James Maddison

[ArjenIsM3]

No idea why anyone would have an issue with us signing Maddison, apart from him not being foreign and having fancy name that is.

Don't get it either. Has played very well every time I've watched him (couple of full games), young, homegrown, statistically the most creative player in the PL.. He's reportedly a bit of a cnut off the pitch but if it doesn't affect his game I don't really care.

 

[beingshe7don]

If the rumors are true, what's this sudden fetish to buy British players only? Maddison is good but we seem to be targeting fairy average players. I don't even understand why we would be looking for an attacking midfielder since we play a 4-3-3.

 

[kafta]

Just look at Liverpool and Spurs who are doing better than we are.

Spurs have lost plenty of their best players over the last 10 years or so and are in the best position they've been in most likely. Liverpool sold who was considered their best player, Coutinho and won the champions league

Sometimes you have to sacrifice one or two great players who arent working out and arent as important to your team as they should be (De Gea poor season, Pogba good season but still not as good as for France) as getting 2 or 3 other players in who are performing at their best level.

I agree with the idea, but I don’t think I have faith in our ability to sign better replacements. We’ve had more misses than hits. Liverpool have basically signed all the right players.

What’s important is we move forward. Donno if you saw Howson’s interview with Simon stone, but he Gave good insight at the difference in planning between us and Liverpool.

 

[RedDevilCanuck]

Alot of talk about character and bad apples.

We once had Rooney, Ronaldo, Giggs and Tevez on the same team!

I want great players. Nice guys mostly dont make it to the top.

 

[red4ever 79]

If the rumors are true, what's this sudden fetish to buy British players only? Maddison is good but we seem to be targeting fairy average players. I don't even understand why we would be looking for an attacking midfielder since we play a 4-3-3.

Formation and identity dont mean anything at Utd. Ole has said we need young British players, it doenst matter to Ed which position they play.

 

[beingshe7don]

Formation and identity dont mean anything at Utd. Ole has said we need young British players, it doenst matter to Ed which position they play.

Wow... that's just wonderful thinking. We are supposed to be United.... It's ironic how divided we are with respect to everything football related.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

If the rumors are true, what's this sudden fetish to buy British players only? Maddison is good but we seem to be targeting fairy average players. I don't even understand why we would be looking for an attacking midfielder since we play a 4-3-3.

I can't see any evidence that we want to buy British players only. We are linked to numerous foreign players. I think it's safe to assume that we are doing whatever we can to get De Ligt and the interest in Bruno Fernandes seems serious.

The idea is that we want a core of young hungry British players.

 

[André Dominguez]

Formation and identity dont mean anything at Utd. Ole has said we need young British players, it doenst matter to Ed which position they play.

British or not, we need players who are highly professional and have a strong determination (besides the obvious technical and tactical quaities). IMHO, these are the key traits for a top player to be successful at any club.

What's the point of hiring British talent if personality wise they won't fit into a very high competitive context?

 

[bond19821982]

Okay with this signing provided he is not our Pogba replacement.
Or
Upgrade our forward options and bring him in.

If the plan is to sell Pogba and bring Maddison in with Rashford /Martial still our forward options, we will be 6th again.

 

[Ekeke]

I agree with the idea, but I don’t think I have faith in our ability to sign better replacements. We’ve had more misses than hits. Liverpool have basically signed all the right players.

What’s important is we move forward. Donno if you saw Howson’s interview with Simon stone, but he Gave good insight at the difference in planning between us and Liverpool.

Yeah I agree with that. Our record with signings in recent times is terrible

 

[devilish]

Inter arent Madrid or Barcelona and you arent talking about within the past 10 years.

Beckham went to Madrid because Sir Alex and he had a poor relationship at that time. He got too big for his boots so the club wanted rid, it wasnt the player forcing a move it was Sir Alex.

And once again you're talking about the CORE of the side. You dont want a whole bunch of players wanting to move and causing problems at once. You only want to have a couple of Ronaldos and Pogbas on top of your settled, British core of players who you know is going to stay there for the majority of their career because they always wanted to be winning the premier league, not la liga.

