - Easy sell
Eric Bailly - Easy sell
Axel Tuanzebe - Easy sell
Alex Telles - Easy sell

23/24 Squad
GK
Diogo Costa
David De Gea
Third GK

DF
Luke Shaw
Tyrell Malacia
Raphael Varane
Lisandro Martinez
Evan Ndicka
Diogo Dalot
Aaron Wan Bissaka

CM
Casemiro
Cristian Eriksen
Enzo Le Fee
Khephrem Thuram
Bruno Fernandes
Hannibal Mejbri

AT
Goncalo Ramos
Marcus Rashford
Jadon Sancho
Alejandro Garnacho
Amad Diallo
Antony
Facundo Pellistri

This could be a squad that works but might take some time to gel in as there are a few young players - but given a season or two I think it will look phenomenal personally..
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Ndicka on a free is a great choice .
 
How much can we spend this summer without significant outgoings, no matter who our owners would be?
 
L1nk said:
CB - Evan Ndicka - This guy is leaving on a free after turning down all contract offers, his reports are all similar to Varane's, except this guy has only missed 8 games through injury since 18/19 (There is no alt, because he is perfect)
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We will not be signing a left footed CB as long as we have Martínez. No one will join just to play second fiddle to Licha. We have Shaw as a perfectly good option to come in when needed.
 
Rojofiam said:
We will not be signing a left footed CB as long as we have Martínez. No one will join just to play second fiddle to Licha. We have Shaw as a perfectly good option to come in when needed.
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Munich literally have de Ligt, Upamecano, L. Hernández and Pavard as their options in central defence. We need two good players in every position.
 
Not glamorous at all but grob at brighton would be good back up on the cheap to casimero as we Don't have an out and out stand in for him
 
bucky said:
Munich literally have de Ligt, Upamecano, L. Hernández and Pavard as their options in central defence. We need two good players in every position.
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Your point?

Out of those 4, only Hernández is unable to take up the RCB position. He can also play LB. Pavard is the same, RB and CB. Ndicka can only play LCB. We can't sign a back-up of his quality to just play 10 games a season when Martínez is getting rested. And no quality player would sign up for that either.

Not to mention that Martínez is probably our second most important player right now after Casemiro. Not many left footed technical freaks in the world of centre backs other than him, if any. Not to mention his attitude and mentality. He's simply a player that can't be replaced and doesn't need a full-time deputy either. Shaw has shown that he's more than capable of filling in when needed (which is not often). Ndicka would suffer the same fate that VDB has, due to Fernandes being too important for the team and an availability freak on top of it.
 
Rojofiam said:
Your point?

Out of those 4, only Hernández is unable to take up the RCB position. He can also play LB. Pavard is the same, RB and CB. Ndicka can only play LCB. We can't sign a back-up of his quality to just play 10 games a season when Martínez is getting rested. And no quality player would sign up for that either.

Not to mention that Martínez is probably our second most important player right now after Casemiro. Not many left footed technical freaks in the world of centre backs other than him, if any. Not to mention his attitude and mentality. He's simply a player that can't be replaced and doesn't need a full-time deputy either. Shaw has shown that he's more than capable of filling in when needed (which is not often). Ndicka would suffer the same fate that VDB has, due to Fernandes being too important for the team and an availability freak on top of it.
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The point is fairly obvious and I wrote it in that very post. We need 2 players in every position. There have been rumours around Maguire and Lindelöf leaving. We need competition. Just because Martinez is excellent doesn't mean he shouldn't have competition. When we had Ferdinand and Vidić, we also had Evans, Smalling and added Jones. This season has shown we need players for rotation and depth. Shaw is a left-back and that's where he should play. If players aren't up to the challenge, then they will move on or will be moved on. Pretty much every good team in Europe that is trying to win something has 4 CBs of fairly high quality. The point isn't specifically about N'dicka, however a younger understudy of Martinez would make sense.
 
L1nk said:
This would be an ideal summer for me, personally.. is it entirely do'able this summer? Money wise I think so when factoring in sales. But it will likely not happen, this could be a multiple summer thing even though I think the majority of these players would have moved on by next summer to over clubs. If all the stars aligned and we were ruthless as we should be, and really spent our money wisely I think this would be good.

