Not really a hidden gem, but Konstantinos Koulierakis of Wolfsburg would be an amazing long term succesor to Maguire. He's 21, 1.88, left-footed Greek NT player with great build-up play, press-resistant and fast, and just had a great individual season, despite an underwhelming one for the team. I'm sure he'll end up at Leverkusen, Leipzig or Dortmund and will become too expensive, while now he could be attainable for 30m I reckon. We have other positions that are more urgent I guess.
Your Hidden Gems or under the radar - Wanted Signings
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He plays more as a RW but his ball carrying, hold up play and overall athletic and technical strengths mean he comes inside to create or make penetrative runs regularly.
He absolutely could work as an attacking 10 maybe as a wing back I think he absolutely could be an Mbeumo/Semenyo but maybe better. I know that’s a bold claim it’s just his physical data really stands out combined with his goals and assists (and high xG).
Whatever happens we need to add goals, even if it’s theoretical ones. The one thing I know we will get with a Guessand that you can’t say for some of our current options though is that athletic profile, creativity and good attacking intelligence in one package.
I'd love us to be in a position to go for George Ilenikhena from Monaco. I don't think he's ready yet, and still hasn't cemented his place at Monaco, but am convinced he's got all the tools to be one of the next top 9s. Even though he's a teenager, he's already great at holding the ball up and is even scoring from headers. When he was playing in Belgium he was reminding me of Tony Yeboah with his ball striking.
Guessand has been voted second in the Marc Vivien Foe award. Likened to Drogba who he works quite closely with.Good article in The Telegraph about him stating 8 premier league interested.
His athletic profile definitely stands out and if there is any links to us at all, you can see what Amorim is building towards with targets such as Cunha, Delap and Guessand. That would be quite an intimidating frontline but don't know if there would be enough guile there. But is it possible at all we can make a move for him given we have a transfer embargo with Nice? They will be in the Champions League qualifying rounds so good chance they make it.
Due to him being multifaceted, he could fill holes in the squad without having to recruit 3 players. He can play as a 9,10 and WB. Other than Amad and Dorgu, we don't have many players that can fill in at a number of positions in the squad.
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I think that may be something that prevents us from exploring it.
That was sort of my thinking. I can’t imagine he goes for much north of £30m and would provide a good physical basis for 9/10 and maybe wingback (issue there being he’s right footed). As you can probably tell I’m a fan of his.
There’s a 6’4” CB playing in Argentina called Kevin Lomónaco. Proper dominant defender both in the air and on the ground. That’s probably to be expected from a CB his size but what sets him apart is that he's also brilliant on the ball.
He’s reportedly got a €20mil release clause so he’ll go for cheap now and then cost a bomb in a couple years when big European teams realised what they missed out on.
He’s reportedly got a €20mil release clause so he’ll go for cheap now and then cost a bomb in a couple years when big European teams realised what they missed out on.
Everyone is talking about him now after his incredible game against Boca yesterday. It's an obvious thing big clubs are going to come for him now. He rejected an offer from Qatar, as he wants to play in Europe.
It's also almost a fact that Scaloni will call him and Mastantuono for the national team.
He plays as a N2 though, and that place is taken by Yoro.
he is a proper baller when he is tune in..YET, his past with some trouble with bets, his at times not so pro approach, to loose, dunno with him. I trully want him to finally come good and establish himself as a great player his talent can provide, but at times he looks due to another bizarre transfer like ome that he already had in his carreer, he is quite a traveller for only having 23 years old.
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Yeah, I can tell you really like him. The more I check his stats and read up on him, the more I like him too. But I think the Nice link nixes this deal for us and it looks like he will definitely be moving this window.
Messing around with WyScout and SkillCorner and there's a young Swiss player, Ardon Jashari who's got a skyhigh 93.4% playstyle match with Vitinha. He's being linked with PSG, Napoli, Atalanta and Spurs. We even got a mention a month ago.
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Very good player!
He's the exact profile we need - progressive and physical.
We'll need to see if our scouts believe he can translate that to the Prem and if so, whether we can pitch a strong enough project and pathway to him given the interest there seems to be in him. If we win tonight, I wouldnt be against keeping Casemiro for another year and giving someone like this a year to bed-in for a season.
