Which midfielder will we sign this summer?

[Cevno]

And for examples of midfielders that would improve our midfield that went for good prices in the past few years, there is Sahin to Madrid for 6 million first, then gundogan to Dortmund for around 4 million, dembele to spurs for 10 million, verratti to psg for 10 (although that isn't really a great bargain, it's still very affordable and better then our other options).
There are plenty of good midfielders available for us for good prices if we really try looking for them, and the answer at this moment definitely isn't in England because England is quite a bit behind the other top countries around the world in quality.

And anyway, going off on a different tangent and dissecting each case you mentioned, ignoring the messed up fees.

Gundogan - Good player and definite Bargain. Would he have left Germany and come here though ? Dunno, Reus didn't want to leave.

Sahin - Wanted to go to Real and went on a Bargain as a result. didn't do too well there and failed at Liverpool in the 2 toughest leagues. I wanted him at the time, but then he was going to Real.

Dembele - Jury is out on that one tbh. I like him but we obviously didn't fancy him and there are parts of his game that are lacking. Could have used him, yes.

Verrati - Yep. Missed out there but PSG would pay such fees for Second division players in Italy.

I'll take Bender over Mccarthy, definitely. Strootman, Wanyama and Song not sure. Can make a case either way.

 

[Revan]

Mccarthy isn't English.

It's the case of Dutch should be good. English must be bad generalization applied incorrectly.

And you missed the point too. I was talking about Unrealistic transfers that happen which you were talking about.

Yep, my apologizes. feck, even although I watch Premier League, I missed his nationality.

It's not English must be bad, it's a fact that the quality of English players (and the UK + Ireland) is not that good as some believe. Just look at Scott fecking Parker, Milner, Barry, Lampard, Gerrard and Henderson playing for England in midfield and you will know all that is to know about English midfielders quality. I am really not taking the piss but I don't think that for the short future English school players (especially midfielders) are not the answer (and in the end we have most of them who are worthy of being United players.

Anyway, I used some examples of midfielders who could have definitely improved us and were transferred in the last 2-3 years. Unrealistic transfers, Ibra, Villa, Fabregas, Ronaldo, Ibra again, Torres, Modric, RVP. They happen all the time, it is just if we are willing to pay the big money. We look to be willing to pay big money for strikers/wingers/defenders but not for midfielders.

 

[Revan]

A

Verrati - Yep. Missed out there but PSG would pay such fees for Second division players in Italy.

This is like saying Dallas get Nowitzki from second German league, what idiots they were.

Veratti has been labelled as the next Pirlo/next big thing in Italy before his transfer. Prandelli said that he would have called him even if he had continued playing in Serie B.

Between we paid half of that amount for a player who played in the third English league, which until now seems to be a good business. And about double the amount for a player playing in championship.

 

[Cevno]

This is like saying Dallas get Nowitzki from second German league, what idiots they were.

Veratti has been labelled as the next Pirlo/next big thing in Italy before his transfer. Prandelli said that he would have called him even if he had continued playing in Serie B.

Between we paid half of that amount for a player who played in the third English league, which until now seems to be a good business. And about double the amount for a player playing in championship.

Their are a lot of people labelled the next this and that (look at Anderson), but for 12 million rising to 16 he was a big risk especially with his size in the Premiership, no 2 ways about it. And even if he comes over now, he will be a risk.

In Hindsight now you can claim that it was a good move, but PSG took a risk with him as a first teamer and it paid off. They could afford to that with the position they are in the french league.

Yeah, we missed out as he looks quality right now, but still he is a year from being a regular first teamer for us. Year ahead of Powell probably.

Similar is Quintero right now, who is small in Size and just settling into Serie A. Will cost similar if not more too. Will he succeed in the Premiership ? Dunno. Who will move for him first? Dunno.

 

[Cevno]

Yep, my apologizes. feck, even although I watch Premier League, I missed his nationality.

It's not English must be bad, it's a fact that the quality of English players (and the UK + Ireland) is not that good as some believe. Just look at Scott fecking Parker, Milner, Barry, Lampard, Gerrard and Henderson playing for England in midfield and you will know all that is to know about English midfielders quality. I am really not taking the piss but I don't think that for the short future English school players (especially midfielders) are not the answer (and in the end we have most of them who are worthy of being United players.

