Well he had no problem with using Karim Benzema and Rashford is not so different to him. Rashford is already a huge lad with some room to grow. You've already pigeonholed his game at the age of 19 which, to me, is inherently a little daft. Like I said, Mourinho is nowhere near as rigid as you make out.
What do we still need? Post Summer 2016 edition
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Well he had no problem with using Karim Benzema and Rashford is not so different to him. Rashford is already a huge lad with some room to grow. You've already pigeonholed his game at the age of 19 which, to me, is inherently a little daft. Like I said, Mourinho is nowhere near as rigid as you make out.
Carrick's contract is expiring in 4 months and recent Mourinho comments make me think we might not renew this time. Looks like we are biding our time to see if we can find a capable replacement or he would have been offered a renewal already. With Basti not getting a look-in and Schneiderlin gone we desperately need a competent DM to compete with (and cover for) Herrera next season. It should be our very top priority this summer. We've been very lucky not to have injuries so far.
Sorting out our fullbacks should be 2nd priority. We need a competent cover and future replacement for Valencia and Darmian isn't that. The sooner the Shaw situation clears up and the sooner we have a mainstay left-back there, the faster we can start getting the best out of Martial on the left flank too.
I personally think the striker situation can wait for another year. I'd rather Rashford provide cover Ibra for another season until the his contract expires and then we can sign a main striker who will compete with Rashford.
I personally feel very happy with our centre backs, our defence has been solid and it contains 2 homegrown-status players (Jones and Smalling) who I'm more than happy to keep. Goalkeepers, attacking mids and wingers we're sorted for now.
Sorting out our fullbacks should be 2nd priority. We need a competent cover and future replacement for Valencia and Darmian isn't that. The sooner the Shaw situation clears up and the sooner we have a mainstay left-back there, the faster we can start getting the best out of Martial on the left flank too.
I personally think the striker situation can wait for another year. I'd rather Rashford provide cover Ibra for another season until the his contract expires and then we can sign a main striker who will compete with Rashford.
I personally feel very happy with our centre backs, our defence has been solid and it contains 2 homegrown-status players (Jones and Smalling) who I'm more than happy to keep. Goalkeepers, attacking mids and wingers we're sorted for now.
Benzema was older and has always been much better at holding it up and stronger technically than Rashford is, and it's not pigeonholing him at all, it's simply seeing what he actually is. Mourinho is as rigid as I am saying, it's clear in every #9 he's used for the last decade, he's not going to use a kid that can't hold it up as his main #9, that is why he's developing him on the wing as his pace can hurt teams there and is by far his biggest asset. If we go into next season with nobody but Ibra and Rashford to play as #9 we'll be trying win a league with a 36 year old #9 trying to play 50 games, and then the summer after we'll still need to buy a #9 and drop him in cold.
I actually though Martial's hold up game was excellent when he spent most of the 1st half of his debut season playing as a #9. Surprised Mourinho hasn't tested Martial out there yet. Looks like he is set on his being a winger; I can see why, Martial's sublime dribbling ability would be somewhat wasted as a lone striker.
I think that is mainly it, as a finisher Martial is a bit hit and miss but he can really hurt teams when he runs at them with that frightening accelration and dribbling skill, playing him as a #9 limits his game.
Right-back replacement for when Valencia starts declining.
1-2 top quality central defenders (1 if Bailly keeps up his quality and irons out flaws).
1 top central midfielder with defensive qualities that can replace Carrick.
(or 2 all-rounders with a ton of running-capacity to move us towards 2-man midfield.)
After that we still have a year of development with Martial/Rashford before we have to find another replacement for Zlatan... That said, if a top left-winger or a top striker becomes available, the club should consider it despite the timing being slightly off.
Don't want to throw names out, as I don't get to watch enough football apart from United these days.
1-2 top quality central defenders (1 if Bailly keeps up his quality and irons out flaws).
1 top central midfielder with defensive qualities that can replace Carrick.
