6 realistic signings to improve us?

Invictus

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Piracy on the High Seas.
Arthur. Valverde is not a fan of him. I think Barcelona could sell.
Barcelona would be completely mad to let him go on the basis of Valverde's recommendation given he's practically a dead man walking, but I'd be willing to make a central midfield world record offer for Arthur if there's even a remote possibility of him moving in the summer. He and Verratti are probably the only Scholes-esque midfielders these days in terms of having a consistently clear vision of the field and overall awareness of team-mates' positioning in a low center of gravity package, while also being incredibly press-resistant/nimble in short bursts and evidencing a combative streak — which makes them ideal fits for English football (especially in comparison with more lackadaisical registas that can circulate the ball quite effectively but shirk from physical challenges and can't always get themselves out of troublesome situations). All the better if Pogba stays put because someone with Arthur's ability would have a liberating effect on him — even a stopper/destroyer style defensive midfielder who's only functional in the build-up will suffice with the combined ball-playing and dribbling qualities of these two! :drool:
 

Invictus

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Piracy on the High Seas.
I don't quite see the need for this player when United could acquire 2 similarly talented and versatile youngsters for a somewhat comparable fee (which would be better for the squad as a whole)...


Ndidi and Sancho on the other hand would be astute signings, even though we'll probably have to part with ~£150 million for the latter — and upwards of £200 million for both!
 

TrustInOle

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Mousa Dembele - can rotate with Rashford and Martial for game time, also adds to the potential of our young forwards.
Jason Sancho - sports out RW and adds creativity further up the pitch. No brainer.
Ndidi - solid Dm behind Pogba and Fred who is also nifty with the ball at his feet and can pick a pass. Still young and tons of potential.

Ddg
Awb....Lindelof.....Maguire......Shaw
Ndidi
Fred......Pogba
Sancho.......Rashford
Martial
Personally, I would have Rojo next to Maguire if he stays fit. But looking at that, I see a solid squad, that needs 1 or 2 more pieces LB/MC, but overall, looking very solid and would be happy going into next season with.
 

NoPace

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I see McGinn's name mentioned in here a lot. I really like the guy, but don't think he'd improve us that much. He'd be a poor fit for the players he'd playing alongside.

McGinn is good at late runs into the box and high risk/high reward passes in the final third of the pitch. His workrate would be a great match, but his ability to protect the ball in possesion and play line splitting passes isn't good enough for what we desperately need.

Unlike City, United don't have any creativity in the frontline. And unlike Liverpool, we don't have any end product at LB or RB. United's only chance of building a functional unit from our current squad is to pack the midfield with playmakers.

McTominay can do it over short distances at a high tempo (just don't ask him to be our Xavi like he tried to be today). Pogba's passing tempo needs to improve, but I think he has the potential to get there. Fred, Pereira and Matic are nowhere near good enough. McGinn wouldn't be either at the specific qualities we're lacking in the middle of the park.
You're right about McGinn's strengths and weaknesses but I'm not sure I agree about his being a bad fit with us, if we assume the first XI should look something like this after January:

----Rashford-----Martial-------------James
---------------Pogba-----CM---------------
------------------McTominay---------------
LB--------Maguire---Lindelof-----WanBissaka

Martial is basically only being good at dropping deeper and wider and getting the ball to his feet so we need a goalscoring midfielder who can get into the box to fill that space and take advantage of his not being a target man. And if Rashford is on the left then James is going to be playing quite wide trying to get crosses in on the right rather than coming inside constantly.

And Pogba needs a partner who works hard because he sometimes doesn't seem to do that for us.

I'm not saying McGinn is perfect but he does make a lot of sense as a compliment to our talented, mercurial Frenchmen.

I assume Pogba will leave this summer and in that case we should just buy a couple midfielders who are better in possession than McGinn, but for January to the end of the season I think McGinn would fit pretty well.
 

Ødegaard

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I don't quite see the need for this player when United could acquire 2 similarly talented and versatile youngsters for a somewhat comparable fee (which would be better for the squad as a whole)...


Ndidi and Sancho on the other hand would be astute signings, even though we'll probably have to part with ~£150 million for the latter — and upwards of £200 million for both!
Put simply, I don't know of many alternatives. I believe we desperately need a quality defensive midfielder and we need another good creator from the middle and someone who can create and finish on the right or left to get some balance into the team.

