William Carvalho

[Theon]

I've not seen Carvalho play much, but from the descriptions in here it would be a more balanced midfield to Herrara/Vidal which lacks a natural holder. Vidal could certainly play a more restricted game, but it would be a waste of his ability, you want to give him the tactical freedom to press high up the park and break forward offensively. Carvalho seems like a more natural fit, in a 4-2-3-1 it would allow Mata and Herrera the freedom to affect the game in attack without compromising the balance of the team.

Obviously I'd prefer Vidal though, he's far too good to miss out on. Additionally a 3-5-2 suits the rest of this squad and in that system a midfield of Vidal and Herrera would work wonderfully, so maybe Van Gaal will go that route.

 

[red_7]

When we give the #8 or box-to-box role to herrera, a Vidal Transfer doesn't really make sense as he is no #6.

We should have no Problem for the #10 role, so the 2nd midfielder we are supposed to buy should be a #6. then William fits the bill more.

 

[Melvyn]

People who compare him to Yaya Toure has never seen him play. He is a holding midfielder in the mold of javi Martinez, Patrick Viera or Alex Song. And his passing is exceptional, I do not know what you mean by saying his weight of pass is of

Some absolutely bizarre comparisons in here. Nothing like Toure. Nothing like Mikel. Nothing like Vieira, who was never a DM for those who seem to have reinvented him as such. I think Martinez is the best comparison with any current player, but, you know, he isn't black, so people seem to find it strangely hard to visualise.

Apparently being big, black and a CM automatically makes one 'like Yaya Toure'. People see what they want to see.

 

[Drifter]

Honestly £50m for Vidal would be money much better spent. Luiz Gustavo for £25m as well, much better value.

Would be pleased if we got him but not ecstatic.

United will never spend 50mil for any player.

 

[Shark]

United will never spend 50mil for any player.

We've just spent 60 odd million on two players, so I'm not sure why you'd think that it's beyond the realm that we'd fork out a similar amount on one player.

 

[Ubik]

United will never spend 50mil for any player.

Yes, we will. Inflation alone will take care of that. Not to mention record TV revenue.

 

[Ringo 07]

Carvalho would be great as Carrick still has a good year left in him if playing with the right partner in midfield which gives Carvalho a season to settle in at the club as he is still young and he absolutely is going to need a season to gradually bed into the team. Then once he is ready a year down the road then we have a top player for a very long time

 

[Amadaeus]

Please don't show me youtube videos @Amadaeus, because I could easily get a few clips of when Carvalho got bypassed easily against Ghana.

I'm not trying to say this guy isn't good - I've only watched him a couple of times. I would just personally like someone with a bit more mobility.

I agree that mobility is increasingly becoming a factor for a winning team, but a player like Carvalho who is positionally aware and is great at breaking up midfield play while retaining ball possesion would complement a more mobile partner like Ander Herrera. He would add the composure, while Herrera will add the dynamism. Beit, I would not argue againts having two energetic, hardworking central midfielders like how Brazil has Gustavo/Paulinho and Fernandinho/Ramieres.

 

[golden_blunder]

Buy him to turn into CB ala Desailly?

 

[hobbers]

United will never spend 50mil for any player.

Without a doubt we will. Whether it's this summer or not I can't say.

 

[Red Dreams]

Herera and Carvalho would be a pretty strong midfield.

EDIT: good to see we are again being linked with him after it all went quiet for a while.

 

[ehsanul]

Had a poor world cup by the look of things.

 

[Rowem]

By the stats I assume Ander is quite good defensively, him and Strootman would definitely be enough for most opponents in the league.
Defence problem is overplayed IMO, our team lacked balance in the middle last season because Carrick needs a mobile partner with good positioning. Neither of Cleverley, Fletcher and Fellaini has those two attributes.
Strootman-Herrera midfield would be much better defensively than Carrick+anyone we played last two seasons.
I understand your concerns, but IMO it’s not about being too offensive, it’s about defensive skills and mobility. Being offensive is also about instructions.

