What would be your transfer / personnel strategy in the coming transfer windows?

Do not sign a player until the long term successor has agreed.

And give that man what he wants. Whether it's Charlie from League two, or Evandro Sandro Rivaldo Morales from Gremio.
 
Hire a director of football and then a head coach with proven track records in developing young talent to world class stars. Then break the bank to sign De Ligt and De Jong from Ajax. Sell them on the project of the new manager and world class youth focused strategy.

De Gea, Joel Pereira, Dalot, De Ligt, Bailly, Tuanzebe, Shaw, De Jong, Pereira, Herrera, Fred, Pogba, Gomes, Chong, Rashford, Martial and Greenwood would be a brilliant young base to build from and under the right manager, could well go on to achieve great things.

I'd let Valencia, Darmian, Jones, Smalling, Rojo, Lindelof, Young, Matic, Fellaini, Mata, McTominay, Lingard, Sanchez and Lukaku go over the next 2 or 3 windows and replace them with proven quality like Sidibe, Tierney, Alderweireld, Eriksen and a quality striker to supplement the young squad above.

De Gea
Sidibe Toby De Ligt Tierney
De Jong
Fred - Pogba
Eriksen ----------- Martial
Icardi

Pereira, Dalot, Shaw, Bailly, Pereira, Herrera, Rashford
​
That squad includes seven players bought in and 14 players sold out over the space of 3 windows. We get rid of a lot of the mediocrity which has infested the squad over the last decade and we're hopefully left with young, hungry and exciting talents supplemented by a couple of experienced class operators to guide them.
 
I would sign Jadon Sancho from Dortmund. And sign Milan Skriniar from Inter.
And make a deal with Ajax to sign de Ligt & de Jong in the summer, let them finish the season with Ajax.

And then sell Rojo, McTominay, Alexis in the January window.
 
I can't see Ole being given much freedom in the January transfer window - we'll probably be spending big in the summer.

In Jan I think realistic targets would include Toby, Rabiot and Ramsey. I think all three would improve our squad immeasurably - I can see us promoting a few more of the youth players as well.
 
Bestietom said:
We need a big injection of Players in and out in the next few Windows.
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Completely agree. Personally dont think we should really be signing anybody in January, but we should move a couple on. I think unless serious improvements are made by certain players in the next six months there is good reason to sell any number of a good 16 players within the squad.

Even if all 16 left which of course will never happen we do have a good few youngsters I think are ready to step up next season all be it just as squad players with a couple even getting regular game time from the likes of Dalot, Laird, Gomes, Greenwood, Pereira, Chong, Tuanzabe that we would only need 8 signings to replace 16 outs.

Personally I would like to see outgoings of double figures and about 6 incoming players in the sumer. We NEED two top quality centre backs I feel, that is paramount.

I think Jadon Sancho should be right at the top of our targets being young, English, a right winger and of course above all super talented.

The other player I would put right at the top of the list is Santiago Ascacibar. He is just 21, is a leader (we havent got any, just look at the players who have captained our side), he organises the midfield (soethin we sorely need), he crunches into tackles (again something we sorely need), he has great energy, is technically gifted and only seems to be getting recognition now for his performances. Think he would be a real crowd favourite and fill so many holes in terms of personality, ability and literally filling holes on the pitch we seem to have defensively.

Two quality centre backs and those two players would make such a difference, would also like to see Martial up front before the summer as otherwise a new striker would be important too
 
jesperjaap said:
The other player I would put right at the top of the list is Santiago Ascacibar. He is just 21, is a leader (we havent got any, just look at the players who have captained our side), he organises the midfield (soethin we sorely need), he crunches into tackles (again something we sorely need), he has great energy, is technically gifted and only seems to be getting recognition now for his performances. Think he would be a real crowd favourite and fill so many holes in terms of personality, ability and literally filling holes on the pitch we seem to have defensively.
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I haven't seen anything from Ascacibar, would a fair comparison be Torreira for Arsenal? Loads of energy, and to use a Mourinho phrase, a "mad dog"? Is he a CDM?
 