Anyway, I used some examples of midfielders who could have definitely improved us and were transferred in the last 2-3 years. Unrealistic transfers, Ibra, Villa, Fabregas, Ronaldo, Ibra again, Torres, Modric, RVP. They happen all the time, it is just if we are willing to pay the big money. We look to be willing to pay big money for strikers/wingers/defenders but not for midfielders.

Lampard and Gerrard were very good players but anyway, I prefer going on watching the players than their nationality and generalizing usually. Seems a more legitimate way seeing Scholes and Keane were british too.

That's like saying we shouldn't sign Yaya Toure, because Ivory Coast team is shit. Couldn't care less which nationality the player is of, if he's good. And using your logic who was the last Dutch great midfielder ? De Jong and Van Bommell weren't great.

 

[bosnian_red]

Their are a lot of people labelled the next this and that (look at Anderson), but for 12 million rising to 16 he was a big risk especially with his size in the Premiership, no 2 ways about it. And even if he comes over now, he will be a risk.

In Hindsight now you can claim that it was a good move, but PSG took a risk with him as a first teamer and it paid off. They could afford to that with the position they are in the french league.

Yeah, we missed out as he looks quality right now, but still he is a year from being a regular first teamer for us like Powell.

Similar is Quintero right now, who is small in Size and just settling into Serie A. Will cost similar if not more too. Will he succeed in the Premiership ? Dunno. Who will move for him first? Dunno.

You could say it's a risk, but Sir Alex used to be one who took risks on young promising players. He payed 7 million for a virtually unknown Hernandez, spent 7 million on fecking bebe as well
It's gotten to the point that we need to take a few risks with buying players in that position though, because it is making us so easy to play against.

 

[Cevno]

You could say it's a risk, but Sir Alex used to be one who took risks on young promising players. He payed 7 million for a virtually unknown Hernandez, spent 7 million on fecking bebe as well
It's gotten to the point that we need to take a few risks with buying players in that position though, because it is making us so easy to play against.

Djemba Djemba and Anderson were the last 2 risks we took. So he maybe weary.

We need to sign 2 midfielders, i agree and offload Ando maybe. I'd prefer them to be low risk ones though and then we can keep taking risks on future talents.

Pogba and Morrison being twats in different ways, messed that planning up a bit too.

 

[bosnian_red]

And anyway, going off on a different tangent and dissecting each case you mentioned, ignoring the messed up fees.

Gundogan - Good player and definite Bargain. Would he have left Germany and come here though ? Dunno, Reus didn't want to leave.

Sahin - Wanted to go to Real and went on a Bargain as a result. didn't do too well there and failed at Liverpool in the 2 toughest leagues. I wanted him at the time, but then he was going to Real.

Dembele - Jury is out on that one tbh. I like him but we obviously didn't fancy him and there are parts of his game that are lacking. Could have used him, yes.

Verrati - Yep. Missed out there but PSG would pay such fees for Second division players in Italy.

I'll take Bender over Mccarthy, definitely. Strootman, Wanyama and Song not sure. Can make a case either way.

What were the correct fee's then? I wasn't exactly sure on the fees so I looked at what Football Manager said about them (say what you want about it, but they usually get stats and stuff like that right). Those fees are all probably without future instalments as well.
Apologies on saying McCarthy was english, just assumed he was but it still doesn't change too much. It's not like Scotland produces more quality then England does anyway.

 

[Cevno]

What were the correct fee's then? I wasn't exactly sure on the fees so I looked at what Football Manager said about them (say what you want about it, but they usually get stats and stuff like that right). Those fees are all probably without future instalments as well.

Dembele 15 million Pounds. Verratti 12 rising to 16 million Euros. Sahin 8 million pounds.

Gundogan was right.

 

[Revan]

Lampard and Gerrard were very good players but anyway, I prefer going on watching the players than their nationality and generalizing usually. Seems a more legitimate way seeing Scholes and Keane were british too.