I'm a fan of Ndidi, but the other mentions I haven't seen much of or are mentioned because I don't know of many good alternatives. :)
 

UNITED ACADEMY

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1) Zakaria or any DM to play next to Pogba who can win the ball and not sloppy with passing,
2) Bruno Fernandes or any top class no 10,
3) Backup striker or any backup versatility forward
 

ghagua

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I would love to see the following 4 players come in. Would have taken Ndidi in a heartbeat, but think McTominay could do the same job there now. Unfortunately, Sancho may have bigger fish to fry than come to a rebuilding team.


De Gea

Wan-Bissaka----Ruben Dias----Maguire----Shaw

McTominay

Zaniolo--------------Havertz

Ziyech---------Martial----------Rashford​
 

Gordon S

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I don't quite see the need for this player when United could acquire 2 similarly talented and versatile youngsters for a somewhat comparable fee (which would be better for the squad as a whole)...


Ndidi and Sancho on the other hand would be astute signings, even though we'll probably have to part with ~£150 million for the latter — and upwards of £200 million for both!
i think it’s best to target smart transfers, like the ones you added in spoiler. Would like to add Oyarzabal as well. Don’t know why there isn’t more talk about him.
 

Steve 007

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These are not realistic but I’d go say, 3 signings if we want back to the top.

Koulibaly (one of the best and would form an amazing partnership with Maguire). Yes I know he’s 28, who cares?

Maddison or Erikson,

Erickson is very realistic and we all know that creativity is our weak point, would be a massive upgrade.

Haaland. We need goals.
 

JohnnyLaw

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i think it’s best to target smart transfers, like the ones you added in spoiler. Would like to add Oyarzabal as well. Don’t know why there isn’t more talk about him.
I don’t think he’s developed as much as one would’ve hoped the last few years. He’s got 5 years to go on his contract and a £70 million release clause.
Now is not the time, there’s better players out there for that kind of money.
 

TwoSheds

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Anyone who can score and/or create lots of goals. Fernandes would be my pick. Sancho maybe too. Maybe Haaland or any young combative brute who knows where the goal is, that guy at Rangers perhaps.

The only other position that still needs significantly upgrading then becomes DM/DLP.
 

GledTheRed

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I don't quite see the need for this player when United could acquire 2 similarly talented and versatile youngsters for a somewhat comparable fee (which would be better for the squad as a whole)...


Ndidi and Sancho on the other hand would be astute signings, even though we'll probably have to part with ~£150 million for the latter — and upwards of £200 million for both!
Top post, two cracking players.
 

Suvvernmanc

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Over the next 2 windows I would love to see

Partey, Sancho, Maddison and Haaland

Realistically we need a midfielder to add depth to the squad to help Pogba, not to replace him. If Pogba goes then we need 2 imo. 2 attackers is a must too. S winger that can play either side (Sancho) and a striker for competition to Martial/Rashford. If we cant get Haaland this January I would like Zlatan 'till the end of the season with a possible extension.

Going all out for maddison and Sancho in the summer.. plus Partey would be great
 

Freeney

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What's the point with new signings if you dont fix the overall shape of the club. From the top down to the manager. For an example just look at Jonny Evans. We got rid of him and bought centre backs for 140 + mill and we are not better as a team. We didnt even buy better defenders than him for gods sake. You dont need 11 stars to win a football game.
 

Mylock

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Realistically the most Ollie will bring in will be 2 players. Players like Havertz, Ndidi, Sancho are not going to be attracted by United due to the current negativity surrounding the club. There's no way Madison is leaving before the end of the season. Ollie will need to work smarter in the transfer market than the previous 3 managers.
 

Roboc7

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Top post, two cracking players.
These are exactly the profile of players we need to be targeting. There’s no way we’re getting likes of Sancho or Maddison and their price is going up and up so even if they want to come here it’s unlikely we’ll pay up.

If we are building over 2-3 years then it doesn’t make sense to spend massively on an odd ready made player and then completely neglect other areas.

Leicester are perfect example of how you can put a team together without having
spend huge sums on individuals.
 

