What do we still need? Aka The never ending story

croadyman said:
Just worry where the goals are coming from hence I feel there is a need for backup 9 who is proven goalscorer. Having said that I would still put DM, LB and 6/8 above that in priority list
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Yep so I think Ugarte would be perfect, and I’d personally love to add Caqueret in as well to cover for Mainoo. The reason I believe we need DM/CM signing before another 9 is because we just don’t have players in the squad that can like-for-like sub in for Casemiro and Mainoo. We need a solid engine in the midfield for the way we want to play, Eriksen for example can’t really do that, Collyer is too raw and Scotty / Mount / Fernandes don’t play that way naturally.

As it stands we’d need to ship Lindelof, McTominay, Sancho and Eriksen off to make the two above signings possible.

I totally agree we do need another 9, but we probably won’t have the funds - we might need to look into a striker in January or hope that a deal where we stretch it out and pay in instalments comes our way before the end of this window.

For the summer window - I’d be happy with midfield/defensive starters that can help secure a clean sheet in 8/10 matches and bench options that can maintain that same level of performance (either as a sub or if one of our starters gets injured). A no 9 is definitely needed and we should go in if a deal comes our way, but achieving those clean sheets means we’ve already won half the battle - I’d honestly be happy with quite a few 1-0’s this season if we can secure 4th.

An LB can come in even after we’ve done business for a backup 9 - a free agent like Hermoso (who apparently can play LB) would make sense, and can be secured after deadline day.
 
If we can sell the following guys, then our squad will be much better placed and ready to bring in the other 2 players we need for this summer.
  • Lindelof
  • Eriksen
  • Hannibal
  • McTominay
  • Sancho
  • Antony
Bring in:
  • Hermoso (free)
  • Ugarte
Starting and 2nd 11 would be:

Onana
Dalot De Ligt Martinez Shaw
Casemiro Mainoo
Garnacho Bruno Rashford
Hojlund

Altay
Mazraoui Yoro Maguire Hermoso
Ugarte Collyer
Amad Mount Pellistri
Zirkzee​

Mazraoui will probably play more than Shaw anyway, Yoro will have time to grow in there, hermoso as Martinez cover and LB cover gets us ready for the season at the back. Midfield isn't perfect but Ugarte can partner either mainoo or Casemiro, or alongside them so he'd get loads of minutes. Amad, Garnacho and Rashford will share the minutes and I'd rather keep Pellistri than Antony as the deep sub in attack. Zirkzee and Hojlund are 50/50 depending on opponent IMO. Mount is a good player but I'm not sure where he'll play and how much given the competition.

Then next summer we'll need to bring in someone like Wharton in midfield, probably replacing Casemiro, and then probably some left back focus to just clean up that situation.
 
I'm surprised that we haven't moved for or been linked with any strikers, I just don't see enough goals in either Højlund or Zirkzee to get us challenging for trophies.

Hopefully something happens before the transfer window slams shut.

A LB and at least 1 midfielder possibly 2 depending on outgoings and I think our squad is as healthy as it's been in a long time.
 
Amsterdam Devil said:
If we can still get two central midfielders and a left back than we have a decent squad.
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Agree with this. Ugarte plus another (maybe Rabiot) along with a LB on loan and we are sorted for this window.

We have 2 no. 9s this year and would love to give them a proper go without crowding them out with another.

A CB and a DLP capable of playing both a 6 or 8 would be great for next year
 
Defensive midfielder, I still think United go up several levels if Mainoo is pushed forward, it makes the attacking dynamic dangerous between him, Diallo and Garnacho.

The issue with such instances would be where to place Bruno but put two defensive midfielders in a pivot behind Kobbie and the teams performances go up several levels.
 
Dearg hÉireann said:
I'm surprised that we haven't moved for or been linked with any strikers, I just don't see enough goals in either Højlund or Zirkzee to get us challenging for trophies.

Hopefully something happens before the transfer window slams shut.

A LB and at least 1 midfielder possibly 2 depending on outgoings and I think our squad is as healthy as it's been in a long time.
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Why would we spend 40M on Zirkzee if he's not even ready to be backup striker?
 
