we can use Ozil in RF/RW on 3 front interchanging with the fullback overlapping and cross. if the fullback is capable of doing this, we don't need a winger to cross but they can create a chance and score goal. Real Madrid, City, PSG and Barcelona use that too.
What do we still need? Post Summer 2017 edition
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we can use Ozil in RF/RW on 3 front interchanging with the fullback overlapping and cross. if the fullback is capable of doing this, we don't need a winger to cross but they can create a chance and score goal. Real Madrid, City, PSG and Barcelona use that too.
This is all I can find on it - https://www.si.com/soccer/2017/12/1...ga-rivals-midfielder-seals-rojiblancos-return
Apparently he's seen as the heir to Busquets in the National set-up.
Loftus-Cheek? Not sure what type of relationship him and Jose have but Chelsea signing Barkley may free him up. Useful as second signing, assuming we get someone else in with a little more experience
Searching twitter, I saw links with a Marca report. Probaly the same as in that article. Kinda hope we try anyway. He just seems like the best option to me for what Mourinho wants.
He can IMHO. The question is whether he i strong mentally to make the jump to a bigger club. I like him though, he is a tidy player
I remember Balague wrote about Atletico agreeing a fee for him a few weeks back. But then again, it's Balague...
Thanks. Looks like a lot of Nice's play goes through him, as I imagined. His long passing seems off at times in those matches, but I've seen him do far better. I feel that with better players around him, he could go up a level. Him and Pogba, with Matic behind could potentially be very good.
Yeah. I'm hoping we don't decide on going back to a 4231 in the summer and sign a #10. Although, even if we do get Özil, he's played in a deeper role for Germany a few times and looked good, so maybe he could work as a RCM. He'd have to step up defensively unless it would ask a hell of a lot from Matic. He could also play like Mata off the RW, but I'd prefer an actual forward there instead.
@kouroux Good to hear. Looking at how eager he was to go to Barca, I reckon he's ready for the step up.
Plus, we simply could offer Villareal or Atletico more. As long as he hasn't played for Atletico, we can still buy him. 20m pounds or euros seems like a bargain in today's market.
Theoretically yes, but I just don't think we're interested. Besides, I reckon we're in for a more offensive minded midfielder than a CDM. He'll be a cracking player though.
I wouldn't be so sure. Bailly came pretty much out of nowhere, didn't it? Especially in terms of his physical profile he fits Mourinho's type of midfielder, which makes me think we are at least keeping an eye on him. I am kinda hoping we sign two midfielders, if we are moving to a 4-3-3 permanently.
Nothing much. Just the next Ronaldo or summat.
It could just be January bullshit but Atleti do tend to do some shrewd deals and if his buyout is as low as suggested I can them going for him.
I don't think Ozil as the RCM would work with Pogba in there as well, to me Ozil playing in the RWF role Mata occupies is the only way to fit both in, but like you I'd prefer a more dynamic forward to play there
Just when I got my hopes up.
Pretty much every other Mourinho transfer we've done has been heavily reported, but there's nothing to say we don't make a move.
Based on the quality of the player and the transfer fee being reported, it's got Atletico's name all over it.
We should go for Bale if Madrid are willing to sell at a reasonable fee.
He might be injury prone, but I think a change of scenery could do wonders for him and since José openly admitted his interest for him during the summer, I’m not sure we are too concerned about his injury history.
His ability on the other hand is undeniable and he’d be perfect on the right wing. Could produce similar numbers to what Salah is producing this season in my opinion.
———————- De Gea ——————
Valencia — Jones — Bailly — Shaw
—————Matic ——- Pogba ———
Bale ———-- Lingard —-—- Martial
—————-— Lukaku ———————
Looks pretty good to me, although Lingard probably needs to keep performing till May to nail down a starting spot.
He might be injury prone, but I think a change of scenery could do wonders for him and since José openly admitted his interest for him during the summer, I’m not sure we are too concerned about his injury history.
His ability on the other hand is undeniable and he’d be perfect on the right wing. Could produce similar numbers to what Salah is producing this season in my opinion.
———————- De Gea ——————
Valencia — Jones — Bailly — Shaw
—————Matic ——- Pogba ———
Bale ———-- Lingard —-—- Martial
—————-— Lukaku ———————
Looks pretty good to me, although Lingard probably needs to keep performing till May to nail down a starting spot.
