Shopping Southampton

[Trizy]

Clyne, Schneiderlin, Strootman and Depay/Reus would complete us imo but then we'd still need a top class centre back. Those four alone could take our spending close to or just above a hundred million pounds, a top class CB would take that figure closer to £150m and I don't know if the powers that be would allow Woodward to spend that much again. If this season ends with us attaining our major objective then we would need to sign those five players for depth, balance and general improvement so that we can at least hold our own in the CL.

Do we really need a RB though? Rafael on form (and injury free!) is one of the best in the league and Valencia has proved this season he's more than capable of being a RB back up.

LB we could do with backup although we have Blind and Rojo who can both play that position and would be now only for our other injuries, people keep talking about full backs but we don't really need them but if we were to buy a quality attacking LB then Ricardo Rodriguez is the man, he has 6 goals in all competitions in 15 games!

CB is where the money needs to be invested, we could pick up 2 quality CBs for £50 million in my opinion, even less if we opted towards Garay as one of them.

Strootman seems to be nailed on although I'm skeptical due to his injury

and finally a winger, Depay being the obvious and hopefully cheap option, although if Reus does not sign soon a £25 million buyout will come into effect and we should do everything in our power to sign him

 

[Santos J]

Do we really need a RB though? Rafael on form (and injury free!) is one of the best in the league and Valencia has proved this season he's more than capable of being a RB back up.

Rafael injury free is a rarity though and Valencia is alright but we need a bit more than capable considering there's a good chance they'd be playing around half of our games with how often Rafa likes to pick up knocks.

 

[itso 7]

Do we really need a RB though? Rafael on form (and injury free!) is one of the best in the league and Valencia has proved this season he's more than capable of being a RB back up.

LB we could do with backup although we have Blind and Rojo who can both play that position and would be now only for our other injuries, people keep talking about full backs but we don't really need them but if we were to buy a quality attacking LB then Ricardo Rodriguez is the man, he has 6 goals in all competitions in 15 games!

CB is where the money needs to be invested, we could pick up 2 quality CBs for £50 million in my opinion, even less if we opted towards Garay as one of them.

Strootman seems to be nailed on although I'm skeptical due to his injury

and finally a winger, Depay being the obvious and hopefully cheap option, although if Reus does not sign soon a £25 million buyout will come into effect and we should do everything in our power to sign him

I think the time has come for us to pla ahead with a more reliable option for the right back position because Rafael doesn't look like he will outgrow his fitness issues anytime soon.

 

[Ekeke]

Valencia has been fine, might get found out on the big occasion but we'll see. Clyne would want to play every week, its really not a pressing concern for us

 

[SonnyTheHaloPro]

I would absolutely love Schniederlin here, we would bring such control and power which we lack in midfield. He can play as the number 8 or 6 and is already use to the "pace" of the Premier League. We need some more warrior/leader type players and he ticks every box for me.

Clyne as well, if we have full backs we probably won't have to see this 3-5-2 rubbish every week. Have no idea what he'd cost but he has been very good this season, English as well so would help establish a core again.

 

[Ole's_toe_poke]

Ward-Prowse and Clyne. I think Schneiderlin is slightly below 'top 4' level.

 

[SonnyTheHaloPro]

Ward-Prowse and Clyne. I think Schneiderlin is slightly below 'top 4' level.

He's better than Herrera, Fellaini and Blind.

 

[Ekeke]

He's better than Herrera, Fellaini and Blind.

Also Chamberlain, Cazorla and Arteta

The only midfield he definitely wouldnt start in is Chelsea's. Unless they moved Fabregas further forward, which would be fine for them

 

[Ringo 07]

Harrison Reid was impressive in his debut in the 3-0 win over Everton on Saturday. He is tipped for big things. We definitely should sign Clyne.....I'm not sure if we have any interest in Schneiderlin but he would be nice but can't see it happening.....we have no chance of getting Reus as was mentioned in an earlier post

 

[Ringo 07]

Clyne would be a good back up for both Shaw and Rafael or first option when they are injured.. if not Clyne pay 40m for Azpilacueta....