(or 2 all-rounders with a ton of running-capacity to move us towards 2-man midfield.)
After that we still have a year of development with Martial/Rashford before we have to find another replacement for Zlatan... That said, if a top left-winger or a top striker becomes available, the club should consider it despite the timing being slightly off.
Don't want to throw names out, as I don't get to watch enough football apart from United these days.
No he isn't, because despite your claims he hasn't used the same striker throughout his career. Benzema being a pertinent example you've quickly rushed to overlook. Benzema is fast, strong and adapted from playing in a slightly wider, withdrawn role into a centre forward. Rashford's hold up play is good given his age and is something that will improve with experience.
Prepare to be disappointed, because we will be going into next season with Ibrahimovic and Rashford as our striking options and it's exactly the right thing to do.
Benzema and Rashford are absolutely nothing alike, and you keep saying Rashford's hold up play is good for his age, but it isn't, it's not good at all, he can flick it off ok but actually retaining and protecting the ball and bringing others into play is non existent.
Nah, I wont be disappointed, we just wont win the PL and then we'll buy a #9 the season after, because no matter what Rashford wont be the next United #9 unless we change managers. You only think it's the right thing to do because you've got this obession with Rashford being United's next starting striker no matter what, throwing our season away for a kid is stupid.
What obsession? I'm just calling it as I see it. Rashford has all the raw materials required to be a top striker. It's crystal. If he scores goals when afforded the chances in the #9 position then Mourinho will stick with him. If he doesn't, then he will be replaced. But until then, your insistence that Mourinho considers him not to be a striker remains silly. Rashford might not have this outstanding chest control, or win countless headers, but his link up play is particularly impressive and this has been evident since his debut. He protects the ball more than well enough at this stage in his career.
I'm wasting my time. Let's just wait and see.
He's played 3 times as a #9 for Jose, once was in our first EL game and he struggled, the other twice was against relegation fodder from the Championship, not once has he played as a #9 for Jose in the PL, that tells you everything about how he sees him in regards to being a striker, ie he doesn't. Ibra can't keep playing every PL game and hopefully next season every CL game, we are going to need a #9 to rotate with him who can then take over, I can't believe you actually think we'll just watch Ibra swan off into the sunset and then start using a kid as our starting #9, and you can keep saying he has hold up play and link up play but he evidently doesn't..
Here is exactly what we should do:
Send Woodward to Rome because they have everything that we need except for Griezmann. Florenzi to compete with and eventually replace Valencia. Manolas to go in next to Bailly (that CB partnership would be the best in the league by far), Nainggolan to play next to / behind Pogba and maybe even Salah because he's actually very good.
Nainggolan would be perfect. We really should build the team around Pogba and he'd be an upgrade on Herrera. Florenzi is perfect because with Mata on the right, you need a proper wingback who can do the duty of a winger and a sideback, one who dominates the entire right flank. Because Mata doesn't take on the opponent left back, he drifts towards the middle instead. Valencia is perfect for this but he's aging, and not so consistent to be honest.
Manolas because he is the best CB I can think of who isn't Ramos, Boateng, Chiellini or Bonucci. And Salah because he is one of the best left footed right wingers around and we need one in the squad (other than Mata who is more like a wide attacking mid)
Send Woodward to Rome because they have everything that we need except for Griezmann. Florenzi to compete with and eventually replace Valencia. Manolas to go in next to Bailly (that CB partnership would be the best in the league by far), Nainggolan to play next to / behind Pogba and maybe even Salah because he's actually very good.
Nainggolan would be perfect. We really should build the team around Pogba and he'd be an upgrade on Herrera. Florenzi is perfect because with Mata on the right, you need a proper wingback who can do the duty of a winger and a sideback, one who dominates the entire right flank. Because Mata doesn't take on the opponent left back, he drifts towards the middle instead. Valencia is perfect for this but he's aging, and not so consistent to be honest.