ST - Goncalo Ramos - Rumoured around 80-100mill Euros (Cheaper Alts; Rasmus Hojlund or Evan Ferguson)
GK - Diogo Costa - Rumoured around 60mill Pounds (Cheaper Alts; Bart Verbruggen or David Raya)
CM1 - Enzo Le Fee - Rumoured around 25mill Euros (Alt; Alex Scott or Daichi Kamada who is free)
CM2 - Khephren Thuram - Rumoured around 40mill Euros (Alts; Kenneth Taylor or Nicolo Rovella)
CB - Evan Ndicka - This guy is leaving on a free after turning down all contract offers, his reports are all similar to Varane's, except this guy has only missed 8 games through injury since 18/19 (There is no alt, because he is perfect)

Bonus - RB/CB - Jurrien Timber - Don't think he will be cheap but I think Timber could solve a multi possition problem with his signing, rather than signing individual RB and CB, in that he is probably a starter RB for us but could either also start and/or deputize in CB quite comfortably, and with ETH liking his's fullbacks to step forward I think his unique skillset really lends itself to stepping up into CM when our formation calls for us during transition.

Bring back/Loan -
Amad Diallo - Bring back
Hannibal Mejbri - Bring back
Ethan Laird - Loan
Shola Shoretire - Loan
Alvaro Fernandez - This is a tough one because I think he's quality but he has 2 LB's infront of him here, another loan I think would be better first, or at least if we do sell we should sell with a buyback clause.
Zidane Iqbal - Loan
Teden Mengi - Loan
Kobbie Mainoo - Loan

Sell/Release
Phil Jones - Gone
Victor Lindelof - I'd keep him as backup but he's already hinted he would want to leave if not first choice
Harry Maguire - No words needed, he will also want to be first choice anyway
Anthony Martial - Hard to shift I feel because of wages, but clearly is not reliable enough to be our main striker, proved this over multiple years now, get rid already
Marcel Sabitzer - I'm not against signing him for cheap, but In researching I feel there are better alternatives for free/similar price now
Fred - I like the guy and every now and again he's good, but not always and not good enough, signings would be better
Scott McTominay - If Newcastle still want to buy him after the previous match then please get rid, worrying that ETH wants to seem to keep him, never ever good enough for this club, academy player or not.
Anthony Elanga - Just don't see it with him, much prefer Pellistri and Amad is a much more talented player than him too. Sell.
Wout Weghorst - Don't resign him
Brandon Williams - Easy sell
Dean Henderson - Easy sell
DVB - Easy sell
Eric Bailly - Easy sell
Axel Tuanzebe - Easy sell
Alex Telles - Easy sell

23/24 Squad
GK
Diogo Costa
David De Gea
Third GK

DF
Luke Shaw
Tyrell Malacia
Raphael Varane
Lisandro Martinez
Evan Ndicka
Diogo Dalot
Aaron Wan Bissaka

CM
Casemiro
Cristian Eriksen
Enzo Le Fee
Khephrem Thuram
Bruno Fernandes
Hannibal Mejbri

AT
Goncalo Ramos
Marcus Rashford
Jadon Sancho
Alejandro Garnacho
Amad Diallo
Antony
Facundo Pellistri

This could be a squad that works but might take some time to gel in as there are a few young players - but given a season or two I think it will look phenomenal personally..
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Good post.

I would be over the moon if we signed any of your striker options. I don't know much about Le Fee and Khephrem Thuram but I will keep their names in mind. And one other note -- I think the biggest obsticle in Alvaro Fernandez' way is that he looks best suited as a left wing-back, and not as a LB as part of a 4. He just doesn't seem to be quick enough defensively to stay with a tricky right winger in one v one battles. Add to that the fact that Malacia has been surprisingly decent as an option off the bench and I think he should look to go elsewhere for his career.
 
bucky said:
The point is fairly obvious and I wrote it in that very post. We need 2 players in every position. There have been rumours around Maguire and Lindelöf leaving. We need competition. Just because Martinez is excellent doesn't mean he shouldn't have competition. When we had Ferdinand and Vidić, we also had Evans, Smalling and added Jones. This season has shown we need players for rotation and depth. Shaw is a left-back and that's where he should play. If players aren't up to the challenge, then they will move on or will be moved on. Pretty much every good team in Europe that is trying to win something has 4 CBs of fairly high quality. The point isn't specifically about N'dicka, however a younger understudy of Martinez would make sense.
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You still don't understand my point. I'm all for signing CB competition, but they need to be right-footed, so that they can play both positions, not just LCB, meaning that they'll get way more game time.

Laporte has fallen out of favour at City this season. He has played 555 minutes of PL football, because Aké took his place. Now, he did have injuries as well, but Aké is clearly ahead of him now.

