Which midfielder should we buy to give Pogba more freedom

Sanche7 said:
Apparently Arthur to Barca has broken down.

https://www.barcablaugranes.com/fc-...30/fc-barcelonas-arthur-move-collapses-report

Also apparently they don't have any Non- EU spots left as they are taken by Paulinho Coutinho and Yerry Mina
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That was just the first part of the negotiation with Gremio. They have reached an agreement today for $30 millions. Globo Esporte is reporting right now and they are very reliable.

https://globoesporte.globo.com/rs/f...cordo-e-acertam-transferencia-de-arthur.ghtml
 
When we signed Matic, I remember we used to play a midfield of 2 and Pogba-Matic where really good.
The problem is that Matic needs to rest some games, and Pogba to commit with the team and find his best form.

Lately, we have played with a midfield of 3 and even 4 midfielders. Still Pogba doesnt look amazing.

So, I prefer to sign a player like Eriksen/Fekir to play him behind Lukaku or even in a 433. Also, we need a midfielder to rotate with Matic, or play 4222 in big matches.

A world class left back would make a big difference in our team.
 
cheeky_backheel said:
Verratti - if his body can hold up in the PL.

Real wont sell Kovacic unless for a record fee.

Who ever it is needs to have a good engine and work rate
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Real Madrid won't sell for anything less than Kovacic's release clause 50m, Real Madrid is powerless if the club like of PSG, Juve, Chelsea and us interested in getting him so they will activate release clause, there's nothing Real Madrid can do.
 
Micky Targaryen said:
Just out of curiosity, what about the lad makes you decide that he isn't ready for us? Did you think Eriksen was ready for the PL when he was still with Ajax?
I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'm saying whether Frenkie De Jong is ready or not, I will most definitely take a punt on talents like him. We are a rich club, with great facilities and coaches, so I don't see much risks in taking punts on top young talents. I'm sick of seeing the other top clubs like Barca/Real/Bayern constantly signing them all up for cheap.

I hope that we do not miss out on another Eriksen or a Modric, just because players are simply 'not ready'. IMO, whether they are ready or not, is up to their mentality and determination to take the step up. Not looking forward to seeing Barca/Real/Spurs snap up youngsters and all we can do is create threads about them and moan about how we should've signed him when he was back at X league.

Basically, long story short; Never try, never know.
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The comparison with Eriksen doesn't really work. This summer he'll be the same age Eriksen was when he left Ajax. Frenkie de Jong at this point has a total of 26 top flight appearances, a good few of which were subs. Eriksen at that point had 162 appearances for Ajax and a good 35+ appearances for Denmark. I would have loved Eriksen to have stayed one more season, cause he was geared to absolutely dominate the league the way he was playing towards the end of the previous season and the start of that new one. Eriksen has always had his workrate going for him, covering the most metres in the CL group stage out of all players in 2011/12, I believe.

Frenkie doesn't have the experience, and doesn't have the legs nor physical presence, in fact those are two of his weak points. Eriksen went through his ups and downs at Ajax, De Jong hasn't been able to go through that process yet

and ultimately, De Jong needs to find his niche still. He's like Dembele with more speed but none of the strength. He has better vision and passing than Dembele but imo his final ball is a bit sloppy and not upper echelon. I'd want him orchestrating from a deeper position rather than playing further upfield, whereas Eriksen can play better from the centre of the pitch all the way to behind a striker.

I think Frenkie is immensely technically gifted, he's quick and he has a great set of footballing brains on him, but in any position on the pitch, there's still weaknesses/limitations that he needs to work on and settle into.

I worry that with Ziyech leaving, and Nouri gone, De Jong will be shoehorned into our most creative midfield role next season, and I think he'll go missing there.
 
KirkDuyt said:
I love Frenkie de Jong, seems like the real deal. Also a fantastic kid personality wise. In my opinion Ajax' current trainer Ten Hag is misusing him as a center half. This is probably a result of Ten Hag working closely with Pep at Bayern where he trainer the 2nd team. Hell, he even has the same hair and beard style Pep does and proudly bears the monniker Pep ten Hag. It seems De Jong will soon reclaim his spot in mid field though. Because he's fantastic in midfield, he's the effortless kind of player who makes football look so incredibly easy, which is a joy to watch in my opinion.

Now I know a lot of Ajax talents are hyped up, but I can assure you Feyenoord supporters don't do this. Ajax is like our Liverpool (Though I suppose we equate more to 'pool and Ajax to United sadly) and if I have any chance to be negative about an Ajax prospect, I will seize the opportunity with both hands. Just look at the Justin Kluivert thread.