Herrara - Strootman duo would be great I think. Carrick could play behind them in a 3 in some big games or if we play some kind of diamond. Against most opposition then Cleverley could potentially be a decent deputy to either Strootman or Herrara too.

 

[Xaviesta]

Carvalho looks good, but a bit overpriced for me. Nani and maybe Fellaini in exchange might bring the price down. Luis Gustavo would be money better spent of you're not going to exchange players.

 

[Bestie07]

Carvalho looks good, but a bit overpriced for me. Nani and maybe Fellaini in exchange might bring the price down. Luis Gustavo would be money better spent of you're not going to exchange players.

Exchanging players is not an option unless we subsidize 80% of their wages.

 

[redevil2]

Had a poor world cup by the look of things.

I confess I haven't noticed how he played in the World Cup but having just googled (see below) it's a bit harsh to say he "had a poor World Cup by look of things" since he did come from bench v US (2-2 draw) and full 90 mins v Ghana (2-1 win).
Here's
On 19 May 2014, Carvalho was named in the final 23-man squad for the tournament in Brazil.[9] He made his debut in the competition on 22 June, playing the second half of the 2–2 group stage draw against the United Statesafter replacing injured André Almeida;[10] he played all 90 minutes in the next match to help to a 2–1 win overGhana, but the national team went out on goal difference.[11]

 

[redevil2]

Holy smoke just watched that clip in the link.... he took out two players in one tackle! Are we asking for trouble if we do sign him?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...United-complete-signing-William-Carvalho.html

 

[sincher]

Never judge a player on a world cup.

(aka the Karel Poborsky law)

 

[Offside]

Had a poor world cup by the look of things.

Impressed me when he played

 

[Offside]

I'd love this buy. Power in midfield is what we need now.

 

[Amadaeus]

Holy smoke just watched that clip in the link.... he took out two players in one tackle! Are we asking for trouble if we do sign him?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...United-complete-signing-William-Carvalho.html

Nah unlike Fellaini, he has the right football mentality and is acute when it comes to dispossesing the opposition.

Spoiler

He is not an elbow merchant, or overly aggressive. He is reliable like Javi Martinez in his defensive duty. The tackle just shows how dominant he can be as a player. My only concern is his mobility, but I feel that having a more mobile partner would nullify that aspect of his game.

 

[Ole90+3]

I'd love this buy. Power in midfield is what we need now.

He's not really that type of player though, is he?

I thought he was more of a passive midfielder - likes to read the play and intercept like Carrick.

 

[adamwest]

Has all the attributes to be a monster in the premier league. He had a bad game against Ghana but looked very assured when he came on against the US. Snap him up Woody!

 

[Xaviesta]

Nah unlike Fellaini, he has the right football mentality and is acute when it comes to dispossesing the opposition.

Spoiler

He is not an elbow merchant, or overly aggressive. He is reliable like Javi Martinez in his defensive duty. The tackle just shows how dominant he can be as a player. My only concern is his mobility, but I feel that having a more mobile partner would nullify that aspect of his game.

Lucky he won the ball in that challenge.

 

[Fergie's Man]

Vidal is the man, but for longevity, this guy would be a great investment.

 

[RedRover]

Never judge a player on a world cup.

(aka the Karel Poborsky law)

Nah - Poborksy was class. Gald we dodged a bullet - we could have ended up with Nedved, and what ever happened to him?

 

[Adnan]

 

[pseudo_canadian]

How reliable is O Jogo?

 

[Skills]

@Sly was the Carvalho correspondent?

Any update?

 

[Keeps It tidy]

People who compare him to Yaya Toure has never seen him play. He is a holding midfielder in the mold of javi Martinez, Patrick Viera or Alex Song. And his passing is exceptional, I do not know what you mean by saying his weight of pass is of

Yeah Carvalho is more like Martinez but, poor analogy since Viera and Song are more in the mold of Yaya Toure than they are of Martinez or Carvalho. Both are/were more box to box midfielders than holding midfielders.

