What do we still need? Aka The never ending story

Our LB and RB positions are a much a problem as our CM’s
Sad but true. With so many glaring, gaping, grand canyon sized holes in the both the starting 11 and the squad I have no idea what needs to be prioritized. I go back and forth on it seemingly on a weekly basis.

For a while I was convinced the biggest issue was DCM. Then Greenwood f'd up his life, our potential attacking options, and most importantly of course, that girl's life. So then I thought a proper number 9 was the biggest area to address.

But someone could convince me that signing a dominate Vidic-clone CB should be where we splash the cash. And recently its getting more and more embarrassing watching our fullbacks struggle each week!

I know some might say I am too dramatic overacting, but JFC how has it come to this?
 
Ok,commented a fair bit on here, but heres my final thoughts of what I would do.

We need
New Manager - Done
Club Advisor - Done if he stays
New scouts / people in charge of recruitment: Seems to be in process, would love to see somoene like Mitchell come in

As for who is out, its not even so much about that as the whole squad has been poor and even our better players there are reasons why you would sell, so before that its important to decide who we should keep:

1) Our youngsters - SOme may not be good enough but in terms of the squad, ability to coach and mould and numbers, these players deserve the right to earn squad places, so:

Williams, Mengi, Alvaro Fernandez, Amad, Pellestri, Garner, Hannibal, Elanga, Chong, Shoetire, Laird, Garnacho all stay in the squad for next season (have left out Greenwood for obvious reasons)

2) Players we signed last year - They have come into a rotten squad and only had one season, but the quality is there and they have all been ok, one player good, so keep Ronaldo, SAncho, Varane

3) Players that appear to have the right attitude and desire - A major part of the rebuild I feel is the attitude of players next season, so there are a few players I dont even rate, but when we are moving on so many, the attitude in the dressing room next season is prevalant in us progresing, some of these the deciding factor also is there contracts end in 2023 so they can be assessed and contacts can be ran down or new ones offered from Te Hags thoguhts workign with them for the first couple ofmonths (as they dont have transfer value anyway):

Heaton, Dalot (and I dont rate him at all), Jones, Fred, Lindelof, McTominay, Fernandes

Thats a squad so far of 22 players of:

GK - 2
RB - 2
CB - 3
LB - 2
DM - 0
CM - 3
AM - 3
LW - 4
RW - 2
CF - 1

Can see purely numbers wise DM and CF are where we are weakest which are areas many have already mentioned, we actually have big numbers if not experience already in other areas, this is why we should sell a lot of the remaining players.

The definite outs are of course the contracts ending:

Pogba, LiNgard, Mata, Matic, Grant, Cavani

Leaves

GK
Henderson, rumoured to be unhappy - SELL

LB

Shaw - He does have the quality and contact a year left - KEEP
Telles - He simply cant defend and hasnt offered enough forwards either - SELL

CB

Bailly - I like him but the injuries, poor moments and wish for first team action - SELL
Tuanzabe - Despite odd great game failed to breakthrough here or on loan - SELL
Maguire - Purely because of numbers, wages he is on and experience, - KEEP (strip of captaincy though and fight for place with failure to move on next summer once cull has been done this year)

RB
Bissaka - Hands up, thought hed be a good signing and made progress last year, but regressed a lot and not sure he fits into a tactical system, he also holds transfer value - SELL

DM

We have none!

CM
Pereira - DOnt believe rumours of him comign back, never taken chances - SELL
VDB - Ten Hag knows him, but we have numbers and I expect an additional signing and again he holds value - SELL

AM

All options already retained

LW
Rashford - We have numbers and I dont buy into the confidence/injury thing or his past form has been so good as others say, been hit someotimes and mss jsut as often, but this season the desire, movement, quality, courage, desire is so poor, he has a year on his contract, would get plenty of interest and rumours of unrest 100% for me - SELL

Martial - LW or CF, the loan fail just shows cant trust in him, one good season - SELL

RW
All options retained

CF
Only option retained

So thats 15 players out for me, dont want to fo into fees but £150mish and a lot of wages off the books could pretty mcuh cover the £200m rumoured budget

So our squad after exits would be before additions:

GK DeGea - Heaton
LB - Shaw - Fernandez - Williams
CB Varane - Maguire - Lindelof - Mengi - Jones
RB Dalot - Laird
DM
CM Fred - Garner - McTominay
AM Fernandes - Hannibal - Shoetire
LW Sancho - Elanga - Garnacho - Chong
RW Amad - Pellestri
CF Ronaldo

I would loan out the bolded players where we are stacked.

