Why are we spending so much energy on buying Sancho when so many other areas need addressed?

[UNITED ACADEMY]

Sancho is like 2 players in one. A creative & goalscorer who can play multiple positions (right, left & middle). Spending 100m on him is like spending 50m each for two top players, someone who can score 15 plus goals and someone who can score 15 plus assists. Worth the penny, worth the hustle. If Ole wants him and makes him as our priority then go for it. The guy made good recruitment so far & delivered us into top 3 this season, Ed should back him for it.

 

[arthurka]

Nah we’re a Greenwood injury away from playing with Mata or James on the right, we need a right winger/attacker for sure.

This...

 

[devilish]

Just because Scholes was a decent striker doesn't mean he wasn't better in midfield. In the same way, just because Greenwood is good on the wing, doesn't mean he won't be better up front.

Scholes was meant to be a striker. He was moved in midfield because Cantona retired early. The French man's left a huge void in terms of leadership and charisma so Sir Alex wanted an experienced head to succeed him. However Scholes was too good to be left on the bench so he was moved in midfield. When the time was right Sir Alex wanted to move Scholes back upfront hence why we bought Seba Veron. Unfortunately the Argentinian didn't settle down and by the time he left the club, Scholes was simply too good to be moved elsewhere.

Greenwood's story has yet to be written. He might turn out to be a WC striker or a WC winger. There aren't many wingers doing what Greenwood is doing on the RF.

 

[joobier]

You would like to think we are trying to strengthen in other areas as well as our right wing. I imagine we are working behind the scenes on other targets but Sancho to United for 120M makes headlines and gets clicks.

 

[stevoc]

Jesus, right wing is the biggest priority in the team that needs addressing and has been for a long time. The last right winger we signed was Valencia in 2009 for feck sake.

 

[Fosu-Mens]

The emergence of Greenwood should put things into a certain perspective. I wonder if we need a Lb more then a RW. Shaw is a crock and Williams is cack.

Yes. Need at least one fullback that can help to progress the ball and actually cross.

 

[MikeKing]

Jesus, right wing is the biggest priority in the team that needs addressing and has been for a long time. The last right winger we signed was Valencia in 2009 for feck sake.

This.

 

[EwanI Ted]

Scholes was meant to be a striker. He was moved in midfield because Cantona retired early. The French man's left a huge void in terms of leadership and charisma so Sir Alex wanted an experienced head to succeed him. However Scholes was too good to be left on the bench so he was moved in midfield. When the time was right Sir Alex wanted to move Scholes back upfront hence why we bought Seba Veron. Unfortunately the Argentinian didn't settle down and by the time he left the club, Scholes was simply too good to be moved elsewhere.

Greenwood's story has yet to be written. He might turn out to be a WC striker or a WC winger. There aren't many wingers doing what Greenwood is doing on the RF.

Without wishing to digress entirely, Fergie didn’t buy Veron so he could play Scholes upfront. He clearly says in his biography that he bought Veron because he wanted to play a midfield three alongside Scholes and Keane.

 

[Chief123]

This to me looks like another Woodward special, signing a big name to please advertisers and sponsors while ignoring clear and obvious deficiencies that are more urgent but much less headline grabbing.
We need another midfielder closer to the level of Pogba and Fernandes than Fred and McTominay, we need a centre back who is not Lindelof/ Smalling / Jones / Rojo and will compliment Maguire to stop the panic every time a player ventures into our area or whips in a cross. The goalkeeping situation also needs addressed. There's a big argument we need better attacking full backs as well.
If we sign Sancho and don't tackle these issues we will end up with the same problems as the last few seasons which would raise questions about how the club is being run.

Contrary to popular opinion, RW is our most problem area. Greenwood’s form has disguised this problem. Greenwood is a sensational talent but he’s definitely not a right wing specialist. And its been showing a lot recently.

I don’t think there is enough appreciation for the talent that Sancho is. I’ve watched a lot of Bundesliga and seen Sancho at close hand. Utd should be expending every bit of energy to sign him. Even if it means we can’t afford to sign anyone else this summer.

