Thiago Alcantara | Pool bound

[RUCK4444]

Probably, but they would cover different positions.
I can't see us adding him to Pogba, Bruno, Fred, DVB and McTominay.

At the money needed to sign him then I can definitely see us being interested because he’s arguably better or as good as any you listed in our team.

Plus he can play DM, contrary to what many are posting. Thiago, Pogba, Bruno would be arguably the best midfield in the league

 

[cyberman]

Pogba is a complete liability defensively and needs somebody far more disciplined than Thiago.

Tremendous player but not the right partner for Pogba at all. And the links to us are clear BS. We have just signed VDB. We won't sign another CM clearly.

Disagree. Pogba played really well and won the WC with box to box midfielder Kante beside him. Not a DM in sight, and Kante didnt even have that good of a world cup.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

He'd be an excellent signing.

Would love him here.

 

[Nou_Camp99]

Disagree. Pogba played really well and won the WC with box to box midfielder Kante beside him. Not a DM in sight, and Kante didnt even have that good of a world cup.

Matuidi Pogba Kante

Bruno Thiago Pogba

I'm sorry my friend but there is a huge huge difference defensively there. This is a typical case of muppet mode taking over the brain. That midfield would never work in real life. City don't even play that attacking in midfield and they are well more gung ho than us.

 

[Jonno]

Make Thiago happen if we want to fast track to the top. We could end up getting DVDB, Thiago to be added to Matic, Bruno, Pogba, McTomminay and flog somebody like Fred to make room.

We could rotate our midfield like City & Liverpool have done for the past couple of years at the elite level.

 

[Pughnichi]

VDB + Thiago + additional cash to spend is better than spending 108m on Sancho

 

[Adcuth]

I'm hard to please i know

Deffo a joke in there somewhere

 

[paulscholes18]

If we go the Thiago route, I feel this would make best use of of players.

I would take out the LCB for Sancho or Rashford and go for 3-4-3 diamond
Hendo/ DDG
AWB Maguire Shaw
Thiago
VDB Pogba
Sancho Bruno Rashford
Martial

 

[MDFC Manager]

Plus he can play DM, contrary to what many are posting. Thiago, Pogba, Bruno would be arguably the best midfield in the league

I'd say it would be the best midfield in the league by some distance.

 

[Park's Petrified Pooch]

VDB + Thiago + additional cash to spend is better than spending 108m on Sancho

I can’t get behind this opinion. We’ve had a non-functional right side of our attack for around 7 years now. Thiago would be an upgrade at DM. VDB is arguably depth for all three midfield positions. Both would be solid additions.
However, we would still be a mess down the right, and would have only improved out starting 11 by a small amount. Sancho is critical to a balanced attack, some unpredictability in our patterns of play.

 

[cyberman]

Matuidi Pogba Kante

Bruno Thiago Pogba

I'm sorry my friend but there is a huge huge difference defensively there. This is a typical case of muppet mode taking over the brain. That midfield would never work in real life. City don't even play that attacking in midfield and they are well more gung ho than us.

Pogba is the deepest midfielder in that French line up. You can quote names all you want but Matuidi had little defensive responsibilities through midfield in that side. He was the one tasked with getting forward and supporting the front players. Pogba didnt need a defensive minded midfielder beside him to avoid defensive disaster at all.
Pogba was the lynch pin of that midfield without a DM in sight. Feck me he played at Juve with Pirlo at the base of the midfield. Matic is the closest thing he has had as a DM beside him in his entire career.
Its 2020, you dont need DM in midfield anymore with the high lines and team press. Just players who don't ignore their responsibilities.

 

[Sb_16]

Would love another Scholes-Carrick partnership.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I'm glad we're at least making an effort for this one. Even though I think Livepool would probably be the players preference. Only worry is fitness and injury record. I'm wary of being saddled with an expensive flops/crock on board for years

 

[ayushreddevil9]

I'm glad we're at least making an effort for this one. Even though I think Livepool would probably be the players preference. Only worry is fitness and injury record. I'm wary of being saddled with an expensive flops/crock on board for years

Who is reporting our interest? I missed the tweets

 

[Mainoldo]

If we go the Thiago route, I feel this would make best use of of players.

Shame our defence full backs and a goal keeper who doesn’t leave his line hurt that formation.

 

[Adcuth]

Martial Rashford

Bruno

Pogba Thiago Donny

Shaw Maguire Lindelof AWB

Is it beyond us to play this. Pogba and Donny push forward around Bruno and our full backs tuck in with Thiago since they aren't amazing at attacking. Add a quick CB and I'm happy with that.

 

[GaryLifo]

To be fair, the football manager experts have already ruled out the possibility that three top class midfielders could possibly play together in the same team.

I think you need to accept this virtual reality as being true also in actual reality.