That's like saying we shouldn't sign Yaya Toure, because Ivory Coast team is shit. Couldn't care less which nationality the player is of, if he's good. And using your logic who was the last Dutch great midfielder ? De Jong and Van Bommell weren't great.

Gerrard and Lampard are still playing for England. In their prime they could have played for virtually every team/national team.

I said that the quality of English/English school midfielders had decreased during the last few years. Probably the only two decent ones now are Wilshere and Cleverley, with both of them still having much to prove.

Saying that I agree that the nationality shouldn't be important, that is my point why we shouldn't sign McCarthy. Has he been an Italian in Serie A, most of us wouldn't have ever heard his name, nut now he apparently is good enough for United, in the same thread when we are mentioning the likes of Gundogan, Moutinho and Modric.

 

[Cevno]

It's not like Scotland produces more quality then England does anyway.

He is Irish, born in Glasgow. Same country as Roy Keane. Happy now ?

I don't get how his nationality is relevant as i said above. You won't sign Bale because he is Welsh ?

 

[Cevno]

Saying that I agree that the nationality shouldn't be important, that is my point why we shouldn't sign McCarthy. Has he been an Italian in Serie A, most of us wouldn't have ever heard his name, nut now he apparently is good enough for United, in the same thread when we are mentioning the likes of Gundogan, Moutinho and Modric.

Disagree here. He is being talked about because he is doing well in the EPL at such a young age and looks to have talent to impove further. Same as Strootman is doing in Dutch League (even though he is older and the Dutch league far behind).

And it's obvious that a player who is doing well in the EPL will be preferred by a EPL club than someone doing well in the Italian league. 1) The risk is less as he has already proven his worth in that league with the changes.(See Kagawa or Sahin's problems in adapting) 2) Would be easier to tempt to United and keep for a while.

Schneiderlin is another one who is french but doing decently well in EPL. He's probably worth a shout too, though Mccarthy might have a higher ceiling maybe.

As for Moutinho, Modric and Gundogan all are different type of players to Mccarthy and 2 of them considerably older. I would take all of them ahead of Mccarthy (Only Moutinho might be available this summer), if we wanted to sign 1 midfielder but we'll still lack someone to cover for Carrick except Jones even then.

 

[SER19]

Having seen the quality of teams in the semi its hard to admit, but we're honestly behind 3 of them, and ran real close. look at their midfield options though. its incredibly frustrating to see we can match them everywhere on the pitch but midfield yet havent bought a central midfielder since 2007.

I think first and foremost, we need to decide what type of team we are going to be. we chop and change far too much, rotate our best player far too much and to be honest half the time its hard to see who's role is what.

personally, i think its a given that rooney should play behind van persie. tough for kagawa as id love to see him there but i think a trio behind van persie with an actual style of play to go with it would be great.
that would leave carrick as one central midfielder and the need for someone, in my opinion, similair to schweinsteiger. someone who can double up with carrick in defensive games and someone who can attack well and leave carrick to it when we need a goal. in my following suggestion schweinsteiger represents this nameless player as i dont believe we could get schweinsteiger

back 5

.........Carrick......Schweinsteiger.....

Valencia.......Rooney.......Kagawa....

.................Van Persie............

So, who's a similar player we could actually get?

 

[bosnian_red]

He is Irish, born in Glasgow. Same country as Roy Keane. Happy now ?

I don't get how his nationality is relevant as i said above. You won't sign Bale because he is Welsh ?

fecking hell I just checked on wikipedia as well, and didn't look which nation he played for

Nationality isn't really relevant as you say, but its more for people who keep saying we need to look for young english talent (or from the UK) and bring them in. The reality is that there isn't many talented young English players around, especially not midfielders who have the potential to be players for a team like United. Wilshere is pretty much the only one I can think of. Obviously I would sign Bale, and when a very promising talent comes along we should go for them like Zaha, but we shouldn't wait around for them because for every one player like Wilshere that turns up, there are plenty more in most of the other big footballing countries around the world that will have players that are simply more talented because of the youth systems.

I'll repeat it though, it's not that important what nationality the player is if a proper one comes around, but we shouldn't settle for a McCarthy simply because he is in the premier league, when there are much better options around Europe.

