What do we still need? Aka The never ending story

WolfInSharp'sClothing

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I think the most pressing matter (that I expect will be dealt with immediately) is that Smalling and Jones only have 3 or 4 years respectively left on their current deals.
 

L1nk

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I think the most pressing matter (that I expect will be dealt with immediately) is that Smalling and Jones only have 3 or 4 years respectively left on their current deals.
Not to mention we need to give Lingard a new contract for his unbelievable season, fortunately the rumour is we are offering him one, hopefully he accepts asap, i won't rest until I know he's signed it.
 

Kidders

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We need two defenders, AWB & deLigt/Koulibally are the expensive options (and mine) or Meunier & Toby for a third of the outlay ?
I'd argue for a new midfield of Fernades/VDB/N'Dombele - Rodri - Rabiot, I'd still push for Sancho, if not him the best RW available and a new #9
If De Gea leaves then Oblak is the best replacement available, if we can't get a quality #9 then stick with Lukaku for another season.
Personally I'd like another LB to give Shaw some competion.
 

sp_107

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Well, LVG was that. Mourinho and his team had previous success.
Even Klopp, Guardiola and Pochettino would need to shift out half the squad and make 8/9 new signings before this team would be able to make a challenge.
So right, that's why people should stop saying this is not FM and we need only 3/4 signings etc, If we want to seriously challenge for tittles then we should reset once and start again.

Young/Rojo/Jones/Darmian/Baily/Smalling/Mata/Lingard/Matic wouldn't make it to any top teams and if we are selling Alexis/Lukaku/Pogba/Degea we should buy 7/8 top players in this window. You can say its not practical but with money in hand everything is possible

Great thing about this window is so much young talent available from France/Germany/Portugal/Holland/England to choose
 

WolfInSharp'sClothing

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Juventus want Pogba, but have to sell before they can buy. United are said to want £130m for him.

There are many players in the Juve squad that are probably available and would improve your first team. Cancelo, Sandro, Rugani, Costa and Dybala for example.

Just do a straight swap for a couple of their players and spend you money on a Pogba replacement.
 

redIndianDevil

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Well, LVG was that. Mourinho and his team had previous success.
Even Klopp, Guardiola and Pochettino would need to shift out half the squad and make 8/9 new signings before this team would be able to make a challenge.
When I mean a good coach, I mean a good one not ones who were good a decade ago. LvG was way past it and Mourinho was on the brink of becoming past it. Neither of them were good enough. The moment we get in a good manager/coach who has a particular style, then our requirements of players will become a lot clearer and will enable us to sign better fits for our squad.
 

Shark

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We need a good manager/coach. Rest of the things will fall in place once we do that.
It’s startling how many fans are now completely ignoring the importance of this, just because Jose was sacked. We can buy whoever we want but if Ole isn’t up to the task, it doesn’t really matter.
 

kirk buttercup

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Juventus want Pogba, but have to sell before they can buy. United are said to want £130m for him.

There are many players in the Juve squad that are probably available and would improve your first team. Cancelo, Sandro, Rugani, Costa and Dybala for example.

Just do a straight swap for a couple of their players and spend you money on a Pogba replacement.
I agree , if he is going to leave which I think looks inevitable unfortunately, Dybala and Cancelo please , then go out and get Bruno ,Rabiot, Van de Beek and we should still have some change left to pick up a CB ( Lukaku + cash for Skriniar ?). This team needs big changes and while I appreciate all the above is probably not possible in one window we need to go back to no player is bigger than the club . De gea and Pogba are our best players when they want to be , disappointingly I don't think they want to be united players anymore .
 

Tosicsleftpeg

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Positions we desperately need to fill...

RB is literally a must, we have absolutely nothing in that position apart from Dalot who needs time and young who is seriously poor. Bisaka wild be perfect and would help the defence massively.

CB the options at CB are quite poor, lindelof is decent and smalling is an ok backup but that's about it. I saw someone mention ake from Bournemouth that's a good shout.

CM need a decent cdm and a creative player to finish off the midfield to replace Herrera matic

RW hopefully James can fill in here but still think we could do with a dedicated left footer who cuts in.

We do need other positions but I think those 5 are absolutely key.
 

Fosu-Mens

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So right, that's why people should stop saying this is not FM and we need only 3/4 signings etc, If we want to seriously challenge for tittles then we should reset once and start again.