 

[Aouer-United]

Wtf are you on about

How many are you watching Goretzka? "Thiago only can work in DM if he had Goretzka sit next to him" and "Pogba needs to sit back deeper if he plays with Thiago, we'd get overturned if Pogba is too offensive mind" "Bayern have Muller who help out defensively and is pressing machine"


Goretzka is more offensive-minded with his positioning than Pogba, Thiago has to dictate the game on his own because Goretzka wasn't capable of doing this, he's more box to box player, that won't be the case with Pogba, he can share with Pogba in passing duties. Pogba doesn't gamble often to try to stop players around the box, he only closes the passing lane and cut it off where they are unlikely to pass in behind us, he is very good defensively for us. Unlike Goretzka, Pogba can dribble better and can escape tight space with his dribbling and use his physical so well to draw foul or beat them and his passing is top tier.

We have Bruno who can help out defensively and always press all game.

You also ignore the fact that we were playing with Fred most of the time as DM because of his passing duties and dictating from the game which Ole want from him. Thiago is an upgrade on Fred, he is more much better defensively and a better passer.

Do we need Thiago? Yes, we do. Thiago could give us greater control combing with his creativity + passing and is one of the most pressing-resistant midfielders in the world and improve us instantly when playing out from the back. Once Thiago beat the pressing player with his dribbling, we bypass their midfield so we can move the ball faster to launch attack before they get back to their position defensively. So that means they are less likely to press us from the back with Thiago - Pogba in a double pivot. Their option is to give us greater control in midfield to win the battle or try to stop us that'd leave them more vulnerable to attack.

I want us to get Thiago, I really don't want Thiago going to Liverpool.

 

[Matriac]

Who is reporting our interest? I missed the tweets

Falk had mentioned it a while back, but yesterday a Norwegian journo tweeted it. (He's at the 2nd biggest newspaper in Norway, and seems to have gotten a lot of United stuff news early ever since Ole joined)
It was boosted by Jan who we have mixed feelings about, and also retweeted by Falk again

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Some people think it's a intentional leak by Bayern to get Liverpool to pay up, but that doesn't make sense to me as the Norwegian journo is a United fan, and not usually that connected to Germany, he also tends to not tweet things unless he feels confident about it.

 

[Leftback99]

This is surely dead now. Will be interesting to see if we use Van de beek in the 6 position some think Thiago wouldn't be able to play for us.

 

[MDFC Manager]

Wtf are you on about

How many are you watching Goretzka? "Thiago only can work in DM if he had Goretzka sit next to him" and "Pogba needs to sit back deeper if he plays with Thiago, we'd get overturned if Pogba is too offensive mind" "Bayern have Muller who help out defensively and is pressing machine"


Goretzka is more offensive-minded with his positioning than Pogba, Thiago has to dictate the game on his own because Goretzka wasn't capable of doing this, he's more box to box player, that won't be the case with Pogba, he can share with Pogba in passing duties. Pogba doesn't gamble often to try to stop players around the box, he only closes the passing lane and cut it off where they are unlikely to pass in behind us, he is very good defensively for us. Unlike Goretzka, Pogba can dribble better and can escape tight space with his dribbling and use his physical so well to draw foul or beat them and his passing is top tier.

We have Bruno who can help out defensively and always press all game.

You also ignore the fact that we were playing with Fred most of the time as DM because of his passing duties and dictating from the game which Ole want from him. Thiago is an upgrade on Fred, he is more much better defensively and a better passer.

Do we need Thiago? Yes, we do. Thiago could give us greater control combing with his creativity + passing and is one of the most pressing-resistant midfielders in the world and improve us instantly when playing out from the back. Once Thiago beat the pressing player with his dribbling, we bypass their midfield so we can move the ball faster to launch attack before they get back to their position defensively. So that means they are less likely to press us from the back with Thiago - Pogba in a double pivot. Their option is to give us greater control in midfield to win the battle or try to stop us that'd leave them more vulnerable to attack.

I want us to get Thiago, I really don't want Thiago going to Liverpool.

People's Pogba hate tends to make them blind. Add to the fact people also have a preconceived notion of a DM (despite having seen Carrick play that role here for a decade...)

 

[Chaky_Best]

Totally disagree. We need a deep lying playmaker who has good defensive attributes, to take over from Matic.

We also need as many good players on the ball as we can get. After all, the best form of defence is ball retention.

Except that :

1. Ole's style is not ball retention
2. We would need a real defensive midfielder to balance what Pogba, Van De Beek and Fernandes add to this team

 

[Mickeza]

This is surely dead now. Will be interesting to see if we use Van de beek in the 6 position some think Thiago wouldn't be able to play for us.

I seriously doubt he plays as a 6. Most important thing for a club like us as a 6 is playing the ball through the lines and nothing I’ve seen of him suggests he’s that type of player. Fred will be first choice next year in my opinion in the role as he is very good at that. He just needs to work on the brain farts he has in possession at times and knowing when to sit and when to press. He takes a few too many risks when pressing at the moment.

 

[Leftback99]

I seriously doubt he plays as a 6. Most important thing for a club like us as a 6 is playing the ball through the lines and nothing I’ve seen of him suggests he’s that type of player. Fred will be first choice next year in my opinion in the role as he is very good at that. He just needs to work on the brain farts he has in possession at times and knowing when to sit and when to press. He takes a few too many risks when pressing at the moment.