Utter nonsence...Clyne would comfortably be ahead of injury prone Rafael....And Azpilacueta won't be coming here for any money....Mourinho only sells us players he has no interest in for vastly inflated amounts

 

[Sean_RedDevil]

Just a note on Harrison Reed who made his debut against Everton in midfield this weekend and was easily one of the best players on the pitch. He made 14 tackles in his single game - only a handful of our players have made 14 tackles all season let alone in one match. Could be one to keep an eye on

Very nice interview with him
http://www.thefa.com/news/england/development/2014/dec/harrison-reed-delighted-with-first-start

 

[m1y2]

Utter nonsence...Clyne would comfortably be ahead of injury prone Rafael....And Azpilacueta won't be coming here for any money....Mourinho only sells us players he has no interest in for vastly inflated amounts

Every player has its value that was just a guess, silly money, would never pay that for him and I know they will not sell, but both players are great that they can cover both wings so we could have saved some wages. Rafael fit is comfortably better than anyone in the premier league but yes he is prone to injuries, so he could paly when he is fit and Clyne can play the other time, all of them three incl. Shaw could still have a lot of game time..

 

[The Mitcher]

Clyne turned us down because of game time and not wanting to be a back up, why the hell would he join us for the role he rejected?

 

[DarkXaero]

Clyne turned us down because of game time and not wanting to be a back up, why the hell would he join us for the role he rejected?

Because it'll be a different role this time? He would be expected to be a starter.

 

[The Mitcher]

Because it'll be a different role this time? He would be expected to be a starter.

No he wouldn't, because when fit and on form, Rafael is miles better.

 

[Hellboy]

No he wouldn't, because when fit and on form, Rafael is miles better.

We all love Rafael but we can't rely on him. Clyne would still play 20+ games a season if we are in the CL.

 

[Brightonian]

We all love Rafael but we can't rely on him. Clyne would still play 20+ games a season if we are in the CL.

You're still missing his point though. When fit, Rafael is comfortably the better player. So by definition Clyne would be second choice, which is a role he already turned down.

 

[Hellboy]

You're still missing his point though. When fit, Rafael is comfortably the better player. So by definition Clyne would be second choice, which is a role he already turned down.

Rafael is rarely fit.

 

[The Mitcher]

Rafael is rarely fit.

Again you don't get the point do you?!

 

[SonnyTheHaloPro]

Rafael isn't miles better than Clyne when fit, what on earth are you on about? It's like our players just like Liverpools become 10x better when Injured.

Clyne this season has been class, he would easily start over Rafael who let's face it, will probably never be fully fit for 40plus games anyway.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

'When fit' doesn't happen enough in Rafael's case.

 

[JPRouve]

why the hell would he join us for the role he rejected?

If he has confidence in his own abilities, he will probably understand that he can take Rafael's place, since he is fitter and not far from Rafael's level.
Which can make him, take a different decision.

PS: When he refused us, he was a young championship player, playing for Crystal Palace, right ?

 

[Sean_RedDevil]

No he wouldn't, because when fit and on form, Rafael is miles better.

Again you don't get the point do you?!

He isn't miles ahead of Clyne......Clyne plays steadily very good football over the last 2 years and i haven't seen that of Rafael.

I haven't given up on Rafael's potential but he must stay fit and do more in the next months......otherwise new top-class RB and then it depends on Rafael to be second choice or he goes.

He isn't a kid anymore.....it is his 7th season!!!!!......he's not on the level he should be after so many years at the club.
The club must go back to the level of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.....with a current Rafael that isn't possible.

I don't wanna say Clyne will be the player (I have 2-3 others over Clyne) but if anyone thinks Rafael is better than Clyne......then he must be blind.

 

[Ekeke]

Rafael is definitely better defensively.