Players that we are interested in other positions are available of similar ilk in bucket loads.

Any player other than Sancho for that RW spot would be a massive step down if we looked at alternative options.

Believe me when I say this. Sancho is worth every penny and every ounce of energy. It is not a deal you walk away from. If you do, you do so at your peril.

If we do not get Sancho now and he goes to a rival club, this will be a worse situation than Ronaldinho. We will have threads about how we made a massive cock up with missing out on him. This is not a Haaland situation. It will be worse.

 

[3KDré]

Signing Sancho solves multiple problems not just RW. If any of the front 3 are injured, we have more options. Rashford injures can mean Sancho moves to the left/ Greenwood right etc etc. It will let us rotate a lot more too because Ole clearly doesn’t trust his bench hence the tiredness we saw in our last few games. We do probably need a CDM and a LB but the drop in quality from Shaw to Williams or Matić to McTominay/Fred is not as much as Greenwood to James/Lingard/Mata.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

nobody has any idea if we are spending energy on sancho and not on other areas

 

[Bebestation]

I've never been so un-hyped about a player than Sancho.

I feel like he is a bit of a tap in merchant and ultimately Greenwood has covered the weaknesses that we were so dying to to cover on the right hand side.

The only reason I actually want Sancho is because he is this hyped up young british kid and I feel like United should have the best ones at their disposal - if he is so as good as everyone make him out to be.

I feel like it's his 'young British kid having a success in the Bundesliga' that made many people or the media want him here - because I'm still unsure about him.

I'd have a left footed RW/RAM over him any day of the week alongside a CDB, a left footed CB maybe even a LB etc.

 

[devilish]

Without wishing to digress entirely, Fergie didn’t buy Veron so he could play Scholes upfront. He clearly says in his biography that he bought Veron because he wanted to play a midfield three alongside Scholes and Keane.

He planned to play a 4-4-1-1 system with Scholes behind the striker

 

[Bastian]

Because he's a generational talent. He'll be great for the next decade, all things being equal, and we're getting a free run at a player who in all likelihood would move elsewhere, given the chance.

And the price they're after is a fair price.

 

[gajender]

I've never been so un-hyped about a player than Sancho.

I feel like he is a bit of a tap in merchant and ultimately Greenwood has covered the weaknesses that we were so dying to to cover on the right hand side.

The only reason I actually want Sancho is because he is this hyped up young british kid and I feel like United should have the best ones at their disposal - if he is so as good as everyone make him out to be.

I feel like it's his 'young British kid having a success in the Bundesliga' that made many people or the media want him here - because I'm still unsure about him.

I'd have a left footed RW/RAM over him any day of the week alongside a CDB, a left footed CB maybe even a LB etc.

If that's your genuine appraisal of Sancho as a footballer then I am afraid football isn't the game for you .

 

[Bebestation]

If that's your genuine appraisal of Sancho as a footballer then I am afraid football isn't the game for you .

And I need you judge me thanks.

 

[romufc]

Contrary to popular opinion, RW is our most problem area. Greenwood’s form has disguised this problem. Greenwood is a sensational talent but he’s definitely not a right wing specialist. And its been showing a lot recently.

I don’t think there is enough appreciation for the talent that Sancho is. I’ve watched a lot of Bundesliga and seen Sancho at close hand. Utd should be expending every bit of energy to sign him. Even if it means we can’t afford to sign anyone else this summer.

Players that we are interested in other positions are available of similar ilk in bucket loads.

Any player other than Sancho for that RW spot would be a massive step down if we looked at alternative options.

Believe me when I say this. Sancho is worth every penny and every ounce of energy. It is not a deal you walk away from. If you do, you do so at your peril.

If we do not get Sancho now and he goes to a rival club, this will be a worse situation than Ronaldinho. We will have threads about how we made a massive cock up with missing out on him. This is not a Haaland situation. It will be worse.

Agreed. Greenwood is covering the cracks, you can see the way he plays, he is not a RW. He is fantastic but we need Sancho.