Manolas because he is the best CB I can think of who isn't Ramos, Boateng, Chiellini or Bonucci. And Salah because he is one of the best left footed right wingers around and we need one in the squad (other than Mata who is more like a wide attacking mid)
Do you watch anyone other than Roma?Here is exactly what we should do:
Send Woodward to Rome because they have everything that we need except for Griezmann. Florenzi to compete with and eventually replace Valencia. Manolas to go in next to Bailly (that CB partnership would be the best in the league by far), Nainggolan to play next to / behind Pogba and maybe even Salah because he's actually very good.
Nainggolan would be perfect. We really should build the team around Pogba and he'd be an upgrade on Herrera. Florenzi is perfect because with Mata on the right, you need a proper wingback who can do the duty of a winger and a sideback, one who dominates the entire right flank. Because Mata doesn't take on the opponent left back, he drifts towards the middle instead. Valencia is perfect for this but he's aging, and not so consistent to be honest.
Manolas because he is the best CB I can think of who isn't Ramos, Boateng, Chiellini or Bonucci. And Salah because he is one of the best left footed right wingers around and we need one in the squad (other than Mata who is more like a wide attacking mid)
Seriously though, I love Naingollan but him in a midfield 2 with Pogba would be far too attacking. He'll also be 29 next year, so would cost a lot for a player with maybe only 3 years left at his peak. Naingollan is one of the best box to box midfielders around but can tend to get a bit carried away when pushing forward; leaving gaps in behind, which is why he is usually paired with Strootman, De Rossi or Paredes. We need a more defensively minded midfielder, who can work in tight spaces and can control the tempo.
I'm a big fan of Florenzi but is extremely attacking so may not be Mourinho's type.
Salah? I know he has impressed in the Serie A since leaving Chelsea (or on loan from), but Mourinho/Abramovich signed him for Chelsea and he barely played. When he did get his chance, he was more often than not extremely disappointed. Not going to happen.
You can tell you play a lot of FIFA
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Do you watch anyone other than Roma?
Seriously though, I love Naingollan but him in a midfield 2 with Pogba would be far to attacking. He'll also be 29 next year, so would cost a lot for a player with maybe another 3 years left at his peak. Naingollan is one of the best box to box midfielders around but can tend to get a bit to ahead of himself when pushing forward leaving gaps in behind, which is why he is usually paired with Strootman, De Rossi or Paredes. We need a more defensively minded midfielder, who can work in tight spaces and can control the tempo.
I'm a big fan of Florenzi but is extremely attacking so may not be Mourinho's type.
Salah? I know he has impressed in the Serie A since leaving Chelsea (or on loan from), but Mourinho/Abramovich signed him for Chelsea and he barely played. When he did get his chance, he was more often than not extremely disappointed. Not going to happen.
You can tell you play a lot of FIFA
Yeah I kind of got this idea by playing said 4 players in my ultimate team. I haven't really watched them either except for Nainggolan, but I feel like I know them because I've been playing with them so much in FIFA.But we do need a proper wingback if Mata is going to continue playing on the right. Not necessarily this summer though.
Florenzi has torn his ACL for the second time this season. Don't think he's an option.
Van Gaal isn't popular on here, but seemingly a lot of people have accepted that centre backs are more comfortable on one side of the central defence than the other. Manolas is more comfortable on the right, so he might not be the ideal choice as a partner for Bailly, Smalling and Jones. I'd like to think it shouldn't be that important, but Mourinho might think otherwise.
If we look at players from Roma, it should be Emerson, the left-back, and Paredes IMO.
Van Gaal isn't popular on here, but seemingly a lot of people have accepted that centre backs are more comfortable on one side of the central defence than the other. Manolas is more comfortable on the right, so he might not be the ideal choice as a partner for Bailly, Smalling and Jones. I'd like to think it shouldn't be that important, but Mourinho might think otherwise.
If we look at players from Roma, it should be Emerson, the left-back, and Paredes IMO.