No player of Ndicka's quality will be happy with 6 or 7 PL games and there's literally no one that can replace Martínez due to his excellent passing, turning with the ball, and press resistance. If he's not playing, we are worse off, just like with Bruno.
 
Rojofiam said:
You still don't understand my point. I'm all for signing CB competition, but they need to be right-footed, so that they can play both positions, not just LCB, meaning that they'll get way more game time.

Laporte has fallen out of favour at City this season. He has played 555 minutes of PL football, because Aké took his place. Now, he did have injuries as well, but Aké is clearly ahead of him now.

No player of Ndicka's quality will be happy with 6 or 7 PL games and there's literally no one that can replace Martínez due to his excellent passing, turning with the ball, and press resistance. If he's not playing, we are worse off, just like with Bruno.
Click to expand...

I think I get what you are saying, but you’ve made your point really poorly with some strange examples.

Ideally you a have a left footer playing LCB and a right footer RCB, that’s the ideal scenario I think we can all agree on.

Given Varane is the more likely player to miss games and need backing up, signing an RCB is more logical for sure. However, to imply that Ndicka could only play LCB and therefore wouldn’t get more than 6 or 7 games when Lisandro is out or rested is just silly. Someone like Kim Min-Jae is a right footer player LCB most of the time for Napoli and doing a very good job there. Why couldn’t Ndicka offer the same in RCB? (Meaning he wouldn’t be restricted to just half a dozen games)

He may not have played there much, granted, but that’s only because left footers are naturally harder to come by and so he doesn’t have the same competition as a right footer does for the RCB slot, not because he can’t play RCB at all.

My first choice would still be Kim Min-Jae because he is right footed and can play LCB equally well (and is just generally a better player by the looks of it). But given Ndicka would be free (compared to £40m for Kim) and we will still have either Lindelof or Maguire as a back up, I think he’s an option worth serious consideration.
 
daba said:
I think I get what you are saying, but you’ve made your point really poorly with some strange examples.

Ideally you a have a left footer playing LCB and a right footer RCB, that’s the ideal scenario I think we can all agree on.

Given Varane is the more likely player to miss games and need backing up, signing an RCB is more logical for sure. However, to imply that Ndicka could only play LCB and therefore wouldn’t get more than 6 or 7 games when Lisandro is out or rested is just silly. Someone like Kim Min-Jae is a right footer player LCB most of the time for Napoli and doing a very good job there. Why couldn’t Ndicka offer the same in RCB? (Meaning he wouldn’t be restricted to just half a dozen games)

He may not have played there much, granted, but that’s only because left footers are naturally harder to come by and so he doesn’t have the same competition as a right footer does for the RCB slot, not because he can’t play RCB at all.

My first choice would still be Kim Min-Jae because he is right footed and can play LCB equally well (and is just generally a better player by the looks of it). But given Ndicka would be free (compared to £40m for Kim) and we will still have either Lindelof or Maguire as a back up, I think he’s an option worth serious consideration.
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Yeah could definitely do with Min-Jae/N'dicka
 
We simply have to get ST,CM,backup DM & RB this summer in order to carry on progressing.

However, which of these issues could we live without addressing until either January 2024/summer 2024 out of interest

GK
CB (backup)
ST (backup)
 
Just randomly found this lad, seemed to really having a breakthrough season at Fener this season. A really interesting attacking midfielder to keep an eye on.

 
IFC 1905 said:


Echeverri from River Plate. 17 years of age. Sign him now or latyer for an insane amount


Already trained with ARgentina's first squad.

T2JYPZMFYRH5DEALMRAEC6NKTQ.jpg
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Watched him again today in this south american u-17 tournament vs Peru. There were copa libertadores matches, but I wanted to follow this kid. I am honestly impressed. This kid makes such a difference compared to other players of this age, he's on a whole other level. Will last nothing at River Plate, probably being the biggest sell in Argentina's history. Reminds me of Neymar at Santos.

two goals and very good quality actions today. This kid will be in a big european team soon. I really hope it's United.

 
IFC 1905 said:
Watched him again today in this south american u-17 tournament vs Peru. There were copa libertadores matches, but I wanted to follow this kid. I am honestly impressed. This kid makes such a difference compared to other players of this age, he's on a whole other level. Will last nothing at River Plate, probably being the biggest sell in Argentina's history. Reminds me of Neymar at Santos.

two goals and very good quality actions today. This kid will be in a big european team soon. I really hope it's United.