An underwhelming side. Bar De Gea, Pogba and Matic there are huge concerns in that team regarding either age, fitness, suitability, consistency or general footballing ability. If that's our strongest team, and we keep Mou on as manager beyond this season, we won't be challenging City for the title any time soon.
Pogba in a midfield 2 and a £70M declining crock that we'll have to pay 300K a week is the stuff of nightmares. 
Are you referring to Bale?
Yes, he's always injured and they have taken a toll on him as he's very reliant on his speed and athleticism, and you know Real wont sell him for less than £70M and in this market I might be aiming low, plus he'll want that 300k a week deal.
I agree on Bale. I really wanted him here 5 seasons back, but I just don't think the deal makes as much sense for us anymore. Then again, if he's available he'd be the best RW option on the market, so from that and a marketing perspective, I can see why this deal looks it could happen.
I'm hoping any signings we make are not with 4-2-3-1 in mind - as so many of us said before last season, and before this season again, and as we have all seen in performances through both seasons, you do not get the best out of Pogba when he's in a two man midfield. Even when we've upgraded and added Matic by his side, he still leaves too big of a hole in terms of his defensive responsibilities. For me, we desperately need to make 4-3-3 our preferred starting formation.
With that in mind, i'd say we need some pretty hefty midfield signings. One player brought in during January would be great, although I think this is an area we're more likely to target in the summer. Looking longer-term again there's huge question marks over the futures of Carrick, Fellaini and Mkhitaryan, so any or all of those guys leaving in summer would force our hands into recruiting replacements, i'd hope. I'd like to see us grab Savic from Lazio, and it looks like Vidal is probably on his way out of Bayern if they snag Goretzka from Schalke, who is also a player I wouldn't mind us going for.
A lot of people seem to be wanting a new left back, but with Shaw's recent re-emergence and decent performances, and Young playing out of his skin this season, I think we're fine without a left back. Plus we have Blind who can play there, even if he might be a bit slow. Right back would be the more pressing issue for me, as we've seen that with Valencia unavailable, we're either switching Young to the right or playing Lindelof there. Darmian seems to be on his way out at some point, so i'd say my immediate concern for January would be to get a right back in. Meunier from PSG would be a good shout, he's good going forward too. He may be unhappy at a lack of game time with Dani Alves' arrival. Ricardo Pereira at Porto is doing well and is only 23, and Sidibe at Monaco is also a handy player.
Other than that, I wouldn't mind an actual winger who can actually cross! Lukaku is a big unit and needs some decent crosses to feed off. Malcom at Bordeaux seems to be the player we're after, although for the prices i've seen I wouldn't mind us going for Mahrez instead, at least he knows the league and has more experience. We'll always be linked with Willian, even more so now with Chelsea having signed Barkley. Dybala at Juve or Pulisic from Dortmund would be the true muppet signing there.
With that in mind, i'd say we need some pretty hefty midfield signings. One player brought in during January would be great, although I think this is an area we're more likely to target in the summer. Looking longer-term again there's huge question marks over the futures of Carrick, Fellaini and Mkhitaryan, so any or all of those guys leaving in summer would force our hands into recruiting replacements, i'd hope. I'd like to see us grab Savic from Lazio, and it looks like Vidal is probably on his way out of Bayern if they snag Goretzka from Schalke, who is also a player I wouldn't mind us going for.
A lot of people seem to be wanting a new left back, but with Shaw's recent re-emergence and decent performances, and Young playing out of his skin this season, I think we're fine without a left back. Plus we have Blind who can play there, even if he might be a bit slow. Right back would be the more pressing issue for me, as we've seen that with Valencia unavailable, we're either switching Young to the right or playing Lindelof there. Darmian seems to be on his way out at some point, so i'd say my immediate concern for January would be to get a right back in. Meunier from PSG would be a good shout, he's good going forward too. He may be unhappy at a lack of game time with Dani Alves' arrival. Ricardo Pereira at Porto is doing well and is only 23, and Sidibe at Monaco is also a handy player.