LDUred

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Rakitic and Mandzukic would be decent, if short-term, signings. We need someone in midfield who can pass forward and we clearly need a physical presence up front.
 

jamesjimmybyrondean

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Get Kalvin Phillips and Haaland in January. Sell Pogba and replace him with Maddison in the summer


.................................DDG...............................

AWB..........Lindelof............Maguire.........Shaw

................................Phillips...............................


.........Mcctominay ............. Maddison.............


...............................Martial.............................

..........Rashford.......................Haaland..........
.
 

Jeppers7

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Get Kalvin Phillips and Haaland in January. Sell Pogba and replace him with Maddison in the summer


.................................DDG...............................

AWB..........Lindelof............Maguire.........Shaw

................................Phillips...............................


.........Mcctominay ............. Maddison.............


...............................Martial.............................

..........Rashford.......................Haaland..........
.
Lacklustre
 

Okey

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Get Partey, Eriksen and Haaland, and we'll be a whole different proposition. Suddenly a top class midfield (with Pogba) and a different option in attack. And they're all gettable, with only Haaland possibly costing a lot by today's standards. Improvement...instant.
 

Craig Ward

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Same names being circled here constantly.

Sancho / Maddison / Eriksen / Ndidi / Haaland probably most consistently mentioned.

I think Sancho and Maddison are absolutely essential purchases, but neither gettable (if at all) in January.

Right now, we are weakest and central midfield and left back.

January is a difficult time to properly enhance the squad as we know, but I think with Shaws fitness and Youngs shortcomings, we need a LB as a priority.

Ghoulam, Plattenhardt or Hector may be options, I think Chilwell talk is far fetched especially if we go for Maddison in the summer.

For CM, we do need some upgrades.

I think McGinn is a good shout - he's hardworking and can go box to box. I think he'd improve with the step up as well, similar to how Dan James has adapted.

Creatively someone like Houssem Aouar would also be a welcome creative talent for our midfield.
 

theklr

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Get Partey, Eriksen and Haaland, and we'll be a whole different proposition. Suddenly a top class midfield (with Pogba) and a different option in attack. And they're all gettable, with only Haaland possibly costing a lot by today's standards. Improvement...instant.
Why does everyone think Partey wants to leave Athletico for United?
 
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kafta

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I think i'd add a CB, a holding midfielder and an attacking midfielder. Though i think we also need a forward and a left back too.

So maybe Ruben Dias, Ndidi and one of Maddison / Bruno / Eriksen (in that order)
 

StrettyEnder07

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On the basis that Pogba is staying, I would go for:

Haaland
Ziyech
Van Der Beek

I know Martial is doing very well but as we have seen, one injury and we are screwed, for me we need 2 top players for each position if we are to be challenging all the top boys, this would leave us with:

CF: Martial/Haaland/Greenwood
LW: Rashford/James/Martial
RW: Ziyech/James/Greenwood

That would be so interchanging and players can play in most of the positions along the front 3.

You then have Pogba as a 10 with McTominay and Van Der Beek behind, no brainer for me.
 

Ikon

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Realistic...?
LB - Jose Gaya (Valencia)
RW - Wilf Zaha (Palace)
CM - Kalvin Phillips (Leeds)
CF - Mousa Dembele (Lyon)
 

Renegade

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I wouldn’t trust Phillips from Leeds filling that huge void in our midfield. It needs an prime ball winner in there not another rookie.

Thomas Partey from Athletico for example.

LB (Ashley Young replacement)
CB (Phil Jones/Bailey replacement)
CM (Matic replacement)
AM (Lingard/Pogba? replacement)
RW (Mata replacement)



These positions being filled are an absolute must. I’d probably say another striker to replace Lukaku from this season and send Greenwood out on loan like Tammy Abraham.

how’s Ben Yedder doing at Monaco?
 
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StrettyEnder07

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I wouldn’t trust Phillips from Leeds filling that huge void in our midfield. It needs an prime ball winner in there not another rookie.

Thomas Partey from Athletico for example.

LB (Ashley Young replacement)
CB (Phil Jones replacement)
CM (Matic replacement)
AM (Lingard/Pogba? replacement)
RW (Mata replacement)



These positions being filled are an absolute must. I’d probably say another striker to replace Lukaku from this season and send Greenwood out on loan like Tammy Abraham.

how’s Ben Yedder doing at Monaco?
Scoring a bag full I think mate, I would go all out for this Haaland he looks immense, probably end up at Madrid or Barca but defo worth an offer in January.

