Have we signed Miguel Angel Nadal yet?
Rasmus Højlund | Signed for United
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
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He’s surely saying that to increase pressure on the owners to get us a ST. If we have a ST sancho won’t be upfront unless he’s covering or rotating.
For entities who only work in millions of pounds this should have been relatively straightforward.
It's not me and you haggling.
We have and I'm not blaming United. It's Atalanta. Clubs have got silly greedy now with little regard for the players career.
Of course no club is a charity but it used to feel like there was a balance. If a player wanted to leave and tgere was an appropriate fee the deal was done.
Not so much the case now.
It's understandable that people would be a little apprehensive over Hojlund due to his age.
But for me I'm looking at Hojlund as someone who at 20 years old has room to grow further and potentially become a mainstay in our team for the present and long-term. I'm not worried about his perceived lack of goals because his goals to game ratio is actually good for a player his age.
But what I'm looking at when it comes to Hojlund is his attributes in and out of possession along with his tactical understanding to carry out the plan. And at Atalanta he's been playing under Gasperini who is a good teacher/coach to learn from. And it's pretty evident that Hojlund's physicality, pressing with intelligence, hold up play, pace and movement off the ball looks above average already at 20 years of age. And we need those traits in our CF to make us a more fluid team with and without the ball where the CF can be a huge threat in transition aswell as have the movement to create space against packed defenses.
If Hojlund can score around 15 goals but also be a threat all across the front line, then I believe the team as a whole will score a lot of goals due to Hojlund opening up space and opportunities for others due to his pace and movement whilst we have possession. And without the ball his pressing game is clever, which would make it difficult for opponent's to play through us vertically.
I was a bigger fan of Louis Saha than I was of Van Nistelrooy. And the reason was because I always felt that a box striker like Van Nistelrooy wasn't as effective outside the box in comparison to a Louis Saha who had the pace, physicality and aerial game to play across the front line, which made us a more dangerous team and brought out the best in Rooney and Ronaldo due to the fluid play-style that developed at the time. That meant we were more unpredictable as a team instead of playing to the strengths of Van Nistelrooy who was a box striker and made us predictable as a collective unit.
I'm actually more concerned about how we will build the play from the back and into midfield. And if we can build the play from the defensive third to the middle third effectively well with consistency, then we will pin the opponent back into their half which will result in more players playing the game in the opponent's half via the high-line. And when you develop a team to play the game in the opponent's half, then wave after wave of pressure will result in a lot of chances being created.
And in that scenario it's important to have a central striker who will hold the ball up in possession and have the intelligence to press effectively without the ball. I think Hojlund at 20 years of age is showing good potential to be that player. His transfer fee will likely be around €60m but overall it would be a good value signing due to his wages likely being much lower than say someone like a Harry Kane who would cost around £100m but would also cost around £600k a week in wages according to reports. Signing Hojlund would also allow us to sign someone like a Amrabat who I believe we really need for the deeper midfield position.
But for me I'm looking at Hojlund as someone who at 20 years old has room to grow further and potentially become a mainstay in our team for the present and long-term. I'm not worried about his perceived lack of goals because his goals to game ratio is actually good for a player his age.
But what I'm looking at when it comes to Hojlund is his attributes in and out of possession along with his tactical understanding to carry out the plan. And at Atalanta he's been playing under Gasperini who is a good teacher/coach to learn from. And it's pretty evident that Hojlund's physicality, pressing with intelligence, hold up play, pace and movement off the ball looks above average already at 20 years of age. And we need those traits in our CF to make us a more fluid team with and without the ball where the CF can be a huge threat in transition aswell as have the movement to create space against packed defenses.
If Hojlund can score around 15 goals but also be a threat all across the front line, then I believe the team as a whole will score a lot of goals due to Hojlund opening up space and opportunities for others due to his pace and movement whilst we have possession. And without the ball his pressing game is clever, which would make it difficult for opponent's to play through us vertically.
I was a bigger fan of Louis Saha than I was of Van Nistelrooy. And the reason was because I always felt that a box striker like Van Nistelrooy wasn't as effective outside the box in comparison to a Louis Saha who had the pace, physicality and aerial game to play across the front line, which made us a more dangerous team and brought out the best in Rooney and Ronaldo due to the fluid play-style that developed at the time. That meant we were more unpredictable as a team instead of playing to the strengths of Van Nistelrooy who was a box striker and made us predictable as a collective unit.
I'm actually more concerned about how we will build the play from the back and into midfield. And if we can build the play from the defensive third to the middle third effectively well with consistency, then we will pin the opponent back into their half which will result in more players playing the game in the opponent's half via the high-line. And when you develop a team to play the game in the opponent's half, then wave after wave of pressure will result in a lot of chances being created.
And in that scenario it's important to have a central striker who will hold the ball up in possession and have the intelligence to press effectively without the ball. I think Hojlund at 20 years of age is showing good potential to be that player. His transfer fee will likely be around €60m but overall it would be a good value signing due to his wages likely being much lower than say someone like a Harry Kane who would cost around £100m but would also cost around £600k a week in wages according to reports. Signing Hojlund would also allow us to sign someone like a Amrabat who I believe we really need for the deeper midfield position.
Have you ever tried to buy something more than a couple of grand?
Good post.
One thing I’ve picked up on from the videos on him is consistently you hear the commentator say ‘Great movement from Hojlund’. Like you say, that movement will free up others.
Struggling to see your point here.
Are you comparing me to a football club?
Do you find it difficult to buy things over a couple of grand?