DOF: Hire myself since i'm the best person to execute the vision of everything i'm writing in this post

Manager: Hire a manager who can play a fast paced attacking style of football with proven ability to develop talent. Our squad has a young talented core that needs to be developed: Martial, Pogba, Shaw, Rashford, Dalot, Bailly, Pereira, TFM. And with rising cost of players, it is more important than ever to develop your own talent. Combined with our financial strength there is no reason we can't field the most talented squads in the world.
1. Pochettino
2. Jardim
3. Zidane

Players:
GK: De Gea is #1. Romero is a solid backup, but i'd start looking for a talented young replacement since overpaying a GK has limited value if our team is performing at the level it should. Goal is to upgrade backup by Jan 2021.
RB: Valencia is better defensively, Dalot is pretty average at all phases. I'd encourage using Lingard as a stop gap & focus on replacing Valencia ASAP with an established complete full back.
CB: With the exception of Bailly, all our other CB's have glaring deficiencies. Smalling can't pass, Lindelof lacks physicality, Jones is injury prone, Rojo is recovering from an ACL tear. Evaluate Rojo's ability & replace one of Jones, Rojo, Lindelof. Bring Axel back to evaluate his development.
LB: I'm satisfied with Shaw & Young dynamic for now. Shaw is our #1, but i'd like to get a young replacement for Young lined up by 2020 (pun intended).
DM: Herrera & TFM are two best options here. TFM is a better fit defensively & physically, questions marks on the mental aspects, but it is his original position before LVG had the CB crisis. Get rid of Matic. Purchase someone summer 2019 if Herrera/TFM aren't deemed good enough.
CM: Get rid of Fellaini & Mata. Pogba & Fred are our top options, with Pereira as a developing backup. Still need depth with a more B2B player.
RW: Lukaku slimmed down to Everton days might be the best option here. He can easily hold up the ball against LBs & even run in behind with his pace/strength. He seems to be much better utilized in space than as a target man. Lingard is a serviceable winger, but not great with the final decision passing/shooting 99% of the time. I'd get a Douglas Costa in Jan to remedy this.
LW: Martial is our #1. Sanchez can be a backup in a pinch, but i'd look for a veteran who brings more consistency to serve as a backup.
ST(F9): With Martial & Lukaku stretching the field and being able to run channels, you can have a False 9 style forward in Sanchez find gaps & link up play with Fred, Pogba in the middle. Rashford would be a good backup option/super sub once teams are tired in the second half.

Transfer:
1. RB & RW have to be the priority. The whole right side has been terrible for a while & teams overload their defense on our left side. We need to have a threat from the right to spread out the opponents & create space to attack effectively.
2. CM & CB depth. We have serviceable replacements, but not optimal setup in the defense & the midfield is 1 injury away from being in trouble.
3. With 2020-21 transfer windows focus to rounding our squad with LB, LW depth.
 
Nicolas Pepe for RW. For other positions I would like to first see their performances with Solksjaer.
 
Barnslig said:
I haven't seen anything from Ascacibar, would a fair comparison be Torreira for Arsenal? Loads of energy, and to use a Mourinho phrase, a "mad dog"? Is he a CDM?
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I guess that would be the obvious person to compare him to at first glance in terms of size (he is smaller I would think) and the way he buzzes about. I first saw him in the Olympics and loved him and have tried to watch him whenever Stuttgart are on BT Sport. Being Argentinian he was billed as the new Mascherano.

If I was to describe him it would be the energy and intelligence of Kante plugging the gaps with the heart and anger of Gattuso. He is only 21 so not the finished article quite yet but is already a top class player I cant believe hasnt been hyped up to the levels of other young players and can be the best in the world as a dm within a couple of years I think.

Over the last couple of years young players such as Neves have gone to Wolves and Ascacibar to Stuttgart, Keita to Liverpool, Torreira to Arsenal, Bentancaur to Juve it makes it all the more painful the current perforance levels of our central midfielders, none of whom bar Pogba are really good enough (of course need to give Fred time) as long term top class midfielders we have been acustomed to at our club.

It amazes me managers at the level of Van Gaal and Mourinho have both bought so badly, I think the next six months will probably prove to people it isnt just the failed management and philosphies £500m odd post Fergie and we still dont have anywhere near enough players in the squad of the right quality, let alone perforance in many key areas
 
Our attckers are sadly enugh overrated i think. Do you guys really think Martial, Rashford and Jesse is good enugh? Im not so sure. If you take all 3 best seasons they have a combined goal tally of: 26 goals. That is the same as one world class attacker.

Will Jose out suddenly make these players more productive? I think they will score more. But not enugh sadly.

