Three problems :
1. Injury prone
2. Probably won't get along with Jose
3. Will prevent us from getting a proper CM we can rely on
He's not a kid who performed well against a great Barca side anymore. There are better alternatives now.
What is the profile of central midfielder we need to sign?
- Thread starter Nick.
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1. Injury prone
2. Probably won't get along with Jose
3. Will prevent us from getting a proper CM we can rely on
He's not a kid who performed well against a great Barca side anymore. There are better alternatives now.
I don't even think midfield is a priority for us, we have Pogba, Matic, Herrera and Mctominay who have shown they're quality throughout the season.
Our bigger issue by far is our two ageing full backs and our lack of a right sided attacker.
Our bigger issue by far is our two ageing full backs and our lack of a right sided attacker.
A low paid player, who doesn't cost much and is content to sit on the bench a lot and be left out of the match day squad for 50% of our matches.
Most of the time we play 4-2-3-1 against the weaker PL teams, especially at home. When we need to use 3 in midfield, we already have Matic, Herrera and Pogba, with McTominay as cover.
We beat Spurs in the FA Cup, and Man City away in the PL with Matic, Pogba and Herrera. We beat Chelsea at home with Matic, McTominay and Pogba. We beat Liverpool at home with Matic and McTominay.
Carrick has 24 mins in the PL, 90 mins in the League Cup and 180 mins in the FA Cup this season. Fellaini 518 mins in the PL, 221 mins in the CL and 11 mins in the FA Cup. That's the sort of mins the new replacement should be looking at, possibly less, since Mourinho took several months before he was willing to trust McTominay.
Most of the time we play 4-2-3-1 against the weaker PL teams, especially at home. When we need to use 3 in midfield, we already have Matic, Herrera and Pogba, with McTominay as cover.
We beat Spurs in the FA Cup, and Man City away in the PL with Matic, Pogba and Herrera. We beat Chelsea at home with Matic, McTominay and Pogba. We beat Liverpool at home with Matic and McTominay.
Carrick has 24 mins in the PL, 90 mins in the League Cup and 180 mins in the FA Cup this season. Fellaini 518 mins in the PL, 221 mins in the CL and 11 mins in the FA Cup. That's the sort of mins the new replacement should be looking at, possibly less, since Mourinho took several months before he was willing to trust McTominay.
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Not really concerned. This is what Mourinho is really good at. Transfer Window!!
I say it every time with a heavy heart.
A prime Luka Modric. How Fergie didn't move heaven and earth for him when we needed to replace Scholes is beyond me.
A prime Luka Modric. How Fergie didn't move heaven and earth for him when we needed to replace Scholes is beyond me.
I don’t mean as a first choice player and simply as a squad player. The priority areas are definitely right back, left back and a right sided forward as we’ve got Pogba, Matic, Herrera and McTominay whilst Fosu-Mensah and Pereira to return and if we’re going to spend big on one midfielder we wouldn’t want to spend big on another.
Any of Thiago, Kroos, Verratti or Savic are going to cost upwards of £60 in today’s market so Wilshere on a free to pack out the squad IF Jose wants two midfielders is a decent bit of business and he has sell on value at his age if it doesn’t work out too.
Jorginho out of who is reasonably buyable (but may go to city). Goretzka would have been ideal - damn Bayern
Ander Herrera with Matic physique.
Ericksen then?
Someone like Fernandinho. What about Fred? He seems quite dynamic and good going forward, can carry the ball and dribble.
I doubt that Real will sell Kovacevic. Kroos and Modric are hardly men of the future.
Jorginho seems a bit one paced, and we already have one paced midfielders.
Fred gets my vote, he should be available for 40m.
I doubt that Real will sell Kovacevic. Kroos and Modric are hardly men of the future.
Jorginho seems a bit one paced, and we already have one paced midfielders.
Fred gets my vote, he should be available for 40m.
