We need 3 new CMs. Who do we sign?

The obvious problem with these Premier League options is they'll all be way overpriced. If there is a structure in place in the next couple of months they should be securing targets most people on here haven't heard of. Onana is a good player but will we get a fair deal? Douglas Luiz would be great for us, but he's coveted by Arsenal and maybe City as well, he'll go for a fortune.

I would much rather we sign a new core for the team and build it around younger players. We can't do that if we are spending 80-100m on a single player.

daba said:

Thuram for me over Onana. Should be a fair bit cheaper and his ball carrying is second to none. Probably not as defensively robust as Onana but he’s no slouch and I think we miss ball carrying in the team more than anything.

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Agree carrying should be a priority, but I want both. Onana has a freaky potential and Everton will need to sell someone anyways. But yeah as of now we literally have a single ball carrier in the entire squad with Mount out in Kobbie.

Me and my mate watched highlights of Kephram Thuram, he looks really good. Moussa Dembele vibes with his dribbling.

Murder on Zidane's Floor said:

Me and my mate watched highlights of Kephram Thuram, he looks really good. Moussa Dembele vibes with his dribbling.

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Well according to Dawson (yes I know he's not great) we are looking at him as contract up next year

croadyman said:

Well according to Dawson (yes I know he's not great) we are looking at him as contract up next year

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I think Dawson just listed names of the players who have year on their contract rather than saying United are interested in them .

How about Mats Wieffer.

No, hear me out, he's actually very good. Strong positionally, does an insane amount of dirty work, has vision, can score a goal, he's even tall.

And not to mention, he looks like Napoleon dynamite.

KirkDuyt said:

How about Mats Wieffer.

No, hear me out, he's actually very good. Strong positionally, does an insane amount of dirty work, has vision, can score a goal, he's even tall.

And not to mention, he looks like Napoleon dynamite.

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Reminds me of Matic.

KirkDuyt said:

How about Mats Wieffer.

No, hear me out, he's actually very good. Strong positionally, does an insane amount of dirty work, has vision, can score a goal, he's even tall.

And not to mention, he looks like Napoleon dynamite.

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I'd rather go for Quinten Timber than Mats Wieffer if I were to go for any Feyenoord midfielder..

BrilliantOrange said:

I'd rather go for Quinten Timber than Mats Wieffer if I were to go for any Feyenoord midfielder..

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Timber has been brilliant this year for sure, but he's a very different type.

I still think Wieffer is more important for us though.

Murder on Zidane's Floor said:

Me and my mate watched highlights of Kephram Thuram, he looks really good. Moussa Dembele vibes with his dribbling.

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Seems an extremely sensible option given our part-owner also owns Nice. Pay them a good fee so it's all above board but it makes sense to use the links.

I think a top CM even if it just 1, due to budget constraints, is the absolute priority this summer. Can you remember just how bad it was playing without Mainoo and Cas?
I'm not sure whether that player should be a destroyer 6 or an elegant ball carrying 8. Ideally both but can we afford two top quality options in one window.

Nobby style said:

Edson Alvarez is pretty much all we need. Thought he was comfortably the best man on the pitch last match against West Ham. Every time I've seen him, granted not that much, he's been fantastic, doing it all in the midfield. Creates, does the dirty work, dribbles out of trouble, passes well, not sure how well he shoots. Would be great next to Mainoo, Casemiro, Ericksen, Mount . . . They'd propably want Rice money for him now, though. How did Ten Hag miss out on him?

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Signing another ex Ajax and ex Eredivisie player will surely delight the ETH out posters. It will vindicate their claims that he only knows his former players and they will use (keep using) that as another reason that he should be sacked.

What's Xaver Schlager like?

We need a Modric type midfielder who will set the tempo and start attacks. Bruno should play on the flanks then, if he starts games for us and it should be Cas behind Mainoo and a free floating CM.

From watching us the last few games we need pace and power in the middle. If we can find this in a player who’s also good on the ball that’d be awesome. We are too easy to play through and seemingly lack players who can cover the required ground consistently.

Prodigal7 said:

We need a Modric type midfielder who will set the tempo and start attacks. Bruno should play on the flanks then, if he starts games for us and it should be Cas behind Mainoo and a free floating CM.

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Those types of midfielders are not really that abundant, not to say extremely rare.

RoyH1 said:

Those types of midfielders are not really that abundant, not to say extremely rare.

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Yeah but if you want to challenge for a title in the worlds most competitive/highest standard league I think we need one.

Prodigal7 said:

Yeah but if you want to challenge for a title in the worlds most competitive/highest standard league I think we need one.