We need a top quality defensive midfielder.
Casemiro played well yesterday but he's not the player he was.
Unfortunately, nobody available seems to stand out.
 
One thing that is for sure is that if we are struggling for goals come the new year we will get rinsed for money when negotiating with other teams to buy ANY striker. We are already required to pay more for every player we buy. We have quite a few players who can add the odd goal or two but none that can be relied on to score regularly, something that most teams have. We don’t at present have a player good enough to be relied on as an out and out striker.
 
bb8 said:
Why would we spend 40M on Zirkzee if he's not even ready to be backup striker?
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I'll be honest and admit I wasn't all that excited about signing Zirkzee, his stats aren't what you'd like from a 23 year old signed for big enough money. Maybe he'll turn into a goal machine but he seems more link man than goalscorer hence my post.
 
Bestofthebest said:
One thing that is for sure is that if we are struggling for goals come the new year we will get rinsed for money when negotiating with other teams to buy ANY striker. We are already required to pay more for every player we buy. We have quite a few players who can add the odd goal or two but none that can be relied on to score regularly, something that most teams have. We don’t at present have a player good enough to be relied on as an out and out striker.
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Any suggestions for a proven goalscorer we could get for a reasonable fee, just someone to help take the pressure off Rasmus and Zirkzee
 
Bestofthebest said:
One thing that is for sure is that if we are struggling for goals come the new year we will get rinsed for money when negotiating with other teams to buy ANY striker. We are already required to pay more for every player we buy. We have quite a few players who can add the odd goal or two but none that can be relied on to score regularly, something that most teams have. We don’t at present have a player good enough to be relied on as an out and out striker.
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Not really, it's a competitive market. No one is going to turn down 40 million from us to take 30 million from the 2nd bidder.

Being bad at negotiating or going after the wrong players are different (hopefully solved...) matters.
 
zenith said:
Agree with this. Ugarte plus another (maybe Rabiot) along with a LB on loan and we are sorted for this window.

We have 2 no. 9s this year and would love to give them a proper go without crowding them out with another.

A CB and a DLP capable of playing both a 6 or 8 would be great for next year
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Yep I think this makes sense. Ideally:

In (this summer):
Ugarte
Rabiot
LB loan (eg. Moreno at Villa)

Out (this summer):
McTominay
Eriksen
Pellistri
Hannibal

In (next summer):
DM - eg. Carlos Baleba
LCB - eg. Jorrel Hato
LB - eg. Dimarco/ Hernandez
RW - eg. Roony Bardghji
ST - eg. Ivan Toney (free)

Out (next summer):
Casemiro
Sancho
Antony
Malacia
Evans
 
croadyman said:
Any suggestions for a proven goalscorer we could get for a reasonable fee, just someone to help take the pressure off Rasmus and Zirkzee
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Even talking about this is weird to me.

Taking the pressure off Rasmus and Zirkzee means relegating to them the bench. We play with 1 striker. We've not spent big money on Hojlund and Zirkzee for them to sit on the bench and watch Ivan Toney start every week.

Really it seems like some fans are unhappy with the money spent on Hojlund/Zirkzee not going towards someone else instead. Which is fine, but at least be clear about that. The point is we've already spent the money on Zirkzee, we're not obviously not buying another striker, so it's pointless discussing adding another player. If you're going to make the case for another striker, it needs to be "we should have bought x player instead of Zirkzee".
 
zenith said:
Agree with this. Ugarte plus another (maybe Rabiot) along with a LB on loan and we are sorted for this window.

We have 2 no. 9s this year and would love to give them a proper go without crowding them out with another.

A CB and a DLP capable of playing both a 6 or 8 would be great for next year
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Yeah I'm still hoping Rabiot is on the radar even when we sign Ugarte, however my gut feeling is that he is only seen as backup target. We definitely could do with a Reguilon or Hermoso as LB option too. Presume you are thinking a left footed CB for 2025.
 
Dominos said:
Even talking about this is weird to me.