Other than that, I wouldn't mind an actual winger who can actually cross! Lukaku is a big unit and needs some decent crosses to feed off. Malcom at Bordeaux seems to be the player we're after, although for the prices i've seen I wouldn't mind us going for Mahrez instead, at least he knows the league and has more experience. We'll always be linked with Willian, even more so now with Chelsea having signed Barkley. Dybala at Juve or Pulisic from Dortmund would be the true muppet signing there.
[QUOTE="Rojofiam, post: 21960444, member: 108401"]We should go for Bale if Madrid are willing to sell at a reasonable fee.
He might be injury prone, but I think a change of scenery could do wonders for him and since José openly admitted his interest for him during the summer, I’m not sure we are too concerned about his injury history.
His ability on the other hand is undeniable and he’d be perfect on the right wing. Could produce similar numbers to what Salah is producing this season in my opinion.
———————- De Gea ——————
Valencia — Jones — Bailly — Shaw
—————Matic ——- Pogba ———
Bale ———-- Lingard —-—- Martial
—————-— Lukaku ———————
Looks pretty good to me, although Lingard probably needs to keep performing till May to nail down a starting spot.[/QUOTE]
I personally think that's a rather poor team, and to go for Bale, who would no doubt cost an astronomical fee and be sidelined for a hefty amount of time, would only be a reflection of the poor spending and investment that's already happened for seasons now. I propose a 4-3-3 system with purchased players highlighted in bold, i'm basing this around the idea that we need a RB, 2CM's, RW, LB, 5 players is highly unlikely yes, if I was to narrow down the 3 it would be CM, RW, RB, regardless, here's what I would set it out to be
GK: De Gea/Romeo/Pereira
LB: Shaw/Tierney/Young
DC: Lindelof/Bailly/Jones/Tuanzebe/Rojo/Fosu-Mensah
RB: Meunier/Valencia/Fosu-Mensah
DM: Weigl/Matic
CM: Pogba/(1 of Neves, Hojbjerg or Kai Havertz)/Herrera/Pereira
LW: Martial/Rashford/Lingard
ST: Lukaku/Martial/Rashford
RW: Pulisic (or Lozano)/Mata/Lingard
Now on the whole these players are young but they are all high quality players, Bale is 28, usually i'm not bothered about age but he's a crock as of late and i don't think we can afford to be wasting a pursuit on him.
Pulisic, or the, probably, cheaper option in Lozano would provide some much needed youth, exuberance and flair down that right wing for years to come.
Neves is tearing it up in the Championship because he's a level above, Hojbjerg was to be the future of Bayerns midfield at one point and I think he's quality, certainly has all the attributes, and Kai Havertz is still quite raw but he's going to be one of the worlds best without a doubt i'd say, an heir to Ozil.
Weigl, brilliant, a natural Carrick replacement if ever I saw one.
The wing backs speak for themselves and we all know about them. It's a heavy outlay but with sales as well I don't see how this couldn't happen.
He might be injury prone, but I think a change of scenery could do wonders for him and since José openly admitted his interest for him during the summer, I’m not sure we are too concerned about his injury history.
His ability on the other hand is undeniable and he’d be perfect on the right wing. Could produce similar numbers to what Salah is producing this season in my opinion.
———————- De Gea ——————
Valencia — Jones — Bailly — Shaw
—————Matic ——- Pogba ———
Bale ———-- Lingard —-—- Martial
—————-— Lukaku ———————
Looks pretty good to me, although Lingard probably needs to keep performing till May to nail down a starting spot.[/QUOTE]
I personally think that's a rather poor team, and to go for Bale, who would no doubt cost an astronomical fee and be sidelined for a hefty amount of time, would only be a reflection of the poor spending and investment that's already happened for seasons now. I propose a 4-3-3 system with purchased players highlighted in bold, i'm basing this around the idea that we need a RB, 2CM's, RW, LB, 5 players is highly unlikely yes, if I was to narrow down the 3 it would be CM, RW, RB, regardless, here's what I would set it out to be
GK: De Gea/Romeo/Pereira
LB: Shaw/Tierney/Young
DC: Lindelof/Bailly/Jones/Tuanzebe/Rojo/Fosu-Mensah
RB: Meunier/Valencia/Fosu-Mensah
DM: Weigl/Matic
CM: Pogba/(1 of Neves, Hojbjerg or Kai Havertz)/Herrera/Pereira
LW: Martial/Rashford/Lingard
ST: Lukaku/Martial/Rashford
RW: Pulisic (or Lozano)/Mata/Lingard
Now on the whole these players are young but they are all high quality players, Bale is 28, usually i'm not bothered about age but he's a crock as of late and i don't think we can afford to be wasting a pursuit on him.