Looks like a baller
This whole season he has been amazing. Sometimes we need to let these marks on players go and accept they can stabilize. He is a reality already, maybe you don't watch Independiente often, but he rarely makes a mistake. If his bets problems are solved, which is why he moved from Lanus to Tigre and then to Bragantino, he is able to perform in Europe. And it seems to be the case, as he has been the best defender in argentinian football consistently.
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I wasn't talking about his level as a footballer, I was talking about he might end on another strange transfer, his life (the bet thing and such to leave that stuff behind). He had too many moves for a player of his talent and in his game he has to be less prone to overplay at times to take another step, even if he would consistently get it most of times right.
And I agree, he has been really really good, that's why I want Scaloni to call him and I feel that will make wonders to him. Being around Samuel and Ayala (absolute Pros and great players) and the other lads, will make him realize that he can be part of that if he gets fully pro.
Like I've said, such skill with the ball, agressive approach and size in defense it's not that common
Rodrigo Mora
Well, he's definitely not ready to start in the PL yet, but someone who is really showing signs of having it in him to become a really really good striker is Mexx Meerdink from AZ.. Was part of the team AZ team that won the UEFA Youth League last year.. Had quite some back luck with injuries this year, but looking really sharp and quality now in the end of the season..
I'm very impressed.. Would start him at Ajax over Brobbey and Wout Weghorst
I'm very impressed.. Would start him at Ajax over Brobbey and Wout Weghorst
Richard Rios at CM
Gimenez at CB
Gimenez at CB
Nicolo Rovella - Been on loan at Lazio from Juventus for the last 2 seasons, only 23, would be great in our midfield if we don't get Ederson.
Lack of ariel ability will likely mean we don’t look at him given the CM will be replacing Casemiro
Also..
Bring in Quinten Timber now, now that his stock his low due to a late season knee injury..
Bring in Quinten Timber now, now that his stock his low due to a late season knee injury..
I dont know if this counts but my bro suggested it today and its been growing on me since.
Caoimhín Kelleher.
Villa are in for him to replace Martinez.
Would he not be a massive upgrade on Onana who wouldnt break the bank?
He is the ultimate team player and pro. A great character for the culture reset that Amorim wants in the dressing room.
Would Liverpool really stand in his way to join us? Not exactly true rivals at the minute.
And yes, i am Irish so may be a touch biased.
Caoimhín Kelleher.
Villa are in for him to replace Martinez.
Would he not be a massive upgrade on Onana who wouldnt break the bank?
He is the ultimate team player and pro. A great character for the culture reset that Amorim wants in the dressing room.
Would Liverpool really stand in his way to join us? Not exactly true rivals at the minute.
And yes, i am Irish so may be a touch biased.
Liverpool hate selling to us (just like we refused to sell Heinze back in the day etc) for legacy reasons; at the minimum they'd stick extra 10m on compared to selling to Villa, despite Villa being closer to them in the current pecking order, just to appease the fans.
Another hyper press-resistant midfielder. Mario Dorgeles (not the Dorgeles we were linked with in January). He's a 20 year old who plays for Nordsjaelland.
Instantly obvious what a gifted athlete he is. Easy acceleration. Exceptional ball carrier who glides and bounces through tackles. Very high percentage passer and progressive too.
He retains possession 92.7% of the time under high pressure. Across every major European league only Andre (94.4%) and Ardon Jashiri (93.4%) have better numbers. For reference Baleba is at 86.6% and Caicedo 84.3%.
Instantly obvious what a gifted athlete he is. Easy acceleration. Exceptional ball carrier who glides and bounces through tackles. Very high percentage passer and progressive too.
He retains possession 92.7% of the time under high pressure. Across every major European league only Andre (94.4%) and Ardon Jashiri (93.4%) have better numbers. For reference Baleba is at 86.6% and Caicedo 84.3%.
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Across "every major European league" you said? He does not play for a "major European league". You can't just bring somebody from Denmark and expect them to hit the ground running in EPL. That is insane. Most players struggle coming even from Bundesliga, Seria A, etc.
I am not saying he may not be a great talent, but at the very least he will need to be coached for 2-3 years, probably go out on loan, before he can be dropped in the deep end of playing for United in EPL.