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Whoa

Feckin sign him up
 
JuriM said:
Just randomly found this lad, seemed to really having a breakthrough season at Fener this season. A really interesting attacking midfielder to keep an eye on.

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I read before that he has a €5mn release clause should he not receive 1500minutes this season. From what I can see on fbref, he's miles behind that target and he's one of the best prospects in Europe at that position. These are the type of signings we should be all over.
 
croadyman said:
Yeah could definitely do with Min-Jae/N'dicka
Click to expand...
Sign both and sell Maguire and Lindelof, upgrade your Defence, make £20m and reduce the wage bill by £100k per week. I’m positive we can get £30m each for Maguire and Lindelof.
 
L1nk said:
This would be an ideal summer for me, personally.. is it entirely do'able this summer? Money wise I think so when factoring in sales. But it will likely not happen, this could be a multiple summer thing even though I think the majority of these players would have moved on by next summer to over clubs. If all the stars aligned and we were ruthless as we should be, and really spent our money wisely I think this would be good.

ST - Goncalo Ramos - Rumoured around 80-100mill Euros (Cheaper Alts; Rasmus Hojlund or Evan Ferguson)
GK - Diogo Costa - Rumoured around 60mill Pounds (Cheaper Alts; Bart Verbruggen or David Raya)
CM1 - Enzo Le Fee - Rumoured around 25mill Euros (Alt; Alex Scott or Daichi Kamada who is free)
CM2 - Khephren Thuram - Rumoured around 40mill Euros (Alts; Kenneth Taylor or Nicolo Rovella)
CB - Evan Ndicka - This guy is leaving on a free after turning down all contract offers, his reports are all similar to Varane's, except this guy has only missed 8 games through injury since 18/19 (There is no alt, because he is perfect)

Bonus - RB/CB - Jurrien Timber - Don't think he will be cheap but I think Timber could solve a multi possition problem with his signing, rather than signing individual RB and CB, in that he is probably a starter RB for us but could either also start and/or deputize in CB quite comfortably, and with ETH liking his's fullbacks to step forward I think his unique skillset really lends itself to stepping up into CM when our formation calls for us during transition.

Bring back/Loan -
Amad Diallo - Bring back
Hannibal Mejbri - Bring back
Ethan Laird - Loan
Shola Shoretire - Loan
Alvaro Fernandez - This is a tough one because I think he's quality but he has 2 LB's infront of him here, another loan I think would be better first, or at least if we do sell we should sell with a buyback clause.
Zidane Iqbal - Loan
Teden Mengi - Loan
Kobbie Mainoo - Loan

Sell/Release
Phil Jones - Gone
Victor Lindelof - I'd keep him as backup but he's already hinted he would want to leave if not first choice
Harry Maguire - No words needed, he will also want to be first choice anyway
Anthony Martial - Hard to shift I feel because of wages, but clearly is not reliable enough to be our main striker, proved this over multiple years now, get rid already
Marcel Sabitzer - I'm not against signing him for cheap, but In researching I feel there are better alternatives for free/similar price now
Fred - I like the guy and every now and again he's good, but not always and not good enough, signings would be better
Scott McTominay - If Newcastle still want to buy him after the previous match then please get rid, worrying that ETH wants to seem to keep him, never ever good enough for this club, academy player or not.
Anthony Elanga - Just don't see it with him, much prefer Pellistri and Amad is a much more talented player than him too. Sell.
Wout Weghorst - Don't resign him
Brandon Williams - Easy sell
Dean Henderson - Easy sell
DVB - Easy sell
Eric Bailly - Easy sell
Axel Tuanzebe - Easy sell
Alex Telles - Easy sell

23/24 Squad
GK
Diogo Costa
David De Gea
Third GK

DF
Luke Shaw
Tyrell Malacia
Raphael Varane
Lisandro Martinez
Evan Ndicka
Diogo Dalot
Aaron Wan Bissaka

CM
Casemiro
Cristian Eriksen
Enzo Le Fee
Khephrem Thuram
Bruno Fernandes
Hannibal Mejbri

AT
Goncalo Ramos
Marcus Rashford
Jadon Sancho
Alejandro Garnacho
Amad Diallo
Antony
Facundo Pellistri

This could be a squad that works but might take some time to gel in as there are a few young players - but given a season or two I think it will look phenomenal personally..
Click to expand...

insightful post however I think it’s fair to look at things slightly different if we are to be serious contenders for PL and CL again. The last 2 seasons games changed, the big teams need huge squads of 27/28 now. Why ? Because more games are played at greater intensities, VAR, more international football and soon a club World Cup, more money more games But more importantly more injuries and more players retrospectively banned for 3 or 4 games through VAR.