Young/Rojo/Jones/Darmian/Baily/Smalling/Mata/Lingard/Matic wouldn't make it to any top teams and if we are selling Alexis/Lukaku/Pogba/Degea we should buy 7/8 top players in this window. You can say its not practical but with money in hand everything is possible

Great thing about this window is so much young talent available from France/Germany/Portugal/Holland/England to choose
The club does not care about challenging seriously for titles. As long as top 4 is reached, then everything is good. In theory we could buy 10 players that would improve the squad this window and still be within £200m net spend and keeping Pogba. The problem is selling the players we already have. Valencia and Herrera are gone, and Mata should leave on a free. Lukaku and DDG have suitors, and DDG could be replaced with a better ability on the ball. Lukaku does not actually need replacing, but we would need an attacking player. Sanchez, Rojo and Lingard are unlikely to leave the club without getting some financial incentive. Darmian will leave for peanuts. Bailly and Jones might have some destinations dependent on fee demanded. Don't think our recruitement deciders will be able to make this number of ins and outs based on previous summers.
 

Fosu-Mens

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When I mean a good coach, I mean a good one not ones who were good a decade ago. LvG was way past it and Mourinho was on the brink of becoming past it. Neither of them were good enough. The moment we get in a good manager/coach who has a particular style, then our requirements of players will become a lot clearer and will enable us to sign better fits for our squad.
Think LVG is a good coach, problem is that his way to handle players with some ego is not timerelevant.

The bolded part is very true, questions is if the "structure" is able to find these players.
 

redIndianDevil

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Think LVG is a good coach, problem is that his way to handle players with some ego is not timerelevant.

The bolded part is very true, questions is if the "structure" is able to find these players.
LvG was not a good coach by the time we had him. Even he stated that he stopped taking any part in actual coaching and delegated all the tasks to his assistants, somehow I don't see Guardiola/Klopp/Pochettino doing the same.
 

redIndianDevil

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It’s startling how many fans are now completely ignoring the importance of this, just because Jose was sacked. We can buy whoever we want but if Ole isn’t up to the task, it doesn’t really matter.
I think majority of the people have accepted that OGS will be the manager next season, so we have to go along with it, I got tired of the "well who else is there?", "at least give Ole two transfer windows to fix the team" responses.
 

Relfy

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LvG was not a good coach by the time we had him. Even he stated that he stopped taking any part in actual coaching and delegated all the tasks to his assistants, somehow I don't see Guardiola/Klopp/Pochettino doing the same.
Fergie stopped taking training sessions for years before he retired, and that hardly worked out badly for us.

We won't get everything we need this summer, so it's a case of addressing the needs of the squad this window, and then replacing players we can live with until next summer.

Summer 2019
RB - AWB looks the main option. Meurnier as a backup option.
CB - We need someone here. I doubt De Ligt or Koulibaly will happen, but think Maguire is more attainable and is likely to happen. Ruben Dias looks a good prospect.
CM - I think we need 2 options here as a minimum. Bruno plus Rice/Ndidi would be good business.

DDG
AWB-Lindelof-Maguire-Shaw
Rice/Ndidi
McT - Pogba
Bruno
Rashford-Lukaku/Martial

It looks like we will go with a diamond formation, and this should allow greater control and creativity from midfield. Rice or Ndidi could act as destroyer and AWB and Maguire would strengthen the back line considerably.

This also allows for the likes of Gomes, Greenwood and Chong to get regular minutes, especially in the cups and Europa. The likes of Matic, Mata and Lingard can come in and out of the team too.

Summer 2020
RW - Try to lure Sancho. He won't join this summer and he is the best available out there. I think we will wait for him.
CF - I can see Lukaku being deemed replaceable
GK - De Gea leaves on a free and we replace with Henderson/Romero. I don't see us paying 120m for Oblak.
CM - Possible Pogba replacement if he agitates for a move to Real
LB - Solid backup / competition for Shaw

Henderson/Romero
AWB-Lindelof-Maguire-Shaw
Rice/Ndidi
Gomes - Bruno
Sancho - Rashford - Martial

All dependent on the progression of Gomes and the likes and whether thety can make the step up.

This would give us a solid base from which to work from and would allow us to make tweaks as we need them. It also gives us a good core of English players which looks to fit in with the business we are trying to do now.
 

Fer

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If we can't sign Sancho, then 442 (diamond) formation would get the best of our players.

GK: De Gea, Romero
RB: Wan Bissaka, Dalot
CB: De Ligt, Lindelof, Smalling, Bailly
LB: Shaw, Young
CDM: Ndidi, McTominay
CRM: Van de Beek, Fred
CLM: Pogba, Pereira
CAM: Fernandes, Lingard
SS: Felix, James
ST: Rashford, Martial

OUT: Rojo, Darmian, Jones, Valencia, Matic, Sanchez, Lukaku.

De Gea
Wan Bissaka - Lindelof - De Ligt - Shaw
Ndidi
Van de Beek - Pogba
Fernandes
Felix - Rashford​

Next summer, if we sell Pogba, we can buy Sancho and play 433 with Fernandes in Pogba's position.
I didn't mention the likes of Rodri, N'Dombele, Havertz, Eriksen, Cancelo, etc because I think they won't join us this season.
 

bucky

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If we can't sign Sancho, then 442 (diamond) formation would get the best of our players.

