Ruben Neves | Signed for Al Hilal (SA)

[RedRonaldo]

It will surely be harder to get him if we leave it too late or FDJ?

 

[WPMUFC]

It will surely be harder to get him if we leave it too late or FDJ?

There is no indiction ETH wants him even if we abandoned FDJ right now. In fact ETH's own words suggest he'd rather develop a squad player.

 

[::sonny::]

There is no indiction ETH wants him even if we abandoned FDJ right now. In fact ETH's own words suggest he'd rather develop a squad player.

Zidane, Savage, Garner

 

[Idxomer]

Zidane, Savage, Garner

Maybe in a couple of years, not gonna make it, average.

 

[Borys]

The thing I like about him the most is the predictability. Receive the pass, look around, pass it wide. Sometimes those passes will go half a pitch. Rinse and repeat.
Also noticed how Neves getting the ball triggers run of forwards. His long passes trigerred quite a few openings vs Leeds.
He would be very useful for us, although I'm not sure if he's that good defensively. Wolves looked quite open but I think they committed too many players into attack sometimes.

 

[jamesjimmybyrondean]

There is no indiction ETH wants him even if we abandoned FDJ right now. In fact ETH's own words suggest he'd rather develop a squad player.

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[WPMUFC]

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as posted in the Ruiz thread:

considering how quickly we have (allegedly) moved on from multiple players this window once they were ruled out and yet we keep going for FDJ no matter what is tweeted, I tend to lean on ETH not going out there and spending 80m on Neves on deadline day or a similar situation for Ruiz/Youri on deadline day.

I'm happy to be proven wrong, but the way I see things atm, FDJ is going to deadline day and if that doesn't happen, then it's squad development.

Furthermore, whilst an interpretation, that information from Romano does go counter to ETH's pre-match presser. When asked if he could stomach missing out on FDJ, he said it was about the right player(s) or looking internally. When comparing the FDJ saga to something like Antony there is a distinct difference in how we are pushing for these players.

I'd imagine there was a second "on paper" choice for Antony....I don't see ETH (or the club) bothering now to bring in a winger. None of our Tier 1-2s are pushing a "plan b" winger.

To end, just so we don't debate the same point over the Ruiz and Neves threads, i'm happy to concede that there may well be a plan b, I just don't see it based on how we've acted this window and how far outside the norm the FDJ saga has been.

 

[andersj]

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I’m really not a fan of either and in the PL, outside top six, I think JWP is by a margin the best midfielder. I think he is better physically than Tielemans/Neves; quicker and covers more ground.

Tielemans is a really talented player, and I might underrate him due to him playing in a really poor (coached) team*. But he lacks intensity and seems lazy at times. He is also a very different player to Frenkie de Jong.

*I remember Liverpool fans wanted to sell Henderson at the same age during Rodgers time there. And if I’m not mistaken, Rodgers suggested Liverpool to switch him for Dempsey?!

 

[ThinkTank@Cafe]

No. Not Neves please. Slow, dwells on the ball, wasteful shooting, not very good defensively. Mid table player with good long range pass. Buy someone young player from Ligue 1 or La La Liga for £20 M instead.

 

[RkkMan]

as posted in the Ruiz thread:



Furthermore, whilst an interpretation, that information from Romano does go counter to ETH's pre-match presser. When asked if he could stomach missing out on FDJ, he said it was about the right player(s) or looking internally. When comparing the FDJ saga to something like Antony there is a distinct difference in how we are pushing for these players.

I'd imagine there was a second "on paper" choice for Antony....I don't see ETH (or the club) bothering now to bring in a winger. None of our Tier 1-2s are pushing a "plan b" winger.

To end, just so we don't debate the same point over the Ruiz and Neves threads, i'm happy to concede that there may well be a plan b, I just don't see it based on how we've acted this window and how far outside the norm the FDJ saga has been.

Simon Mullock(been AOTC with anything Ten Hag related) has linked us with Cody Gakpo as the plan B to Antony
I do get your point though and it`s telling we`re yet to move on from FDJ unlike other targets including now Antony

 

[Redcy]

After that mess today if anyone thinks playing neves alongside Fred is a good idea you are out of your mind. Fred would expose neves lack of mobility, can only consider neves if you are bringing in another dm, and no way we can afford neves and another 30-40m midfielder

 

[Woziak]

They senior players are they?
I must have missed when that happened.

No but they are clearly technically better than Fred and Mctominay

 

[Ikon]

After that mess today if anyone thinks playing neves alongside Fred is a good idea you are out of your mind. Fred would expose neves lack of mobility, can only consider neves if you are bringing in another dm, and no way we can afford neves and another 30-40m midfielder

I think its clearly a mistake for Fred to be anywhere near that first XI, that I will grant you.