I think our Manager ETH was on to this quicker than nearly anyone, look at Liverpool last year, involved in a quadruple chase, they recruited ok in attacking positions but neglected Midfield and Defence and this season they may not qualify for even Europa League. In His first interview ETH said I need 2 international players for ever position. The game now allows 9 named subs and a minimum of 5 to be used in game, sometimes more if concussion. The most likely players to get booked or banned are defenders and defensive midfielders, the most likely to get impact and running injuries, strikers, wing backs and full backs. The other main issue is home grown where we must have 8 homegrown in a squad of 25 so for a squad of 27 we would need 10 HG players here’s my squad quote similar to yours tbf;

23/24 Squad
GK (3)
D Costa* (55m)
D D Gea
T Heaton(HG)

Defenders (9)
AWB(HG)
Frimpong(HG) (25M)
D Dalot
R Varane
L Martinez
E Ndicka* (Free)
K Min Jae*(40M)
L Shaw(HG)
T Mallacia

Midfielders (7)
Casemeiro
A Rabiot* (Free)
Ericssen
Sabitzer * (20M)
Bruno
S Mctominay(HG)
E Le Fay A Macalister or J Maddison* (25/60/50M)

Attackers (7)
H Kane(HG) (80M)
M Rashford (HG)
J Sancho (HG)
A Garnaucho (HG)
Antony
Amad Diallo (HG)
A Martial

Your squad is at least 1 maybe 2 homegrown players short F Pellistri is not HG so needs a loan , Hanibal is not good enough, I’m not 100% sure Amad would count as HG and Hanibal is not an upgrade on Mctominay who could develop into a very good number 8 BTB midfielder under ETH, he’s capable of 10 goals per season. We lack goals in midfield currently.

We Could offset new player purchases of potentially £270m with the following being sold ;
D Henderson(25m), V Lindelof (25m), H Maguire(30m), E Bailey(10m), Telles (10m), B Williams(5M), Fred (15M), Ellanga (15M), knowing how bad we are at selling players, knock 20% of those figures so we probably only get £110M, the net spend of £150-160m would be the most significant overhaul in years.

Like I said your completely on the right track with a young dynamic overhaul but ETH will have other ideas and those ideas are a constant changing scenario, if Martial performs and stays fit, does he take a chance, if Mctominay starts dominating as an 8 why would you sell, why sell AWB when he’s started to learn how to play his way and he’s clearly right now, the better right back than Diego Dalot but asking Dalot to sign a new contract is a smart move too as he can play equally well on the left side, giving the squad further options with Luke shaw also able to play LCB in an emergency. There is no way you could compete 50/60 games per season with 7 frontline defenders.

How does he work round the HG rule, what if the club tell him they are keeping Mason Greenwood and he has to integrate him back into the squad slowly after a series of Tv interviews solely because of his homegrown status, yes this would upset 80% of the fan base, me included but what if bringing him back is not ETH decision but the clubs, then what, he might have been thinking, I’ll loan him out to TurkisH club let him play well for 6 months then maybe sell for £50-60m to a German or Italian team in the winter to raise cash but what if he’s not allowed to do just that?
 
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Woziak said:
Sign both and sell Maguire and Lindelof, upgrade your Defence, make £20m and reduce the wage bill by £100k per week. I’m positive we can get £30m each for Maguire and Lindelof.
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That would be proactive and smart piece of business, which we should surely pursue if there is a chance.

Overally, I think we should distinguish between needs and wants and we should do so with the objective of what we want and can achieve within the next two seasons. We should also do it within the context of what we have throughout the squad and whether it would be enough.

Our current squad, if everyone is fully fit, is a striker short of a title challenging squad so that's a non negotiable need. The decision now rests on who, how much they would cost and the impact they would have on the team in the short, medium and long term. Looking over a distant horizon I don't think Harry Kane is the best possible signing. So that leaves Osimhen and Ramos; stylistic issues notwithstanding Osimehen will have a more immediate impact and would give us more years but is he the best match to what we have?

If Ten Hag is confident that Ramos can score, he matches what we currently have and would add to what we need. He can press, is a good link up player and can score a few goals. It all depends on whether he can show the same form i. England and on a consistent basis. Suppose he struggles with adjustment, we'd still have Martial, who is difficult to sell but can still be useful when fit.

