Which midfielder should we buy to give Pogba more freedom

Pogba is most effective when he plays in 3 man midfield in the middle as a no 8. Give him freedom in the middle. The point of having extra midfielder is actually to cover Pogba's main weakness which is his poor positioning that tends to leave holes in midfield. Pogba is mobile, has energy/work rate, stamina, touch & pace.

What we actually need is another player who is also mobile, has energy/work rate, stamina, touch & pace. They don't have to be good tacklers in order to win the ball though, closing down player is also another way to win the ball back. Mobile, high work rate & stamina with pace is what you need to close down players quickly & also can play quick counter attack.

I heard names like Savic, Jorginho, Saul, Koke, Kante, Seri.

Saul has the attributes but his contract is until 2026, so we can forget about him. Koke is an Atl Madrid fans, it'll be hard to convince him to join us. I can't see Kante is leaving Chelsea.

I have watched some of Lazio games, Savic is not mobile in my opinion. He's the static version of Pogba. Jorginho is not mobile as well, isn't he a deeplying midfielder? and we already have Matic who plays in that position. No comment on Seri, never watch him.

In my opinion we can use Lingard. Lingard is mobile, has energy, work rate, stamina, good first touch to keep the ball alive & pace. We used him in the similar role against Arsenal & 2nd half Stoke City. I think I really like him & Pogba as our no 8 role with freedom in midfield 3. You can argue that he can't play central since he's attacker, but take a look at an example of how Liverpool is using Ox at the moment especially against City. Playing central in midfield 3.

I also fancy Eriksen (should be available if Spurs don't get CL spot). More complete since he's also a creative midfielder with ability to find players & deliver the ball with quality passes with both of his feet. Eriksen is mobile, has a good work rate & pace. I also remember in interview, Spurs players said Eriksen is probably player with the highest stamina in the team, never look tired even after running & moving a lot.
 
We're losing a fair amount of experience with Carrick and Fellaini likely off in the summer. If Pjanic, Koke, Kroos, SMS, Kovacic, Saul etc prove impossible, we might look at getting someone a little older... they wouldn't be my first choices, but Banega, Parejo, and Vidal have good all-round skillsets.
 
TrebleFan99 said:
You saying Pogba on the left over Martial in that 4-2-3-1? Really hope he's not relegated to the bench.

I still think Pogba is best in a midfield 3. Surely we can make this formation work with Sanchez. I trust Mourinho either way.
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Right, Pogs can not play in a midfield 2 so he plays in a 3 where he instinctively drifts out left, he roams but it’s mostly out left.
If you accept that Jose bought Pogs Lukaku and Sanchez. Then you can guess they start. As they are his guys so to speak.

Ideally we need to fit TonyM into that but I don’t see how without somebody being out of position.

The only way out of it is to put Lukaku in a false 9, not in the Messi sense. He seems to like that inside right channel and it suits him to open up the pitch on his left so have him out right/central. Could be in a flexi position with Sanchaz essentially as the 9 Pogs as the false 10 and TonyM on the left. Complicated yes but it would suit their natural game and be a mare to defend against.

Of course I have not added in the impact Sanchez will have on our game he will frighten defenses more than the other 3
 
As quite a few pundits have noticed we miss Pogba further forward when he's played deep. What they rarely point out is that when he's played further forward we miss him deep.

So the answer is Paul Pogba.
 
Think there is a reason we tried getting Dier in the summer.For all that we know Mourinho wanted him AND Matic to release Pogba completely with the 3 on top.

I expect to see another defensive minded midfielder in the summer joining United.
 
We will need 2 midfielders if Fellaini and Carrick goes. We need cover in both offensive and defensive midfielders.
 
Bestietom said:
We will need 2 midfielders if Fellaini and Carrick goes. We need cover in both offensive and defensive midfielders.
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Agreed. Although the Carrick replacement can/should be a younger player happy to rotate with/be backup for Matic.
 
We need a midfielder more in the David Silva/Iniesta mould if we want to unlock Pogba more in the final third. Any ideas who?
 
Wednesday at Stoke said:
If we're going historically, a prime Scholes would be an even better fit but then again a prime Scholes would fit anywhere.
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Late period Scholes too, with Pogba really looking to get forward more as Scholes sits in the middle more, and late in games if we need a goal, just haul Matic off and have Pogba and Scholes pinging balls around with 4 attackers in front of them.
 
A lot of varied opinions on here as to the type of midfielder we should sign.

Personally think we need a controller who revels in dictating play which means Pogba can push forward and out to the left hand side. Not a "number 10" more a wide midfielder. Basically where he played against Everton.

A prime Modric or Fabregas. Or better a prime Paul Scholes. Which ironically is the exact type of player we needed years ago under Fergie.

Someone mentioned Christian Eriksen. Not a bad shout that. I think he could be deployed a bit deeper and perform the role well, he seems to prefer to drift out to the right hand side (which would work in better tandem with Pogba)

It would solve another issue in the fact we could push Eriksen to pure number 10 in games where teams are sitting back. Another central midfielder sitting in home games against lesser sides could be overkill. If you look at our results a Matic-Pogba pivot works fine in those games.