If you have a core of foreign players who dont view the league the same way because they didnt grow up dreaming about just winning the premier league and staying there the entirety of their careers, then you could have a problem convincing several players at once to stay. To some extent we already have that now.

With Ander already gone, De Gea and Pogba not signing contracts, even Mata apparently has an offer and for some reason didnt sign it the moment he got it, we have a problem right this moment with tying down a bunch of our foreign players let alone if the squad was a majority foreign players and we didnt have the British players we can fall back on while the fancy lads are pouting about only earning £200k a week.

At the time Inter were more generous in terms of salary them Real was. This core is a bit silly

A- The best EPL sides don't have it
B- Players aren't loyal as they used to be. Agents tend to dictate stuff not players
C-Money play a key role in persuading players to stay or sign with the club. Nowadays the EPL is loaded and even United players, in our state, can opt for us instead of Real
D- Players have contracts which means that players have a short time window when they can actually force their club to sell
E- There are very few clubs that can attract players from the EPL top sides in the first place.
F- Those who can do E would prefer buying players from other clubs as they are cheaper
G-Those who insist on E and F would only afford 1 player at a time max. Which makes it almost impossible for a team to be dismantled. United are not Ajax. The selling club usually ends up with a cart of money to spend as well

The only way you ensure that a player won't go to Real is to have a squad filled with Lingards and Joneses

 

[SadlerMUFC]

Anyone who’s against this hasn’t learned a thing from the last 6 years and has also been paying no attention to Liverpool. This is a great signing if we pull it off.

My only problem with this is that we should have signed him before Leicester did. It's the same with Maguire. Our scouts have to find these players before they make a name for themself and become expensive signings. This is why I like the idea of signing James from Swansea...

 

[OL29]

Inter arent Madrid or Barcelona and you arent talking about within the past 10 years.

Beckham went to Madrid because Sir Alex and he had a poor relationship at that time. He got too big for his boots so the club wanted rid, it wasnt the player forcing a move it was Sir Alex.

And once again you're talking about the CORE of the side. You dont want a whole bunch of players wanting to move and causing problems at once. You only want to have a couple of Ronaldos and Pogbas on top of your settled, British core of players who you know is going to stay there for the majority of their career because they always wanted to be winning the premier league, not la liga.

If you have a core of foreign players who dont view the league the same way because they didnt grow up dreaming about just winning the premier league and staying there the entirety of their careers, then you could have a problem convincing several players at once to stay. To some extent we already have that now.

With Ander already gone, De Gea and Pogba not signing contracts, even Mata apparently has an offer and for some reason didnt sign it the moment he got it, we have a problem right this moment with tying down a bunch of our foreign players let alone if the squad was a majority foreign players and we didnt have the British players we can fall back on while the fancy lads are pouting about only earning £200k a week.

This is getting more and more xenophobic as this conversation goes on. I hate this attitude of foreign players being weak-minded mercenaries. It's equally as stupid as dismissing all British players as not being good enough.

 

[red4ever 79]

British or not, we need players who are highly professional and have a strong determination (besides the obvious technical and tactical quaities). IMHO, these are the key traits for a top player to be successful at any club.

What's the point of hiring British talent if personality wise they won't fit into a very high competitive context?

Fully agree we need to be going for players with desire and work ethic and wanting to die for the club. I just wish we would have some kind of identity. Maddison plays as a number 10? Does that mean Ole will go down that route next season?

 

[Adam-Utd]

Maddison links up really well with Vardy, I can see that partnership with Rashford being great also.

Not sure why people are seeming so down on this? He's a top young player. Stepped up into the Premier league and looked a baller from day 1.

He's obviously a united fan too, what more can you want?

 

[Red_toad]

Alot of talk about character and bad apples.

We once had Rooney, Ronaldo, Giggs and Tevez on the same team!

I want great players. Nice guys mostly dont make it to the top.

Messi seems a genuinely nice guy. Indeed most of the old Barca team were gentlemen!

 

[Freak]

I wouldn't mind him here. He's the best british number 10 out there currently. I just wonder how we will play if we get a pure number 10 though (and we seem to be linked to a few including Bruno). And what happens to Pogba as well.