TL;DR: Special kid, can go all the way, but no where near ready at the moment. Perhaps in a year or 2-3.
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Frenkie as a CB wasn't a Ten Hag move but a Keizer one. Also a Pep Guardiola is my idol though ;)
 
deafepl said:
Real Madrid won't sell for anything less than Kovacic's release clause 50m, Real Madrid is powerless if the club like of PSG, Juve, Chelsea and us interested in getting him so they will activate release clause, there's nothing Real Madrid can do.
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Except offer him a new contract which he'd probably accept.
 
AndyJ1985 said:
Except offer him a new contract which he'd probably accept.
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And the interest turns out to be Kovacic's scheme to get the best possible renewal term from Madrid. Doesn't it sound too familiar?
 
Hey fellas! Had a bit of time on my hands before the United v sevilla game comes on & thought I'd make a list of our potential midfield targets from the various leagues.

Did i get 'em all? It's most likely gonna be 1 or even 2 from this list right?

Ligue 1
  1. Rabiot
  2. Verratti
  3. Mendy
  4. Seri
  5. Thauvin
  6. Fekir
  7. Fabinho
  8. Lemar
Bundesliga
  1. Vidal
  2. Meyer
  3. Weigl
  4. Dahoud
  5. Ascacibar
  6. Arnold
  7. Pulisic
  8. Thiago
La Liga
  1. Ceballos
  2. Kovacic
  3. Isco
  4. Modric
  5. Kroos
  6. Rakitic
  7. Gomes
  8. Roberto
  9. Lobotka
  10. Soler
  11. Saul
  12. Kondogbia
  13. Ruiz
  14. Canales
  15. Parejo
  16. Illaramendi
  17. Banega
Serie A
  1. Matuidi
  2. Hamsik
  3. Pjanic
  4. Jorginho
  5. Zielinski
  6. Allan
  7. Torreira
  8. Strootman
  9. Nainggolan
  10. Veretout
  11. Brozovic
  12. Kessie
  13. Linetty
  14. Milinkovic-Savic
  15. Gomez
  16. Cristante
  17. Perisic
EPL
  1. Dembele
  2. Winks
  3. Kante
  4. Lemina
  5. Dier
  6. Wilshere
  7. Can
  8. Ramsey
  9. Capoue
  10. Doucoure
  11. Carroll
  12. Eriksen
  13. Krychowiak
  14. Mahrez
  15. Cook
  16. Alli
  17. Gross
  18. Ndidi
Primeira Liga
  1. Fejsa
  2. Carvalho
  3. Herrera
  4. Fernandes
Others
  1. Fred
  2. Neves
  3. Dendoncker
  4. Stepanenko
 
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sideshow_bob said:
Hey fellas! Had a bit of time on my hands before the United v sevilla game comes on & thought I'd make a list of our potential midfield targets from the various leagues.

Did i get 'em all? It's most likely gonna be 1 or even 2 from this list right?

Ligue 1
  1. Rabiot
  2. Verratti
  3. Mendy
  4. Seri
  5. Thauvin
  6. Fekir
  7. Fabinho
  8. Lemar
Bundesliga
  1. Vidal
  2. Meyer
  3. Weigl
  4. Dahoud
  5. Ascacibar
  6. Arnold
  7. Pulisic
  8. Thiago
La Liga
  1. Ceballos
  2. Kovacic
  3. Isco
  4. Modric
  5. Kroos
  6. Rakitic
  7. Gomes
  8. Roberto
  9. Lobotka
  10. Soler
  11. Saul
  12. Kondogbia
  13. Ruiz
  14. Canales
  15. Parejo
  16. Illaramendi
  17. Banega
Serie A
  1. Matuidi
  2. Hamsik
  3. Pjanic
  4. Jorginho
  5. Zielinski
  6. Allan
  7. Torreira
  8. Strootman
  9. Nainggolan
  10. Veretout
  11. Brozovic
  12. Kessie
  13. Linetty
  14. Milinkovic-Savic
  15. Gomez
  16. Cristante
  17. Perisic
EPL
  1. Dembele
  2. Winks
  3. Kante
  4. Lemina
  5. Dier
  6. Wilshere
  7. Can
  8. Ramsey
  9. Capoue
  10. Doucoure
  11. Carroll
  12. Eriksen
  13. Krychowiak
  14. Mahrez
  15. Cook
  16. Alli
  17. Gross
  18. Ndidi
Primeira Liga
  1. Fejsa
  2. Carvalho
  3. Herrera
  4. Fernandes
Others
  1. Fred
  2. Neves
  3. Dendoncker
  4. Stepanenko
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Is this in terms of what you would do if you were in charge of the club, or is this in terms of what you expect the club to do?