Just to confirm, I'm not blaming United. I imagine we've done our bit. Atalanta on the other hand.
Yeah, I agree with a lot of all that as well.
Then just shut the football forum down, if it's all down to "well, manager's knowledge is superior".
Neglecting the fact that in the last 10 years, even higher profile managers have made costly mistakes.
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Im laughing at anyone thinking we are selling Sancho. ETH clearly rates him a lot higher than we do.
I definitely haven't seen much of Bilal Toure to opine and just looked up his numbers out of curiosity when I saw Atalanta were in for him but I challenge you to watch footage of the other two and tell me they don't also pass the eye test if you're not interested in stats.
We would definitely sell him if a good offer came in.
The issue is there is absolutely no chance of a good offer while he has years left on that wage contract.
Yeah but L1nk has a point. There’s more to recruitment than finding the guy with Eleventy-Five “goal actions” but some posters think there isn’t.
Regardless of bad opinions on here, the main reason why we're just an also ran in the league these days is our horrendous recruitment decisions over a number of years by people employed by the club. Let's not pretend they are infallible.
Simon Stone is saying that United are reluctant to meet the £60m Atalanta want for Hojlund.
Simon Stone: "Atalanta's Denmark international Rasmus Hojlund, 20, remains their most obvious target, but United are reluctant to meet the Serie A club's £60m valuation."
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Simon Stone: "Atalanta's Denmark international Rasmus Hojlund, 20, remains their most obvious target, but United are reluctant to meet the Serie A club's £60m valuation."
Well let’s think of it as a recommendation rather than a challenge! I’ll take a look. I wouldn’t say I’m not interested in stats. I’m just inferring that EtH is not fussed about them because there are plenty of players with better stats than Hojlund.
Theres also more to recruitment than just trusting the manager. Like Antony, why isn't anyone else signing him for such a bargain price.
Solskjaer, Phelan along with Woodward, Judge and their recruitment heads are all gone. That doesn't mean the current recruitment heads are infallible, but it's a big change from the previous regime. And you just have to listen to Mike Phelan talking about the modern day football structure to know that he was lost in a bygone era and wasn't receptive to change. And he was advising Solskjaer at the club. It's not a surprise our recruitment was awful.
Yeap. When was the last time we had the two out of three key signings done before leaving for our main pre-season matches?
This post is idiotic
We wouldn’t unless the offer was outrageous
How long did Declan Rice “sign” for Arsenal before actually being announced? & what was their initial bid? Something like 75M + add ons & what did they settle on? Sounds pretty shoddy to me.
Both our targets have been sealed for what we wanted and less than what the selling club wanted.
Only if you are nominated for "Arse-licker of the year".Can we nominate @Adnan for best poster of 2023? Always posts insightfully, absolute gem of a poster
I’d rather more
“Overly optimistic poster (who’s only slightly sarcastic sometimes) 2023 and beyond”
Well there is no one else so we have to really.
Like the other touted options aren't strikers and we currently don't own a single striker that can or will contribute for various reasons
Good, hope it’s true.
£45m-ish with add ons is a sensible approach and the right price to pay for what Højlund has achieved and shown thus far.
Can appreciate apprehension over a 20year old with very little experience.....but why on earth would you be more than happy for Martial to be our first choice striker when he has literally had one good season in what is it seven or eight here now? Fitness isnt the only problem with Martial, far from it
This is the problem. Currently he’s a £30m + £20m type level prospect (and that’s being fairly generous), who should be coming in to a club like United as back up to an established star. Instead, Atalanta know that they have us somewhat over a barrel, hence the ridiculous pricing. Seems like we are being sensible but I hope we have a good back up plan.
He would be ecstatic with that given the effort he put in with his tongue.
I just don't know where you are finding top striking talents from a top 5 league for 30m up front. This is the best shot at grabbing a guy before his price doubles after a good season. Hojlund bags mid double digits in Serie A this year and suddenly you're looking at Atalanta demanding close to 100m
Yes, I suppose it is the club who is recruiting rather than the manager. Do you mean the club shouldn’t trust the manager?
I don’t know what you mean about Antony. You don’t rate him and you think we overpaid for him, I’m guessing? Again, his top line stats might be bad but we seem to play better with him in the team.
That it's not a valid response to people questioning transfers.
Atalanta bought him for €17m when he was still a teenager, so I can understand why they'd want to maximize the player's potential worth due to the player he can develop into, in the mid to long-term, whilst also showing the ability to produce in the present. So we'd be buying a player who isn't the finished article but has the potential to develop even more in the next few years.
I think ten Hag is already working on a backup plan in pre-season by trying Sancho as a false 9. I think it's important to have different ways to play proactive football and ten Hag has shown at Ajax that he can develop teams to play a dominant brand of football with different profile of players. He did it with Tadic and then with Haller up front. And it's about creating a dominant team with a varied approach to the game imo, which then makes us unpredictable. So I'm watching with intrigue to see how things work with Sancho in a false #9 role.
Also I hope we sign Amrabat for similar reasons. We can go from a 433 to a 4231 without compromising on our approach to the game, which I anticipate to be a proactive approach.
What’s the fee for Hojlund?
Okay, I follow you now. Yeah I wouldn’t say everybody has to trust the manager blindly. It was more that throwing up stats is easy but often the stats aren’t very significant. The classic one, for me, is Alan Shearer at Southampton - 23 goals in 118 games - but he had all the attributes to become a great player.
Pedullà just Tweeted this out.
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To be clear, this is the amount that will help in advancing the negotiations and not necessarily sealing the deal.
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