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Who was Pool's equivalent when they competed for the tittle and eventually won or for that matter who is City's Modric .

gajender said:

Who was Pool's equivalent when they competed for the tittle and eventually won or for that matter who is City's Modric .

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Silva is City's Modric, but De Bruyne provides that deeper lying ignition for attacks, so it's a team effort for City. Not sure why De Bruyne isn't playing much this season but City are clearly suffering as a result. Liverpool didn't have one granted - they did it a different way. Still, it's what separates truly elite teams IMO. The best teams playing the best football always have one. Modric at this peak was when Real won all their European titles. Xavi at his peak was when Barca were winning the most titles. We won the most with Scholes in the team. Of course Messi and Ronaldo were at Real and Barca then but that doesn't overshadow the importance of a deep lying playmaker IMO.

Prodigal7 said:

Silva is City's Modric, but De Bruyne provides that deeper lying ignition for attacks, so it's a team effort for City. Not sure why De Bruyne isn't playing much this season but City are clearly suffering as a result. Liverpool didn't have one granted - they did it a different way. Still, it's what separates truly elite teams IMO. The best teams playing the best football always have one. Modric at this peak was when Real won all their European titles. Xavi at his peak was when Barca were winning the most titles. We won the most with Scholes in the team. Of course Messi and Ronaldo were at Real and Barca then but that doesn't overshadow the importance of a deep lying playmaker IMO.

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De Bruyne has been injured just came back , I would love have Midfield Maestro at United again actually I believe Mainoo could also develop into one if everything falls into place for Him .

gajender said:

De Bruyne has been injured just came back , I would love have Midfield Maestro at United again actually I believe Mainoo could also develop into one if everything falls into place for Him .

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I like Mainoo and see him as a long term fixture in the first team. But these Scholes', Modric's etc are recognisable from a young age and I don't think it's something you can develop. Spatial awareness, vision, that "sat nav" brain to quote Rio is something you are born with. We may have our own in Jack Fletcher in the academy. Hopefully he can reach the heights many hope he will.

Still, I thought we should have been in for the dude from Anderlecht (Vermeeren I think) who is that sort of mould. These types of players often aren't big names unless they're already pulling the strings at a big club, which makes them really good value if you have a good enough scouting network.

Prodigal7 said:

Silva is City's Modric, but De Bruyne provides that deeper lying ignition for attacks, so it's a team effort for City. Not sure why De Bruyne isn't playing much this season but City are clearly suffering as a result. Liverpool didn't have one granted - they did it a different way. Still, it's what separates truly elite teams IMO. The best teams playing the best football always have one. Modric at this peak was when Real won all their European titles. Xavi at his peak was when Barca were winning the most titles. We won the most with Scholes in the team. Of course Messi and Ronaldo were at Real and Barca then but that doesn't overshadow the importance of a deep lying playmaker IMO.

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Modric plays a completely different position to B Silva? KDB has been injured but he also doesn't play as a deep playmaker. Look at these players' heatmaps.

The equivalent you might be thinking of is Kroos at Real as he did drop into the LB/LCM area and did orchestrate from deep? Rodri is the dictator from deep for City, although their system doesn't really have a playmaker who sits super deep given they want possession extremely high up the pitch.

Lu Tze said:

Seems an extremely sensible option given our part-owner also owns Nice. Pay them a good fee so it's all above board but it makes sense to use the links.

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Both Todibo and Thurham should be 2 of the 7 incoming players we absolute need this summer.

The club can’t afford to buy 3 midfielders in the summer when it’s clear they need minimum 2 CB, 1 LB, 1 DM/CM 1 no 8, 1 CFW, 1 RWS.

Some would argue we need another RB and GK as well but only so much can be done in one window.

First thing is outgoings - In Defence Lindeloft, Malacia must go (20m max)
We should not be selling Fernandez for £7m to Benefica ridiculously undervalued.

In Midfield we will sell Eriksen(10m), DVB(7.5m), Hanibal (15m), Amrabat (Return) and be left with ; Casemiro, Mainoo, Mount, Mctominay and Bruno so bringing in K Thurham for 40m and someone like an unknown like the young Federico Redondo (15m) would be great business we basically upgrade our midfield for about £23m and then look to put pressure on Mount or Bruno as one will go in the following winter or summer window and then we should be looking at Florian Wirtz or Xavi Simmons. These players will cost £80-100m so that’s the summer afterwards.

If we go buy Todibo, Frimpong and Theo Hernandez for probably £120m or £90m net after transfer out allowing us to then look at some sensible options upfront.

