With Yoro secured, who would be your preferred choice as the additional CB?

Assuming Yoro is secured, who would be your preferred choice as the additional CB?

  • Total voters
    577
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Fortitude

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So the ongoing talk is around who will be the additional CB with De Ligt looking like the front runner with Branthwaite being the player some believe we’ll go back in for now that we’ve seemingly secured Yoro. We’ve been linked to a few others, but these two are the main players since Todibo was removed from the picture.

Ideally you want this CB to be the perfect halfway house between Martinez and Yoro - compatible with either, and perhaps even able to perform in a back 3 with them for the tactical flexibility. It would also be optimal if this CB was eclectic enough to be able to play with whatever we have left of our current CB set who don’t manage to find a new club.

For myself, once the Yoro interest was announced, I was all in on that and haven’t had much to say on the other guys, but with him secured (supposedly), thoughts need to turn to the next step in the process, which is these guys.

Per the title, which camp are you in? Who’s your preference?

If your preferred option isn’t listed, could you state who it is?

As this is the transfer forum, the preference is to pool from players we’ve been linked to rather than fantastical names pulled from thin air.
 
Tah. Much cheaper, less injury issues than De Ligt. However, i'd also love De Ligt to join too.
 
I'm leaning towards Hancko as someone who can play at centre back and left back equally well, which stops us being so reliant on Licha and Shaw in one fell swoop.

I'd be very happy with De Ligt though.
 
From the ones linked with, De Ligt. He is by far the best CB we got linked with recently.

Bremer is someone i like and we got linked with earlier (pretty quiet recently), but he is a great defender. Would be another great option, but i think the club's preference is clear.
 
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De Ligt any day. Experienced on multiple levels and still only 24. He’s had a bad year of injuries but under Ten Hag, he would be a fantastic squad signing. Don’t forget he’s also a formidable leader, personality wise. I’d take him over Lindelof any day of the week.
 
De Ligt for me. If we can end up with something looking like this, I’d be happy. Maybe Maguire stays an extra season. Get rid of Lindelof to whoever wants him.
  • Right side: De Ligt, Yoro, (Evans)
  • Left side: Martinez, Shaw, (Evans)
  • Fullbacks: Dalot, Shaw, Malacia, Kadioglu
 
DWelbz19 said:
De Ligt for me. If we can end up with something looking like this, I’d be happy. Maybe Maguire stays an extra season. Get rid of Lindelof to whoever wants him.
  • Right side: De Ligt, Yoro, (Evans)
  • Left side: Martinez, Shaw, (Evans)
  • Fullbacks: Dalot, Shaw, Malacia, Kadioglu
Click to expand...

I would definitely keep Maguire. He is a good squad player and mostly fit. One injury to Martinez/Shaw and we would be thin again on the LCB front.

Lindelöf has to go though.
 
I think the next CB should be a left footed one. We saw how the performances and results of the team dropped off with Licha being out. In normal circumstances, I would say it doesn't matter whether he is left or right footed as long as he can play LCB well, but managers these days prefer a Left footed CB on the left so we should get one as an option for Licha.

A versatile option like Calafiori or Hancko (if he is any good) could work out well as they can play LB at a good level too. Would be needed with both our options at LB an injury worry.

CB - Yoro, Calafiori, Martinez, Maguire, Evans
LB - Shaw, Malacia
RB - Dalot, Kadioglu

Out: AWB and Lindelof.
 
Hancko, Calafiori, Hincapie, Medina and then de Ligt.
 
All things being equal, I'd go Branthwaite. I think he'd be a more compatible partner for our existing CB options - he can play either side and has that extra yard of pace over someone like de Ligt, so we'd have a better chance of successfully playing a high line.

It does also depend on how far the budgets can stretch though. If signing de Ligt enables us to sign an additional full-back, I wouldn't be opposed to that either.
 
If the intention is for Yoro to be first choice, I wouldn't mind us going for a Nacho/O'Shea type versatility merchant who might not be elite, but can do a job anywhere along the backline without the overall level falling off a cliff.

If we're easing Yoro in, then we need an experienced first line RCB and De Ligt should do us. Ideally we'd still need a fullback who can play on either side as well, though.
 
Torn between MDL and Branthwaite - mostly because Jarrad is equally comfortable with both feet so that's a big advantage, plus age/nationality. Then you factor in signing of Yoro - having 2 quality RCB's - are we rotating and will they be happy?

But when you factor in the price Everton will demand (circa 70m+) and the current level of MDL, it becomes a simpler choice. We also have Shaw to cover LCB if needed.
 
I chose Branthwaite as the preferred option, though given the expected costs, won't happen. Largely because he's good with both feet and can play on the left side.
 