Could Ozil play the role I describe for Eriksen? Maybe he could.
 
Michael Carrick circa 2006 imo

Anyone in that mould @Invictus you're bound to know! :)
 
I would love Toni Kross but unlikely i know but somebody like him would be great.
 
Jaybomb said:
Vidal.

I don’t care if hes 30. He would be perfect for United. And we know he can play well alongside Pogba.

Alternative option: Nainggolan.

Some of the names been thrown around in this thread are nowhere near United quality. We don’t want cast offs. We’re Manchester United.
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Pretty sure thats what the majority of people were saying about Matic in the summer. It doesn't always have to be a big shiny transfer for the player to be useful for the team
 
Irish Jet said:
As quite a few pundits have noticed we miss Pogba further forward when he's played deep. What they rarely point out is that when he's played further forward we miss him deep.

So the answer is Paul Pogba.
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Agree 100%. Pogba gets some stick for his positional awareness sometimes, but he is excellent in both phases of play. I have advocated for Ozil in his thread for a long time and still would say that a traditional #10 is what we need. Ozil, for me, will be a great fit because he is a pass first player, drops deep to get on the ball, and wants to connect passes. Basically I believe that we can "unlock" Pogba just by having someone that is willing to play with him and connect passes. Too many times I see him isolated with no runners, and its a comment many board members have made (ie we look too "static" or need off the ball movement.)
 
MaxiPaxi said:
Michael Carrick circa 2006 imo

Anyone in that mould @Invictus you're bound to know! :)
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CA1 said:
A lot of varied opinions on here as to the type of midfielder we should sign.

Personally think we need a controller who revels in dictating play which means Pogba can push forward and out to the left hand side. Not a "number 10" more a wide midfielder. Basically where he played against Everton.

A prime Modric or Fabregas. Or better a prime Paul Scholes. Which ironically is the exact type of player we needed years ago under Fergie.

Someone mentioned Christian Eriksen. Not a bad shout that. I think he could be deployed a bit deeper and perform the role well, he seems to prefer to drift out to the right hand side (which would work in better tandem with Pogba)

It would solve another issue in the fact we could push Eriksen to pure number 10 in games where teams are sitting back. Another central midfielder sitting in home games against lesser sides could be overkill. If you look at our results a Matic-Pogba pivot works fine in those games.

Could Ozil play the role I describe for Eriksen? Maybe he could.
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Michael Carrick, controller, dictating play. You're basically asking for Julian Weigl, who would be perfect.
 
L1nk said:
Michael Carrick, controller, dictating play. You're basically asking for Julian Weigl, who would be perfect.
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Fair enough. Haven't seen Julien Weigl. Is he that good?
 
CA1 said:
A lot of varied opinions on here as to the type of midfielder we should sign.

Personally think we need a controller who revels in dictating play which means Pogba can push forward and out to the left hand side. Not a "number 10" more a wide midfielder. Basically where he played against Everton.

A prime Modric or Fabregas. Or better a prime Paul Scholes. Which ironically is the exact type of player we needed years ago under Fergie.

Someone mentioned Christian Eriksen. Not a bad shout that. I think he could be deployed a bit deeper and perform the role well, he seems to prefer to drift out to the right hand side (which would work in better tandem with Pogba)

It would solve another issue in the fact we could push Eriksen to pure number 10 in games where teams are sitting back. Another central midfielder sitting in home games against lesser sides could be overkill. If you look at our results a Matic-Pogba pivot works fine in those games.

Could Ozil play the role I describe for Eriksen? Maybe he could.
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I agree on the type we need, a Vidal or Nainggolan type was fine at Juve as Pirlo controlled the game, we have Matic in the deeper role, and while he's decent on the ball he's not a DLP, it's why Pogba keeps coming deep to get the ball, we need a CM to act as a playmaking bridge between Matic and Pogba, who will also fill in the spaces in midfield that are wide open in the team right now when we play 4-2-3-1.

Eriksen might be able to do it, he does at times for Spurs as Dele pushes very high when he's supposed to be in the midfield and Eriksen drops in. Ozil is a pure #10, he needs to be near the goal to utilize his best asset. The problem for Eriksen would be when we don't have the ball, can he plug the gaps, positionally it would be a new role for him in that regard.
 
Skills said:
What's thiagos contract situation at bayern?
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2021.

MaxiPaxi said:
Fair enough. Haven't seen Julien Weigl. Is he that good?
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He's good, but I don't know if he would fit into a Mourinho side. Think of him as a German version of Busquets. He needs some sort of protection to flourish, too. So if you want to "free up" Pgba, probably not the guy to look at.
 
2ndTouch said:
2021.



He's good, but I don't know if he would fit into a Mourinho side. Think of him as a German version of Busquets. He needs some sort of protection to flourish, too. So if you want to "free up" Pgba, probably not the guy to look at.
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Hmm.. if he's like Busquets then I'm not sure that what we need. Incredible player mind.
 
