Wingers/Wide Forwards - Our best options?

Agree completely. I had given up hopes on him myself last year as he played quite badly when he played and he looked like one of the players on his way out. It is always fun to see players mature from the bench more or less, something we rarely get too in football.

Moura has the 10th highest average dribbles per game this season in Europe and considering how hard it is to find that type of players right now they got a gem there. Hopefully they have no space for him and we decide to go for him, he's right now at that level where he can beat defenders whether they stand still, double up on him and not just the ability that he had earlier of beating them when he had built up his pace.



One thing that really stands out in that video is how good his defensive contribution and tackling has become, the fact he can then drive the ball up the field so quickly with that incredible acceleration and skill is a huge asset. I'd love us to be able to get him, but if I was in charge at PSG I'd be building the future around him, Verratti, Rabbiot and Marquinhos.
 
One thing that really stands out in that video is how good his defensive contribution and tackling has become, the fact he can then drive the ball up the field so quickly with that incredible acceleration and skill is a huge asset. I'd love us to be able to get him, but if I was in charge at PSG I'd be building the future around him, Verratti, Rabbiot and Marquinhos.

Did you see the part where Neymar and Alba had a race versus Moura and Moura was the clear winner. I think there was once against just Alba as well and Moura won that too.

Yeah his defensive work has been so impressive. Especially in the CL where he seems to show another gear - or at least gets to showcase that part of his game more. He also has a very high goals per shots ratio and doesn't in general shoot very much. 9 goals this season for him as well which is a great result.
 
Did you see the part where Neymar and Alba had a race versus Moura and Moura was the clear winner. I think there was once against just Alba as well and Moura won that too.

Yeah his defensive work has been so impressive. Especially in the CL where he seems to show another gear - or at least gets to showcase that part of his game more. He also has a very high goals per shots ratio and doesn't in general shoot very much. 9 goals this season for him as well which is a great result.

Yes, he has electric pace and is as fast off the stand start as any player around.

Every aspect of his game seems to have been honed this season, from tackling back, to the timing of his tackles, to his use of the ball and overall his concentration, it's a shame he's injured with so many big games coming up for PSG.
 
Having Depay, Nani and Januzaj to choose from would be a good start.

Unless there's some mental swap deal like Di Maria for Moura or De Gea for Bale. The way things are going with FFP swap deals are probably going to come into play more. Especially if PSG are involved.
 
Having Depay, Nani and Januzaj to choose from would be a good start.

Unless there's some mental swap deal like Di Maria for Moura or De Gea for Bale. The way things are going with FFP swap deals are probably going to come into play more. Especially if PSG are involved.

Yeah, if Di Maria is truly unhappy, I could see Di Maria for Moura + 10-20 million as a loan swap this summer.
 
Agree completely. I had given up hopes on him myself last year as he played quite badly when he played and he looked like one of the players on his way out. It is always fun to see players mature from the bench more or less, something we rarely get too in football.

Moura has the 10th highest average dribbles per game this season in Europe and considering how hard it is to find that type of players right now they got a gem there. Hopefully they have no space for him and we decide to go for him, he's right now at that level where he can beat defenders whether they stand still, double up on him and not just the ability that he had earlier of beating them when he had built up his pace.


Poor Jordi Alba musta been glad to see the back of him.
 
So if Depay goes to Liverpool and the whole Bale thing turns to nothing, I wonder what other options we have been monitoring other than Felipe Anderson? We did seem interested in Firmino but now it's Bayern and City that are supposedly looking at him, and sadly the Dybala interest has gone cold.

I've seen a few links to Griezmann recently but I am not sure if he's just classed as a striker these days as opposed to a wide forward, he has certainly garnered grit and workrate under Simeone and has an impressive scoring record this season, surprisingly good in the air as well.

I'm kinda stumped after that as they need to be a goal threat and not just a winger.
 
Would prefer Moura, Costa or Anderson to Depay I think. It is tough though. If Di Maria was performing, Depay would be my first choice, as we still need his goals. However, I just think we are lacking dribbling spark the most. Anderson is a goalscorer too anyway.
 