Will Yoro become a home grown player for us in 3 years? I think he's 18 right? Because that reduces our need for a home grown player if so and thus Branthwaite loses out a bit vs De Ligt on the squad planning front. I might still have signed him for £40m but for £60m+ I'm out. Has Tah been linked to us? I think he's pretty good but would assume he'd want to stay put for another season?
 
De Ligt or Hancko I’m very conflicted over which is the bigger priority and it depends on what we do with Shaw and Malacia
 
Feel like De Ligt is ready for his Odegaard style kick on.
 


This absolute leader, by a country mile. Absolutely certain it’s happening and that the plan is De Ligt/Martinez with Yoro as first rotation option.
This will be perfect for Yoro’s development as he will get lots of games and it also ensures we have a CB partnership up there with the best to start the season.
Same thing we should’ve done with Højlund to be fair, never right to throw such a young lad straight in like that. Luckily both Yoro and Højlund should both have the platform they deserve this season.
 
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Hancko added as poll option New
Hancko added as poll option. You can change vote, so if he was your choice, have at it.

We haven’t been linked with Calafiori at all, right? He’s Arsenal bound?
 
Id go for someone who can play both as a left sided and a right sided CB. Tah would be perfect. He won't cost a fortune, he's experienced, he's 6ft5, he's extremely fast and he's got great passing ability. By the time he is too old to be of use, Yoro would be in his prime and the Carlisle Kaiser would be heading towards the end of his contract. Who knows maybe Kambwala does well in the meantime and we bring him back on the cheap
 
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Fortitude said:
Hancko added as poll option. You can change vote, so if he was your choice, have at it.

We haven’t been linked with Calafiori at all, right? He’s Arsenal bound?
Click to expand...
Correct on both counts.
 
I voted De Ligt but would love to read some more meltdowns from that crazy Echo reporter
 
Very obviously De Ligt, but I think Yoro's arrival may have complicated things there. I assume both of them want to be starters, and we're not benching Lisandro. I'm not sure Yoro would've chosen to join us if he wasn't guaranteed to be a starter.
 
I like both De Ligt and Branthwaite. Hard to decide but went Branthwaite due to issues on LB with injuries i would be happy to have him deputise there and he can play both LCB and RCB so versatility and age and not big injury history wins it for me.
 
I went for De Ligt but would be very happy with Branthwaite also. The only problem with him is it's really hard not to type Braithwaite.
 
I've reluctantly opted for Branthwaite over De Ligt.

I can't seem to get over worries that Bayern Munich are moving De Ligt on due to concerns his knee ligament injuries are going to be ongoing. I would love to hear some expert opinions regarding this type of injury to ease my worries, because apart from that he would be a great signing.

However, for now, taking the injury worries into account, the fact we've been burnt by Bayern Munich before with Hargreaves and Schweinsteiger, along with Branthwaite's potential, his two-footedness and the fact he's English, I have to opt for him.

I'll be happy if we end up getting De Ligt and I'm proved wrong.
 
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De Ligt would be my preference. He adds physicality, leadership and experience.

I'm not the biggest fan of Branthwaite... he's clearly a very talented guy but I'm not yet fully sold on him. Plus, he's going to cost an ungodly amount of money and we're going to be left with 2 inexperienced options next to Martinez. Not ideal.

Tah seems suspiciously slow, I'm not sure if he's the best option next to Martinez. To be fair, he's also much cheaper and he looked great in Bayer's progressive system.

Haven't seen much of Hancko, so can't really comment on him. Calafiori is an interesting option but we'll need to reshuffle our entire defensive structure to fit him in. He's talented enough to warrant it but it's a big decision.
 
It’s a difficult one. Long term I think Branthwaite has the more potential upside - he can play both sides and he has great physical attributes. Himself and Yoro could be an elite pairing. But you’re banking on two high potential talents both paying out - and Branthwaite has one good season behind him at 22. It’s a risk.

In the here and now, De Ligt brings a guaranteed level of performance along with some much needed leadership. He’s experienced at the highest levels and showed his best football under our coach. However he has a few limitations which put a ceiling on how good he will ever be and there are injury concerns there as well.

I’m really not sure.
 
I'd be very happy with either De Ligt or Tah. Part of me thinks Tah's ball-playing ability would be more what we need, but I do like De Ligt's mentality and no-nonsense defending as well. EIther of them should, in theory at least, be a clear upgrade and strengthen our defence for some time to come.

I don't think having both Yoro and Branthwaite really works. Having one young central defender competing with two more experienced players is a good balance, whereas I don't think having two young defenders competing with each other (and one more experienced player) is great. At least not when both are big money signings.

I don't think I've ever seen Hancko play a game or was aware he existed until he was mentioned on here a couple of days ago, so no idea.
 
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