Pulisic, or the, probably, cheaper option in Lozano would provide some much needed youth, exuberance and flair down that right wing for years to come.
Neves is tearing it up in the Championship because he's a level above, Hojbjerg was to be the future of Bayerns midfield at one point and I think he's quality, certainly has all the attributes, and Kai Havertz is still quite raw but he's going to be one of the worlds best without a doubt i'd say, an heir to Ozil.
Weigl, brilliant, a natural Carrick replacement if ever I saw one.
The wing backs speak for themselves and we all know about them. It's a heavy outlay but with sales as well I don't see how this couldn't happen.
The problem is that we'd get very little benefit on the pitch IMO, he can't stay fit in La Liga, there's no way he'd stay fit in the grind of the PL, it would just be another Falcao or Di Maria situation, brand bragging over what's best for the team on the actual pitch.
First of all, I am also all for switching to a 4-3-3 as Pogba would reach even higher levels with 2 supporting him in the middle, but I based my proposed team on 4-2-3-1 being our most used formation up to this point.
I know everyone is reluctant because he has been spending most of the seasons on the sidelines for the last couple years but like I mentioned, I don’t think United are too concerned about that & it’s based on nothing, but I feel Bale could overcome his injuries.
But other than that, why is that a weak team? Our defensive record has been pretty good since the 2015/16 season. Vale has transformed into one of the best right backs in the league. Jones & Bailly formed a pretty reliable CB partnership earlier in the season and we’d also have Lindelöf, Smalling & Rojo in the squad. As for the left back area, I’ve always been supportive of Shaw and it’s great to see him getting opportunities and taking them recently. He needs to keep up what he’s been doing for the remainder of the season and we won’t have any issues in his position at all (although I’d still like to see us sign Sessegnon and loan him back to Fulham for a season). Then, onto the midfield: Pogba & Matic have also formed a very good duo, but like you all claimed, a midfield of 3 would be even better. We should probably buy someone here since Herrera hasn’t been the same this season (although I think he’s the type of player that needs a run of games to pick up form). As for the front three, Martial is still only 22 but already quality and for me he’s a proper left winger, unlike Rashford so I’d rather start the Frenchman there (I’m also a big admirer of Marcus but I feel Anthony edges him at the moment, especially on the left). He also looks to have a good understanding with Lukaku. And then we’d have Bale starting on the right.
Getting Bale, Ricardo Pereira (someone mentioned him and I also think he’d be perfect), Sessegnon & a new CM would be considered a great window for me and we’d be good to go.
I know everyone is reluctant because he has been spending most of the seasons on the sidelines for the last couple years but like I mentioned, I don’t think United are too concerned about that & it’s based on nothing, but I feel Bale could overcome his injuries.
But other than that, why is that a weak team? Our defensive record has been pretty good since the 2015/16 season. Vale has transformed into one of the best right backs in the league. Jones & Bailly formed a pretty reliable CB partnership earlier in the season and we’d also have Lindelöf, Smalling & Rojo in the squad. As for the left back area, I’ve always been supportive of Shaw and it’s great to see him getting opportunities and taking them recently. He needs to keep up what he’s been doing for the remainder of the season and we won’t have any issues in his position at all (although I’d still like to see us sign Sessegnon and loan him back to Fulham for a season). Then, onto the midfield: Pogba & Matic have also formed a very good duo, but like you all claimed, a midfield of 3 would be even better. We should probably buy someone here since Herrera hasn’t been the same this season (although I think he’s the type of player that needs a run of games to pick up form). As for the front three, Martial is still only 22 but already quality and for me he’s a proper left winger, unlike Rashford so I’d rather start the Frenchman there (I’m also a big admirer of Marcus but I feel Anthony edges him at the moment, especially on the left). He also looks to have a good understanding with Lukaku. And then we’d have Bale starting on the right.
Getting Bale, Ricardo Pereira (someone mentioned him and I also think he’d be perfect), Sessegnon & a new CM would be considered a great window for me and we’d be good to go.