With PSGs FFP Verrati would be the best option he works hard and also links play. With his vision he is a threat anywhere on the pitch. That being said Rabiot isnt a bad shout either. Both of them would let Pogba run free. The only worry I have is Jose saying he needs to replace Carrick but if Fellaini leaves he needs another midfielder. We should be after two anyway. Matic cant go a full season alone. Nzonzi or Fabinho would be great.
Ruben Neves or Fred
Disagree. Midfield is an absolute top priority. McTominay is still not good enough. He needs a few more years to develop. Herrera has been good in the last few games. But where was he for the rest of the season? We need a new No.8 at the top of his game to immediately slot in.
Mourinho has already said we need 2 midfielders in this transfer window. Fred would be one. IMO
That was before the emergence of McTominay.
Lingard
Pogba
Herrera
Matic
New Midfielder
McTominay
More than enough options, even if we play with a three man midfield.
Pogba/Lingard New Midfielder/Herrera
Matic/Herrera
A more serious and arsed Pogba.
Someone mobile with a serious engine.
Keita would have been ideal, watch him light it up for Liverpool.
Fred is the only option I am aware of as of now.
Keita would have been ideal, watch him light it up for Liverpool.
Fred is the only option I am aware of as of now.
Have they though? Performance wise I would say only Matic has. McTominay has done well when he has played, very mature....too early to tell but is he the long term answer? I still cant make my mind up on Herrera and Pogba has undoubted talent but obviously he hasnt shown it consistently at all so far.
I actually think centre back is as big a priority as anywhere else as we have so many average players there and so far no great or even good ones even though I do really like Bailly if he can cut out the silly things and keep better concentration. Definately agree on the right sided attacker though. I still think Valencia is good for another year myself though cover is missing and Shaw if he can get and stay fit and get games which does all seem unlikely to be honest, there is still a great player there....and though never been a fan, Young has done well there, so two decent options, I do think both full back positions need addressing but not as urgently as other seem to....I would be happier if we signed a genuine top quality beast at centre back and no full backs than I would two quality full backs and no centre back this summer.
I may be wrong but Matic + Pogba + Savic sounds unbalanced for me. IMO we need a player like Verrati, Thiago, Kroos, Keita.
I do.
We need a new Roy Keane.
He could be just the two midfielders we need
I want us to go all out for Thiago... he has everything, and is still improving. Think he'd make all of our current midfielders look better too.
Fred is a hard worker, covers a lot of ground, good ball winner, good passer, and scores the odd goal. Maybe he could be the right one.
If we play a midfield of 2, which midfielder could work next to Pogba?
What are Pogba's deficiencies? What is Pogba already good at? The last 2 midfielders need to cover for his deficiencies, and they don't need as much of what Pogba is good at. Just look at what Juve did. They did this well.
Possibly kante
Nemanja Matic
Moussa Dembele, seems like he wants out of Spurs and we should have signed him when he left Fulham. Would be great for us for a couple of years whilst we take our time and get in the player we really want, who doesn’t seem to exist/isn’t available currently.
I’ve seen him grab a game by the scruff of the neck, he has vision and skills and will get stuck in. Has a good engine on him from what I’ve seen too.
I’ve seen him grab a game by the scruff of the neck, he has vision and skills and will get stuck in. Has a good engine on him from what I’ve seen too.
Seeing as we will buy two central midfielders, and one of them will be a starter one first should adress what type of midfielders we have and then what type of midfielder we need.
Assuming we want to play in a 3 man midfield, with one defensive player. And the ideal solution is a balanced midfield like Real Madrid and Barcelona midfield with:
Matic: Starer. Big, slow, ok ball handling and passing. Works best in a compressed team with little chance of getting exposed for the lack of pace. Or he needs fast players around him. Should not be the one to dictate play.
Pogba: Big, ok pace and agility. Technical superb, but not the one you want to balance your team. Works best with less defensive responibility, meaning that he is better in a free role. Can dictate the play, but is better further up on the field.