 

[Bwuk]

After that mess today if anyone thinks playing neves alongside Fred is a good idea you are out of your mind. Fred would expose neves lack of mobility, can only consider neves if you are bringing in another dm, and no way we can afford neves and another 30-40m midfielder

Fred is shite. Neves should come in and replace him.

 

[Vapor trail]

Fred is shite. Neves should come in and replace him.

Right on. Posters talking about Neves not having the qualities to get into this team it's a case of mass delusion. Neves and Tielemans walk into this starting 11. Both have more qualities on the ball than Fred / Mctomminay combined.

It reminds me of those turning their nose up at Conte. United are not in a position to turn down additions that add a new dimension to the team.

There's a good argument that Fred / Mctomminay playing three or so seasons under different managers offering up no improvement, is a case that neither are coachable due to not having the capabilities to improve. Case in point, throw Dele Alli into a Pep or Klopp lineup and training session. The likelihood is he remains the same Dele Alli irrespective of the instructions and directions he gets from the managers.

 

[Acole9]

Neves is easily better than Fred and McTominay.

 

[AjaxCunian]

We'd crucify him for the way Rodrigo beat him and scored.

 

[Godfather]

Don't want him at all.

 

[Rockets Redglare]

Neves is easily better than Fred and McTominay.

That doesn’t mean he’s good enough.

 

[redshaw]

I wouldn't turn my nose at Neves but at 70-80m it's a lot of money that I don't feel the club or ETH think is right. If a similar player was on a short contract costing 30-40m maybe.

It's clear ETH has come in and the whole structure will have to develop over time so we can work on signings, weigh up the profiles and time left at other clubs.

 

[zaafi]

That doesn’t mean he’s good enough.

Be honest now. When was the last time you watched him play a live match? He is absolutely good enough. But just out of curiosity, who would you rather have if we can't get Frenkie?

 

[Ted Lasso]

If we're skint, just play Garner.

 

[Adnan]

The criteria shouldn't be that he's better than McFred but rather, if he's good enough to help us compete against the best in Europe. And I don't believe he is.

 

[userman]

The criteria shouldn't be that he's better than McFred but rather, if he's good enough to help us compete against the best in Europe. And I don't believe he is.

But we need players that are good enough to make us even qualify for Europe, and it's highly doubtful we have that now. I mean lets buy Neves or a similar level player so that we at least qualify and then buy someone even better so that Neves is then our squad option if he's not good enough to compete against the best in Europe. Fred or at least McT will never be.

 

[Adnan]

Moises Caicedo at Brighton is one to watch. He had a very good game against us earlier and I think by the end of the season there will be quite a few teams interested in him. We were reportedly linked to him when he was still in Ecuador and he ended up choosing the stepping stone provided by Brighton.

He's a player with a good all round skillset and could be utilised deeper or in a advanced midfield role and has a good passing range, aswell as the agility and intensity off the ball , so it'll be interesting to see how he gets along for the remainder of the season. He's also gone on record and said he wants to play for Man United one day.

 

[Deery]

The criteria shouldn't be that he's better than McFred but rather, if he's good enough to help us compete against the best in Europe. And I don't believe he is.

I hate this fecking train of thought here, as if we are prime Barcelona and the pinnacle of world football rejecting star after star, no we’re utter shite and it’s about time some of you woke up and realised it.

 

[Adnan]

I hate this fecking train of thought here, as if we are prime Barcelona and the pinnacle of world football rejecting star after star, no we’re utter shite and it’s about time some of you woke up and realised it.

This is your misconception that you think what I'm saying is unrealistic. But what I'm saying is very realistic and we need players that are both good on the ball whilst also having the agility and dynamism to thwart the opponent whilst going the other way. Neves isn't bad on the ball but he's no where near good enough off the ball due to his lack of agility. We need to do better then him and the £60m plus that would require to sign him can be better spent elsewhere. It's not a surprise to me that he's still at Wolves after 6 years.

 

[Acole9]

That doesn’t mean he’s good enough.

He's definitely good enough.

 

[Deery]

This is your misconception that you think what I'm saying is unrealistic. But what I'm saying is very realistic and we need players that are both good on the ball whilst also having the agility and dynamism to thwart the opponent whilst going the other way. Neves isn't bad on the ball but he's no where near good enough off the ball due to his lack of agility. We need to do better then him and the £60m plus that would require to sign him can be better spent elsewhere. It's not a surprise to me that he's still at Wolves after 6 years.