Why not Manolas? Smalling is playing on the LCB position for us, surely Bailly could do the same. I'm not quite sure about his level, but my impression is that he's up there amongst the best CBs in the world.
Did you read the last sentence on Manolas? I wrote that it shouldn't be that important, but if Mourinho thinks like van Gaal, which is possible, then he might sign someone who's more comfortable on the left like Lindelöf instead of Manolas, who's more comfortable on the right. I'm all for signing Manolas, if Mourinho thinks he's the right choice. Either way I'm going to trust our manager when it comes to signing defenders.
What we need:
Keeper: Nope
Left back: Badly needed. Darmian has to go. We can keep Blind and Shaw as back-up
Central def. Nope.
Right back: back up for Valencia needed. ESP if Young leaves
Midfield: 2 players needed. Possibly just one if we keep Carrick and get Perreira back
Winger: not a priority with Lingard, Rashford, Martial and Mkhitaryan
Striker. Needed. Back-up up for Zlatan
Keeper: Nope
Left back: Badly needed. Darmian has to go. We can keep Blind and Shaw as back-up
Central def. Nope.
Right back: back up for Valencia needed. ESP if Young leaves
Midfield: 2 players needed. Possibly just one if we keep Carrick and get Perreira back
Winger: not a priority with Lingard, Rashford, Martial and Mkhitaryan
Striker. Needed. Back-up up for Zlatan
Midfield: 2 players needed. KEITA & KESSIE give us the combative edge and agility we need. We also need midfield depth because Pogba & Herrera is really all we've got. We'll have more options in terms of our structure.
Forward: I saw DOLBERG for the first time the other day and decided he'd be a perfect understudy for Zlatan : 1st season, 25% playing time / Zlatan 75%.....
........2nd season, 50% playing time / Zlatan 50%........3rd season, Dolberg takes over. Imagine how good he'll be after 2 years of learning from the great man.
That's all I want.
What I don't want is big loping DM who comes in to 'control the play', wanders around in circles to retain positional sense, produces the odd superlative pass which sends everyone into raptures, but when the game breaks open he lacks the agility to do what's needed all of a sudden. There's a few DMs like that come to mind. When faster, more agile mids of the opposition burst forward on the break with the ball at their feet, those taller DMs can be a complete liability. We need agility in our midfield, especially regarding the defensive aspect. We need mids that can react in the blink of an eye.
Forward: I saw DOLBERG for the first time the other day and decided he'd be a perfect understudy for Zlatan : 1st season, 25% playing time / Zlatan 75%.....
........2nd season, 50% playing time / Zlatan 50%........3rd season, Dolberg takes over. Imagine how good he'll be after 2 years of learning from the great man.
That's all I want.
What I don't want is big loping DM who comes in to 'control the play', wanders around in circles to retain positional sense, produces the odd superlative pass which sends everyone into raptures, but when the game breaks open he lacks the agility to do what's needed all of a sudden. There's a few DMs like that come to mind. When faster, more agile mids of the opposition burst forward on the break with the ball at their feet, those taller DMs can be a complete liability. We need agility in our midfield, especially regarding the defensive aspect. We need mids that can react in the blink of an eye.
wheres Pogba playing ? seen how he performs in a 2 hence the reason we are playing in a 4-3-3 most games
What I think we need this summer.
A quality CB to hopefully replace Smalling or Rojo. My preference Smalling. Another right back, although Valencia has done well I would like him to get serious competition for his starting place. Darmian is shite, Fosu needs games and Ashley Young needs to leave. I would also go for a top holding midfielder (not sure who?)to be the long term replacement for Carrick and then a proven goal scorer, hopefully Griezmann but if he doesn't join we need someone else to score goals and then not have to rely so heavily on Zlatan. I personally do not believe Rashford is currently good enough to lead our attack.
I think Rooney, Bastian, Young, Darmian, Rojo/Smalling will be sold and Fosu Mensah will go out on loan.