In midfield we also need another profile that can replace Eriksen, an upgrade so to say. We know Eriksen's physical challenges and there are games where we need both physicality and technical ability. So we have to look for a player that can offer those attributes - a bit of physicality off the ball and ball playing ability in the build up phase.

Those are our three absolute needs, after there have been addressed we can look at sorting the depth issues at CB and possibly a starting RB. So if we are signing four or five players the two must have are striker and creative CM who can orchestrate from deep followed by a back up DM and then CB. I dont think a decision on the goalie will be made this summer. Funds permitting we might buy a young goalkeeper with the talent to replace DDG long term and then if we can secure buyers for Maguire and Lindelof then we could bring a couple of young CBs, one who can play also RB on the younger side and another to rotate in for Varane.
 
AneRu said:
That would be proactive and smart piece of business, which we should surely pursue if there is a chance.

Overally, I think we should distinguish between needs and wants and we should do so with the objective of what we want and can achieve within the next two seasons. We should also do it within the context of what we have throughout the squad and whether it would be enough.

Our current squad, if everyone is fully fit, is a striker short of a title challenging squad so that's a non negotiable need. The decision now rests on who, how much they would cost and the impact they would have on the team in the short, medium and long term. Looking over a distant horizon I don't think Harry Kane is the best possible signing. So that leaves Osimhen and Ramos; stylistic issues notwithstanding Osimehen will have a more immediate impact and would give us more years but is he the best match to what we have?

If Ten Hag is confident that Ramos can score, he matches what we currently have and would add to what we need. He can press, is a good link up player and can score a few goals. It all depends on whether he can show the same form i. England and on a consistent basis. Suppose he struggles with adjustment, we'd still have Martial, who is difficult to sell but can still be useful when fit.

In midfield we also need another profile that can replace Eriksen, an upgrade so to say. We know Eriksen's physical challenges and there are games where we need both physicality and technical ability. So we have to look for a player that can offer those attributes - a bit of physicality off the ball and ball playing ability in the build up phase.

Those are our three absolute needs, after there have been addressed we can look at sorting the depth issues at CB and possibly a starting RB. So if we are signing four or five players the two must have are striker and creative CM who can orchestrate from deep followed by a back up DM and then CB. I dont think a decision on the goalie will be made this summer. Funds permitting we might buy a young goalkeeper with the talent to replace DDG long term and then if we can secure buyers for Maguire and Lindelof then we could bring a couple of young CBs, one who can play also RB on the younger side and another to rotate in for Varane.
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Only one striker, Rashford now injured, Garnaucho injured, Weghorst can’t score can’t assist, Martial can break down at any time so we are left with Antony, Sancho and Pellistri.

The bare minimum is two Strikers, Osimhen and E Ferguson would be good but so would K Muani and R Hojlund. Maybe Dembele or A Fati can be prized from Barcelona but we need two goal scorers this summer before We sign another Midfielder providing Sabitzer stays.
 
Woziak said:
Only one striker, Rashford now injured, Garnaucho injured, Weghorst can’t score can’t assist, Martial can break down at any time so we are left with Antony, Sancho and Pellistri.

The bare minimum is two Strikers, Osimhen and E Ferguson would be good but so would K Muani and R Hojlund. Maybe Dembele or A Fati can be prized from Barcelona but we need two goal scorers this summer before We sign another Midfielder providing Sabitzer stays.
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Two strikers can come in provided we shift Martial but he is on big wages thanks to Woodward and ETH seems to love him. Maybe Musician/Ramos plus Thuram on a free? What we cant afford to do is to go in next season with Casemiro and Eriksen as our two capable 6 and 8, see how injury to the latter affected our build up.
 
Re thinking
Ins
Ndickla Free
Kim Jae Min or Timber
Frimpong
Harry Kane
Sesko or The Danish Atalanta striker
Rice (De Jong Dream but wont happen)
outs
Maguire
Jones
Mctominey
Dalot
Van De Beek
Williams
Weghorst and Martial
Sancho

Squad

GK: De Gea, Heaton, Henderson
RB Frimpong, AWB
CB Kim , Varane , Martinez, Ndicka
LB Shaw , Malacia

CM Rice , Casemiro, Fred , Hannibal
CAM Eriksen and Bruno

RW Antony , Amad
LW Rashford, Garnacho
ST Kane and Sesko
 
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The-Mezzala said:
Re thinking
Ins
Ndickla Free
Kim Jae Min or Timber
Frimpong
Harry Kane
Sesko or The Danish Atalanta striker
Rice (De Jong Dream but wont happen)
Outs
Maguire
Jones
Mctominey
Dalot
Van De Beek
Williams
Weghorst and Martial
Sancho

Squad

GK: De Gea, Heaton, Henderson
RB Frimpong, AWB
CB Kim , Varane , Martinez, Ndicka
LB Shaw , Malacia

CM Rice , Casemiro, Fred , Hannibal
CAM Eriksen and Bruno

RW Antony , Amad
LW Rashford, Garnacho
ST Kane and Sesko
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Sesko already has a transfer to Leipzig scheduled this summer. Can't see him doing a John Obi sadly.