The problem is, if its not Sancho, no RW will give you the output a make sift Greenwood will give you, so spending £40-60m off on a RW will not improve us as much as we think.

This is why Sancho is the most important signing this summer. The cost of losing out on Sancho will be alot more than the extra £10-20m upfront fee we need to pay.

I agree with you, this guy is a special special talent, Covid or no covid, you do not get discounts on the best talent.

I would not complain if we spent our entire transfer budget on him. Then sell 3/4 players and get £30/40m and get a squad player.

Areas we need to improve:
RW, CDM, CB, AM

Our of those positions, how many players are actually there available for us to go sign? only Sancho IMO.

 

[MrEarl]

This is an honest question, not an opinion. It is my impression that more and more Premier League teams are going with three quick almost interchangeable central attackers rather than one classic striker flanked by two wingers. Is this correct?

It would seem that many of the comments on this thread are based on an assumption that the only correct formation is one central striker with two wingers. Hence the frequent conclusion that United are lacking a right-winger and that Sancho is the answer.

Just to point out that Sancho doesn't appear to be a classic right-winger. He can apparently do that but he can also play anywhere across the front. Left, right, central.

Just asking.

 

[gajender]

And I need you judge me thanks.

Not really it was just an observation just like yours was not meant to be offensive my apologies if it seemed that way.

 

[padzilla]

Contrary to popular opinion, RW is our most problem area. Greenwood’s form has disguised this problem. Greenwood is a sensational talent but he’s definitely not a right wing specialist. And its been showing a lot recently.

I don’t think there is enough appreciation for the talent that Sancho is. I’ve watched a lot of Bundesliga and seen Sancho at close hand. Utd should be expending every bit of energy to sign him. Even if it means we can’t afford to sign anyone else this summer.

Players that we are interested in other positions are available of similar ilk in bucket loads.

Any player other than Sancho for that RW spot would be a massive step down if we looked at alternative options.

Believe me when I say this. Sancho is worth every penny and every ounce of energy. It is not a deal you walk away from. If you do, you do so at your peril.

If we do not get Sancho now and he goes to a rival club, this will be a worse situation than Ronaldinho. We will have threads about how we made a massive cock up with missing out on him. This is not a Haaland situation. It will be worse.

Not getting Ronaldinho led us to signing Ronaldo. I wouldn't be against a similar situation this time around as well...

 

[EwanI Ted]

He planned to play a 4-4-1-1 system with Scholes behind the striker

We played the traditional United way, 4-4-2, and were thumped. I told the players and staff that if we could not keep the ball better and stay solid in midfield, we were going to suffer more that way because opponents had sussed us out. So we switched to playing three in the centre of the park. Veron was part of that development.

 

[Bebestation]

Not getting Ronaldinho led us to signing Ronaldo. I wouldn't be against a similar situation this time around as well...

Kubo

 

[3KDré]

Kubo

Just went on loan to Villarreal. I'm not sure why Real would want to sell him to us?

 

[Amerifan]

We’re past the point where buying three or four average players gets us anywhere. Everyone we bring in now should be the absolute best we can get. If that means it takes us two summers to build the team we want, then so be it, we just have to be patient. Even if that means we suffer a bit next season. You can’t replace quality with quantity.

I certainly hope this is the case and we are focusing on first team. Bringing in squad players is one thing. Improving the starting XI is quite another. In past years it was never quite clear which we were buying. I’d rather one Sancho level massive upgrade than someone bought to compete for a slot.

 

[Bebestation]

Just went on loan to Villarreal. I'm not sure why Real would want to sell him to us?

I dont think RW is a rush anymore and just like missing on Ronaldinho eventually lead to getting Ronaldo I can see that with Kubo because in all honesty I prefer Sancho as a LW. I really am a strong believer of the cutting in on your stronger foot especially in a league where not everyone is gegenpressing.

I dont think Kubo will be as hard to get if targeted the way we target a player like Sancho in a certain period of time (a year?) - a bit like how hakimi went to Inter Milan.

 

[Amerifan]

Because apparently this huge football club is only capable of working on one transfer at a time.