By major European league I meant 'not the Slovakian third division'.
Didn't want to type them all out but data spans all the big leagues you'd expect + all Scandinavian top flight leagues, Belgian Pro league, HNL, Austrian Bundesliga + Czech league.And yeah that's why this is the hidden gems thread and not the 'United's next starting midfielder' thread. A 20 year old with eyecatching stats and athleticism definitely fits the criteria for me. Especially as he's rumoured to be available for £8m and looks certain to move this summer.
High praise indeed
I'm a bit wary of these Danish league talents having been burned in recent past thinking I've seen the next big thing. I thought Sulemena was the most obvious future star when I saw him at Nordjaelland and aside from the game of his life against Yoro, he hasn't done it either in France or England. The Danish league has since had a few of these stars who have majorly struggled in the bigger leagues like Schelderup, Daramy, Osman and Nuamah who all looked dead certs in Denmark but have struggled beyond. Still, would be amazing to unearth the next Yaya Toure/Michael Essien for pittance in a minor league. What scouts/football directors make their names on.
He has a really interesting profile. I wouldn't be against us bringing him in as a young understudy for the deep midfield position.
He'll never join as an understudy though, he wants to play.
Looks amazing. Scholesy-esque??
My favourite type of player. Would love someone like this. It looks like Amorim wants Bruno to play this role though.
Mika Biereth, looks like he's got a lot about him.
He might not be a hidden gem in the strictest sense — being an Aston Villa player currently out on loan — but Enzo Barrenechea has put together an impressive season at Valencia. A solid defensive/central midfielder, with a good blend of physicality, passing range, defensive solidity as well as being tidy on the ball/retention. Has been called up for the Argentinian national team a couple of times but no caps yet.
Given Villa’s current depth in central midfield and potential PSR considerations following their failure to qualify for the Champions League (they must be absolutely livid with that ref!), there might be of interest for them to cash in on him. Was part of the Douglas Luiz swap to/from Juventus previous summer.
Link to Fbref: https://fbref.com/en/players/6caffe81/scout/365_m1/Enzo-Barrenechea-Scouting-Report
Another hidden gem could be Pierre Ekwah at St.Etienne (on loan from Sunderland). Admittedly I haven't seen him play, but at least statistically and on YouTube he looks interesting, and similar to Barrenechea; https://fbref.com/en/players/830371be/scout/365_m1/Pierre-Ekwah-Elimby-Scouting-Report
Given Villa’s current depth in central midfield and potential PSR considerations following their failure to qualify for the Champions League (they must be absolutely livid with that ref!), there might be of interest for them to cash in on him. Was part of the Douglas Luiz swap to/from Juventus previous summer.
Link to Fbref: https://fbref.com/en/players/6caffe81/scout/365_m1/Enzo-Barrenechea-Scouting-Report
Another hidden gem could be Pierre Ekwah at St.Etienne (on loan from Sunderland). Admittedly I haven't seen him play, but at least statistically and on YouTube he looks interesting, and similar to Barrenechea; https://fbref.com/en/players/830371be/scout/365_m1/Pierre-Ekwah-Elimby-Scouting-Report
Jashari has just been elected as best player in Belgium by his peers. I'd love him here. I honestly think he could be an asset. Physical beast, runs for ages, great vision and passing.
One that should be on our list, maybe Vivell has him on his radar.
If we can sell Casemiro (hopefully his waves to the crowd yesterday were a sign of this maybe happening), I'd love us to bring in two of:
Amadou Kone (Reims)
Lennon Miller (Motherwell)
Ardon Jashari (Brugge)
Amadou Kone (Reims)
Lennon Miller (Motherwell)
Ardon Jashari (Brugge)
Do Genk have particularly interesting players (other than the young Greek winger who destroyed Scotland)?
I was surprised to learn they were comfortably ahead of Brugge in their league, having watched the vast majority of the latter's Champion's League games this season and finding them to be a high-quality side who were very competitive at that level. Will Genk be as impressive in Europe next season?
Penders, has already signed for Chelsea.
Bangoura, young midfielder. Newcastle is interested. Think Genk will lose several players as usual.
Brugge has a better team, but CL football hurt them a bit in the beginning of the season. In the end they won the cup and finished second.