 

[Adam-Utd]

Messi seems a genuinely nice guy. Indeed most of the old Barca team were gentlemen!

He's got 1 of the biggest ego's out there.

 

[Lash]

Maddison links up really well with Vardy, I can see that partnership with Rashford being great also.

Not sure why people are seeming so down on this? He's a top young player. Stepped up into the Premier league and looked a baller from day 1.

He's obviously a united fan too, what more can you want?

Is he?

 

[Ekeke]

This is getting more and more xenophobic as this conversation goes on. I hate this attitude of foreign players being weak-minded mercenaries. It's equally as stupid as dismissing all British players as not being good enough.

Yeah yeah, its not like our British players signed contracts for less than 200k while De Gea and Pogba want pay rises

 

[Freak]

Can we offer Leceister Lingard as part of the deal? Please?

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Maddison links up really well with Vardy, I can see that partnership with Rashford being great also.

Not sure why people are seeming so down on this? He's a top young player. Stepped up into the Premier league and looked a baller from day 1.

He's obviously a united fan too, what more can you want?

Prefer him to be Portuguese and only have ever seen him play on youtube comps.

 

[André Dominguez]

Fully agree we need to be going for players with desire and work ethic and wanting to die for the club. I just wish we would have some kind of identity. Maddison plays as a number 10? Does that mean Ole will go down that route next season?

Maddison is one of those attacking midfielders who like to go a bit wide and then cut inside, but really can't say he offers width. It will pretty much depend on our major plan to see where he could fit. But I fear he's going to cost a fortune and the risk-benefit may not payoff.

With all the TV money EPL clubs don't have the necessity to sell players to make some extra vital bucks for those cold winter nights.

 

[OL29]

Yeah yeah, its not like our British players signed contracts for less than 200k while De Gea and Pogba want pay rises

Isn't Rashford currently negotiating for a £200k+ salary? Shock horror, players want to be paid their worth.
I wonder what nationality Wayne Rooney was, I always assumed he was from the UK but given his salary demands, I guess he was from Eastern Europe or maybe Scandinavia.

 

[André Dominguez]

Prefer him to be Portuguese and only have ever seen him play on youtube comps.

I'm going to be honest: despite being Benfica fan, the cost-benefit of both Felix and/or Maddison are a big risk IMHO.

 

[Van Piorsing]

I wouldn't mind him here. He's the best british number 10 out there currently. I just wonder how we will play if we get a pure number 10 though (and we seem to be linked to a few including Bruno). And what happens to Pogba as well.

Maddinson is good player with capacity for further improvement. If Pogba will have his weaker form or one of his weird moods, then I'm sure Maddinson will be glad to step up.

Healthy rivalry on one position is nothing bad a this point, it could also give Pogba motivation to instill more consistency into his game.

Maddinson can't damage our team.

 

[flappyjay]

This is getting more and more xenophobic as this conversation goes on. I hate this attitude of foreign players being weak-minded mercenaries. It's equally as stupid as dismissing all British players as not being good enough.

True. It doesn't matter the nationality even British players want stability, league titles at some point. The cr7 transfer keeps being used as a reference point even though he was the only foreign player to have pushed for a transfer. RVP left glamorous London to go win league a title in Manchester

 

[Devil81]

The more I think about it the more I think Leicester will be thinking 60 million are you for real. He's an impressive player who will be in the demand and the fact Leicester know were in the rebuild stage means they will more than likely demand more than that figure.

 

[SER19]

Would you take rabiot fernandes and madison for the same fee wed get for pogba

(or insert your own 130m midfield)

 

[SER19]

Is he?

I've heard him say he grew up loving Beckham (hard to believe since he was about 8 when Beckham left united, but hey ho)

 

[OL29]

True. It doesn't matter the nationality even British players want stability, league titles at some point. The cr7 transfer keeps being used as a reference point even though he was the only foreign player to have pushed for a transfer. RVP left glamorous London to go win league a title in Manchester

Exactly, it'a a load of shit, look at Aguero, Silva, Hazard etc. they've all spent their peak years at premier league clubs. Signing players based on where they are or aren't from is dangerous grounds.