What are we trying to do? I mean if we are going to challenge City or Pool we need way better than this. Even Arsenal with Øzil, Lacazette amd Aubameyang have way more goals in them.

We do have Lukaku. He might get the numbers, but if he dont he really dont offer much.
 
We need to start working with a long-term strategy.

First, let's make sure we have a philosophy in place I would prefer it to be that we play attacking football and buy primarily young players with great potential as well as the occasional star player.

Which means we need to make sure that our recruitment process is top notch and that we buy the players who are actually well suited to the kind of football we want to play at our club. Another point is that the player personality needs to factor in just as strongly as talent. Mislintat speaks about this in an interview that he looks for specific types of players, those who still give 110% when the game gets into crunch time when every sprint hurts.

Make also sure our youth academy and training facilities are always up to the latest training methods and top of the line. This will be crucial to attracting top talents.

If all this is in place make sure you hire managers who not only fit our playing style but also buy into the philosophy and have shown they are capable of improving and developing young players, this should be the main requirement for any new manager/head coach that they fit into our philosophy and do good work and not if they have won something in the past. Ideally you want to get both but if the choice is between a manager who buys into our philosophy, has shown he is capable of implementing this philosophy at another club and convinces the board should always be prefered to a manager who has won stuff in the past but wants to implement training methods and playing styles that are completely incompatible with ours.
 
Before making space for promising youngsters and much needed new players, an obvious clearout at some point needs to finally happen. Maybe not drastic but visible change of squad's shape and balance.

Selling Blind before Jones and Darmian was definitely not a proper way to do it.
 
Doing this just for fun as a Liverpool fan. Probably half enjoying this because such an overhaul is needed. :angel:

Manager: Mauricio Pochettino

Director of Football: I'm still unsure on if this is really necessary. Is there one at Spurs? I'd trust Poch and give him input on if he is happy to work with one.

Goalkeepers
The only area of the team that is perfect. Do everything you can to keep De Gea. If you need to move Romero on then that is fine too. Grant would be fine as back up. I can't comment on underage keepers as do not know enough about them.

Full Backs
KEEP: Dalot, Shaw, F-Mensah, Young (who I don't think is as bad as some of the slagging I see he gets on here)
SELL: Darmian, Valencia
SIGN: A young full back to compete with Luke Shaw. Tierney would probably cost too much imo.

Centre Backs
KEEP: Bailey, Lindelof, Smalling
SELL: Jones, Rojo
SIGN: Koulibaly from Napoli looks top quality and ready made for the Premier League and like Van Dijk did for us, will make the centre backs already at the club play better.

Central Midfielders
KEEP: Pogba, Herrera, Fred, Perreira
SELL: Matic, Fellaini, McTominay (loan him out)
SIGN: Ruben Neves from Wolves, Andre Gomes ahead of Everton from Barcelona. I really think selling Pogba would be a mistake and he can flourish under a new manager. A midfield of Neves, Gomes and Pogba would be very formidable. Ialso really like Allan at Napoli but can't see you getting two players there!

Attacking Players
KEEP: Rashford, Martial, Lingard, Mata
SELL: Lukaku
SIGN: A right winger and striker. Jadon Sancho would be massive and it might tempt him as he would be a starter. On the striker front, this one is more difficult. You might laugh but I think Callum Wilson would be excellent if bought along with another forward.
 
I’d imagine they already know who the Dof/technical director is and are in communication with him and have a brief of things he feels we need. So i’d Imagine any signings will be his but even then if we for example are say shopping at the top end for say someone like Koulibaly, Skriniar and so on I can’t think of many managers who would be unhappy at that.

Anyway depends on who is available and how much we have to spend for me RW, CB, CDM dream list Dembele, DeLigt then Ndombele/Neves/DeJong.

After the good news this week it feels like anything is possible and it’s time for transfer muppets to run wild and i’ll Join them.
 
PGLFC91 said:
Doing this just for fun as a Liverpool fan. Probably half enjoying this because such an overhaul is needed. :angel:

Manager: Mauricio Pochettino

Director of Football: I'm still unsure on if this is really necessary. Is there one at Spurs? I'd trust Poch and give him input on if he is happy to work with one.

Goalkeepers
The only area of the team that is perfect. Do everything you can to keep De Gea. If you need to move Romero on then that is fine too. Grant would be fine as back up. I can't comment on underage keepers as do not know enough about them.