Taking the pressure off Rasmus and Zirkzee means relegating to them the bench. We play with 1 striker. We've not spent big money on Hojlund and Zirkzee for them to sit on the bench and watch Ivan Toney start every week.

Really it seems like some fans are unhappy with the money spent on Hojlund/Zirkzee not going towards someone else instead. Which is fine, but at least be clear about that. The point is we've already spent the money on Zirkzee, we're not obviously not buying another striker, so it's pointless discussing adding another player. If you're going to make the case for another striker, it needs to be "we should have bought x player instead of Zirkzee".
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I just worry Rasmus/Zirkzee won't score enough goals that's the only reason I am talking about signing a backup number 9 who is a proven goalscorer
 
croadyman said:
I just worry Rasmus/Zirkzee won't score enough goals that's the only reason I am talking about signing a backup number 9 who is a proven goalscorer
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It's not an unreasonable worry, but the ship has sailed on attacking reinforcements. The money isn't there event for a cut-price Toney this summer, and thd club has clearly made a conscious decision to invest in youth. I'm also a big fan of Toney but I think we've got to accept that we're working with what we have.
 
Mr Smith said:
It's not an unreasonable worry, but the ship has sailed on attacking reinforcements. The money isn't there event for a cut-price Toney this summer, and thd club has clearly made a conscious decision to invest in youth. I'm also a big fan of Toney but I think we've got to accept that we're working with what we have.
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I can't see it happening but IF he ran down his contract and was available on a free next summer would INEOS take him or too old at 29
 
croadyman said:
I can't see it happening but IF he ran down his contract and was available on a free next summer would INEOS take him or too old at 29
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depends on Hojlund's and Zirkzee's performances this season, as well as Chido Obi's at the U18, but let's not waste time thinking hypothetically about what happens in a year.

For this summer the chances are really low that Toney ends up here, unlesss INEOS think we need to spend the potential Sancho money on another CF (whether Sancho will leave us is another problem).
 
croadyman said:
I can't see it happening but IF he ran down his contract and was available on a free next summer would INEOS take him or too old at 29
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I think that depends a lot on how Hojland and Zirkzee actually perform this season. If they're good, I don't think they'll bother.

It's probably worth pointing out that we've signed Zirkzee not just to get more goals himself, but to bring more goals out of others. My hope/anticipation is that we get a significantly increased output from Garnacho, Rashford, Bruno, Amad, and even Mount as a result of Zirkzee's influence.
 
croadyman said:
I just worry Rasmus/Zirkzee won't score enough goals that's the only reason I am talking about signing a backup number 9 who is a proven goalscorer
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I see. There's just no chance we signed a £40M striker only to make immediately make him third string with an even more expensive Toney.

It'd be comically inept. We made our bet on a striker already, let's give him a chance. Toney could easily become another overpaid, bad contract if signed to a long deal too; he'll turn 29 this season. We should be looking for younger options that fit our realistic timeline for contending (like Zirkzee), not guys about to decline.

I feel about as sure that we won't sign two midfielders (unless one is really cheap). Bruno, Mainoo, Case, Ugarte, and Mount is a solid five in midfield, and potentially you have McT too. We don't need an expensive sixth-seventh option in midfield; would be too many guys.

Rather than spending on so many depth pieces (a 3rd striker, a 6th capable midfielder) it makes more sense to save the money to try to sign a couple world class players next summer.
 
bb8 said:
Not really, it's a competitive market. No one is going to turn down 40 million from us to take 30 million from the 2nd bidder.

Being bad at negotiating or going after the wrong players are different (hopefully solved...) matters.
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So I would be very interested in where you think the goals are coming from this season. As for your statement about nobody turning down 40million from us, we won’t have 40million by January at the rate we spend without selling players. Even then we appear to sell cheap and buy big. The days of bullying other teams are gone. Right now we are treading a thin line with our finances.
 