SO in terms of ins we NEED 2 x DM options and 1 x CF option. In terms of quality really needing improving....1st choice CB, RB, CM, RW

So 7 signings I feel are needed this summer yes SEVEN, not even including a keeper, think we can call up a youngster of just an experinced keeper this summer for free such as Jognstone.

High on my signings were Vandervort who has agred a move and Livaramento who has a big injury, with so many needed I think we can rule out huge £60m+transfers especially those dont even sound keen such as DeJong and Id love Sulemana but cant sign another LW

CB Romagnoli - FREE left footed, leader, experienced and partly due to rb signing and cheap replacement for Maguire 2023

RB Jurrien Timber £40m - Knows sytem, intelligent positioning, possibly CB signing but allows Laird opportunities if he plays CB too, so can move into middle as well in a season and allow us to make a RB signign next summer

DM Kamara FREE - No brainer, specialised intelligent DM, free and lots of room for development as well

DM Tchouameni £50 - I;'d liek to say Enzo Fernandez but not seen him and also with Kamaras age and relative inexperience, we need a big signing in DM. I feel in certain games Tchouameni and Kamara can be a godo partnership as Tchouameni offers more than jsut DM. Camavinga was always my dream signing and Id love Rice or Bellingham but nto sure we can do another season of waiting with such few options

CM Caqueret £20m - Maybe small and technical, but works hard up and down, think he can be the DM playmaker, yougn and hungry and a much cheaper option that I feel could be a DeJong for us for a much cheaper price and wish to come here and I much prefer him to Neves/Tielmans for example. Lyon missed him massively v West Ham

RW - This is a tough one. Think with inverted wingers we may see Garnacho on the right. I really liek Doku but he is right footed has niggling injuries and still alittle raw, I rate ANtony Gordon but agai right footed. Raphina is a good player but instinct just says no. Ive not seen enough of him but Im not really that convinced by Antony personally from what I have, better than Neres who was highly rated but dont think he is top drawer.

I think from what I have seen in terms of age, how he is breakign through, has pace we dont really possess at the moment with Pellestri and Amad, I would probably go for

Moussa Diaby £45m

CF Giouri £45 - Followed him since youth football, massive talent, reminds me minus the aeriel proceess and hold up play of a yougn Benzema, intelligent, superb technique, good finishing, real star quality, seen more of him but Omsihen/Nunes £70m odd, get out of here, he is far more talented, my surprise big purchase of the summer and the perfect replacement for Greenwood as a CF


£200m maybe a little more, but wehave also made a lot of sales, savings on salaries too as dont expect many of these to be big wages and most imoortantly, cleared out the vast majority of ourcurrent problems in the squad whilst also covering most of next seasons possible sales nd we have lots of options

DeGea
Timber
Varane
Romagnoli
Shaw
Tchouameni
Caqueret
Fernandes
Sancho
Diaby
Ronaldo

Heaton
Laird
Lindelof
Maguire
Williams
Kamara
Fred
Hannibal
Elanga
GArnacho
Giouri

Alvaro Fernandeez, Jones, Dalot, Garner, McTominay, Amad, Pellestri, Shoetire


Secodn eleven weak in areas and inexperinced but there are still other options from the rest of the squad. Also think importantly there is much more aggresion, balance and intelligence in both sets of midfields which would protect a back four that would be more organised and reliable in the first eleven.

Doe that challenge for the title or chamions league - No. DOes it guarantee top four - NO. But there is more of a balance, players I feel would suit and coudl learn a sytem more, more energy, better pressing and also, still plenty of experience but there are a good 12 players or so around 21 years old, so there is a lot to work with longer term...bar GK and one CB there is actually potentially a quality first eleven of players all around that age 2/3 of which I feel have a real chance to be very good players for us.

Ok thats me done, no more of these
I would love for us to sign Caqueret. I think he could be a brilliant box to box midfielder for us. A better version of Herrera, basically. But I never see his name linked with anyone. Is he on a long term deal?
 