 

[Fahad Jawaid]

Whenever i have seen Clyne, i have never seen whats so amazing about him, he's average going forward with a good shot on him, but Rafael is a different animal all together, we have seen Rafael being the best player in our side in plenty of matches, and how he improves our side going forward, with the talent we have in our squad only few right backs would be able to achieve that, i believe rather than spending 20 odd million on him, we should buy a competent rightback for 5 to 7 million bracket who can cover LB/RB, and then go for a CB all in.

 

[Mciahel Goodman]

The real question for me is, Clyne or Coleman? Personally, I think Coleman would be the better signing.

 

[Fahad Jawaid]

And another thing, if we were to buy a player from Southampton it wud love it to be Schneiderlin.

 

[Ekeke]

The real question for me is, Clyne or Coleman? Personally, I think Coleman would be the better signing.

Easily

 

[manutddjw]

I don't see the point in buying Clyne. Rafael has his issues, but Valencia is more than adequate backup at RB. Between the 2 of them RB isn't a main area of concern.

When you factor in the cost it would take to land Clyne (at minimum 25 million) it doesn't seem worth it. He and Rafael are close to the same age and talent wise there isn't that much between them. For the money we'd have to spend, you'd want someone who is an upgrade, which Clyne isn't really.

Clyne's injury record is what separates them, but whose to say he wouldn't follow our other defenders lead and get injured. Shaw had a good injury record before we signed him too.

 

[Gannicus]

Clyne, a decent back, would be a misuse or presumably precious resources. Better to roll the dice on Varela, a player who's already on our books and who has looked very sharp.

 

[Redo91]

Huge fan of Rafael but to suggest that he is "miles" better than Clyne is just wrong!

 

[NoPace]

Alderweild would make some sense as a backup CB. Suited well enough to 3 at the back.

 

[Carl]

None of them.

Really? Schneiderlin is the 2nd bst DM in the league in my opinion.

 

[Carl]

Wanyama of course. Beast of a player and has the potential to reach Yaya toures level.

He'll never be anywhere near Yaya. The massive difference being Wanyama is nowhere near as effective going forward.

 

[Carl]

We should have signed Clyne before he went to Southampton. We were linked for years and seemed like such an obvious (and very typically United like) transfer.

I don't rate him as highly as some appear to but I think he'd make a fantastic squad option with a view to maybe forcing his way into the first team.

 

[Carl]

Ward-Prowse and Clyne. I think Schneiderlin is slightly below 'top 4' level.

Nonsense. He's brilliant. He's nailed on to move in the Summer to a bigger club so I guess we'll see soon enough.

Blind has made a really good start to his United career but Schneiderlin is Carrick's natural sucessor IMO.

 

[Carl]

Rafael is definitely better defensively.

Agreed. Ridiculous how there are still so many people who think Rafa can't defend. He's actually an excellent defender for a fullback these days but his concentration occasionally lets him down - which is an issue with Clyne also.

 

[Revan]

The real question for me is, Clyne or Coleman? Personally, I think Coleman would be the better signing.

Coleman last season was at-least as good as Rafael on 12-13 (if not better). Clyne, while good, has never played on that level.

If we want a new first choice, it should be Coleman (assuming that we shop only in EPL). For a backup, Clyne would do fine, especially considering that he can play on both flanks.

 

[WR10]

He'll never be anywhere near Yaya. The massive difference being Wanyama is nowhere near as effective going forward.

Yaya was never known for his effectiveness going forward. Yaya had almost 20 goals his whole career before he joined city at the age of ~27. He started in the same role as Wanyama up until he got to city where they started moulding him into a different beast. Wanyama has that same potential really.

 

[Carl]

Yaya was never known for his effectiveness going forward. Yaya had almost 20 goals his whole career before he joined city at the age of ~27. He started in the same role as Wanyama up until he got to city where they started moulding him into a different beast. Wanyama has that same potential really.

Safe to say I disagree. Even though Yaya was the DM at Barca he always had sound technical ability in the way he looked after the ball. Wanyama doesn't show that at all, though he does excel at the defensive side of things obviously.