Full Backs
KEEP: Dalot, Shaw, F-Mensah, Young (who I don't think is as bad as some of the slagging I see he gets on here)
SELL: Darmian, Valencia
SIGN: A young full back to compete with Luke Shaw. Tierney would probably cost too much imo.

Centre Backs
KEEP: Bailey, Lindelof, Smalling
SELL: Jones, Rojo
SIGN: Koulibaly from Napoli looks top quality and ready made for the Premier League and like Van Dijk did for us, will make the centre backs already at the club play better.

Central Midfielders
KEEP: Pogba, Herrera, Fred, Perreira
SELL: Matic, Fellaini, McTominay (loan him out)
SIGN: Ruben Neves from Wolves, Andre Gomes ahead of Everton from Barcelona. I really think selling Pogba would be a mistake and he can flourish under a new manager. A midfield of Neves, Gomes and Pogba would be very formidable. I also really like Allan at Napoli but can't see you getting two players there!

Attacking Players
KEEP: Rashford, Martial, Lingard, Mata
SELL: Lukaku
SIGN: A right winger and striker. Jadon Sancho would be massive and it might tempt him as he would be a starter. On the striker front, this one is more difficult. You might laugh but I think Callum Wilson would be excellent if bought along with another forward.
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I kind agree with most of it. I would consider getting Ndombele ahead of Neves and Ndombele, Fred, Pogba, Pereira and Herrera would be great midfield options. As for winger, I would get O Dembele ahead of Jadon Sancho if he comes available and for striker, I would give Mason Greenwood a chance and keep Lukaku. I think Lukaku needs to be played as Penalty box striker rather than a Target man.
 
Buy no one. Wait until we get a dof and start planning for the summer transfer window.
 
I want us to spend big but only on the right players. This will cost the club an absolute fortune but honestly I couldn't care less, if we want to challenge for the title we need big reinvestments in the proper positions. Sign Škriniar, Koulibaly, Tanguy Ndombele and these 3 already is going to be incredibly expensive but even after those I would still look to sign a RW and a striker.
 
Wan Bisakka and Chilwell could be great additions once we get in a top class centre half to lead the defence. Keep Shaw and Dalot and allow them to stake a claim. A combative midfielder with decent ability on the ball or else a Veratti type to control games. Offload Lukaku and find a striker with good ability on the ball or if we want a pure goalscorer then get one like Icardi in.
 
There's a lot of talk that Ole won't get a (significant) transfer budget, but I can't believe the Club won't look to improve the squad regardless of who the manager is, by improving I also mean selling, the squad is far too big and maybe that is something to be considered over the next 2 or 3 windows, but even after yesterday's romp it is obvious we need a RW and CB in January, they would cost a fortune but Sancho and Koulibally would walk into the first team IMO and surely be welcomed by Ole or any future United Manager.
 
PSG looking at some hard times if UEFA decides to make an example of them, we should ransack them.
 
We've got a big squad right now. A squad that we don't even understand right now.
We've seen a Jose squad (sell em all) and we've seen a snippet of an attacking side (We're gonna win the league)

But seriously, we need to sit back and see what this lot can do for a few months before anybody will know whose good enough and who needs to go.
The biggest positive right now is that we had a small summer window. Really, we should have had money left over from the budget which should be brought forward to the new man.
Add to this, we've gotta move some players on, so really, whoever the new manager is, should have money, and a lot of it to spend.

Structure wise, absolutely we need a DoF. Somebody to give this club some proper guidance.
Youth set up and u23s is going very well right now, so looking at the younger lads, we're in a good position already. It's a foundation to work on.


Telles, Toby, De Ligt, a passing CM, Suso and Depay are my early contenders.
Players with buyout clauses and young players

Darmian, Valencia, Rojo, Jones, Fellaini Out. Id seriously look at Lukaku and Mata also
 
Looking more likely that we will pass this upcoming transfer window ,now we have Ole in as temp manager.
 
We shouldn't sign anyone during the winter.Save the money, hire DoF and let him plan for the summer. No point in splashing money on players the next manager might not want. And we must not forget the winter + united tax.
 
PGLFC91 said:
Doing this just for fun as a Liverpool fan. Probably half enjoying this because such an overhaul is needed. :angel:

Manager: Mauricio Pochettino

Director of Football: I'm still unsure on if this is really necessary. Is there one at Spurs? I'd trust Poch and give him input on if he is happy to work with one.