I'm kinda stumped after that as they need to be a goal threat and not just a winger.

A quick list of wide players with 10+ League Goals in Big Domestic Leagues in Europe this year:
(Rightfooted players in italics)

England - Sanchez, Hazard, Silva, Chadli
Germany - Robben, Bellarabi, Son,
Spain - Cristiano, Messi, Neymar, Bale, Nolito, James Rodriguez,
Italy - Callejon, Felipe Anderson,
France - Gradel, Fekir

Maybe someone can add Portugal, Netherlands and any I missed.

and maybe add Lacazette and Griezmann who have scored over 20 goals and have experience out wide so seem like decent bets to have gotten there if they were playing out wide.

From that list above, assuming we agree that Van Gaal will likely want a right-footed winger for balance, the only age appropriate names we have even a chance of signing are Bellarabi, Min-Son, Felipe Anderson and Chadli. Bellarabi has an insanely low pass completed stat, which would seem not to fit with Van Gaal's style, Min-Son is not much better and Chadl isn't good enough.

TLDR: Depay, Felipe Anderson and Lucas Moura (would have 10 if he'd been healthy) are the most logical options considering age and productivity. Can we go back in time and sign Alexis Sanchez?
 
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Assuming we continue to play this 433 formation of ours, i honestly don't see a winger/wide forward as a priority this summer.

We have Di Maria, Young, Mata, Januzaj, (Valencia) competing for two spots. In crisis situation one of our strikers could also fill inn there. So unless we are going to spend money on some real world class talent (like Bale), i don't really see it as a sensible investment right now.

In my opinion, these should be prioritized before a winger/WF (in order of importance)

- RB: No doubt we need a quality RB. Rafael is perma injured, and Valencia is not good enough
- DM: Carrick won't play forever, and Blind is not good enough to fill his boots (yet?)
- CM: If one of Herrera or Fellaini gets injured we are fecked. We have zero cover there
- CF*: Depends on what happens really. Well stocked right now, with four players competing for one spot, but Falcao looks like hes gone, and i doubt RvP have more than two seasons left in him. Wilson is still unproven and Rooney is getting older as well.

* A decent option would be to buy a player who is comfortable as both a CF and a WF. Ideally someone with a bit of pace and trickery up their sleeve. Suarez:nervous: would be ideal.
 
We sign Depay, it's as simple as that.
 
Assuming we continue to play this 433 formation of ours, i honestly don't see a winger/wide forward as a priority this summer.

We have Di Maria, Young, Mata, Januzaj, (Valencia) competing for two spots. In crisis situation one of our strikers could also fill inn there. So unless we are going to spend money on some real world class talent (like Bale), i don't really see it as a sensible investment right now.

In my opinion, these should be prioritized before a winger/WF (in order of importance)

- RB: No doubt we need a quality RB. Rafael is perma injured, and Valencia is not good enough
- DM: Carrick won't play forever, and Blind is not good enough to fill his boots (yet?)
- CM: If one of Herrera or Fellaini gets injured we are fecked. We have zero cover there
- CF*: Depends on what happens really. Well stocked right now, with four players competing for one spot, but Falcao looks like hes gone, and i doubt RvP have more than two seasons left in him. Wilson is still unproven and Rooney is getting older as well.

* A decent option would be to buy a player who is comfortable as both a CF and a WF. Ideally someone with a bit of pace and trickery up their sleeve. Suarez:nervous: would be ideal.

The problem with those 4(5) options we have on the wings, is that no one of them are proven goalscorers bar Mata, who has most of his goals from behind the striker and isn't really a winger.

We definitely need quality out there, maybe Nani will get a chance here, but even then i think Felipe Anderson would be a great buy, very talented. Depay seems more of an second-striker to me, whereas Felipe would give us some trickery.
 
The problem with those 4(5) options we have on the wings, is that no one of them are proven goalscorers bar Mata, who has most of his goals from behind the striker and isn't really a winger.

We definitely need quality out there, maybe Nani will get a chance here, but even then i think Felipe Anderson would be a great buy, very talented. Depay seems more of an second-striker to me, whereas Felipe would give us some trickery.