---------De Gea
Valencia/? Bailly CB Shaw
-------DM Pogba
-Micky Greizmann Martial
---------Zlatan
Mata, Rashford, RB, Herrera, Jones, Rojo, Pereira, Blind, Lingard, CBJ, Carrick, Romero
A quality CB to hopefully replace Smalling or Rojo. My preference Smalling. Another right back, although Valencia has done well I would like him to get serious competition for his starting place. Darmian is shite, Fosu needs games and Ashley Young needs to leave. I would also go for a top holding midfielder (not sure who?)to be the long term replacement for Carrick and then a proven goal scorer, hopefully Griezmann but if he doesn't join we need someone else to score goals and then not have to rely so heavily on Zlatan. I personally do not believe Rashford is currently good enough to lead our attack.
I think Rooney, Bastian, Young, Darmian, Rojo/Smalling will be sold and Fosu Mensah will go out on loan.
---------De Gea
Valencia/? Bailly CB Shaw
-------DM Pogba
-Micky Greizmann Martial
---------Zlatan
Mata, Rashford, RB, Herrera, Jones, Rojo, Pereira, Blind, Lingard, CBJ, Carrick, Romero
You missed how much Pogba has changed recently when he plays deeper role in 4231 formation. Play 433 against a big team but play 4231 against smaller team.
We need a very good striker, in his prime. We also need a good rightback and a good leftback.
Considering a lot of players will be sold, can see jose signing 4/5 players this window.
GKs:
Degea,Romero with Pereira/Henderson promoted (Both gained good experiance on successful loans). Johnston will be sold he will be 24 and will look for regular gametime.
DEFs:
-Rb: Semedo to come in and deputize Valencia with Darmian and Varela(will be 24) being sold.
-Cb: Bailly with Devrij/Lindelof coming in and Jones Rojo Tuanzebe Blind as backups.Smalling should be sold,he would get us good money especially with arsene having a hard on him.
-Lb:No need to sign anyone for now, Shaw Blind Rojo can play with CBJ and riley(was buzzing for reserves before he left on loan) there as well.
MIDs:
-Dm:Will be the most important signing. Carrick along with Koziello/Jorginho would be great. We probably will play 4231 most of the time so koziello/jorginho are decent investments.(Weigl is a pipe dream,paredes wont suit us, koziello looks the most similar player to carricks style,jorginho has been doing very well for Napoli in that position as well)
-Cm:We need to sign atleast 1 cm. Bakayoko or kessie(is a boyhood united fan and gave a come and get me appeal at start of season so would be easy to get,he will probably except a rotation role as well, also has a knack of scoring goals which for us is very important!) New signing, Pogba, herrera, Fellaini, TFM, Pereira should do it.
FWDs:
Griezmann seems like a done deal, he can play rw st, other than that a #9 is required but we can be ok for next season with Ibra, Martial, Rashford, Griezmann and then next season look to spend big on a #9(By then it would be easier to judge the best out of icardi lukaku belotti dolberg silva)
Mata Mkhi lingard januzaj along with ibra martial rashford griezmann should be enough for the front 3 positions.
Rooney would probably leave.(high chance China gives us a big amount due to rooney as a brand, also rooney has 5 goals 11 assists this seasoneven after being a bit part player, so its not he has been shit.)
Summary (~possible fee):
In~Griezmann(86m), Koziello/Jorginho(20m), Bakayoko/kessie(30m), semedo(30m), devrij/lindelof(35m)
Out~Darmian(15m), Smalling(25m), Young(china 10m), Basti(0m), johnston(10m), rooney(30m), varela(3-5m)
Net spend~201-95~106m.
Considering we probably have already done the groundwork on griezmann semedo lindelof deals, and are low in numbers in cm positions, high chances we sign for these 5 positions.
GKs:
Degea,Romero with Pereira/Henderson promoted (Both gained good experiance on successful loans). Johnston will be sold he will be 24 and will look for regular gametime.