Goalkeepers
The only area of the team that is perfect. Do everything you can to keep De Gea. If you need to move Romero on then that is fine too. Grant would be fine as back up. I can't comment on underage keepers as do not know enough about them.

Full Backs
KEEP: Dalot, Shaw, F-Mensah, Young (who I don't think is as bad as some of the slagging I see he gets on here)
SELL: Darmian, Valencia
SIGN: A young full back to compete with Luke Shaw. Tierney would probably cost too much imo.

Centre Backs
KEEP: Bailey, Lindelof, Smalling
SELL: Jones, Rojo
SIGN: Koulibaly from Napoli looks top quality and ready made for the Premier League and like Van Dijk did for us, will make the centre backs already at the club play better.

Central Midfielders
KEEP: Pogba, Herrera, Fred, Perreira
SELL: Matic, Fellaini, McTominay (loan him out)
SIGN: Ruben Neves from Wolves, Andre Gomes ahead of Everton from Barcelona. I really think selling Pogba would be a mistake and he can flourish under a new manager. A midfield of Neves, Gomes and Pogba would be very formidable. Ialso really like Allan at Napoli but can't see you getting two players there!

Attacking Players
KEEP: Rashford, Martial, Lingard, Mata
SELL: Lukaku
SIGN: A right winger and striker. Jadon Sancho would be massive and it might tempt him as he would be a starter. On the striker front, this one is more difficult. You might laugh but I think Callum Wilson would be excellent if bought along with another forward.
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I'm tempted to give Woody a call and ask him to hire you as DOF.

Good post, most of it makes sense.
 
The dust has settled on OGS arriving and with him seemingly sticking to a 433 of fluid attackers, I've updated my views on the transfer strategy

For me, the priority is to facilitate youth to recreate the 2nd Busby side of the mid-late 50s and the class of 92. Therefore the focus is on facilitating the exit of surplus players and only buying 'superstars' for positions we are unlikely to fill from within.

I've split my strategy into two transfer windows. It is largely based on players we should be trying to offload. It also assumes that we don't buy players in Jan as the club restructures its recuitment approach



Jan 19
I feel all the following could be moved on with a marginal impact on the squad, due to us having surplus players in their positions

Valencia - Newcastle highlighted his decline. Can't see what he is offering now and we have 4 other established full backs (if you include Dalot)

Marcos Rojo - sicknote and of limited ability. The least useful in a current squad of 5 senior CBs (6 if Darmian can be considered a back up for this position)

Fellani - useful impact player, but I'd consider him 5th/ 6th choice in our system that now relies on more technical ability in the team. With McTom and Garner having greater potential, he is blocking opportunities to the match day squad

Juan Mata - I love Mata and believe he is a top rate AM. But we are unlikely to play with that position and he is a shadow of his ability as an attacking wide player. It's a harsh call, but necessary in my view

Players In - None are needed to replace the above in my view. Their role in the squad is surplus and their game/ bench time could be taken up by some of the youngster already breaking into the 1st team squad/ returning from injury

Definite Summer Exits
This smaller list contains players who are needed in the short term to provide squad cover. If we are able to secure their replacements sooner, then I'd look to offload in Jan

Phil Jones - Same reason as Rojo, but he is currently fit and the slightly better player in my view. Selling him now would leave us reliant on Bailley as our only established cover

Darmian- The lad has done well when called upon this season, but is out of contract and would be best heading back to Italy in the Summer. Would be nice to get some money for him now, but given the injury concerns of several players and the bedding in of Dalot, I'd rather keep him

Replacements - Both RB and CB are two priority positions to strengthen and would likely have to be done with external signings. But I think that is a decision in the summer.
However, I'd prefer to recall Tunzebe and TFM now, who could make a claim for the CB (while covering RB if needed). Enables us to move Darmian and Jones now, while potentially saving us a big fee

Last Chance
These are players that deserve until the end of the season to prove themselves, but if they 'fail', would be actively added to the offload list. Also, given the risk that they may not make it for United, I would accept a reasonable unsolicited bid now.

Lukkaku- Good striker, but potentially at the wrong club. I've little doubt he will continue to score goals against the lesser terms, but his record against big clubs remains a concern, while his ability to fit in a fluid front 3 is an even bigger question mark. Yes he is a great impact player (as a bare minimum), but we would have to ask ourselves if that justifies the money we have tied up in him.