 

[Cevno]

I'll repeat it though, it's not that important what nationality the player is if a proper one comes around, but we shouldn't settle for a McCarthy simply because he is in the premier league, when there are much better options around Europe.

If there is a better player available then obviously we go for him, but if there are 2 players on the same level then we will prefer to go for the one based in the league.

If we are going to get 2 midfielders then won't mind 1 being Mccarthy.

 

[sullydnl]

fecking hell I just checked on wikipedia as well, and didn't look which nation he played for

Nationality isn't really relevant as you say, but its more for people who keep saying we need to look for young english talent (or from the UK) and bring them in. The reality is that there isn't many talented young English players around, especially not midfielders who have the potential to be players for a team like United. Wilshere is pretty much the only one I can think of. Obviously I would sign Bale, and when a very promising talent comes along we should go for them like Zaha, but we shouldn't wait around for them because for every one player like Wilshere that turns up, there are plenty more in most of the other big footballing countries around the world that will have players that are simply more talented because of the youth systems.

I'll repeat it though, it's not that important what nationality the player is if a proper one comes around, but we shouldn't settle for a McCarthy simply because he is in the premier league, when there are much better options around Europe.

I agree that we shouldn't favour Brittish and Irish players simply because of where they're from but the reality is a lot of teams do, for the reasons Cevno outlined in his post. Take Ashley Young as an example. Would we really have been so keen to sign him if he wasn't English? Part of what made him an attractive signing was that we knew what he could do in the EPL and we knew United would be very attractive to him. So while we shouldn't take nationality into account when asessing the quality of the player, we probably should when asessing the realistic availability of the player.

 

[Revan]

fecking hell I just checked on wikipedia as well, and didn't look which nation he played for

Nationality isn't really relevant as you say, but its more for people who keep saying we need to look for young english talent (or from the UK) and bring them in. The reality is that there isn't many talented young English players around, especially not midfielders who have the potential to be players for a team like United. Wilshere is pretty much the only one I can think of. Obviously I would sign Bale, and when a very promising talent comes along we should go for them like Zaha, but we shouldn't wait around for them because for every one player like Wilshere that turns up, there are plenty more in most of the other big footballing countries around the world that will have players that are simply more talented because of the youth systems.

I'll repeat it though, it's not that important what nationality the player is if a proper one comes around, but we shouldn't settle for a McCarthy simply because he is in the premier league, when there are much better options around Europe.

You better said what I was trying to say for a lot of time. Cheers!

I agree that we shouldn't favour Brittish and Irish players simply because of where they're from but the reality is a lot of teams do, for the reasons Cevno outlined in his post. Take Ashley Young as an example. Would we really have been so keen to sign him if he wasn't English? Part of what made him an attractive signing was that we knew what he could do in the EPL and we knew United would be very attractive to him. So while we shouldn't take nationality into account when asessing the quality of the player, we probably should when asessing the realistic availability of the player.

Chelsea got Mata, we got Young and Scousers gor Downing (players who plays in similar roles and cost similar money). Young is one of the least liked United players in this forum. Pretty much that is because we overpayed for a decent players, and his price was about double as he would have cost if he was foreign. I know that United has always based on English/UK players, but at this time English players are not that good and I don't see the need of buying average overhyped English players just for the sake of being English/UK.

 

[bosnian_red]

You better said what I was trying to say for a lot of time. Cheers!



Chelsea got Mata, we got Young and Scousers gor Downing (players who plays in similar roles and cost similar money). Young is one of the least liked United players in this forum. Pretty much that is because we overpayed for a decent players, and his price was about double as he would have cost if he was foreign. I know that United has always based on English/UK players, but at this time English players are not that good and I don't see the need of buying average overhyped English players just for the sake of being English/UK.

Exactly, would much rather spend the extra 10 million to bring in Mata then spend less and get Young who won't ever be anything more then a squad player at United. But at the time, Young was probably as good as it got for English wingers. Says it all really.

 

[Rozay]

I'm a fan of James McCarthy myself, and wouldn'tmind him coming into the squad along with my real muppet hope, Thiago. That said, I'm not sure if McCarthy is a level above Cleverley. We should probably aim a bit higher.