The Danish striker is called Rasmus Højlund. He is probably more "gettable" this summer but remember Atalanta had our pants down for Amad (€25 million rising to €40 million with bonuses) and he had only played 4 senior appearances (according to Wiki) and didn't have anywhere near the hype that Rasmus now has. He is a United fan though apparently :D
 
I truly don't understand people here who post "FDJ/Bellingham/Rice" for solving our CM issues when they aren't remotely close to each other in their style, with FDJ closest to our real needs in midfield.
 
Gravenberg reportedly is unhappy at Bayern. Could be worth a try since ETH knows him well.
 
What I struggle most with — when projecting scenarios for next season — is that:

(a) Jadon Sancho to me is really starting to look interesting when starting on the left.

(b) We know that ETH prefer his wingers to stay wide and drop down deep, to create passing points in our transition game and enable to the team to get up pitch. Exactly like MCFC with Bernardo Silva, Mahrez and co. Rashford at LW is more of a forward. We also know that we have struggled greatly to control the play against the best teams around us. In 6 games against City, Arsenal and Barca our possession is like 38%. Getting a LW that pushes possession would help a lot in that regard.

(c) Rashford is starting to show a lot of promise at the striker position (let’s be honest, he has had some disasterous starts there in the past).

If we start to lineup like this, more on a regular basis, and Sancho really applies himself during the off season, a lot of fall into place:

——————Rashford——————
Sancho———Bruno———Antony
———Eriksen————Case———-
Shaw—Martinez—Varane—Dalot

Another thing is — with Rashford at ST, it also changes the requirements of our No 8 a bit. It is no coincidence that ETH played McT in the midfield when Rash played as a striker. McT can come up and get into the box, which will enable Rash to wander more. I have never been 100% convinced by Bellingham, but he would make much more sense with Rash at ST.
 
The-Mezzala said:
Re thinking
Ins
Ndickla Free
Kim Jae Min or Timber
Frimpong
Harry Kane
Sesko or The Danish Atalanta striker
Rice (De Jong Dream but wont happen)
outs
Maguire
Jones
Mctominey
Dalot
Van De Beek
Williams
Weghorst and Martial
Sancho

Squad

GK: De Gea, Heaton, Henderson
RB Frimpong, AWB
CB Kim , Varane , Martinez, Ndicka
LB Shaw , Malacia

CM Rice , Casemiro, Fred , Hannibal
CAM Eriksen and Bruno

RW Antony , Amad
LW Rashford, Garnacho
ST Kane and Sesko
Click to expand...
I like how you magically just make Lindelof disappear. I’ve been trying that for 6 years! :)
@Vidyoyo
 
Messier1994 said:
What I struggle most with — when projecting scenarios for next season — is that:

(a) Jadon Sancho to me is really starting to look interesting when starting on the left.

(b) We know that ETH prefer his wingers to stay wide and drop down deep, to create passing points in our transition game and enable to the team to get up pitch. Exactly like MCFC with Bernardo Silva, Mahrez and co. Rashford at LW is more of a forward. We also know that we have struggled greatly to control the play against the best teams around us. In 6 games against City, Arsenal and Barca our possession is like 38%. Getting a LW that pushes possession would help a lot in that regard.

(c) Rashford is starting to show a lot of promise at the striker position (let’s be honest, he has had some disasterous starts there in the past).

If we start to lineup like this, more on a regular basis, and Sancho really applies himself during the off season, a lot of fall into place:

——————Rashford——————
Sancho———Bruno———Antony
———Eriksen————Case———-
Shaw—Martinez—Varane—Dalot

Another thing is — with Rashford at ST, it also changes the requirements of our No 8 a bit. It is no coincidence that ETH played McT in the midfield when Rash played as a striker. McT can come up and get into the box, which will enable Rash to wander more. I have never been 100% convinced by Bellingham, but he would make much more sense with Rash at ST.
Click to expand...
Completely agree. I noticed it against Everton that we were more comfortable in possession having Sancho and Antony on the wings and Rashford as the striker. ETH's previous Ajax side, Pep and Arterta also have wingers that are good at ball carrying and keeping possession. Rashford on the left is not that.