Bailley - potentially our new sicknote, while his performances this season are poor. For me he has to either make it as a first choice CB or be sold, squad cover can be fulfilled by the returning youngsters mentioned above

Perreira - Makes the list as his contract is expiring and due to his advanced age for the tag of 'youngster'. He does not have to take a 1st team spot, but does need to step it up to keep his place in the matchday squad

McTom- A slightly similar position to Perreira, but he has more time on his side. On the fringe of the squad, so if he hasn't pushed himself up the pecking order, I'd look to loan him out as a minimum or potentially offload if he does not develop

Herrera - Very impressed with him under OGS, but his contract is expiring in the summer. I'd be happy to renew it if he shows consistency, but if not, I'd deem him an average player that needs to be moved on

Fred - Newset player on the list, but is nowhere near his price tag. I have strong hopes he will make it, but needs to improve drastically or I would look to recoup and reinvest his transfer fee.

Young - A very useful squad player to have at the club. Only question mark is whether he can perform like his next season or will suddenly drop off like Valencia. I'd look to keep if possible

Replacements
I'd look to the emerging youth players to replace Lukkaku who is current only a matchday squad player. Greenwood, Chong and possibly Gomes could take that backup role for the front line

The defending situation has already been mentioned (likely a external 'established' buy), with the rest of the list being midfielders. One or two exits can be absorbed with the likes of Gomes and Garner coming through, anymore and we are looking at an external buy (probably a 1st choice player)
 
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I think we are going to really struggle to bring in the caliber of players that we need to add to our team this summer.

The sort of budget needed to bring in 4-5 quality first team players in 2019 would be literally astronomical.
 
Goalkeepers
All set here. I would get rid of Grant and then the question is always how long Tomero wants to stick around. Joel Pereira/Dean Henderson can fill in if needed anyway.

Options: De Gea, Romero, Pereira/Henderson

Fullbacks
Dalot is young but not ready, Valencia needs to go, Young is a good squad player on both sides, Shaw is decent but lacks the extra bit. Darmian needs to go. TFM not good enough.

Sell: Darmian, Valencia, TFM
Buy: Tierney
Options: Young, Dalot, Tierney, Shaw

Centerbacks
Lacks the top quality player. Really need to spend big here and get it right, 1 is all that is needed though. I would end it with Jones, Rojo is an easy sell too.

Buy: skriniar/koulibaly/de ligt/manolas/milenkovic/alderweireld
Sell: Jones, Rojo
Options: New cb, Lindelof, Bailly, Smalling, Tuanzebe

Center mid
Pretty reliant on the starters. Fred we can hope he improves and could compete with Herrera, Herrera can be back up for matic but also a starter, Matic is older but is fine for now I guess given there are other priorities. Soon enough will need replacing though. Pereira is nothing but a squad player. Pogba the only set and forget. Nothing immediate but plenty of changes here probably 2 years from now.

Sell: McTominay, fellaini
Options: Pogba, Herrera, Matic, Fred, Pereira

Attack
Essentially have 6 options for the front 3 but the right wing being only fill in options. Depends on budget and aspirations, but the right wing for me is almost level with the CB in need to fix. Sancho would be the dream, but there are other options like Leon Bailey for one, Ousmane Dembele, etc. Mata I dont see the point in keeping around tbh. Sanchez should go too. Lukaku is a good squad option striker if hes okay with the role, he'll have plenty of play time anyway. Gomes can get promoted to a bigger role, same with Greenwood.

Buy: Sancho/Bailey/O. Dembele
Sell: Mata, Sanchez
Options: Rashford, Martial, Sancho, Lukaku, Lingard, Greenwood, Angel Gomes

Short term necessity (this year)
Easily CB and the right wing. Do whatever we need to to get in Sancho and Skriniar/De Ligt or one of those. Really be a big club and when you see a position of weakness that needs fixing and the perfect options exist, do everything required to bring them in. Spend 180m combined on those 2 if required. Tierney would also be a very smart piece of business this summer and no reason why we cant go for him.
De Gea
Dalot Skriniar Lindelof Tierney
Matic
Herrera Pogba
Sancho Rashford Martial
​
Romero, Young, Bailly, Smalling, Shaw, fred, Pereira, Lingard, Gomes, Lukaku, Greenwood

Long term (2020 and later)
Replace Matic, sort out right back position. Probably a decent amount of midfield turnover with Herrera maybe going back to Bilbao, Pereira maybe wanting first team football, Fred maybe cutting his losses if he cant adjust to the league.