MaxiPaxi said:
Fair enough. Haven't seen Julien Weigl. Is he that good?
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I don't usually go in for YouTube compilations because I believe they either really highlight a players chosen attributes and not his flaws, or the player just looks average compared to what you are hyping them up to be, but I think you can tell from the video his composure, maturity, decision making, positive play and passing range is great for a young player



This Bundesliga article popped up yesterday as well, it's worth a look.

https://www.bundesliga.com/en/news/...proved-form-champions-league-kroos-468426.jsp
 
L1nk said:
I don't usually go in for YouTube compilations because I believe they either really highlight a players chosen attributes and not his flaws, or the player just looks average compared to what you are hyping them up to be, but I think you can tell from the video his composure, maturity, decision making, positive play and passing range is great for a young player



This Bundesliga article popped up yesterday as well, it's worth a look.

https://www.bundesliga.com/en/news/...proved-form-champions-league-kroos-468426.jsp
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I'm a big fan of Weigl, he was my ideal replacement for Carrick, unfortunately I think we'll miss out now as he won't come to play rotation with Matic, and I doubt the latter is quite ready to become more of a squad player.
 
Skills said:
What's thiagos contract situation at bayern?
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He is a starter at Bayern. Why would they sell? Probably the only midfielder you could get from them is Vidal in the summer if they believe Goretzka and Tolisso are able to fill Vidal‘s shoes.
 
Bayern just announced Arturo Vidal is no longer needed with the arrival of Goretzka so there you go. Vidal + Pogba at Juventus was something else. Vidal allowed Pogba to do whatever he wanted on the pitch and covered for him very nicely.
 
RedB4ndiT said:
Bayern just announced Arturo Vidal is no longer needed with the arrival of Goretzka so there you go. Vidal + Pogba at Juventus was something else. Vidal allowed Pogba to do whatever he wanted on the pitch and covered for him very nicely.
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Vidal isn't nearly as good as he was at Juve anymore.
 
Womp said:
Vidal isn't nearly as good as he was at Juve anymore.
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Same was said about Matic.

Might not be world class like he once was but is still definitely considered elite with game changing ability being better than 90% of players that play his position. Would be a no brainer imho.
 
VancouverUtdFan said:
Same was said about Matic.

Might not be world class like he once was but is still definitely considered elite with game changing ability being better than 90% of players that play his position. Would be a no brainer imho.
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I still think he'd cost an arm and a leg and given his decline as of late, I think we'd be better off investing a little extra money into a proper DLP. Allow Matic to be the Anchor, Pogba to be the playmaker and someone to dictate the game from deep. Similar to the Juve and Madrid midfields of late. Someone like a Weigl or Jorginho.
 
Womp said:
I still think he'd cost an arm and a leg and given his decline as of late, I think we'd be better off investing a little extra money into a proper DLP. Allow Matic to be the Anchor, Pogba to be the playmaker and someone to dictate the game from deep. Similar to the Juve and Madrid midfields of late. Someone like a Weigl or Jorginho.
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Don’t think he’d cost a whole lot. South of £60M would get it done which wouldn’t even be considered a mega signing for United.

If United decide to pass on AG and Dybala to get Ozil on a free instead, I can see them signing both Vidal+Weigl in all honesty and altogether would be a much better fit to balance the lineup; wouldn’t be far fetched either. Vidal completes the mid3 and Weigl able to sub on/start (rotate) for Matic or Vidal whenever need be with the latter 2 getting up in age (29 and 30 respectively), not to mention inevitable injuries. Makes sense with José saying we need to sign 2 midfielders as well, one being a starter to complete a mid3 and the other as a bench option aka Carrick replacement.


433
Sanchez——Lukaku——Ozil
————Pogba——Vidal
—————-—Matic
Shaw—Smalling—Bailly—Valencia

(Weigl+Martial primary subs...lesser extent Jessé)


4231
——————Lukaku
Martial———Ozil———Sanchez
———-Pogba—Vidal/Matic
Shaw—Smalling—Bailly—Valencia

(Rashford+Matic/Vidal primary subs...lesser extent Jessé)


What I personally like about a hypothetical yet realistic squad like this would be the fluidity and abundance of options for José to play with while keeping the opposition guessing. Sanchez is just as capable of playing RW as he is LW and as a CAM, Ozil is just as capable of playing RW as he is #10, Vidal is just as capable of playing CDM as he is box to box, Weigl is just as capable of playing box to box as he is CDM. No real restrictions and would give us as much depth and possibilities as City in terms of attacking options or any top club in the world as a matter of fact. Could play 433 or 4231 any given match and not have to worry about having the right personnel to be able to do so.
 
It may not go down to well, but the more I consider it, Emre Can may not be a bad fit, not awesome I admit, but effective, disciplined and plays in the space we need to allow Pogba to 'roam', out of contract and relatively cheap, at the very least a good squad player therefore allowing another 'marque signing', the icing on the cake would be to shove two fingers up to Klopp
 
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