 

[GledTheRed]

How reliable is O Jogo?

Who cares?

*unzips*

 

[Adnan]

How reliable is O Jogo?

I'm sure i read they were the most reliable Portuguese tabloid. The Portuguese posters could shed more light on the matter.

 

[Sly]

@Sly was the Carvalho correspondent?

Any update?

No updates mate. Our president has been busy because Sporting returns to work this week and just presented our latest purchase, japanese player Tanaka. We are about to launch our tv club channel as well. Like i said in the recent past, all Carvalho to United links kinda died off when Moyes was sacked. I actually think he will remain another year at Sporting and play in the Champions League. We lost our manager to Mónaco and if we lose our best player from last year it will be very hard to have a decent Champions League campaign. Besides that ZeroZero site rumour (the site has no credibility as ITK source of news) the only Carvalho news have been about Chelsea/Monaco interest. My guess is that he won´t move to United, i think he won´t move at all.

 

[Zii]

vidal can be gotten for 45 mil apparently, go get him woody.

 

[Sly]

I'm sure i read they were the most reliable Portuguese tabloid. The Portuguese posters could shed more light on the matter.

O Jogo is indeed the most reliable Sports newspaper. They are usually spot on about transfer matters specially Porto and Sporting related. Record and A Bola aren´t as reliable as it can be seen by the thousands of times Garay/Gaitan have joined United.

 

[Sandikan]

This might go the way of Herrera.

A sh!Tload of talk, then goes completely silent, and then bought out of the blue.

 

[Ludens the Red]

Dint look too great in the World Cup but Salif Diao and El-Hadji Diouf once looked great at a World Cup.

 

[Sly]

Dint look too great in the World Cup but Salif Diao and El-Hadji Diouf once looked great at a World Cup.

Look mate, i´ll be the first one to say he had a subpar game against Ghana but the thing is the whole team (and specially the manager inept tactical display) looked poor. One World cup where he played one and a half game in an under achieving team won´t change the fact that he is one of the most exciting prospects to come from our famous academy since the Ronaldo days. He was arguably player of the year in Portugal and everyone could see the talent and the potencial of the player (even the rivals as you can see by the opinion of Arruda who is a Porto fan).

I´m in this forum for the long run and will be here to follow his evolution but i´d have no problem "betting" that he will go on to fulfill his potencial and have a great career.

 

[Ludens the Red]

Look mate, i´ll be the first one to say he had a subpar game against Ghana but the thing is the whole team (and specially the manager inept tactical display) looked poor. One World cup where he played one and a half game in an under achieving team won´t change the fact that he is one of the most exciting prospects to come from our famous academy since the Ronaldo days. He was arguably player of the year in Portugal and everyone could see the talent and the potencial of the player (even the rivals as you can see by the opinion of Arruda who is a Porto fan).

I´m in this forum for the long run and will be here to follow his evolution but i´d have no problem "betting" that he will go on to fulfill his potencial and have a great career.

Alright fine, we'll take him. You can have Nani back in return.

On that note, whats happening to Portuguese football? where are all the youngsters? why did Eder go to the World Cup on the back of 3 goals for Braga last season? Are the South American imports stunting the growth and development of Portuguese talent?

 

[Sly]

Alright fine, we'll take him. You can have Nani back in return.

On that note, whats happening to Portuguese football? where are all the youngsters? why did Eder go to the World Cup on the back of 3 goals for Braga last season? Are the South American imports stunting the growth and development of Portuguese talent?

You answered it with your last phrase. Porto and Benfica with more financial power seek immediate success and buy truck loads of South american imports neglecting their academies. Only Sporting´s academy has been producing portuguese players with enough ability to play for our national team. In what regards strikers, even our academy fails to produce a decent one. There are no prospects at all. There are a couple of wingers and midfielders coming up with potencial to start for our national team but regarding strikers we have no one coming up. To be fair to Benfica, they are now betting heavily on the youth ranks and have plenty of players in the youth national teams. Porto will follow the same lead soon due to financial constraints.