 

[Cevno]

Exactly, would much rather spend the extra 10 million to bring in Mata then spend less and get Young who won't ever be anything more then a squad player at United. But at the time, Young was probably as good as it got for English wingers. Says it all really.

We bought Young as a squad player quite clearly. Would Mata be happy playing that role? We've gone after Sanchez, Hazard and Lucas since.

Not a fan of Young personally, but that one signing shows nothing. You could say it was a average signing in hindsight but then same can be said about Anderson. Just drawing generalizations is weird.

 

[Devil may care]

Has McCarthy had a go season? The hype seems to have died down on him.

What was the name of that Colombian CM we were linked with a couple of months ago?

 

[Rob Bowman]

Having seen the quality of teams in the semi its hard to admit, but we're honestly behind 3 of them, and ran real close. look at their midfield options though. its incredibly frustrating to see we can match them everywhere on the pitch but midfield yet havent bought a central midfielder since 2007.

I think first and foremost, we need to decide what type of team we are going to be. we chop and change far too much, rotate our best player far too much and to be honest half the time its hard to see who's role is what.

personally, i think its a given that rooney should play behind van persie. tough for kagawa as id love to see him there but i think a trio behind van persie with an actual style of play to go with it would be great.
that would leave carrick as one central midfielder and the need for someone, in my opinion, similair to schweinsteiger. someone who can double up with carrick in defensive games and someone who can attack well and leave carrick to it when we need a goal. in my following suggestion schweinsteiger represents this nameless player as i dont believe we could get schweinsteiger

back 5

.........Carrick......Schweinsteiger.....

Valencia.......Rooney.......Kagawa....

.................Van Persie............

So, who's a similar player we could actually get?

Good post.

I have been on this same thing for awhile. Cleverly is not bad but is actually more suited for the "hole", so is Kagawa. This isn't bad as it gives us options, but we need some help next to Carrick. To be honest i would be pleased if we got Lampard and Wayama this summer. Now we have some exp if Carrick needs a rest and you get that youthful drive (which Cleverly had early in the year, but maybe some more rest might be helpful). Strootman is another option. And I am sure there are more quality options, but we need quality *now*.

Thing is this year if Carrick had gone down we would have been done competing for much of any silverware. We need reinforcements in CM. I pray we get some more quality.

 

[pocco]

Whoever writes for Goal.com clearly reads the Caf...

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2892...ter-united-on-trail-of-wigan-starlet-mccarthy

 

[kouroux]

How about Luiz Gustavo from Bayern ? Would he be difficult to buy ?

 

[FCBarca]

Bayern are tough to negotiate with, so good luck. Gustavo has lived for more than 6 years in Germany and seems to have adjusted well to Bayern.

In truth Bayern don't need him as they have depth at DM but they're also not a selling club. Good luck

 

[Chabon]

Whoever writes for Goal.com clearly reads the Caf...

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2892...ter-united-on-trail-of-wigan-starlet-mccarthy

You joke about this kind of thing, but I'm more than a little suspicious that a few hours after I made a thread pointing out it was the twentieth anniversary of Bruce inventing Fergie time, there were articles mentioning it on the Daily Mail and Guardian websites.

 

[Danillaco]

Probably the fact he wanted to go and play for Barcelona and his contract was running out.

Don't forget that he wanted to coin a new deal, but Arsenal didn't want to break their contract policy. And got fecked. They both lost to be honest. He's not playing, and Arsenal lost one of their best players.

 

[simonhch]

I just don't see any midfielders out there that would improve our first team, who would actually be available.

Of the names we are constantly linked to:

Wanyama; seems limited to me.
Strootman: just cannot see where the hype comes from.
Ander Herrera: Seems to have regressed.

I think all of them would be squad players if they arrived, rather than automatic starters.

TBH I think we'll probably add a veteran like Lampard to the ranks on a free. Not a terrible move by any accounts. Would help us in the PL for sure. Not so sure about Europe though, especially against top teams. I also think that after his performances against Madrid in both legs, that Jones will get more game time in midfield. He's still only 20 and just has some deep rooted quality about him.