I would love for us to sign Caqueret. I think he could be a brilliant box to box midfielder for us. A better version of Herrera, basically. But I never see his name linked with anyone. Is he on a long term deal?

No 2023 so cheaper too, he is getting linked with AC Milan a lot recently
 
So far I don't think I've seen a rumour that I think is likely to happen (Phillips, De Jong, Kamara, Timber, Nunez, Tchouameni, Rice, Neves, Torres, Antony). Going to be an interesting (and long) summer.
 
Ahh well, surely we could outbid Milan, if we wanted him.
They will hace champions league football and are arguably just as big if not a bigger club, but yes sure we could. Im surprised, not seen him linked with anybody at all bar them really, only 21 and ready for big things I think
 
With Phillips staying at leeds seemingly

Antony
Paulinha
Timber
Darwin

would people be happy with that?
 
I've had similar thinking but the parts you left blank, the mid, are the sticking points. High quality first 11 players like De Jong and Tchouameni (that I also want and I think are a must; we can not cheap here) cost a lot, leaving little else for the others.

If we address the mid proper like we need, I think we will have little else for defense. Considering we will 100% also need attackers as we lack the numbers let alone quality.

Realistically, I think the defense will get little investment. Maguire is sure to be given another chance as I feel will Dalot and Shaw. With Jones and Bailley out I can only see a young, cheap player coming in, maybe even from the ones loaned out.

It's hard to say at this point as we don't know what will be added to the kitty from sales and how much our outlay for midfield is going to be as we may only be able to get the cheaper options out there, leaving more money for defensive recruitment. I feel if we can at leaxt get Timber to cover RB and CB that'll give us more flexibility in our transfer business, same with Nkunku at the other end of the pitch.
 
Even if Maguire and Rashford aren't going anywhere anytime soon it will be foolish on ETH's part to go into the season without genuine alternatives for them. We will be playing in the Europa so we would need a bigger squad regardless and we are losing so many players as it is.

With that said, I think we should:
Sell all the mediocre defenders we have in the squad such as Teles, Williams, Tuanzebe, Bailly, Dalot and AWB in addition to Henderson. That ought to give our budget a boost of about £80m to £90m which we should use to invest in a couple of fullbacks (back up LB and Timber at RB).

Next on the list should be Pau Torres and and a DM - this is when I expect us to get into our transfer budget having funded thr initial signings from sales. Tchouameni looks to be beyond us, Kamara seems unfancied and Phillips isn't an option so I don't really know who will be, maybe Sangare from PSV - he seems to have the right physical and technical attributes don't if he is ready for the step up.

I would want another CM but with Fred then Garner coming back I think we will have our CM sorted for one more season. Fred is reliable when you play him up the pitch to use his energy as a harrier, Garner will need a real chance so we can afford not buy another CM and reward Garner whilst seeing of he can take his chance before deciding on whether to invest in one.

On the striker or RW, I know ETH wants Antony and he appears talented but I think a more versatile forward like Nkuku will be more useful to us. We will have to keep Martial as back up to Ronaldo and have Rashford and Elanga floating as back ups to Nkuku and Sancho.

In an ideal world I'd have
Timber £50m
Malacia £20m brought in from funds generated through sales
Pau Torres. £60m
Tchouameni £60m/Sangare £40m
Nkuku £55m
Johnstone Free

So that we will start the next season having improved our ball progression from deep, added physicality in midfield and versatility and goal threat in attack. We will also have greater depth at CB with Lindelof also offering cover at RB.
 
Didnt we all used to have a hard on for Doucoure? Haven’t followed him at Everton but cheeky bid?
 
The only Doucoure we should possibly look at is Cheick Doucoure from Lens.

Having said that, I don't think he is necessarily our problem solver and instant starter of course, but he would add some depth in midfield and he would be attainable for more or less 20m £.

Not a regular watcher of Lens games, but every time I watch their games he impressed me. He has some abilities that we are lacking in midfield, such as being direct and progressive when in possession through both passes and carriers and his work out of possession is also very good. He doesn't apply too much pressure on opposition midfielders, maybe a tactical thing, but when he does he wins a ball back on most occasions.

Surely not as a primary target but a very good under the budget player, I might be completely wrong about him but I think he has the potential to be a very good Premier League player.
 
With the players leaving, we need at least 5 new arrivals.