Also, are these players ranked by taking just quality into account, or are they ranked by looking at other factors such as cost?
 
sideshow_bob said:
Hey fellas! Had a bit of time on my hands before the United v sevilla game comes on & thought I'd make a list of our potential midfield targets from the various leagues.

Did i get 'em all? It's most likely gonna be 1 or even 2 from this list right?

Ligue 1
  1. Rabiot
  2. Verratti
  3. Mendy
  4. Seri
  5. Thauvin
  6. Fekir
  7. Fabinho
  8. Lemar
Bundesliga
  1. Vidal
  2. Meyer
  3. Weigl
  4. Dahoud
  5. Ascacibar
  6. Arnold
  7. Pulisic
  8. Thiago
La Liga
  1. Ceballos
  2. Kovacic
  3. Isco
  4. Modric
  5. Kroos
  6. Rakitic
  7. Gomes
  8. Roberto
  9. Lobotka
  10. Soler
  11. Saul
  12. Kondogbia
  13. Ruiz
  14. Canales
  15. Parejo
  16. Illaramendi
  17. Banega
Serie A
  1. Matuidi
  2. Hamsik
  3. Pjanic
  4. Jorginho
  5. Zielinski
  6. Allan
  7. Torreira
  8. Strootman
  9. Nainggolan
  10. Veretout
  11. Brozovic
  12. Kessie
  13. Linetty
  14. Milinkovic-Savic
  15. Gomez
  16. Cristante
  17. Perisic
EPL
  1. Dembele
  2. Winks
  3. Kante
  4. Lemina
  5. Dier
  6. Wilshere
  7. Can
  8. Ramsey
  9. Capoue
  10. Doucoure
  11. Carroll
  12. Eriksen
  13. Krychowiak
  14. Mahrez
  15. Cook
  16. Alli
  17. Gross
  18. Ndidi
Primeira Liga
  1. Fejsa
  2. Carvalho
  3. Herrera
  4. Fernandes
Others
  1. Fred
  2. Neves
  3. Dendoncker
  4. Stepanenko
Click to expand...
Rawls said:
Is this in terms of what you would do if you were in charge of the club, or is this in terms of what you expect the club to do?

Also, are these players ranked by taking just quality into account, or are they ranked by looking at other factors such as cost?
Click to expand...
Fejsa is VERY sub par to say the least and Porto is Herrera Ceiling. Stepanenko is also not United quality. I love the option of Neves he is very talented and Dier as well who is versatile. Would LOVE Pulisic at United.
 
Nzonzi. Would provide a very solid base with Matic and can play football to boot.
 
Frankly, I'd give him freedom to leave. Total waste of fresh air. All he has done is made Manchester barbers rich
 
sideshow_bob said:
Hey fellas! Had a bit of time on my hands before the United v sevilla game comes on & thought I'd make a list of our potential midfield targets from the various leagues.

Did i get 'em all? It's most likely gonna be 1 or even 2 from this list right?

Ligue 1
  1. Rabiot
  2. Verratti
  3. Mendy
  4. Seri
  5. Thauvin
  6. Fekir
  7. Fabinho
  8. Lemar
Click to expand...

Thauvin, Fekir and Lemar are playmakers / wingers. They couldn't play behind Pogba.
Out of that list I would go for Fabinho though he has not been as good as he was last season.
Seri could also make the step up
Rabiot and Verratti are good players but they are yet to prove they can be relied on in big games.
Which Mendy are you talking about ?
 
Ajaxsuarez said:
exactly the sort of thing I do when I'm supposed to be working on a big deadline. Others that I know have been mentioned in this thread are Frenkie de Jong ("Others") and Ndombele (Ligue 1)
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Rawls said:
Is this in terms of what you would do if you were in charge of the club, or is this in terms of what you expect the club to do?

Also, are these players ranked by taking just quality into account, or are they ranked by looking at other factors such as cost?
Click to expand...