I don’t think that’s the case at all. It only appears that way from the outside. Deals take a long time, especially with clubs who expect us to hand them a blank check. The lack of other activity may be because we need our entire transfer budget for Sancho. If that deal fails to materialize, I expect other in-progress negotiations will close in short order.

 

[Chief123]

Not getting Ronaldinho led us to signing Ronaldo. I wouldn't be against a similar situation this time around as well...

Getting Ronaldo by missing out on Ronaldinho was a blessing in disguise. It’s a lottery style approach.

You don’t just give up on the opportunity to sign a sensational player in the hope that something else will come up which isn’t available right now. That’s no different to gambling.

Getting Ronaldo and him becoming what he did does not make up for us cocking up the Ronaldhino. As amazing as Ronaldo was, we won only 1 champs league with him. Who’s to say we wouldn’t have won 2 or 3 with Ronaldinho?

 

[RedRonaldo]

To be honest, we already have MMM in attack, all we need is some quality backup. If our budget this summer is around 70m, let’s spend it wisely.

 

[Gary_Walsh_Nou_Camp_Hell]

Pretty sure Woodward isn't on the phone to Dortmund all day everyday. He must have plenty of irons in the fire.

Amazes me that year on year people still follow the media bs on transfers.

 

[padzilla]

It's telling that out of the top four teams in the PL this season we are the only one that hasn't made a signing yet. Every signing we make these days seems to be dragged out for ages and ages.

 

[El-Manos]

To be honest, we already have MMM in attack, all we need is some quality backup. If our budget this summer is around 70m, let’s spend it wisely.

It's surely more than that?

 

[lex talionis]

We were only able to score one goal against Copenhagen yesterday. We were far behind the league leaders in goals scored and among the leaders in fewest goals conceded. We know where the need is.

As for Sancho himself, he’s a talent like few others. You don’t pass up on such a player so that instead you can bring in 2-3 squad players.

 

[JohnnyKills]

My feeling too. Surely DM, LB and CB are bigger priorities?

 

[spiriticon]

Our right wing has been non existent since the Naninator left. It needs sorting out.

 

[romufc]

My feeling too. Surely DM, LB and CB are bigger priorities?

Lets break it down. Priority over a RW.

DM - I think this is second priority but we have Matic, Fred, McTominay who can play that role, ofcourse Matic has the spot for now.

LB - why? What has Luke Shaw done wrong?

CB - Why? What has Lindelof and Maguire done wrong?

I am not saying we do not need signings for the positions above, but why are they more priority than RW?

I give you my reasoning.

RW - Our last RW was Antonio Valencia, we have not had a RW since, tried Mikhi, Mata, Lingard, James. It is a hole in the squad for 8 years.
Some will say Greenwood - He is a striker not a RW. He is 18, after him who is there Dan James?

 

[TommiHelm]

I definitely fear that we're going to lose out on some other potentially good deals because of the insane focus on this one. We may already have. And I guess right now it looks like we might lose this one as well. Then again I don't really have the first clue as to what is actually going on behind the scenes.

 

[Reiver]

RW is obviously a priority but, for me, not at the expense of strengthening the squad as a whole.
The last month or so seems to suggest that Ole has a lack of faith in the players outside of the first 11, given the lack of rotation. Presumably spending so much on Sancho would curtail the number of players we can bring in. I would rather bring in a cheaper option than Sancho and have more scope to strengthen the squad as a whole.

 

[Pexbo]

By “we” I assume the OP is referring to the press and us muppets because clearly nobody has a clue what other transfers we might currently be working on.

 

[Godfather]

A little unfair on AWB and Shaw, since both have had good seasons, but I desperately want to see attacking contributions from or LB and RB positions. Seems this is something essential for top teams, and something we just don’t have.

I agree. It's ab absolute must. Shaw did pretty well in that regard and AWB had one or two games where he looked ok going forward. Not enough though. If you look at Bayern and how essential their fullbacks are going forward, there is no comparison.

 

[UnitedSofa]

This to me looks like another Woodward special, signing a big name to please advertisers

I love how this is somehow a “thing” on this forum