Pogba, Matic, Cavani, Mata and Lingard are all leaving, plus Ronaldo’s future is in doubt, and that doesn’t even include Greenwood likely never playing for us again.

With that being said, I expect no more than 4 players to arrive, and that’s pushing it, as reports say we want only 3.

I think the areas we will address will be targeting a new central striker, a natural CDM and yes, yet another centre back.
 
With the players leaving, we need at least 5 new arrivals.

Pogba, Matic, Cavani, Mata and Lingard are all leaving, plus Ronaldo’s future is in doubt, and that doesn’t even include Greenwood likely never playing for us again.

With that being said, I expect no more than 4 players to arrive, and that’s pushing it, as reports say we want only 3.

I think the areas we will address will be targeting a new central striker, a natural CDM and yes, yet another centre back.

Need a new CM & RB as well, however my gut feeling is that only happen with sales
 
Please no. Completely overrated and is a RWB not a RB
Overrated ?

Good tackler , knows when to make forward runs ,good dribbler, skilful, very good crosser of the ball and has pace to burn, the only main issue is his constant injuries

He has played right back many times before, plus no top team uses their right back as the "pure traditional" RB these days.
 
Overrated ?

Good tackler , knows when to make forward runs ,good dribbler, skilful, very good crosser of the ball and has pace to burn, the only main issue is his constant injuries

He has played right back many times before, plus no top team uses their right back as the "pure traditional" RB these days.
We will have to agree to disagree.
 
The first thing we need is a few nasty bastards in this team. We probably have the least physically intimidating team in the league. People wonder why Mctominay and Fred play so often and its because they are the only two that play with physicality and aggression. The problem in Mct's case is he has no quality

I mean just look at our regular starters. DDG, Varane, Lindelof, Sancho are very timid. Bruno, Rashford and Ronaldo are pretty weak and get barged off the ball very easily. That leaves AWB, Shaw, Maguire and Mcfred and even that group isn't particularly imposing.

This was always a strength of ours under SAF. Quality players that were aggressive and physically dominating. Liverpool are the same, they don't have physically imposing players in key positions, VVD, Konate, Fabinho, Henderson, Mane and Salah.

Past teams could have a bad day but there was no way the likes of Vidic, Valencia, Rooney, Evra, Scholes, Wes Brown were going to allow themselves to be bullied the way our current team is.
 
1) GK: We need a progressive goalkeeper. I'm tired of DDG and his timidness in 1v1s, poor kicking, and reluctance to come off the line
- 1st Choice: Henderson
- 2nd Choice: DDG
- Transfer In: Not required if Henderson proves himself. If not, DDG can cover for one more seasons, and we look for someone in Summer 2023.
- Transfer Out: Grant. Why is he still here?

2) RB: Neither Dalot or AWB are of the required standard. I would boot them both from the club for their pathetic displays.
- 1st Choice: New Signing
- 2nd Choice: Ethan Laird
- Transfer In: First XI player needed. Timber might be an option.
- Transfer Out: Dalot + AWB

3) CB: Varane gets one spot. Need a progressive, ball-playing defender besides him. Pau Torres has impressed, even though I thought he was another Lindelof when I saw him earlier. Timber can be an alternative as he plays both RB and CB to a high standard, but we need first XI players in both positions.
- 1st Choice: Varane + New Signing
- 2nd Choice: Maguire + Lindelof
- Transfer In: Pau Torres / Timber /
- Transfer Out: Jones, Tuanzebe and Bailly. I'd kick out Lindelof too, but we have other positions to look at.

4) LB: Shaw gets another chance because he does have the talent, although he's been abysmal this season. Reminds me of lightweight Spurs or Arsenal players from the 2000s, really needs to pull his socks up.
- 1st Choice: Luke Shaw
- 2nd Choice: New Signing / Brandon Williams
- Transfer In: Not a priority, but if someone decent becomes available we should be in the race.
- Transfer Out: Telles, Telles, and Telles.