More realistic maybe is Dembele at Lyon.
 

Okey

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Why does everyone think Partey wants to leave Athletico for United?
He doesn't need to want to beforehand. We go for him. Offer him a better package. Sell the deal to him. Players don't have to want to move before they do. Neymar went to PSG. Anyone can go anywhere if the deal is right for them...
 

pearl1337

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Realistically for a 433/4231:

John McGinn (CM)
Wissam Ben Yeddr (ST)
Hakim Ziyech (RW)

Dream:
Jadon Sancho
Erling Haaland
Pogba stays
 

sunama

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I wouldn’t trust Phillips from Leeds filling that huge void in our midfield. It needs an prime ball winner in there not another rookie.

Thomas Partey from Athletico for example.

LB (Ashley Young replacement)
CB (Phil Jones/Bailey replacement)
CM (Matic replacement)
AM (Lingard/Pogba? replacement)
RW (Mata replacement)



These positions being filled are an absolute must. I’d probably say another striker to replace Lukaku from this season and send Greenwood out on loan like Tammy Abraham.

how’s Ben Yedder doing at Monaco?
I doubt we will replace Lukaku, unless it's on a cut price deal with someone who is about to go into retirement.

Regarding Greenwood - he doesn't need to go on loan, as he will likely get plenty of game time at MUFC. Our front line is so poor that even a teenager can make our starting lineup and be comparable with the senior players. If however, we do get another striker (which I don't think we will), Greenwood probably will need to go on loan.

Our midfield is very weak right now, having lost Fellaini and Herrera. In the Summer we'll almost certainly lose Pogba. So, in the Summer most of the money should be spent on the midfield. Of course, given our past history, just because our weakest link is the midfield, does not necessarily mean that that is where we will spend. Woodward is a terrible DoF, so he may leave the midifield as it is, because he knows best.
 

André Dominguez

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Danilo Pereira is a doable target: despite Port's poor start, he's a competitive beast always giving 100% and one of the best players in his position. Porto needs money, so they won't stretch the value that much IMHO.
 

DatIrishFella

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Abdoulaye Doucoure would be realistic in January. I'd rather him than Ndidi. A lot more dynamic and better on the ball.
 

NewGlory

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If you could make 3 realistic signings to improve our squad next summer who would you go for?

de Gea

Wan-Bissaka Maguire Lindelof Chilwell

McTominay Neves Pogba

Sancho Martial Rashford​

Chilwell, Neves and Sancho are all gettable players for United, follow the new strategy we seem to be using and would be improvements on Shaw, Matic/Fred/Pereira & Lingard imo.

Yours?
We need a center forward more than we need a winger. Martial is pretty great but he is injury prone and we need depth anyway - same person cannot play every match in EPL, cup competitions and Europa/Champions League. We also need at least two midfielders: an attacking, creative one (Bruno?) and a defensive one. Those are the three positions I would recruit for rather than the ones in your list

p.s. not sure why you think we can get Sancho, even if his position was a priority. I think hell will sooner freeze over than he joins United in its current dire state
 

JohnnyLaw

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I wouldn’t trust Phillips from Leeds filling that huge void in our midfield. It needs an prime ball winner in there not another rookie.

Thomas Partey from Athletico for example.

LB (Ashley Young replacement)
CB (Phil Jones/Bailey replacement)
CM (Matic replacement)
AM (Lingard/Pogba? replacement)
RW (Mata replacement)



These positions being filled are an absolute must. I’d probably say another striker to replace Lukaku from this season and send Greenwood out on loan like Tammy Abraham.

how’s Ben Yedder doing at Monaco?
Kalvin actually has better tackling/interception stats compared to Partey who I think is alot more similar to Mctominay in that he’s more of an all-action box-to-box midfielder rather than the playmaker we could really do with.
In all honesty I don’t believe I’ve seen enough of Partey, but a short look at Phillips and you can quickly see that he’d easily make for the second best passer of the ball.
Partey actually has similar passing stats to Phillips though, so maybe he’s better at dictating play than I’ve realised?