The one and only name that does stand out is Daniele De Rossi. I think he could be available and he would add that box to box presence that would be perfect for a midfield three or four. He's getting on a bit now, but he still has plenty in him for a quality 2-4 seasons.

 

[Phil]

It's just such a myth which we've made up to justify the insanity of not signing a midfielder in about 5 years.

None of those players are able to slot in for Cleverley or Anderson then?

 

[NotoriousISSY]

I just don't see any midfielders out there that would improve our first team, who would actually be available.

Of the names we are constantly linked to:

Wanyama; seems limited to me.
Strootman: just cannot see where the hype comes from.
Ander Herrera: Seems to have regressed.

I think all of them would be squad players if they arrived, rather than automatic starters.

TBH I think we'll probably add a veteran like Lampard to the ranks on a free. Not a terrible move by any accounts. Would help us in the PL for sure. Not so sure about Europe though, especially against top teams. I also think that after his performances against Madrid in both legs, that Jones will get more game time in midfield. He's still only 20 and just has some deep rooted quality about him.

The one and only name that does stand out is Daniele De Rossi. I think he could be available and he would add that box to box presence that would be perfect for a midfield three or four. He's getting on a bit now, but he still has plenty in him for a quality 2-4 seasons.

Sorry but simply having one more half decent out and out central midfield with a track record of playing 30+ games a season would improve our midfield. Obviously that shouldn't be the policy in the process of finding a player, but it comes down to a lack of quantity to begin with, in this case quality seems to come a bit later considering the situation regarding Anderson and Darren Fletcher and their ongoing issues.

With Scholes seemingly finished (I could be wrong), Anderson's inconsistency and Cleverley's inexperience at the highest level, I reckon any one of those three would instantly improve the midfield area without being remotely spectacular.

 

[SER19]

What about Arturo Vidal? Cant say ive seen him loads but every time I have watched a full game he's played Ive been very impressed. Another is Marchisio but Im sure sure he's the type we need or that hed leave Juve anyway

 

[Danillaco]

What about Arturo Vidal? Cant say ive seen him loads but every time I have watched a full game he's played Ive been very impressed. Another is Marchisio but Im sure sure he's the type we need or that hed leave Juve anyway

Vidal signed just two years ago, and is vital do Juve. That ship has sailed, and Principino is one of those players you can see being in one team for all his carreer.

 

[SER19]

Vidal signed just two years ago, and is vital do Juve. That ship has sailed, and Principino is one of those players you can see being in one team for all his carreer.

fair enough. id like to see us be the type of team this summer thats not afraid to be aggressive in the market. hypothetically, if we were actually interested in vidal to just make a ballsy offer. we dont seem to do that ever. i like how we do business and try avoid the nonsens but united should be one of those clubs that players "just couldnt say no to" like madrid and barca.

How has moutinho been doing lately? He was excellent at the euros and I was sure we'd go for him

 

[LondonRed]

It's the middle of April and I am already 3/4 of the way to full muppet mode. goddamn Falcao business getting me excited already.

I'll take moutinho/strootman and Thiago Alcantara if Scholes/fletch/Ando all leave for whatever reason.

Both reasonably cheap, both potentially available (one certainly is). Probably won't cost the earth either.

If falcao comes/rooney leaves then that would be roughly a straight swap plus a bit of cash; if not then obviously I'm fine with just Rooney.

Nani out and zaha in seems pretty much the accepted verbatim over the wing positions. Fergie was very close to signing one of Hazard or Moura in summer so if he is happy with Zaha then that should satisfy that itch.

It will be a very interesting summer for us this year. Will Fergie change his style to a 433 and away from wingers? If we want the best out of kagawa then that is probably the way to go.

That would most likely mean young would be the one to be 'sacrificed'. Ideally we would then go for a 'footballing' winger who is less of a winger and more of a left or right of the three up top. A gotze or a rodriguez style of player.

Full muppetry: Strootman, Thiago, Gotze, Falcao (£115-£125m) (add on another £15m for moutinho)
Ando, Nani, Rooney sold (£60 - £70m)
Net: £50 - £60m

Now I know that list is ridiculous but £60m and a roughly similar wage bill doesn't seem too far out of the realms of possibility.

