To be honest virtually ANY midfielder would excite me. Our current midfield is so uninspiring and sh*t. Whatever you think of Can, based on his spell at Liverpool, he is a clear upgrade on anything we currently have - and, yes, I include the Manchester United version of Paul Pogba.
Emre Can
- Thread starter No Love
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He is so much better than Herrera
A midfield 3 of Pogba, Can and Mctominay wouldn't be too bad. We have to drop with 4231 first like. Or start playing Pogba as a 10
He'll be good for us.
I think united need to be realistic, with the relative strength of the top teams in the league being what it is you can’t go from where you are now to the top level immediately. We had the lure of Klopp and it still took several seasons of excellent recruiting and a top class manager implementing a plan to get to where we are today.
United have a better starting point than we did but the problem at the minute for you guys is the manager and the structure behind and above him. Until that’s sorted out it’s going to be much of a muchness. You need to bring in good players, if Can is the only signing you make over the next couple of windows in midfield then yeah it’s a bad signing but if you bring in another along with an attacker that’s good enough you’re probably looking at a top 4 squad once you get rid of some more deadwood. You do however need a clear plan and I’m not convinced by Ole although he may turn around and prove us all wrong who knows? He clearly has the right ideas but whether he has the ability to put that in to place remains to be seen. But once you’ve built on a couple signings and challenge then you can start to add even more quality to the side. I think it’s unrealistic to expect the likes of Sancho etc just now.
United have a better starting point than we did but the problem at the minute for you guys is the manager and the structure behind and above him. Until that’s sorted out it’s going to be much of a muchness. You need to bring in good players, if Can is the only signing you make over the next couple of windows in midfield then yeah it’s a bad signing but if you bring in another along with an attacker that’s good enough you’re probably looking at a top 4 squad once you get rid of some more deadwood. You do however need a clear plan and I’m not convinced by Ole although he may turn around and prove us all wrong who knows? He clearly has the right ideas but whether he has the ability to put that in to place remains to be seen. But once you’ve built on a couple signings and challenge then you can start to add even more quality to the side. I think it’s unrealistic to expect the likes of Sancho etc just now.
You think?
Younger version of Matic but even slower.
His injury record is worrying. Would probably be even worse with our handlers.
Very good for Juve last season and would be a very good signing here. Not the most technical player, but really physical, good reading of the game, workhorse, character, leader. Would provide really good balance with Pogba on the other side.
Can Can he's our man, if he can't do it no one.... will.
There seem to be some misconceptions about Can in the thread.
To people saying he was a Liverpool reject - he wasn't. We wanted to retain him. But he wasn't happy with the playing time, contract, etc.
Positives - He is really good technically, really physical and has leadership qualities.
Negatives - A little on the slower side, has attention lapses on the defensive side of his game.
Overall was a decent player for us. Has that occasional spark of brilliance - goals, midfield runs, passes. But also has that occasional brain farts - especially around aspects related to defensive awareness like tracking his man. Would definitely improve United midfield currently.
To people saying he was a Liverpool reject - he wasn't. We wanted to retain him. But he wasn't happy with the playing time, contract, etc.
Positives - He is really good technically, really physical and has leadership qualities.
Negatives - A little on the slower side, has attention lapses on the defensive side of his game.
Overall was a decent player for us. Has that occasional spark of brilliance - goals, midfield runs, passes. But also has that occasional brain farts - especially around aspects related to defensive awareness like tracking his man. Would definitely improve United midfield currently.
Replacing shitty players with less shitty players won't change a thing. We need GOOD players.
I know the bar is low at the moment but FFS Mandzukic and Can feck me...
He is the one of the best box to box midfielders, definitely better Man Utd current midfielders except Pogba. But he is too similar to Pogba, not sure where can he play if Pogba there.
Thanks for a genuinely insightful appraisal instead of the usual "objective" you-declining-cnuts-should-just-take-what-you-can-get oppo scream. Also tallies with my impression of him as a meh-merchant. Not coincidental that you went to the next level without his assistance.
He's not good at anything.
Where are we going?
Changing managers every 6-12 months. Long term project? Cleanup during the summer, and desperate signings for Christmas??
If this was Manchester United in the 80's we wouldn't even remember AlexF.
So when do we stop, think and grow some balls of patience?
Emre Can and Mandzukic are not Uniteds future and are shit signings. Stop moaning and stop the shitty Ole out campaign!
Changing managers every 6-12 months. Long term project? Cleanup during the summer, and desperate signings for Christmas??
If this was Manchester United in the 80's we wouldn't even remember AlexF.
So when do we stop, think and grow some balls of patience?
Emre Can and Mandzukic are not Uniteds future and are shit signings. Stop moaning and stop the shitty Ole out campaign!
Spot on mate, excellent analysis.
Too many people are fixated on "we need players for a title challenge". We are a hell of a long way from that, it's going to take a few years to even get to be a regular cl side again, and can is the level of player that can get us there, once that happens we can start looking at title winning level players.
He's better than our entire midfield apart from Pogba. Even if we look to upgrade him fairly quickly, he'd still be a massive improvement.
But his injury issues worry me as they'll only get worse for him if he signs for us.
But his injury issues worry me as they'll only get worse for him if he signs for us.
Liverpool reject.Great.
Emre Cant and Emre Wont
In my mind he’s nearly 30.
Nail meet head.
No chance. The big, Herrera shaped hole in our midfield this season is testament to that. We need something though, anything right now.
He’s not slow and I don’t remember Matic ever being able to play full back.
He was an important player in Klopp’s press.
What is his track record in terms of building a great side? What is his track record managing a top side? Hey what is his track record managing a side in a decent league?
I was astonished that he's only 25.
I've never seen such a bitter debate on these pages. This guy is tearing our support base apart.
Take him in a heart beat.
He’s much better than Matic and Fred. We only have Pogba and McTominay who we can rely on.
He’s much better than Matic and Fred. We only have Pogba and McTominay who we can rely on.
Makes me think of when the dippers bought Ince.
But unfortunately still better than most of what we have , very uninspiring player who would be no where near top tier but would he help a mid table team from dropping down further?
It is worth taking on more average players in January to possible improve a position or two in the table.
How is he a Liverpool reject?
But at least he was once a quality player.
If you once played for another team you somehow automatically become a reject of that side going by the logic of some on here.
Michael Owen....
Was he really not selected in their CL squad ?
True! completely forgot about owen
Yep but its a political thing rather then anything else. Can was a valued player under Allegri but he doesn't seem to fit in Sarriball.
Why should we feed on scraps? Buy smart or young or poach or all three. Can represents more of the same.
I think the most important think we can do in our current situation is letting Pogba play higher up the pitch and create. If Emre Can would help with that then I have no problem with it for a reasonable transfer fee.