5) DM: Probably our biggest priority. We've never replaced Carrick. A good #6 transforms the whole team.
- 1st Choice: Tchoumeini
- 2nd Choice: Bissouma / Neves
- Transfer In: 2 signings required.
- Transfer Out: McTominay + Matic

5) CM: Fred is somewhat decent in a B2B role and he should get another season just because of the number of positions we need to replace.
- 1st Choice: Fred + VDB / Bruno
- 2nd Choice: Garner + New Signing
- Transfer In: At least 1 required
- Transfer Out: McTominay, Pogba

6) LW: Still not a fan of Sancho on the left. LW are easier to find due to left-footed players being rarer, so I'd move Sancho to the right and buy a new winger.
- 1st Choice: New Signing / Bruno (if he's up to it)
- 2nd Choice: Rashford, who really is in last chance saloon / Elanga
- Transfer In: 1 player required
- Transfer Out: Martial

7) #10: I don't see us playing with a classic 10, or at least I hope we don't. 4-3-3 is the way to go.
- Transfer Out: Lingard and Mata

8) RW:
- 1st Choice:
Sancho
- 2nd Choice: Elanga
- Transfer In: 1 player required
- Transfer Out: Greenwood (due to career being cancelled)

9) Striker: Another big priority for this summer
- 1st Choice: Ronaldo + Another (as he can't play all the games)
- 2nd Choice: N/A, as I see Ronaldo and the new player rotating. Might leave us a little light, but 2 strikers in one window is asking a lot
- Transfer In: 1 First X1 striker
- Transfer Out: Cavani

Summary:
- Transfer Outs: 13 players to leave. Christ, that's a lot! I was trying to be conservative and it's still so high. Damning indictment of our recruitment.
- Transfer In: 6 to 8 players in. Again, way too much for one window, so we'll see what happens.
 
Absolute minimum of CB, DM & ST but desperately need a signing on right side too whether it's RB or RW ideally both. Very hard to see 5 signings in one window though.
 
We need at least 3 signings for midfield, rb, cb, a right winger again, a striker amd gk.

We should surely be able to make up about at least 100 million with a combination of player sales and wages saved on those leaving for free, throw in 150 million on top of that and if we have our act together we could pull all that off with 250 million spending
 
We need at least 3 signings for midfield, rb, cb, a right winger again, a striker amd gk.

We should surely be able to make up about at least 100 million with a combination of player sales and wages saved on those leaving for free, throw in 150 million on top of that and if we have our act together we could pull all that off with 250 million spending

And those new players will play for free? GK is not needed this window, it will be difficult enough as is. 2 signings in midfield should do it, with Mejbri getting more minutes. Agree on the rest.
 
We need to sell or get rid of these players (in priority order);

1) Pogba
2) Lingard
3) Jones
4) Bailly
5) Matic
6) Mata
7) Grant
8) Tuanzebe
9) Pereira
10) Bailly
11) Martial
12) Chong
13) Dalot
14) Maguire
15) Cavani
16) Henderson
17) DDG
18) Greenwood
19) Telles
20) Donny
21) Williams
22) AWB

Remaining squad with signings (26);

GK: Henderson, Johnstone
RB: Spence, Laird
CB: Varane, Torres, Lindelöf, Mengi
LB: Malacia, Shaw
DM: Laimer, Garner, McTominay
CM: Bruno, Enzo, Fred, Mejbri
RW: Antony, Amad, Elanga
ST: Darwin, Ronaldo, Garnacho
LW: Sancho, Rashford, Shoretire

I know this is fantasy land but the potential lineup would be;

Henderson
Spence ---------------- Varane --------------- Torres ---------------- Malacia
Laimer

Bruno ------------------- Enzo
Antony
--------------------------- Darwin -------------------- Sancho​
 
And those new players will play for free? GK is not needed this window, it will be difficult enough as is. 2 signings in midfield should do it, with Mejbri getting more minutes. Agree on the rest.

No but we also should hopefully stop being mugged off by clubs and players by paying over the odds on not just transfers but wages.

The fact many of the players leaving for free this summer are deemed as surplus to requirements/deadwood are all making 100k+ tells ya how awful we have been negotiating player contracts.

I still think we are overestimating the difficulty it would be to replace de gea and it's not going to do ten hag any favours in putting his stamp of authority on the side with such an fundamental flaw in executing his philosophy.
 
A couple months back I thought minimum of 4 but now I feel we need a minimum of 5 in, with 10 or so leaving.
DM
CM
RB
CF
RW or CB

Ideally 6 in. No excuses for the owner/board. Sick of hearing people giving them leeway by saying 3 or 4 in is plenty and any more is unrealistic. We have to do everything we can to stop Liverpool and City’s domination next season.

unfortunately, the rumours at the moment aren’t great, with teams already seemingly wrapping up our potential targets.
 