Before any other position, we need that RIght Winger urgently. Malcom/ Fekir/ Pulisic would be my first preference followed by Mahrez/ Bailey. Pulisic would be very difficult to get, I think we should go all out for Malcom/ Fekir, similar players with Fekir a bit older and more developed in his game, but I think Malcom is hugely talented. If we miss out on these two, Mahrez would be my back up option.
Possibly, but Pulisic is known to be a big United fan, if we went for it, I think he'd push hard to help make it happen.
Interestingly enough, it's only once he moved to La Liga did he start having a torrid time with injuries. But even so, I'd prefer either a younger winger that is less injury prone or a technically superior player who is less reliant on physical attributes.
Yeah, I think the time has passed for Bale to United, we can't risk buying someone who will cost so much with so much uncertainty hanging over his fitness, that's something for PSG to do, where they can just burn money. We have to be more shrewd, this summer is crucial for this squad I feel, it's not just about improving it but also buying to elevate those doing well at the club and that's not just the Pogba discussion, we have to look at Martial and Lingard as well in terms of getting the right pieces for the puzzle.
Nothing has really changed. We need a right sided attacking player that can play across the front. We need a right back desperately - a lot more than we do a left back. We will also need a midfielder to replace Carrick and (seemingly) Fellaini. Preferably one that can pass the ball and compliment Matic, Pogba, Herrera and (hopefully) Pereira.
This was fairly apparent in the summer, to be fair.
Griezmann, Meunièr and a younger Modric-type? If I was really being picky then a young winger that can beat a man would also be welcome. We've got lots of movers (Mkhitaryan, Lingard, Mata) but very little in the way of dribbling ability outside of Martial and Pogba, so that would be nice.
Four players max, plus Pereira, plus getting more out of the quality already at the club. I don't ask for much.
This was fairly apparent in the summer, to be fair.
Griezmann, Meunièr and a younger Modric-type? If I was really being picky then a young winger that can beat a man would also be welcome. We've got lots of movers (Mkhitaryan, Lingard, Mata) but very little in the way of dribbling ability outside of Martial and Pogba, so that would be nice.
Four players max, plus Pereira, plus getting more out of the quality already at the club. I don't ask for much.
Meunier, Pulisic, Weigl/Jorginho and Ruben Neves/Hojbjerg along with Pereira and TFM coming back would be the best summer in a good long while I think
If he's better than Llorente he's gotta be real good.
Every time I start thinking about this issue, every time I come to the conclusion that I absolutely have no effin idea which players we need. All of us can, we certain degree of certainty, point out which areas of our team must be improved. However, when it comes to personnel, it is really hard to determine if a specific player is what we need.
Why on earth would you think Bale would suddenly "overcome his injuries" after moving to a tougher league? Why would he do well here for years when he's reliant on pace and not getting younger?
Lukaku - Griezmann
Martial - Matic - Pogba - Mahrez
Sandro - Rojo - Bailly - Valencia
De Gea
To me this team is just a better version of Atletico Madrid.Martial - Matic - Pogba - Mahrez
Sandro - Rojo - Bailly - Valencia
De Gea
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Love diamond but I'd switch Lukaku for Grezimann on left cos Lukaku seem more effective on right and replace Mahrez with Ozil as that will allow us to transition to 4-3-3/4-4-2/4-2-3-1 in the match and get full attacking-minded right back with high accuracy crossing and overlapping. Ozil can also play CM with free roam, there's no reason why he can't. If Guardiola can turn KDB into CM then we can.
I saw a quite interesting lineup.
-------------------DDG-------------------
--------Lindelöf - Bailly - Jones---------
-Valencia ------- Matic ----------- Bale--
-------------Dybala - Pogba--------------
------------------Martial------------------
-------------------DDG-------------------
--------Lindelöf - Bailly - Jones---------
-Valencia ------- Matic ----------- Bale--
-------------Dybala - Pogba--------------
------------------Martial------------------
Interesting because there’s only ten players?
Shocking that he wants to turn Bale into attacking fullback and move Pogba to ACM/SS rather than CM and left Matic to do jobs alone in midfield.
They do say sometimes it’s harder to beat ten men. Could be a genius!