I was never much of a fan playing Rashford in the center but he has really shown promise there. However the sample size is still small, and with his recent injury and Martial's return, I'm sure he will go back to playing on the left. Ialso doubt Eth is thinking of using him as a striker next season given the incessant links to that position.

Even with your suggestion of turning Rashford to a striker, we would still need to buy one next season as the other option is an injury prone Martial. Theres also the problem that we are currently overly reliable on Rashford for goals. I think Kudus would be a smart move. Can play RW and ST and is a goalscorer so would take away some of the burden on Rashford. Our options would be something like this

LW - Sancho, Garnacho
ST - Martial, Rashford, Kudus
RW - Antony, Kudus
 
Theres been enough consistant reporting in the media, that its not difficult for anyone to work out the priorities from Utd this summer.

1. Striker
2. CM
3. RB

After that it depends on sales, if Utd get rid of Maguire and/or Lindelof, yes they will have to be replaced.

If De Gea signs a new deal or utd reluctantly trigger the extension on his current wages, then the focus will switch to a understudy to replace De Gea over next few seasons. De Gea isnt going to be benched.

The quality of player we are now going for means there is more demand than supply. So getting the right Striker and CM im could erode alot of the summer budget.

As usual Utd will have problems selling players due to their current wages, Martial comes to mind as someone has to pay a fee and get Martial to drop down from his 250k a week wages.

Add the backdrop of FFP restrictions and a pending takeover (which needs to be completed before the summer window opens) and i think we are in for a difficult summer of getting our targets over the line.
 
We know what we need for next season. All stating the obvious:

A proven near-world class or proven world class striker. Names abound, but the one that makes the most sense is Kane. We know about Levy, but if the question is what is the optimal answer, the Kane comes to mind first.

A backup striker. I'm still not convinced by Martial, but if he puts in the effort, stays healthy, and produces the goods over these next two months, we can use him as cover for Kane (although his injury record remains an extreme concern). But we need cover for Kane. As it stands right now, we don't have a striker who can be relied on, but let's see if Martial can prove his doubters wrong.

A central midfielder either as an upgrade on Eriksen or in development right behind Erikson, ideally one who can also step in behind Casemiro should the insane British referees who are allowed to referee British football matches lick their chops when they Casemiro on the squad sheet. I'm sure we have a thread just on the midfielder question alone. I hope we're all done with De Jong, who's a brilliant footballer but who also has a WAG who is not going to leave Barcelona.

There's been a lot of talk about the RB. Yes, there are better RBs out there, but AWB and Dalot have proven enough to remain in the squad. But as with everything else, we'll trust ETH.
 
lex talionis said:
We know what we need for next season. All stating the obvious:

A proven near-world class or proven world class striker. Names abound, but the one that makes the most sense is Kane. We know about Levy, but if the question is what is the optimal answer, the Kane comes to mind first.

A backup striker. I'm still not convinced by Martial, but if he puts in the effort, stays healthy, and produces the goods over these next two months, we can use him as cover for Kane (although his injury record remains an extreme concern). But we need cover for Kane. As it stands right now, we don't have a striker who can be relied on, but let's see if Martial can prove his doubters wrong.

A central midfielder either as an upgrade on Eriksen or in development right behind Erikson, ideally one who can also step in behind Casemiro should the insane British referees who are allowed to referee British football matches lick their chops when they Casemiro on the squad sheet. I'm sure we have a thread just on the midfielder question alone. I hope we're all done with De Jong, who's a brilliant footballer but who also has a WAG who is not going to leave Barcelona.

There's been a lot of talk about the RB. Yes, there are better RBs out there, but AWB and Dalot have proven enough to remain in the squad. But as with everything else, we'll trust ETH.
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Agree with most of this, with the exception of Martial. Look, this guy has had some absolutely sublime goals for us in the past 5-6 seasons. I really feel though, that it is time for him to move on. He’s the very definition of a mercurial no. 9. I don’t even see him as a second choice no. 9 because he is so fragile and the planets have to be in perfect alignment for him to contribute in any meaningful way. Sure, he’s better than Wout, but fitness is a skill and he is rarely fit.

Regarding CMs… could Hannibal be an option here? Last time I checked in on him, he seemed to be the class of that Birmingham squad.
 
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