Still think we would lack a 'proper' dm and ideally one of those elusive world class left backs that almost negate the need for a real winger to play in front of them - Lahm, Alba, Evra at his peak etc but I fear I have already asked Santa for too much, too early in the year.

 

[Quinton Fortune]

^^ You ignore that we've already agreed to splash 15m on Zaha so thats a net of 75m eg not happening.

Well we clearly need two new CMs from my perspective. To me that says we need to buy one who is pretty much guaranteed to be a hit eg a Thiago, De Rossi, Vidal, Marchisio eg someone worth breaking the bank for then an additional midfielder who it might not work for but has enough talent to take the risk on whilst not being to expensive eg Strootman or Wanyama

 

[LondonRed]

^^ You ignore that we've already agreed to splash 15m on Zaha so thats a net of 75m eg not happening.

Well we clearly need two new CMs from my perspective. To me that says we need to buy one who is pretty much guaranteed to be a hit eg a Thiago, De Rossi, Vidal, Marchisio eg someone worth breaking the bank for then an additional midfielder who it might not work for but has enough talent to take the risk on whilst not being to expensive eg Strootman or Wanyama

Indeed. Forgot we actually have to pay for Zaha.

Depending on how our deal with aon is structured ie front loaded, new tv money, the Upfront new shirt sponsorship money etc £75m is at least possible, although perhaps not realistic.

 

[Quinton Fortune]

Indeed. Forgot we actually have to pay for Zaha.

Depending on how our deal with aon is structured ie front loaded, new tv money, the Upfront new shirt sponsorship money etc £75m is at least possible, although perhaps not realistic.

You can solve the equation by taking out Goetze who wont be coming to us. Would put it at around £40m net spend which is more realistic without the targets being too outrageous. I still think this Falcao stuff is nonsense, but then again theres no smoke without fire. If he's not coming to us his agent is certainly angling for a move somewhere.

 

[Eboue]

I never realized how horrifying the Transfer Forum is.

 

[Quinton Fortune]

I never realized how horrifying the Transfer Forum is.

Your insight is worse than Alan Shearer's.

 

[Theon]

It's the middle of April and I am already 3/4 of the way to full muppet mode. goddamn Falcao business getting me excited already.

I'll take moutinho/strootman and Thiago Alcantara if Scholes/fletch/Ando all leave for whatever reason.

Both reasonably cheap, both potentially available (one certainly is). Probably won't cost the earth either.

If falcao comes/rooney leaves then that would be roughly a straight swap plus a bit of cash; if not then obviously I'm fine with just Rooney.

Nani out and zaha in seems pretty much the accepted verbatim over the wing positions. Fergie was very close to signing one of Hazard or Moura in summer so if he is happy with Zaha then that should satisfy that itch.

It will be a very interesting summer for us this year. Will Fergie change his style to a 433 and away from wingers? If we want the best out of kagawa then that is probably the way to go.

That would most likely mean young would be the one to be 'sacrificed'. Ideally we would then go for a 'footballing' winger who is less of a winger and more of a left or right of the three up top. A gotze or a rodriguez style of player.

Full muppetry: Strootman, Thiago, Gotze, Falcao (£115-£125m) (add on another £15m for moutinho)
Ando, Nani, Rooney sold (£60 - £70m)
Net: £50 - £60m

Now I know that list is ridiculous but £60m and a roughly similar wage bill doesn't seem too far out of the realms of possibility.

Still think we would lack a 'proper' dm and ideally one of those elusive world class left backs that almost negate the need for a real winger to play in front of them - Lahm, Alba, Evra at his peak etc but I fear I have already asked Santa for too much, too early in the year.

4-3-3 uses wingers.. Anyway, those players you have listed aren't going to fit into that starting line up. I mean if Falcao is coming for £40,000,000 then surely he is starting? And so will Van Persie. So you have two central forwards there already, so no 4-3-3.

Then like you said if you want to get the best out of Kagawa then he needs to play as a number 10 behind the strikers, but that can't happen with those two up top, so he would be shunted to the left again. I guess the Gotze comment was tongue in cheek because he isn't coming and even if he did we would struggle to fit him in.