De Gea
???? Skriniar Lindelof Tierney
????
Herrera Pogba
Sancho Rashford Martial
​
J. Pereira, Dalot, Smalling, Bailly, Shaw, Fred, ????, Gomes, Lingard, Lukaku, Greenwood

Really dont think we need that much. 2-3 players this summer and if we nail those 3 signings (Sancho, Skriniar, Tierney), then we'd easily make a huge step up. Then another 3 players over the year after to fix the other holes/replace older players, and then you want/expect younger players to step up. When you have youngsters like Rashford and Martial, and youth like Gomes and Greenwood, sometimes you just need patience to wait for them to develop. 2 years from now they could easily be 2 of the top players in the league like Sterling and Sane developed.
 
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KingMinger22 said:
I think we are going to really struggle to bring in the caliber of players that we need to add to our team this summer.

The sort of budget needed to bring in 4-5 quality first team players in 2019 would be literally astronomical.
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Agreed, but the right manager could accomplish it. The key, honestly, is having a plan and knowing that you can let go of valuable pieces in order to accomplish that plan.

No one here would like to admit it, but in terms of our spending approach we are closer to Liverpool than we are City. I'm not talking revenues or club value, just how we allocate money for transfers. The difference is planning. Liverpool have spent half a billion give or take to build out their squad in the last 5 or so years. They would not have been able to do that if they hadn't sold Suarez/Coutinho/Sterling and yet they somehow ended up with a more potent attack.

The sales of BENTEKE, JORDAN IBE, MAMADOU freaking SAKHO, Coutinho, Suarez and Sterling have totaled 351M euros.

In the last 5 years, all of our sales combined have totaled 269M euros - the largest portion of that coming from the immediate loss we took on Di Maria.

The question, under this ownership group at least, is who are we willing to sell in order to finance a major rebuild. Pogba, De Gea, Rashford? Because you are right in that we can not keep all of our best players and and buy all the required additions.
 
Sell our souls to a Trillionaire
Hire a team of developers in the mountains of some random country and influence the internet. Posting discussing things about the scousers and City etc so all players and fans think we are the best.
Get a DOF and Manager
Deny everything. So you lost today how do you feel - No we never lost. Thats just your opinion.
Build a wall between us and the scousers and City. Make them pay for it.
Pull out of Financial Fair play citing that we pay too much
Buy everyone good/Sell everyone sht - if they refuse to go claim they are immigrants and get them deported
 
KingMinger22 said:
I think we are going to really struggle to bring in the caliber of players that we need to add to our team this summer.

The sort of budget needed to bring in 4-5 quality first team players in 2019 would be literally astronomical.
Click to expand...

Very true it’s going to be very difficult to get the players we need and we don’t have many saleable assets, not who we want to lose anyway.

I think the next manager and DOF (if there even is one) need to be bold over the next two summer windows and purge the club of number of players.

I would start with Sanchez, Rojo, Jones, Valencia, TFM, Darmian and Perriera. It’s a lot to get rid of but they don’t play much between them. Promote Tuanzebe, Greenwood, Gomes, Garner and Chong and bring in three quality players a CB, RB and RW. If anyone is prepared to pay a good fee for Lukaku would consider that as well. Likes of Mata and Young should only get one year extensions and along with Fellaini and Bailly if he doesn’t settle down should be moved on next summer.

We need to break the cycle of quantity instead of quality, rewarding mediocrity and lumbering ourselves with overpaid players we can’t get rid of.

There has to be an emphasis on improving players, coaching and a coherent transfer strategy. Everything that has been lacking post SAF. Believe we need to be realistic and target a title challenge in 2 years rather than expecting it to happen next season.
 