We should get 115m for Antony, Sancho, Pellistri and Greenwood and then go buy M Olise and Zirkzee for the same money, maybe we go after Sesko and one other as he’s a lot cheaper than Joshua Zirkee. I also think Omari Forson or Amad deserve a chance to be part of the striker options.

We will be lucky to add 1 CB, 1 FB, 1CM and 1 Striker come the summer especially if we don’t qualify for CL. Even Europa League football will cost the club about £70m in lost revenue.

tomaldinho1 said:

Modric plays a completely different position to B Silva? KDB has been injured but he also doesn't play as a deep playmaker. Look at these players' heatmaps.

The equivalent you might be thinking of is Kroos at Real as he did drop into the LB/LCM area and did orchestrate from deep? Rodri is the dictator from deep for City, although their system doesn't really have a playmaker who sits super deep given they want possession extremely high up the pitch.

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Positionally B Silva is further forward but he's great at setting the tempo and probing tight spaces. De Bruyne then focuses on the deeper lying creative stuff where he's not pressed so much. Scholes, Xavi, Modric, Pirlo etc were all of those things in one player. I guess I watched more of Modric when he was in the PL so he might not have been all of those things at Madrid. Kroos would definitely alleviate a lot of pressure from Modric on the playmaking front but he wasn't dynamic enough to be the player that Modric himself was. Modric could do the Kroos role as well but Kroos couldn't do what Modric does.

Rodri is another string in City's bow but becomes more passive when De Bruyne plays and his job becomes just to move the ball to De Bruyne or another midfielder asap.

That's my take anyway, but Scholes is my absolute favourite player and I suppose I have a bias towards those types of players.

Prodigal7 said:

Yeah but if you want to challenge for a title in the worlds most competitive/highest standard league I think we need one.

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Who would you suggest who is in that mould?

Wrecking ralf said:

Who would you suggest who is in that mould?

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I was gonna say that Vermeeren guy that Barca and Arsenal were fighting over. Even though he's 18. Or perhaps our scouts could surprise me and actually find a hidden gem.

edit: I see he went to Atletico Madrid in January

Prodigal7 said:

Positionally B Silva is further forward but he's great at setting the tempo and probing tight spaces. De Bruyne then focuses on the deeper lying creative stuff where he's not pressed so much. Scholes, Xavi, Modric, Pirlo etc were all of those things in one player. I guess I watched more of Modric when he was in the PL so he might not have been all of those things at Madrid. Kroos would definitely alleviate a lot of pressure from Modric on the playmaking front but he wasn't dynamic enough to be the player that Modric himself was. Modric could do the Kroos role as well but Kroos couldn't do what Modric does.

Rodri is another string in City's bow but becomes more passive when De Bruyne plays and his job becomes just to move the ball to De Bruyne or another midfielder asap.

That's my take anyway, but Scholes is my absolute favourite player and I suppose I have a bias towards those types of players.

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Assuming you mean latter years Scholes when he was deep? I'd compare him to Pirlo, Busquets, Kroos to a point, I wouldn't compare him with Modric, Xavi, Iniesta, KDB etc who are all 8's to varying degrees. Kroos is technically an 8 but his role at Real was quite tailored and specifically used his passing range and alleviated for his lack of athleticism and Marcelo being so offensive. He is also my favourite player.

I do think that style of player is somewhat dying now though sadly, unless you setup super possession heavy, there just has to be a lot more athleticism in the DM role these days given how much ground you cover/screening. Someone like Rice is a good example, I think he's a bit overrated but one thing he does extremely well is cover ground, support his wide teammates and play a super disciplined positional game. He's not lightening fast but he's fast enough to play that role and is a bit of a unit.

tomaldinho1 said:

Assuming you mean latter years Scholes when he was deep? I'd compare him to Pirlo, Busquets, Kroos to a point, I wouldn't compare him with Modric, Xavi, Iniesta, KDB etc who are all 8's to varying degrees. Kroos is technically an 8 but his role at Real was quite tailored and specifically used his passing range and alleviated for his lack of athleticism and Marcelo being so offensive. He is also my favourite player.

I do think that style of player is somewhat dying now though sadly, unless you setup super possession heavy, there just has to be a lot more athleticism in the DM role these days given how much ground you cover/screening. Someone like Rice is a good example, I think he's a bit overrated but one thing he does extremely well is cover ground, support his wide teammates and play a super disciplined positional game. He's not lightening fast but he's fast enough to play that role and is a bit of a unit.