 

[Freak]

Maddinson is good player with capacity for further improvement. If Pogba will have his weaker form or one of his weird moods, then I'm sure Maddinson will be glad to step up.

Healthy rivalry on one position is nothing bad a this point, it could also give Pogba motivation to instill more consistency into his game.

Maddinson can't damage our team.

Definitely. In fact, could this signing also signal a shift to a 4-4-2 diamond?

---------------------De Gea------------------
Dalot------New CB-----Lindelof-----Shaw
-------------------New DM-----------------
----------Bruno---------------Pogba------
-------------------Maddison---------------
--------Rashford------------Martial------

 

[flappyjay]

Prefer him to be Portuguese and only have ever seen him play on youtube comps.

Then pretend to have watched him enough to form an opinion on how is much better than potential transfer a and b

 

[Classical Mechanic]

I'm going to be honest: despite being Benfica fan, the cost-benefit of both Felix and/or Maddison are a big risk IMHO.

I was being facetious granted but people go on about over-hyped English players but it literally an industry in Portugal to over hype players over there to get big fees from abroad, its how the top clubs run.

I'm not passing judgement on Fernandes or Felix and I'm not against signing either but you have to consider levels. I'd say that aside from the top 3 sides in Portugal the level is similar to The Championship so players at these top clubs are playing against greatly over-matched opposition most of the time.

Only the top 5 sides in the Portuguese league have a positive goal difference! Sporting were 22 points ahead of 5th place in 3rd and Benfica 35 ahead in 1st. Benfica scored 103 goals this season in an 18 team league!

I'm sure if Maddison was playing for one of those sides over there he'd look absolutely out of this world.

If you watch Maddison in the Championship last season he was electric


Since stepping into the PL though you can see that he's still good at dribbling but hasn't been able to take the piss as much and he's scored less bangers.

You get less space in the PL and get closed down quicker. I think Maddison had a great season this year and at 22 can grow further. I agree with you in that it's a risk signing Fernandes in particular because there's no guarantee he'll be able to do the same in the PL.

 

[Van Piorsing]

Definitely. In fact, could this signing also signal a shift to a 4-4-2 diamond?

---------------------De Gea------------------
Dalot------New CB-----Lindelof-----Shaw
-------------------New DM-----------------
----------Bruno---------------Pogba------
-------------------Maddison---------------
--------Rashford------------Martial------

With a proper DM with stamina and defensive skills, Pogba would thrive in this and would still be able to attack at some point, not to mention he likes playing bit on the left side on the pitch as he's able to cross the ball like he did to Herrera vs Chelsea.

If that new CB will have natural leadership skills then defensively it'll look hermetic enough for a visible improvement.

 

[Mcking]

If the rumors are true, what's this sudden fetish to buy British players only? Maddison is good but we seem to be targeting fairy average players. I don't even understand why we would be looking for an attacking midfielder since we play a 4-3-3.

Nominal 4-3-3. With Ole, we've applied many formations ranging from lopsided 4-3-3 to 4-4-2, diamond, 4-2-3-1 to 3-5-2. Our team is a bit unbalanced, and I wouldn't say we play 4-3-3.

 

[Mcking]

Would you take rabiot fernandes and madison for the same fee wed get for pogba

(or insert your own 130m midfield)

That is two CAMs, a CM and no DM. I'd buy one of Fernandes-Maddison and pursue Rodri instead.
Rodri(70m)
Rabiot
Maddison(60m)

 

[Freak]

Would you take rabiot fernandes and madison for the same fee wed get for pogba

(or insert your own 130m midfield)

Demand 150m for Pogba. Get the following players in using that money:

1. Rabiot (free)
2. Maddison (60m)
3. Bruno (60m)
4. Longstaff (20m) or Rice (30m + 20m of our own money)

 

[manunited1919]

Okay with this signing provided he is not our Pogba replacement.
Or
Upgrade our forward options and bring him in.

If the plan is to sell Pogba and bring Maddison in with Rashford /Martial still our forward options, we will be 6th again.

With Maddison and Lingard starting, and with Rashford as our main striker, I would place a bet we don’t even make 6th.

 

[Suv666]

Really hope we go for him. Much much better than paying 100m for Felix.