Dominos said:
Really it seems like some fans are unhappy with the money spent on Hojlund/Zirkzee not going towards someone else instead. Which is fine, but at least be clear about that. The point is we've already spent the money on Zirkzee, we're not obviously not buying another striker, so it's pointless discussing adding another player. If you're going to make the case for another striker, it needs to be "we should have bought x player instead of Zirkzee".
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Spot on.
 
croadyman said:
Any suggestions for a proven goalscorer we could get for a reasonable fee, just someone to help take the pressure off Rasmus and Zirkzee
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I am hoping Hojland and Zirkzee will step up when (both) are available and fit, it would be nice to see Rashford step up to the mark too. Bruno and Garnacho should provide at least 15 goals between them, hopefully more. As for getting someone in for a reasonable fee, I don’t think that will happen unless we get lucky or desperate, that is my big concern. We are tip toeing around FFP as it is so a big transfer is unlikely.
 
Someone said:
We need another striker. I still believe that Toney would be a game changer for us, I'll die on that hill.
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We have two strikers for one spot already. We might need a third backup but that should probably be an older, cheaper player who would be happy to get 10-15 games in a season. Otherwise we have to rely on Hojlund’s and Zirkzee’s development, we just spend £105m to acquire both of them very recently and I would not expect us to now go and splash considerable amount of money on someone who would play ahead of them.
 
For this season we need DM - Ugarte or similar alt. and a LB and we are ready to go. It is still one CM and LW short from title contending team but enough for top 4.
 
Sarni said:
We have two strikers for one spot already. We might need a third backup but that should probably be an older, cheaper player who would be happy to get 10-15 games in a season. Otherwise we have to rely on Hojlund’s and Zirkzee’s development, we just spend £105m to acquire both of them very recently and I would not expect us to now go and splash considerable amount of money on someone who would play ahead of them.
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Exactly, a "Evans" type of striker for free would be great. Experience and emerency backup.
 
-David Hancko/ Hincapie for LB/LCB cover
-Ugarte for CDM
-Right Winger if Sancho is sold.

I think 3 signings could get us to challenge for 3rd place in the league this season. So I think those 3 signings are well worth the money to bridge the gap and then reassess.

Next summer we could look to replace Rashford, Shaw, Eriksen/McTominay for CM and Antony to challenge for the league.

If INEOS can continue with the selling and smart buys in the last 10 days of this window. I think we could be in a position to challenge for the league if we have another good summer next year.
 
Any potential moves would obviously have to wait until next summer, but I think it will be very interesting to watch Ait Nouri and Joao Gomes at Wolves this season. Both are players I would love to see at United.

Watching Wharton this season will be intriguing. From the first few minutes of seeing him last season it's clear there's a player in there and we should do everything in our power to get him next summer.

Think we're pretty much done in the transfer window this summer, as far as any significant signings go.

If we fix LB and CM next summer with players of the right quality and age profile, we have a young team with some very exciting prospects.
 
eire-red said:
Any potential moves would obviously have to wait until next summer, but I think it will be very interesting to watch Ait Nouri and Joao Gomes at Wolves this season. Both are players I would love to see at United.

Watching Wharton this season will be intriguing. From the first few minutes of seeing him last season it's clear there's a player in there and we should do everything in our power to get him next summer.

Think we're pretty much done in the transfer window this summer, as far as any significant signings go.

If we fix LB and CM next summer with players of the right quality and age profile, we have a young team with some very exciting prospects.
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In my opinion, Ait-Nouri isn’t an ideal left-back. He’s better suited as a left midfielder or left wing-back, where he has more freedom from defensive duties. We should prioritize finding a player whose primary position is left-back, even if they are attack-minded. One potential candidate is Leif Davis, who had an exceptional season in the Championship. While he, like Ait-Nouri, is very attack-oriented and often pushes high up the pitch, he also has solid defensive abilities, having even played as a left center-back in a back three. While it’s unrealistic to expect him to replicate his 21 assists from last season, if he can adjust to a higher level of play, he could be a very valuable asset.
 
bb8 said:
I see. There's just no chance we signed a £40M striker only to make immediately make him third string with an even more expensive Toney.