GK: De Gea, Romero
RB: Wan Bissaka, Dalot
CB: De Ligt, Lindelof, Smalling, Bailly
LB: Shaw, Young
CDM: Ndidi, McTominay
CRM: Van de Beek, Fred
CLM: Pogba, Pereira
CAM: Fernandes, James
SS: Felix, Lingard
ST: Rashford, Martial

OUT: Rojo, Darmian, Jones, Valencia, Matic, Sanchez, Lukaku.

De Gea
Wan Bissaka - Lindelof - De Ligt - Shaw
Ndidi
Van de Beek - Pogba
Fernandes
Felix - Rashford​

Next summer, if we sell Pogba, we can buy Sancho and play 433 with Fernandes in Pogba's position.
I didn't mention the likes of Rodri, N'Dombele, Havertz, Eriksen, Cancelo, etc because I think they won't join us this season.
I really hope not. None of Ndidi, van de Beek or Fernandes are good enough in terms of passing or controlling the game. We don't need Fernandes or van de Beek as long as we have Pogba, especially not both. The other players you are suggesting would be a lot better.
 

Fer

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I really hope not. None of Ndidi, van de Beek or Fernandes are good enough in terms of passing or controlling the game. We don't need Fernandes or van de Beek as long as we have Pogba, especially not both. The other players you are suggesting would be a lot better.
Sancho, Havertz, Rodrigo, N'Dombele, Dybala, etc are some of my dream signings... I just tried to be realistic.

I think Rodrigo could end up at City, Havertz could go next year to Bayern, Atal to PSG, etc.

Also, I would sell/release more players (Rojo, Jones, Bailly, Damian, Valencia, Fred, Mata, Sanchez, Lingard, Lukaku). But then again, that would be a bit unrealistic.
 

mattsville

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What do we still need, we need a good manager who is not afraid of the size of the club and who knows what is required from the players to play attacking football, commit total effort every match because every match United play is every team's cup final, I felt LVG and Mourinho did not embrace any of those ideals, they played safeball instead of adapting even slightly to the history of the club they were managing. Ole has these qualities no question and he will be backed, if you get the right manager for your club everything else falls into place over time. The first 3 months when he took over we were the form team in the league, even with the well documented weaknesses we have in the team and yes it went to crap for various reasons (another discussion), but if he could get that bunch to play like that over a sustained spell it has to give some optimism, he has seen it now, what went wrong, and will look to correct it, ideal that there is no international tournaments this Summer to prepare properly. Point being, it seems a lot of weight in this is thread is being put on players fixing "what we still need", imho it is the manager and I think we have a manager who has the right ideals for this club, defo a much better prepared and positive Manchester United team next season, it should be brighter, how far he can bridge the gap in a single window remains to be seen, but the foundations should be laid.
 

bucky

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Sancho, Havertz, Rodrigo, N'Dombele, Dybala, etc are some of my dream signings... I just tried to be realistic.

I think Rodrigo could end up at City, Havertz could go next year to Bayern, Atal to PSG, etc.

Also, I would sell/release more players (Rojo, Jones, Bailly, Damian, Valencia, Fred, Mata, Sanchez, Lingard, Lukaku). But then again, that would be a bit unrealistic.
Being realistic is completely understandable. One of Ndidi, Bruno Fernandes or van de Beek would be okay, if we sign someone like Rabiot to complement that player, but in the majority of our games we are going to have more of the ball, meaning we need players that control the game and open up defences with their passing. Ndidi, Bruno Fernandes or van de Beek aren't those players. Again, each one on their own coupled with Pogba would be okay, but I don't think all 3 would work.
 

Adnan

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Howson saying he's heard some disturbing news that we're gonna only sign maybe 1 or 2 players and that includes all out going transfers too.

James, AWB, Rabiot..

 

Toad

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What is happening with LB? Are we relying on Shaw and potential Young if he gets injured?
 

Rojofiam

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Why are we not in for Rodrigo or Partey? We're in need of a DM and both are seemingly available.
 