Herrera: Not good at anything, and not directly bad at something either. Has the intensity and work rate to play as a box to box midfielder, but not the physiquality.
McTominay: 21 year old "talent", with height and the right nationality. Can play safe passes and win duels, but nothing more. Should not be staring, nor seen as a future first teamer.
Fellaini: Big, slow, hairy tree. Most likely leaving on a free transfer. Could be used as a backup if staying, and as a late impact/elbow player against team parking the bus.
Carrick: Retired.
So we have 2 large first teamers where neither is a box to box, and only one of them has the right ability to be one to dictate play, and he is much better in a more offensive free role. Neither are very movable, and would struggle one on one against agile, fast playing and passing midfields. And it goes without saying that they would not be very efficient in a team trying to press high. Fast agile teams can press high and win the ball. Slow teams must compress and lay low and cover for their lack of mobility. So what we need is a fast, box to box midfielder that can tackle and dictate games. As far as i know, such a player does not exist in football today. You are either a low laying playmaker like Pirlo, Xavi, Kroos and Scholes, a movable destroyer like Kante, or a box to box player like Naingolian, Modric and so on.
So since the ideal solution to our new midfielder does not exist, we must settle for what is the next best thing: Buy two players that can fit the bill, and rotate our main 4 midfielders dependent on the opposition and what gameplan we need.
both the two arrivals should be balanced players, able to play box to box
Of the more "unknown" players there are some options: Neves(Will fit the bill, and does not seem to mind living in England, but Wolves might not want to part with him. Still Jose and Mendes are buddies so this might work out.)Can play deep and dictate the game, while also being able to play box to box if needed, and to some degree do the dirty work. Weigl is an option, but he is less mobile.
If we dont go for the world class players, there are some cheaper and younger alternatives available.
Jean Michael Seri:Agile, technical and entertaining box to box midfielder playing for Nice. Ruomored available for £35m.
Lucas Torreira: Young, fast, technical, two footed defensive midfielder that can play box to box. And with a relative good passing ability. Heavily linked with Liverpool and Napoli. Should be available for less than £30m.
So if we dont splash the cash on an established "world class" player, and invest in Torreira and Neves we certainly can buy two very good young midfielders that will strengthen our 1. eleven and reduce the lack of mobility and balance our midfield further. And. used the "additional" cash to upgrade from Willian to Dybala on RW.
Assuming we want to play in a 3 man midfield, with one defensive player. And the ideal solution is a balanced midfield like Real Madrid and Barcelona midfield with:
- 1 Defensive minded player: Casemiro/Bousquets.
- 1 low laying playmaker like Kroos and 1 box to box attacking player like Modric
- 2 Box to box players like Rakitic and Iniesta.
Matic: Starer. Big, slow, ok ball handling and passing. Works best in a compressed team with little chance of getting exposed for the lack of pace. Or he needs fast players around him. Should not be the one to dictate play.
Pogba: Big, ok pace and agility. Technical superb, but not the one you want to balance your team. Works best with less defensive responibility, meaning that he is better in a free role. Can dictate the play, but is better further up on the field.
Herrera: Not good at anything, and not directly bad at something either. Has the intensity and work rate to play as a box to box midfielder, but not the physiquality.
McTominay: 21 year old "talent", with height and the right nationality. Can play safe passes and win duels, but nothing more. Should not be staring, nor seen as a future first teamer.
Fellaini: Big, slow, hairy tree. Most likely leaving on a free transfer. Could be used as a backup if staying, and as a late impact/elbow player against team parking the bus.
Carrick: Retired.
So we have 2 large first teamers where neither is a box to box, and only one of them has the right ability to be one to dictate play, and he is much better in a more offensive free role. Neither are very movable, and would struggle one on one against agile, fast playing and passing midfields. And it goes without saying that they would not be very efficient in a team trying to press high. Fast agile teams can press high and win the ball. Slow teams must compress and lay low and cover for their lack of mobility. So what we need is a fast, box to box midfielder that can tackle and dictate games. As far as i know, such a player does not exist in football today. You are either a low laying playmaker like Pirlo, Xavi, Kroos and Scholes, a movable destroyer like Kante, or a box to box player like Naingolian, Modric and so on.