Kidders said:
Koulibally, Milenkovic Paredes this window.
DDG
Dalot/Milenkovic - Milenkovic/Smalling - Koulibally - Shaw
Herrera - Paredes - Pogba
Rashford - Lukaku - Martial

Meunière, Hernädez, Kroos and Sancho in the summer.
DDG
Meunière - Milenkovic - Koulibally - Hernädez
Kroos - Paredes - Pogba
Sancho - Rashford - Martial

Second XI
Romero
Dalot - Bailly - Linderlöf - Shaw
Fred - Herrera - Periera
Lingard - Lukaku - Chong
Plus Periera, Laird, Tuanzebe, Garner, Gomes and Greenwood

Say goodbye to Grant, Valencia, Darmian, Young, Smalling, Jones, Rojo, TFM, Mitchell, Mata, Matic, Fellaini, McTominay, Wilson and Sanchez.
Click to expand...
h

I have already done this in another thread.
 
January: get Koulibaly asap - whatever the cost. Give Gomes and Greenwood a shot at RW when we can.

Summer: Go for De Ligt if available or Skriniar. Buy RW if we cannot promote from within.

Sell: Sanchez, Jones, Rojo, Valencia, Mata, Pereira, Fellaini, and possibly Lukaku.

The net spend here would be easily doable for United (provided the Glazers understand that some investment is needed and that milking the club dry is not going to work forever without a better product on the field).

Anyways this is just a start. The main thing is we need to move on the dead wood.
 
I think we need to go for talented, young, hungry, injury free players who will only get better, can be coached and want to play for the shirt, and have resale value. Odriozola Lenglet and Malcom went last summer for a combined 90m. There is value out there. We need to ship out obvious over the hill players and deadwood like Valencia, darmian, young, Jones, Rojo, Fellaini, Mata, Matic, Sanchez. It’s just to who and we need to stop renewing the contracts of the drudge
 
Summer of 2019:
A FB, CB and RW seem like the obvious buys, with Alderwield as the CB and whoever the new DOF rates to be a starter on the right from the group of Thauvin, Oyarzabal, Sancho, Bailey or Pepe. FB depends on whether we think Shaw or Dalot are the better bet to have a strong year as clear starter.

That alone would make a serious difference.

Martial(Sanchez)-----Rashford(Lukaku)----------------
----------------------------------------------RW(Lingard)
------------Pogba(Pereira)------Fred(Mata)-------------
-----------------------Herrera(Matic)--------------------
LB(Shaw)--------------------------------------Dalot(Young)
--------Alderweild(Tuanzebe)-Lindelof(Bailly)----------
-----------------------De Gea(Romero)------------------

Squad depth:
One of Smalling/Jones, one of Borthwick-Jackson or Fosu-Mensah can be the 5th FB who plays in cup matches, keep McTominay or take a flier on a CM, youth get chances in attack

-Keep Smalling or Jones around as a backup option since we're always short at CB somehow. Sell the other one, Darmian and Rojo.

-Sell Fellaini

Summer of 2020:
1. Buy a fullback for the other side that you left out in 2019, let Young and Valencia go. Could also just do that in 2019 and have 2 proper options on each side.
2. Buy a CM to replace Matic fight Herrera for the DM spot and also fight with Fred to be the other CM next to Pogba when we go 3 proper midfielders, so someone like Doucoure or Neves who can play as an 8 or a 6 I suppose.
3. Sanchez and Mata leave, a player comfortable as a 10 and at RW is signed to replace Mata and challenge the RW we sign in 2019. Rashford, Lingard and a youngster can cover Martial at LW since Lukaku is still getting time as a 9 who scores off the bench.

Nothing insane, just 3-4 signings, then 2-3 in 2020.
 
Manager: Ole

Director of Football: ?

Goalkeepers
De Gea, Romero, Henderson
Out: Grant

Full Backs
KEEP: Dalot, Shaw
SELL: Darmian, Valencia, Young
SIGN: talented RB?, young LB?

Centre Backs
KEEP: Bailly, Lindelof, Rojo, Tuanzebe
SELL: Jones, Smalling
SIGN: Skriniar

Central Midfielders
KEEP: Matic, Pogba, Herrera, Fred, Pereira, Fosu-Mensah
SELL: Fellaini, McTominay
SIGN: Gomes (Matic replacement)

Attacking Players
KEEP: Lukaku, Rashford, Martial, Lingard, Sanchez
SELL: Mata
SIGN: Dembele, Sancho (Sanchez replacement)

Promote: Garner, Traore, Gomes, Chong, Mason.

If we could take players from rival clubs, I'd take Rudiger, Fabinho and Sane.
 
Milenkovic and Niklas Stark, for a combined fee of 60/65 million. 2 strong young CB's who would have a sell on value and either can play as defensive midfielders also.
 
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