We would have to dig very deep in our pockets to buy someone who would be a direct upgrade to Di Maria/Mata. Mata has scored loads and i'm sure Di Maria would have bagged a few more had he actually played.

Not trying to take a dig at Young here, as he's had a terrific season, but he has 3 assists and 2 goals in 1739 mins played. So a goal/assist every 347 minutes. Di Maria on the other hand, has 4 goals and 10 assists in 1595 minutes played, a goal/assist every 113 minutes. You could argue that Young has played a lot at LB, but Di Maria has had a lot of games from the bench in games that are done.

My point is: We already have quality players there, and back up of reasonable quality, where as we have other positions that scream for reinforcements. Buying attacking players is always more exiting than defenders, but right now that's what we need
 
We would have to dig very deep in our pockets to buy someone who would be a direct upgrade to Di Maria/Mata. Mata has scored loads and i'm sure Di Maria would have bagged a few more had he actually played.

Not trying to take a dig at Young here, as he's had a terrific season, but he has 3 assists and 2 goals in 1739 mins played. So a goal/assist every 347 minutes. Di Maria on the other hand, has 4 goals and 10 assists in 1595 minutes played, a goal/assist every 113 minutes. You could argue that Young has played a lot at LB, but Di Maria has had a lot of games from the bench in games that are done.

My point is: We already have quality players there, and back up of reasonable quality, where as we have other positions that scream for reinforcements. Buying attacking players is always more exiting than defenders, but right now that's what we need

I get your point, but having wingers who can score goals in a 4-3-3 is pretty fecking important, besides that Di Maria has scored all his goals this season as a CM, and he won't score 10+ goals.
A winger with goals in him will be a big priority this year, besides, i can't see why we couldn't buy around 5-6 players, we need to spend big and we will. :)
 
A quick list of wide players with 10+ League Goals in Big Domestic Leagues in Europe this year:
(Rightfooted players in italics)

England - Sanchez, Hazard, Silva, Chadli
Germany - Robben, Bellarabi, Son,
Spain - Cristiano, Messi, Neymar, Bale, Nolito, James Rodriguez,
Italy - Callejon, Felipe Anderson,
France - Gradel, Fekir

Maybe someone can add Portugal, Netherlands and any I missed.

and maybe add Lacazette and Griezmann who have scored over 20 goals and have experience out wide so seem like decent bets to have gotten there if they were playing out wide.

From that list above, assuming we agree that Van Gaal will likely want a right-footed winger for balance, the only age appropriate names we have even a chance of signing are Bellarabi, Min-Son, Felipe Anderson and Chadli. Bellarabi has an insanely low pass completed stat, which would seem not to fit with Van Gaal's style, Min-Son is not much better and Chadl isn't good enough.

TLDR: Depay, Felipe Anderson and Lucas Moura (would have 10 if he'd been healthy) are the most logical options considering age and productivity. Can we go back in time and sign Alexis Sanchez?

If being right footed is essential that doesn't paint the rosiest of pictures regarding options. Felipe Anderson seems the only real option beyond Depay, but I do think Lacazette and Griezmann would be worth considering, the latter managed 20 goals last season playing as a wide forward from the left cutting in, could be pretty ideal.
 
The old adage that says the less you see someone, the better they get: that is happening in a big way for me at the moment. A few months ago I was on the fence about Nani and before that I definitely thought it was time for him to move on. But now I am really keen to bring him back.
 
This is not a secret to anyone, but how fecking shocking is our front three compared to the other three giants.

Real: Ronaldo Benzema Bale

Barca: Neymar Suarez Messi

Bayern: Ribery Lewandowski Robben

Man Utd: Young Rooney Di Maria

It looks so sad in comparison :lol:

We seriously need to adjust this, but i doubt it will be done this summer unless we really get Bale, but i have my doubts, why would Real sell him?

Depay can hopefully develop to the quality we need, but, there isn't many options out there that can take us up to the level we need atm.

I still think we have a long way in our process to getting back at the top, but i guess it's all about patience, because money ain't a thang!
 
I'd rather Depay over Bale if we could only choose one mainly because of the price tag.......I think both players would do brilliantly for United.