So since the ideal solution to our new midfielder does not exist, we must settle for what is the next best thing: Buy two players that can fit the bill, and rotate our main 4 midfielders dependent on the opposition and what gameplan we need.
both the two arrivals should be balanced players, able to play box to box
- One being more developed in passing and dictating the play with short and long passes, and good ballcontrol.
Of the more "unknown" players there are some options: Neves(Will fit the bill, and does not seem to mind living in England, but Wolves might not want to part with him. Still Jose and Mendes are buddies so this might work out.)Can play deep and dictate the game, while also being able to play box to box if needed, and to some degree do the dirty work. Weigl is an option, but he is less mobile.
- The second midfielder should be an agile box to box midfielder with good defence abilities. Your typical balanced midfielder.
If we dont go for the world class players, there are some cheaper and younger alternatives available.
Jean Michael Seri:Agile, technical and entertaining box to box midfielder playing for Nice. Ruomored available for £35m.
Lucas Torreira: Young, fast, technical, two footed defensive midfielder that can play box to box. And with a relative good passing ability. Heavily linked with Liverpool and Napoli. Should be available for less than £30m.
So if we dont splash the cash on an established "world class" player, and invest in Torreira and Neves we certainly can buy two very good young midfielders that will strengthen our 1. eleven and reduce the lack of mobility and balance our midfield further. And. used the "additional" cash to upgrade from Willian to Dybala on RW.
If we sign Fred, then I would go for a CAM. We already have midfielders with defensive capabilities (Matic, Herrera, Fred, McTominay, Pereira)... We just have Pogba and Fellaini as the creative ones. In fact, that would be just Pogba.
I would like a versatile CAM who is able to play in a midfield of three also. Someone like Eriksen, Fekir, Draxler, Isco, James, etc.
I would like a versatile CAM who is able to play in a midfield of three also. Someone like Eriksen, Fekir, Draxler, Isco, James, etc.
I was almost sold by your post up until the last statement about Dybala being brought as a RW. Made the whole thing redundant!
That would mean either playing a midfield diamond (a system with inherent weaknesses) or reducing both Pogba and the new CAM to rotation options and alternating between them.
With Fred signed up we need one of Kovacic/Thiago/Pjanic/Dembele/Jorginho.
Any one of these guys would control the pace of the game & help us boss the midfield.
Jorginho looks set for Citeh & Pjanic I think is happy in Turin. Dembele perhaps may be considered too old to fit the United profile of signings. So I hope we go all-in in trying to get either Thiago or Kovacic. Especially since there's rumours that both are looking to exit their current clubs.
Some posters have also highlighted Neves & Sanson but I haven't seen enough of either to give an opinion.
Any one of these guys would control the pace of the game & help us boss the midfield.
Jorginho looks set for Citeh & Pjanic I think is happy in Turin. Dembele perhaps may be considered too old to fit the United profile of signings. So I hope we go all-in in trying to get either Thiago or Kovacic. Especially since there's rumours that both are looking to exit their current clubs.
Some posters have also highlighted Neves & Sanson but I haven't seen enough of either to give an opinion.
Question - what went wrong with Schneiderlin? He was widely touted as the perfect player for a top level team and just fell apart when he came here. His performances were a lot better than many of the players mentioned here in a tough premiership.
Now that Fred is in, we need a passer. Someone like Jorginho even though he's out of reach.
Agree, but I doubt we'll sign a another starting 11 CM now, maybe a young passer.
Yeah. It won't be another established player. Someone like Soler would do nicely.
He's had a torrid time at Everton too. It isnt a question of having the talent, but also having the mindset. He done a good job at Southampton, but to do it day in and out at a club like United is a totally different ball game.