Well I’ll go out on a limb and say I think he’s better than Liverpool’s Thiago and he should walk into our midfield because he’s got a fancy name and passes with the outside of his boot.

 

[Dravy]

Maybe in a couple of years, not gonna make it, average.

Average is an improvement on poor, which is what we're fielding right now.

 

[jamesjimmybyrondean]

This is your misconception that you think what I'm saying is unrealistic. But what I'm saying is very realistic and we need players that are both good on the ball whilst also having the agility and dynamism to thwart the opponent whilst going the other way. Neves isn't bad on the ball but he's no where near good enough off the ball due to his lack of agility. We need to do better then him and the £60m plus that would require to sign him can be better spent elsewhere. It's not a surprise to me that he's still at Wolves after 6 years.

So is there anybody put there that fits your description that isn't De Jong of course

 

[Redcy]

neves and Fred would be a fecking disaster, and even worse would be neves / mct.

neves and tielemans would get absolutely smashed, and cost nearly 100m. Tielemans has no work ethic except in a handful of games each season. Did people not watch the games where he gave the ball away and couldn’t be bothered to chase back? Neves got ripped by Rodrigo and has zero mobility, tielemans has been shot for well over a year and before that was at best an up and down performer.

if you get neves you have to get someone who is a proper hard working dm, to make up for his serious defensive issues.

 

[Redcy]

So is there anybody put there that fits your description that isn't De Jong of course

there aren’t many Riuiz is the obvious one, more risky ones are bennacer and anguissa

 

[Houdini]

No. Not for that money. We need to spend wisely. I would rather play Garner, hope and pray and wait for someone of FDJ quality.

 

[Adnan]

So is there anybody put there that fits your description that isn't De Jong of course

The alternative to de Jong would be someone who has good composure, quick lateral movement and the ability to thread the lines imo. And that player will be the conductor/connector who knits everything together and makes the transition from back to front smoother.

So for me the three players are Bennacer, Caqueret and Vitinha. Vitinha has joined PSG, so he's not going to join us. So if I was in charge right now I'd seriously contemplate signing either Caqueret or Bennacer and would partner one out of the two players with someone like Kone from Gladbach, who is still a little raw but has potential to improve further.

I'm sure there's other players as well but I think I'd be happy with the above scenario if de Jong isn't possible.

 

[Lash]

Moises Caicedo at Brighton is one to watch. He had a very good game against us earlier and I think by the end of the season there will be quite a few teams interested in him. We were reportedly linked to him when he was still in Ecuador and he ended up choosing the stepping stone provided by Brighton.

He's a player with a good all round skillset and could be utilised deeper or in a advanced midfield role and has a good passing range, aswell as the agility and intensity off the ball , so it'll be interesting to see how he gets along for the remainder of the season. He's also gone on record and said he wants to play for Man United one day.

It's sad looking back at when we were heavily linked with him, people didn't think he'd improve us. He's now dominated our midfield twice (pretty sure he was in the side at the end of last season). Was clear he had a skillset we we're lacking and we're starting with McFred midfield for another season.

 

[Adnan]

It's sad looking back at when we were heavily linked with him, people didn't think he'd improve us. He's now dominated our midfield twice (pretty sure he was in the side at the end of last season). Was clear he had a skillset we we're lacking and we're starting with McFred midfield for another season.

I took some flak for suggesting we should sign him.

 

[OleGunnar20]

The alternative to de Jong would be someone who has good composure, quick lateral movement and the ability to thread the lines imo. And that player will be the conductor/connector who knits everything together and makes the transition from back to front smoother.

So for me the three players are Bennacer, Caqueret and Vitinha. Vitinha has joined PSG, so he's not going to join us. So if I was in charge right now I'd seriously contemplate signing either Caqueret or Bennacer and would partner one out of the two players with someone like Kone from Gladbach, who is still a little raw but has potential to improve further.

I'm sure there's other players as well but I think I'd be happy with the above scenario if de Jong isn't possible.

Caqueret & Bennacer would be ideal. With how close to home ETH is playing the incomings though, and our apparent lack of a scouting network at the moment, seems unlikely unfortunately.

I really get the feeling it's FDJ or nothing for CM this summer. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[Lash]

I took some flak for suggesting we should sign him.

Yep, I recall that as well. Was very disappointed it turned out we didn't take a chance on him. January was a perfect time to invest, let him bed in to the league. He has adapted way quicker than even Brighton would have thought.

 

[joedirt87]

I took some flak for suggesting we should sign him.

you shouldn't of because how bad this midfield is and how cheap of a transfer it would have been, regardless if it worked out or not.