DEFs:
-Rb: Semedo to come in and deputize Valencia with Darmian and Varela(will be 24) being sold.
-Cb: Bailly with Devrij/Lindelof coming in and Jones Rojo Tuanzebe Blind as backups.Smalling should be sold,he would get us good money especially with arsene having a hard on him.
-Lb:No need to sign anyone for now, Shaw Blind Rojo can play with CBJ and riley(was buzzing for reserves before he left on loan) there as well.
MIDs:
-Dm:Will be the most important signing. Carrick along with Koziello/Jorginho would be great. We probably will play 4231 most of the time so koziello/jorginho are decent investments.(Weigl is a pipe dream,paredes wont suit us, koziello looks the most similar player to carricks style,jorginho has been doing very well for Napoli in that position as well)
-Cm:We need to sign atleast 1 cm. Bakayoko or kessie(is a boyhood united fan and gave a come and get me appeal at start of season so would be easy to get,he will probably except a rotation role as well, also has a knack of scoring goals which for us is very important!) New signing, Pogba, herrera, Fellaini, TFM, Pereira should do it.
FWDs:
Griezmann seems like a done deal, he can play rw st, other than that a #9 is required but we can be ok for next season with Ibra, Martial, Rashford, Griezmann and then next season look to spend big on a #9(By then it would be easier to judge the best out of icardi lukaku belotti dolberg silva)
Mata Mkhi lingard januzaj along with ibra martial rashford griezmann should be enough for the front 3 positions.
Rooney would probably leave.(high chance China gives us a big amount due to rooney as a brand, also rooney has 5 goals 11 assists this seasoneven after being a bit part player, so its not he has been shit.)
Summary (~possible fee):
In~Griezmann(86m), Koziello/Jorginho(20m), Bakayoko/kessie(30m), semedo(30m), devrij/lindelof(35m)
Out~Darmian(15m), Smalling(25m), Young(china 10m), Basti(0m), johnston(10m), rooney(30m), varela(3-5m)
Net spend~201-95~106m.
Considering we probably have already done the groundwork on griezmann semedo lindelof deals, and are low in numbers in cm positions, high chances we sign for these 5 positions.
Agree with most of this. But since we are going to play 4231 most of the time, we'll sign only one CM (Kessie, Bakayoko). I'm also happy with our CBs. We should sign Mendy for the LB position though. Our LBs can do a job but we need someone better. Shaw unfortunately doesn't look like he'll be the player we expected him to be(would still give him time till the end of the season to prove himself).
Darmian, Smalling, Johnson and Rooney will definitely not be getting sold for those prices
We're not very far away from being one of the best teams on paper. We just need a proper left back unless Shaw steps up, a CDM type of player if we're playing a midfield 3 and a striker or someone who can score the same amount as Zlatan from a different position. The CDM doesn't have to be like Scholes or Carrick, whatever works for Mourinho.
Rojo has proven me completely wrong this season. Under Mourinho he has gone from being a pretty bad defender to one of our most dependable players in that back 4. I continue to have great doubts whether Smalling should be playing for a team striving to win things. He makes too many unnecessary fouls and those annoying shirt grabbing antics in the box on a player who's only half his size!
A top CB to play alongside Rojo or Bailly is a must!
Rojo has proven me completely wrong this season. Under Mourinho he has gone from being a pretty bad defender to one of our most dependable players in that back 4. I continue to have great doubts whether Smalling should be playing for a team striving to win things. He makes too many unnecessary fouls and those annoying shirt grabbing antics in the box on a player who's only half his size!
A top CB to play alongside Rojo or Bailly is a must!
Watching a selling club like Monaco the other night was refreshing
We really could do well to try and replicate the success of their youth system.....
Failing that you could try and sign both their fullbacks! They were superb. M'Bape was fantastic too....
If we are signing a marquee player I wonder if someone like Veratti might be a better signing and fit than Griezeman
We really could do well to try and replicate the success of their youth system.....