We need to sell or get rid of these players (in priority order);

1) Pogba
2) Lingard
3) Jones
4) Bailly
5) Matic
6) Mata
7) Grant
8) Tuanzebe
9) Pereira
10) Bailly
11) Martial
12) Chong
13) Dalot
14) Maguire
15) Cavani
16) Henderson
17) DDG
18) Greenwood
19) Telles
20) Donny
21) Williams
22) AWB

Remaining squad with signings (26);

GK: Henderson, Johnstone
RB: Spence, Laird
CB: Varane, Torres, Lindelöf, Mengi
LB: Malacia, Shaw
DM: Laimer, Garner, McTominay
CM: Bruno, Enzo, Fred, Mejbri
RW: Antony, Amad, Elanga
ST: Darwin, Ronaldo, Garnacho
LW: Sancho, Rashford, Shoretire

I know this is fantasy land but the potential lineup would be;

Henderson
Spence ---------------- Varane --------------- Torres ---------------- Malacia
Laimer

Bruno ------------------- Enzo
Antony
--------------------------- Darwin -------------------- Sancho​

In what world do you prioritize getting rid of arguably one of 3 best players this season in DDG (or any other player in that list to be fair), _before_ a rapist/sex-offender/criminal in Greenwood?
Anyways a third of those players listed are out of contract and leaving regardless.

Out of the ins mentioned, I think only Laimer and Antony have the qualities we are looking for. Perhaps Darwin if the reports of ETH specifically asking for him. I think 4cbs might be a bit few given the injuries this season :nervous:
 
A couple months back I thought minimum of 4 but now I feel we need a minimum of 5 in, with 10 or so leaving.
DM
CM
RB
CF
RW or CB

Ideally 6 in. No excuses for the owner/board. Sick of hearing people giving them leeway by saying 3 or 4 in is plenty and any more is unrealistic. We have to do everything we can to stop Liverpool and City’s domination next season.

unfortunately, the rumours at the moment aren’t great, with teams already seemingly wrapping up our potential targets.
According to your assumptions.
 
How come there's no talk of Tonali of Milan? Not lived up to expectations?
 
yes, true, still only rumours.
Whilst I personally might like player X or Y, for all I know ETH and Ralf mightn’t see it the same way. I’m really trying not to get too wound up by transfers this year as there are so many moving parts including manager, coaches, Ralf etc that we didn’t have last year. So I’m trying a wait and see process
 
Whilst I personally might like player X or Y, for all I know ETH and Ralf mightn’t see it the same way. I’m really trying not to get too wound up by transfers this year as there are so many moving parts including manager, coaches, Ralf etc that we didn’t have last year. So I’m trying a wait and see process
Yeah, fair enough. I do agree with Ralf though on the needing 6 or more in and that it shouldn’t take more than 3 transfer windows. This summer I feel we should be well within our capabilities of bringing at least 5 in.
As far as targets go, I can agree, as I trust both ten Hag, Ralf and murtough to get the right players in for the manager’s style of play. It’s just a bit unsettling when you hear the likes of Tchouameni and Mazraoui seemingly going to rivals. Good players that would surely fit ten hags style.
whatever happens, I hope we get recruitment right this year. We also have some good academy players with potential so maybe the new manager can make use of some of those too.
 
A couple months back I thought minimum of 4 but now I feel we need a minimum of 5 in, with 10 or so leaving.
DM
CM
RB
CF
RW or CB

Ideally 6 in. No excuses for the owner/board. Sick of hearing people giving them leeway by saying 3 or 4 in is plenty and any more is unrealistic. We have to do everything we can to stop Liverpool and City’s domination next season.

unfortunately, the rumours at the moment aren’t great, with teams already seemingly wrapping up our potential targets.
LB as well
 
Is tolisso a free agent? If so we should be all over that aswell as Kamara and romagnoli from Milan, that’s 3 decent players for absolutely nothing! Spend most of the budget on Nunez, a RW, full back.
 
I quite honestly don’t know what the board is doing when Bayern are strengthening their squad with a full back, defensive midfielder and a high energy box to box midfielder altogether for the price less than one Maguire.