SportingCP96 said:
Fejsa is VERY sub par to say the least and Porto is Herrera Ceiling. Stepanenko is also not United quality. I love the option of Neves he is very talented and Dier as well who is versatile. Would LOVE Pulisic at United.
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Saccharine said:
Thauvin, Fekir and Lemar are playmakers / wingers. They couldn't play behind Pogba.
Out of that list I would go for Fabinho though he has not been as good as he was last season.
Seri could also make the step up
Rabiot and Verratti are good players but they are yet to prove they can be relied on in big games.
Which Mendy are you talking about ?
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Thank you for your input guys. Have created a better more detailed list based on it. Am not allowed to post images here yet. But pls check my list out in the newbie forum:

https://www.redcafe.net/threads/list-of-the-best-cms-dms.437380/
 
Keita looks like the missing piece. Seri is a bit similar to Keita, he could be an interesting option. I cant see the likes of Kroos, Verrati, Thiago signing for us anytime soon. Maybe Kovacic could be available.
 
I feel like this question will soon become 'which midfielder should we buy to replace Pogba'.
 
I am getting the feeling it is going to be a Pogba/Bale deal this summer.
 
settembrini said:
I feel like this question will soon become 'which midfielder should we buy to replace Pogba'.
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Either that, or 'which RB should we target to give New Midfielder X more freedom to give Pogba more freedom'.

If Pogba needs such ridiculously specific conditions to be able to turn in a 7/10 performance or higher, we have serious problems.
 
settembrini said:
I feel like this question will soon become 'which midfielder should we buy to replace Pogba'.
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Totally agree. Jose has a history of selling any big name player that wants to leave and I get the feeling Pogba will soon want to walk out. He did it once when he felt he wasn't being played enough. He can do it again.
 
GM K said:
Totally agree. Jose has a history of selling any big name player that wants to leave and I get the feeling Pogba will soon want to walk out. He did it once when he felt he wasn't being played enough. He can do it again.
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And caf will moan about Jose just like how Chelsea fans are doing when he sold few very good players who turned out to be great players under different coaches.
 
sideshow_bob said:
Hey fellas! Had a bit of time on my hands before the United v sevilla game comes on & thought I'd make a list of our potential midfield targets from the various leagues.

Did i get 'em all? It's most likely gonna be 1 or even 2 from this list right?
Primeira Liga
  1. Fejsa
  2. Carvalho
  3. Herrera
  4. Fernandes
Click to expand...
Fejsa is injury prone, so will not do.

Fernandes is an attacking midfielder, will not do either.

Cavalho is a good shout, would allow Matic more freedom to press up. And his passing + first touch make him a good player to start the attack.

Herrera not in a mile: he has the energy, but he is quite clumsy with the ball on his feet. Danilo Pereira is miles ahead of him. Danilo Pereira is such a good player that even Ruben Neves couldn't get more than a few number of games last season.

IMHO I really rate Jakub Jankto from Udinese. Very solid miedfielder and also offers good passing options. And will not cost an arm or a leg.
 
roonster09 said:
And caf will moan about Jose just like how Chelsea fans are doing when he sold few very good players who turned out to be great players under different coaches.
Click to expand...

I think this is normal for elite level managers especially those who have been in the game for a while, move around a bit and manage clubs like Madrid and Chelsea.
 
GM K said:
I think this is normal for elite level managers especially those who have been in the game for a while, move around a bit and manage clubs like Madrid and Chelsea.
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It's not normal.
 
RB. Thomas Meunier
LB. Alex Sandro
CB. Toby Alderweireld
CM. Jorginho
CDM. Sean Seri

Sell/Leaving: Herrera, Blind, Darmian, Shaw, Fellaini, Carrick & Smalling.

Promote: Fosu-Mensah, Pereira & Tuanzebe

I think Seri/Jorginho would be perfect partners to have with Pogba in a three. Whether that is possible under Mourinho, I'm not sure.
 
Sign Fred and Jorginho! - only watched Jorginho play though:lol:
 
Alabaster Codify7 said:
If Pogba needs such ridiculously specific conditions to be able to turn in a 7/10 performance or higher, we have serious problems.
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To be fair, playing in a well balanced midfield three is hardly a 'ridiculously specific condition'.

This whole 'signing a third midfielder to give Pogba more freedom' thing is stupid. We need to look to sign a third midfielder to give us a balanced midfield. It's not just for Pogba. He would hopefully be one of the main beneficiaries, but it should be a good thing for the entire team.
 
GM K said:
Totally agree. Jose has a history of selling any big name player that wants to leave and I get the feeling Pogba will soon want to walk out. He did it once when he felt he wasn't being played enough. He can do it again.
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If DDG wanted to leave, I would fight tooth and nail to persuade him to stay. I'd give him whatever he wants.
However, if a player who hasn't been particularly good for us (eg, Pogba) wants to leave, I'd be happy to cash in on him and use the funds on another player.
 
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