Failing that you could try and sign both their fullbacks! They were superb. M'Bape was fantastic too....
If we are signing a marquee player I wonder if someone like Veratti might be a better signing and fit than Griezeman
My guess
Fabinho - right back and def mid cover. Would be a defensive minded full back allowing Shaw to be offensive on the left.
Kessie - or similar. Young, high work rate and the type to turn into a soldier. Happy with a backup role.
Pereira - as above, backup for Pogba and the no10.
Griezmann - an extra offensive option.
Damian, schweinsteiger, young, Rooney to go with Carrick and blind also possibly going.
If blind goes, Rojo may get extra game time as a defensive full back with another central defender coming in.
Fabinho - right back and def mid cover. Would be a defensive minded full back allowing Shaw to be offensive on the left.
Kessie - or similar. Young, high work rate and the type to turn into a soldier. Happy with a backup role.
Pereira - as above, backup for Pogba and the no10.
Griezmann - an extra offensive option.
Damian, schweinsteiger, young, Rooney to go with Carrick and blind also possibly going.
If blind goes, Rojo may get extra game time as a defensive full back with another central defender coming in.
Jose said 2 or 3 to lift our level this summer in some interview he gave Sky today. I'd still expect 4 to come in but I think we'll be seeing proven quality, not the hot new name from this season.
I had started to think we might wait to buy a CB but the lack of leadership in that back 4 when we face pressure is evident, I can see an older CB with some top level experience being brought in.
I had started to think we might wait to buy a CB but the lack of leadership in that back 4 when we face pressure is evident, I can see an older CB with some top level experience being brought in.
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Jose addressed the spine of the squad last summer in recruiting Zlatan, Pogba and Bailly. He needs to do so again this summer.
A forward. A central defensive midfielder. A centre half.
If we're to sign a fourth player, you'd expect it to be a full-back.
I'm excited for the summer, we're one transfer window away from a squad capable of competing with anyone. I just hope we do the business in the remainder of the season and get ourselves into the Champions League.
A forward. A central defensive midfielder. A centre half.
If we're to sign a fourth player, you'd expect it to be a full-back.
I'm excited for the summer, we're one transfer window away from a squad capable of competing with anyone. I just hope we do the business in the remainder of the season and get ourselves into the Champions League.
Still have not found that midfielder. A Kante mk2 would be nice
Most important are: CB, CM and a winger in that order.
LB and CF depend entirely on how things work out with Zlatan & Shaw.
LB and CF depend entirely on how things work out with Zlatan & Shaw.
RB to compete with Valencia. A CB who is better than what we have. A holding midfielder (still p*ssed we never went for Kante) and a striker to compete with Ibra. That small French guy will do nicely. Maximum of 4 players to come in
I was wondering if Naby Keita is somewhat similar. I've seen very little of him, but he has a similar physique and agility on the pitch. Not sure about his defensive ability, given that's where Kante really shines, but he is superior offensively.
For me; 4 players max;
A LB if Shaw isn't an option (Rojo is a disaster there and Blind/Darmian constantly beaten)
A CB who is better than Smalling
A CDM to protect defence and with a good passing range (possibly Bakayoko)
Griezmann - the X factor and can play in any number of attacking positions
A LB if Shaw isn't an option (Rojo is a disaster there and Blind/Darmian constantly beaten)
A CB who is better than Smalling
A CDM to protect defence and with a good passing range (possibly Bakayoko)
Griezmann - the X factor and can play in any number of attacking positions
Bakayoko isn't what you've just described.
Juventus' Alex Sandro might be a good shout for an attacking LB.
I understood him to be either a cdm or a box to box mf, youve obviously watched a lot more of him than me, whats his skillset?
Was just a name I'd heard linked, personally I'd like marchisio though that will never happen. Will settle for a mid who is disciplined and plays with his head up, dont think they have to be particularly young either.