It'd be comically inept. We made our bet on a striker already, let's give him a chance. Toney could easily become another overpaid, bad contract if signed to a long deal too; he'll turn 29 this season. We should be looking for younger options that fit our realistic timeline for contending (like Zirkzee), not guys about to decline.

I feel about as sure that we won't sign two midfielders (unless one is really cheap). Bruno, Mainoo, Case, Ugarte, and Mount is a solid five in midfield, and potentially you have McT too. We don't need an expensive sixth-seventh option in midfield; would be too many guys.

Rather than spending on so many depth pieces (a 3rd striker, a 6th capable midfielder) it makes more sense to save the money to try to sign a couple world class players next summer.
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I agree.
 
Dont getthe number of "we need another striker" posts for what we need whenwedont have a single left back showing any fitness, we also only have only one dm who has looked shot for a while or anygenuine Mainoo cover....We havegood younsters in AMass, Collyer and maybe Gore....but we have two young international and talented strikers for one position.

If anything attacking wise I would say we need a wide player as Greenwood, SAncho, Pellestri mayallbe gone and no faith personally in any consistent formfrom ANtony or RAshdord and we cantexpectit fro AMad or Garnacho.

Little doubt a wide player will beone of ourprimary targets next summer, should have been Doue and still dont see Baraca affording Nico Williams.

Personally a DM and WIlliams wih sales would be the perfectendto the window
 
jesperjaap said:
Dont getthe number of "we need another striker" posts for what we need whenwedont have a single left back showing any fitness, we also only have only one dm who has looked shot for a while or anygenuine Mainoo cover....We havegood younsters in AMass, Collyer and maybe Gore....but we have two young international and talented strikers for one position.

If anything attacking wise I would say we need a wide player as Greenwood, SAncho, Pellestri mayallbe gone and no faith personally in any consistent formfrom ANtony or RAshdord and we cantexpectit fro AMad or Garnacho.

Little doubt a wide player will beone of ourprimary targets next summer, should have been Doue and still dont see Baraca affording Nico Williams.

Personally a DM and WIlliams wih sales would be the perfectendto the window
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We just have to hope Williams is still on the market next summer as can't afford him at the moment
 
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Not this summer, but with Madrid having Mbappe, Vini and Rodrygo - as well as their intent to play Bellingham as a 10/9.5 - I have a feeling they could do another Odegaard with either Arda Guler or Endrick at some point. There's already been rumours about Guler not seeing a pathway to regular football.

Would be very interesting if we were in a position to capitalise on that next summer.
 
Martial'sEmergingSmile said:
Not this summer, but with Madrid having Mbappe, Vini and Rodrygo - as well as their intent to play Bellingham as a 10/9.5 - I have a feeling they could do another Odegaard with either Arda Guler or Endrick at some point. There's already been rumours about Guler not seeing a pathway to regular football.

Would be very interesting if we were in a position to capitalise on that next summer.
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Guler could be available but not Endrick
 
Martial'sEmergingSmile said:
Not this summer, but with Madrid having Mbappe, Vini and Rodrygo - as well as their intent to play Bellingham as a 10/9.5 - I have a feeling they could do another Odegaard with either Arda Guler or Endrick at some point. There's already been rumours about Guler not seeing a pathway to regular football.

Would be very interesting if we were in a position to capitalise on that next summer.
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I agree with Guler. He's far too talented and unless they drop Rodrygo (Vini & Mbappe untouchable) he won't see many starts.
 
Apparently Gundogan is available, and personally I would be all over it despite his age. He can rotate with Mainoo, Ugarte or even Bruno. Fantastic midfielder who can do a Modric and keep going for many years. He showed no sign of regression and played 36 games in La Liga last season. One of my favorite midfielders and would love to see him in a United shirt.
 
Grand Vizier said:
Apparently Gundogan is available, and personally I would be all over it despite his age. He can rotate with Mainoo, Ugarte or even Bruno. Fantastic midfielder who can do a Modric and keep going for many years. He showed no sign of regression and played 36 games in La Liga last season. One of my favorite midfielders and would love to see him in a United shirt.
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Certain he returns to City if leaving Barca
 
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