I think he will be too with how the Europa league games went.

 

[red thru&thru]

Some people think it's a intentional leak by Bayern to get Liverpool to pay up, but that doesn't make sense to me as the Norwegian journo is a United fan, and not usually that connected to Germany, he also tends to not tweet things unless he feels confident about it.

This makes me believe!

 

[pratyush_utd]

I'm glad we're at least making an effort for this one. Even though I think Livepool would probably be the players preference. Only worry is fitness and injury record. I'm wary of being saddled with an expensive flops/crock on board for years

Sanchez was coming after horrible form with Arsenal and since he was winger, physical attribute mattered more. Thiago is coming after excelling for Bayern who has won treble last season and his play does not depend on physical attribute. He can be like Scholes and play at highest level till his retirement without any significant drop in quality. This signing for any team is absolutely no brainer.

 

[Red Foxx]

Don’t do it to yourselves fellas. He’ll be at Anfield within a couple of weeks

 

[Compton22]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

[DCP]

Give him what he wants.

 

[MDFC Manager]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Oh god, i'm going to get sucked in

 

[Matriac]

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— Twitter API (@user) date

This is just his daily tweet to stay relevant. Just repeating stuff he already said yesterday, but put into a single tweet.

And I say this as someone that kinda likes Jan.

 

[SATA]

This is just his daily tweet to stay relevant. Just repeating stuff he already said yesterday, but put into a single tweet.

And I say this as someone that kinda likes Jan.

Why do you kinda like him?

 

[Pace Abuser]

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Means nothing. Just a rehash of old stuff with no removal of the suspicion that we're just being used to hurry Liverpool.

 

[Matriac]

Why do you kinda like him?

I'm a noggie. I have memories of him being on screen for Champions League nights since 2004. He was the host of the show for 8 years, since then been the reporter on the field instead.

In Norwegian he comes across as a enthusiastic and nice guy.
He's always been very pro Bundesliga and connected there, so this is the year where he became much more relevant to others with all the transfers happening from there. I can understand him milking it a bit. Still.

 

[-Supreme-]

Means nothing. Just a rehash of old stuff with no removal of the suspicion that we're just being used to hurry Liverpool.

Although I too don't think it will happen but you never know.

People also said our name was used when we were linked with VDB a month ago where everyone expected he was heading to Madrid at the time.

 

[Woodzy]

If Fred does end up going on loan this makes a lot more sense, as it'll give us two players in each position of the midfield.

Pogba/McTominay
Bruno/VdB
Thiago/Matic

Suddenly we will have one of the best midfields in the world.

Will be plenty of game time for everyone as well. Have to remember that we won't be playing Europa anymore where the midweek games we can afford to play with lesser players - we need to compete in every game and this gives us a silly amount of options in midfield.

 

[Matriac]

I still think there's a chance this transfer could materialize for us. Just saying that there's yet to be any new news since yesterday, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Ødegaard]

Falk had mentioned it a while back, but yesterday a Norwegian journo tweeted it. (He's at the 2nd biggest newspaper in Norway, and seems to have gotten a lot of United stuff news early ever since Ole joined)
It was boosted by Jan who we have mixed feelings about, and also retweeted by Falk again

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Some people think it's a intentional leak by Bayern to get Liverpool to pay up, but that doesn't make sense to me as the Norwegian journo is a United fan, and not usually that connected to Germany, he also tends to not tweet things unless he feels confident about it.

If Dagbladet had any faith in this they would have had it as huge news on their website. Shit paper. Wouldn't trust them for anything. They haven't even mentioned it in any of their sports-related articles.
It's not even mentioned in the rumor-mill part of TV2 or VG, his former places of work.
The only ones mentioning our interest in Thiago in Norway is Liverpools fanclub.

 

[Silas]

I don't think there's an aspect of the game in which Matic, Fred or McT (our current DMs) are superior, so it's weird to see so many up in arms.

A Pogba and Thiago double pivot would struggle against a a quality team who are good at applying high pressure. Thiago would end up doing more chasing in the DM role which would be a waste of his talents.

With a midfield like that, I'd expect the other team to be doing most of the chasing tbh.

 

[Matriac]

If Dagbladet had any faith in this they would have had it as huge news on their website. Shit paper. Wouldn't trust them for anything. They haven't even mentioned it in any of their sports-related articles.
It's not even mentioned in the rumor-mill part of TV2 or VG, his former places of work.
The only ones mentioning our interest in Thiago in Norway is Liverpools fanclub.

I don't disagree that Dagbladet is a shit paper.
But there is a little bit of a jump in certainty needed for a tweet on journo's own page to writing about it on the website.

Thiago isn't a huge name in Norway, so they don't need to rush with that info. Their target demographic care more about reality drama.

They haven't even mentioned VdB anywhere either, and that seems to be a safe bet now.


Again, not saying I think it's a sure thing, but I believe we have inquired about Thiago and are in with a shout.