Hammer_st

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Rodrigo and Ndombele for our midfield. This would balance our whole game and our defense and offense will look much better.
Joao Felix as prospect. One of the biggest talents and available this summer.
DeLigt if it is possible. Such a player would improve every defense.
Max Aarons, in my opinion the most complete young RB at the moment.
In:
Ndombele 75mio€
Rodrigo 70mio€
Joao Felix 120mio€
DeLigt 80mio€
Aarons 25mio€
Total: 380mio€

Out:
Rojo: 10mio€
Darmian: 10mio€
Bailly: 30mio€
Lukaku: 70mio€
Sanchez: 20mio€
Total: 140mio€

This should be possible. Maybe also some loan players will be sold lole TFM and collect some money. Next year we add Sancho to this squad and it should be competitive for titles.
 

bosnian_red

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Wan Bissaka, Maguire, Rabiot, Brino Fernandes and James would be a pretty fecking underwhelming window tbh. We'd be improved, but the biggest difference maker for us in that group compared to last season would be Rabiot IMO. Especially considering we'll spend over 200m on that group total is a little crazy too, even with Rabiot being on a free. Better than nothing, but I'd swap our Bruno fernandes for Tielemans gladly, or Ndombele, or push for Cancelo at right back (who is better and cheaper than Awb), and then really prioritize an attacker. Whatever, we'll see how it pans out.
 

Fosu-Mens

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Or it could mean they're looking to sell..
Might be. Been a story for some time now and do not seem to go away, and the fans will need to do some soulsearching regarding potential Saudi ownership.
What is frustrating is that we do not need to spend big to get a team able to be favourites for the top 4. Spending £50m+ on AWB, £60m+ on B. Fernandes or £70m+ on Maguire is bad business given that we have a number of issues that needs fixing.
 

Schmeichel's Cartwheel

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We need a new starting right back, centre back, defensive midfielder, centre midfielder, right winger & centre forward

So 6 new starters

DDG

New Signing
Lindelof
New Signing
Shaw

New Signing
New Signing

Pogba (c)

New Signing
New Signing

Rashford/Martial/James

Lots of work needed.
 

Fosu-Mens

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We need a new starting right back, centre back, defensive midfielder, centre midfielder, right winger & centre forward

So 6 new starters

DDG

New Signing
Lindelof
New Signing
Shaw

New Signing
New Signing

Pogba (c)

New Signing
New Signing

Rashford/Martial/James

Lots of work needed.
RB: Meunier £25m. Atal is the best option, but Nice might not want to sell him.
CB: Ake £40m-£50m.
Midfielder: Rabiot £££, sign on fee + agent.
Midfielder: Grillitsch (New Carrick/controlling) £40m/Barella £40m
RW: Ziyech £25m.
ST/LW: Haller £35m/Mandzukic £20m?

Would get us top 4.
 

Fer

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RB: Meunier £25m. Atal is the best option, but Nice might not want to sell him.
CB: Ake £40m-£50m.
Midfielder: Rabiot £££, sign on fee + agent.
Midfielder: Grillitsch (New Carrick/controlling) £40m/Barella £40m
RW: Ziyech £25m.
ST/LW: Haller £35m/Mandzukic £20m?

Would get us top 4.
And without spending too much. There are some bargains in the transfer market, but it seems we are chasing overpriced players. Also, the players you mentioned are realistic.
 

Sea-Cow

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Have we been linked with any out-an-out, exclusively number 9, strikers? I am not sure Felix counts as he seems more like a winger or attacking mid.

I am assuming Lukaku will be gone, so that will leave Rashford and Greenwood as our options...maybe Martial and Alexis if desperate....

How can anyone at the club think this is good enough? I'd say this more critical than a CB at the moment. At least at CB we have options before having to resort to teenagers or players out of position.

We are so f'd
 

Infra-red

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Have we been linked with any out-an-out, exclusively number 9, strikers? I am not sure Felix counts as he seems more like a winger or attacking mid.

I am assuming Lukaku will be gone, so that will leave Rashford and Greenwood as our options...maybe Martial and Alexis if desperate....

How can anyone at the club think this is good enough? I'd say this more critical than a CB at the moment. At least at CB we have options before having to resort to teenagers or players out of position.

We are so f'd
We were linked with Haller and Dembele earlier in the window (presumably contingent on Lukaku leaving).

I think we'll end up abandoning the CB search again.
 

Sea-Cow

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We were linked with Haller and Dembele earlier in the window (presumably contingent on Lukaku leaving).

I think we'll end up abandoning the CB search again.
Ok good call, I had forgotten them. Both pretty underwhelming, but at least its on the radar.

And at the quoted prices, I am OK with playing hardball on the rumored CBs. The quoted price for Maguire is just ridiculous. The scouts should do their job and find some value!
 

Fosu-Mens

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And without spending too much. There are some bargains in the transfer market, but it seems we are chasing overpriced players. Also, the players you mentioned are realistic.
Don't see why we are not going for these players. I can understand the difficulty associated with signing Rabiot and that this will be out of our hands, but the rest of the players are very attainable. And we could then have money to spare for a the likes of Sancho when we get top 4.
 

Bestietom

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We need 6 players. CB, RB, 3 Midfielders And A RW. Most of these in 2 weeks before we are back in training.