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Yeah I'm referring more to latter years Scholes. though I generally believe he didn't substantially change the style of his game when he dropped deeper, he just played mostly the same game from a deeper position but adapted what he did off the ball after a pass to build attacks from deeper.

I think Rabiot on a free would be a great start.
I think he would complement Kobbie very well and inject athleticism and ball carrying to our midfiled.

After that I’d look for a metronomic and defensively astute marshal in the vein of Tchouameni/Rodri/Carrick and with Bruno/Rabiot and Mainoo initiated I think we could afford taking a chance on someone like Redondo or Wieffer who’s not of the highest caliber yet, but with the attributes to fit that profile.

Prodigal7 said:

Yeah I'm referring more to latter years Scholes. though I generally believe he didn't substantially change the style of his game when he dropped deeper, he just played mostly the same game from a deeper position but adapted what he did off the ball after a pass to build attacks from deeper.

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I agree for what it's worth, the thing that made him truly elite there, contrary to what most people say as they usually reference his passing, was his touch and turn in tight areas. He was so difficult to press and I believe this is from having spent so much of his career in advanced areas as a 'slower' player, he would just pop it off to people or turn on a sixpence with the outside of his boot. Add in the passing and it's a deadly combo.

buying 2-3 of Onana/Wieffer/Thuram/O'Reilly/Redondo

while selling 2-3 of Eriksen/Mount/McTominay/Amrabat*

*not activating the buy option

John McGinns worth a punt. Good energy and we know he can play at a decent level.

I think it’s safe to say we will not be buying 2-3 CM.

The best summer we can hope for, I feel…

CB, CM, Winger.

If we can bring in a cheap striker on a free after that, it would be a fantastic summer.

I am even being optimistic with that.

Todibo, Thuram, Eze + Wilson would be unbelievable and lift our whole squad.

Thuram makes too much sense given age, contract situation and his current club.

ATXRedDevil said:

Thuram makes too much sense given age, contract situation and his current club.

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I've never seen the guy play

Based on his stats I'd guess the guy is an 8 rather than a 6?

https://fbref.com/en/players/7d9397f8/Khephren-Thuram

We desperately need someone mobile, with defensive presence and a passer/playmaker to play at 6

buckooo1978 said:

I've never seen the guy play

Based on his stats I'd guess the guy is an 8 rather than a 6?

https://fbref.com/en/players/7d9397f8/Khephren-Thuram

We desperately need someone mobile, with defensive presence and a passer/playmaker to play at 6

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Thuram as the B2B 6/8 + Andre Trindade as the DLP 6 would set us nicely.

I think that requires us to be brave and get rid of McTominay though which I struggle to see happening. Credit to McT and how he’s won us many points this season, but he’s not the right midfielder for the team we should be building (even as a squad option) and we should capitalise on his prolific season by selling him, rather than extending his contract which we would 100% be doing under previous regime. Will also help us massively with FFP too. Hopefully INEOS see it this way too.

tomaldinho1 said:

I agree for what it's worth, the thing that made him truly elite there, contrary to what most people say as they usually reference his passing, was his touch and turn in tight areas. He was so difficult to press and I believe this is from having spent so much of his career in advanced areas as a 'slower' player, he would just pop it off to people or turn on a sixpence with the outside of his boot. Add in the passing and it's a deadly combo.

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Scholes’ ability to evade pressure was, as you said, largely down to his quick pass and move ability. He wasn’t a player who could dribble with it to a high level to step away from players.

The issue with these players is that you can’t just stick one of them in a midfield and now expect them to display these qualities. They need others to play with. If you’re spinning it round the corner and getting it back first time, you need a partner. Scholes/Carrick and Scholes/Keane both shared this ability. I think this is key for Mainoo and he will go up a level with someone on his wavelength next to him.

daba said:

Thuram as the B2B 6/8 + Andre Trindade as the DLP 6 would set us nicely.

I think that requires us to be brave and get rid of McTominay though which I struggle to see happening. Credit to McT and how he’s won us many points this season, but he’s not the right midfielder for the team we should be building (even as a squad option) and we should capitalise on his prolific season by selling him, rather than extending his contract which we would 100% be doing under previous regime. Will also help us massively with FFP too. Hopefully INEOS see it this way too.

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The previous regime tried to sell McTominay so not sure that fits. The issue is that he’ll likely need to be dragged out of Old Trafford. He won’t be easy to sell as we won’t force him and he’ll likely choose to stay on.

We need a 6 as a priority signing in the midfield. One who’s young, is good defensively but also comfortable on the ball, who’s not injury prone and adapts quickly to the league and out of all the options available I just can’t see past Amadou Onana from Everton.