I'd make a call to Barca for Balde to see if there's any interest.
The left-back market…
- Thread starter Rozay
- Start date
That's because you don't rate British talent
(joking)I am referring to tyrick Mitchell (Crystal palace). He has 1 yr left in his contract
What has actually happened to malacia ? Injured since May and normally when a player is injured there’s updates, SM posts but with him nothing? Literally just disappeared
Oh that guy
He’s one of those Barca lifers I believe.
Most likely yeah, but they have to sell someone that commands a decent fee at some point unless they are going to pull more "levers" out of their ass
We should get facundo medina. Primarily a CB very similar to Martinez I.e. brilliant passing ability. So he could cover left back and left cb. Available for 25 mill reportedly. Bargain
3 ways to do it:
1) We need the RCB to be able to cover at LCB and we sign an LB.
LB: Shaw, Malacia, LB
LCB: Lisandro, Shaw, RCB, Evans
RCB: RCB, Maguire/Varane, Kambwalla, Evans
RB: Dalot, RB
Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof and one of Maguire/Varane goes.
2) Sign an LCB who can cover LB, hope Shaw holds up for 2-3 years or Malacia comes good and then Amass or a new expensive signing when there are less holes elsewhere to sign players for.
LB: Shaw, Malacia, LCB
LCB: Lisandro, LCB, Shaw, Evans
RCB: RCB, Maguire/Varane, Evans
RB: Dalot, RB
and maybe Kambwalla goes on loan, same idea of selling Lindelof and swapping out Wan-Bissaka for someone better on the ball.
But yeah, we really do need 6 signings (DM, backup striker, left-sided defender of some kind, right-sided centre back, McTominay replacement as Mainoo's backup, Wan-Bissaka replacement who can actually pass a bit). And that's assuming Casemiro stays for another year.
Robinson from Fulham looks alright and he is not coming from a shit league.
Hopefully we look abroad for reinforcements there, getting players from prem clubs seems to all end up with ridiculous fees. 80 for Maguire, 60 for Mount, 50 for AWB. Just terrible value for money
Agree on the value, so unless coming out of contract I’d stay clear of PL players for now
Any championship left backs worth their salt?
recall Brandon Williams? Though he seems a bit of an immature knob head
South Americans?
Any championship left backs worth their salt?
recall Brandon Williams? Though he seems a bit of an immature knob head
South Americans?
He also seem to be the one missing lot of games due injuries already out for the season .
So I would rather we stay away
John Lucimi or Luca Netz.....
Him and Estupinan has to be the best two left backs. Estupinan would be pricy though
Last edited:
Yeah decent player. Though more at the level of what our second choice should be at.
I’m not a fan of inverted full backs (Dalot filling in etc.), especially when we already lack natural width. I don’t think Malacia is good enough either but luckily he was relatively cheap.
I like Antonee Robinson too; he loves an overlap and I think he’s topping the interception stats.
I like Antonee Robinson too; he loves an overlap and I think he’s topping the interception stats.
Justin looks good!
I’d advocated for him on here last year, but he’s had two cruciates and wasn’t sure what his fitness was like. He can play LB and RB at a good level.
This.
Same. No idea about how he's looked this year, but was impressed with his ability to play both sides and link play.
Patrick Dorgu at Lecce is supposed to be very good.
What do YOU think think of the player?
He looks the business. But his injury record is scary.
Agree. But dont know how much those two injuries say about future injuries. Someone at the club should know.
I also think Kyle Walker Peters is a similar case. Player who is equally good at both left and right. One year left of his contract.
I think that would be «my» solution. KWP or Justin for AWB (if possible to sell). Furthermore, a left footed CB (Branthwaite, Bastoni, Inacio) that could play left back if we want a different profile and a right footed CB (Todibo, Diomande, Bremer or A Silva) for Lindelof or Maguire and Varane.
In other words, three players in, three players out.
Last edited:
I’m not sure on this. I reckon if we saw a top left back in a mid table to lower PL team, people would probably not rate them as highly.
Perosnally, I hope Ineos are looking at super young all round athletes for the full back. Technical skills can be taught but we’ve lacked speed and dynamism for a long time in the team. Someone like Davies doesn’t need to be that good a defender (and is continuously learning as they play anyway) because of his athleticism. It’s the single trait you just can’t defend. Get a speedster in with a view to them being first choice in a season or two.
If we could we should look to sell both Lindelof and Maguire then bring in a youthful RCB to alternate with Varane. But then Varane is on huge wages and it make more business sense to just let him go however performance wise he is more reliable than Lindelof and Maguire whilst it could be more difficult to find a buyer for the latter.
It's difficult to see a situation whereby we don't buy 6 players because even in midfield we'd need two as Mainoo can't play every game so too any DM we might buy. Say we buy Onana for the DM role, we still need back up for him in case of injury, fatigue or suspension. So that's three defenders, two midfielders and possibly two attackers - a RW and a back up striker.
The summer window is going to be an important one because if we don't play our cards right and sell players so as to buy better fits who are more consistent we risk staying in this rut for longer. I can see a scenario where we might need to sell Rushford, Casemiro and Bruno just to be able to manoeuvre the next window and build an effective team.
Antonee Robinson is shite, you're all mental. I accept that he has a great fitness record and he's quite quick so if he were available cheaply or on a free there'd be some logic but... he'd cost loads. For a backup left back that's not even young.
Stop gap on a free/on the cheap or a punt on a younger/unknown player, these are the only acceptable options to my mind. Wouldn't be against getting Reguilon again bearing in mind we've got Amass and Mantato coming through who might be ready to take a squad spot within 2 or 3 years.
Otherwise if you look at the teams potentially going down there might be one or two interesting options. Ola Aina if Forest get sanctioned, Doughty at Luton looks excellent in attack, Mykolenko is decent but would probably cost too much I think, don't know if Branthwaite could fill in at LB or whether Everton might let Godfrey go cheaply (probably not).
Stop gap on a free/on the cheap or a punt on a younger/unknown player, these are the only acceptable options to my mind. Wouldn't be against getting Reguilon again bearing in mind we've got Amass and Mantato coming through who might be ready to take a squad spot within 2 or 3 years.
Otherwise if you look at the teams potentially going down there might be one or two interesting options. Ola Aina if Forest get sanctioned, Doughty at Luton looks excellent in attack, Mykolenko is decent but would probably cost too much I think, don't know if Branthwaite could fill in at LB or whether Everton might let Godfrey go cheaply (probably not).
Aina’s a right back.
I'm convinced we'll be forced to sign 3cbs. I hope one or two of them are adept at fullback. Then hopefully we can exchange AWB for a fullback who can defend but is good in attack. Rather than Wingers like Frimpong...
Actually plays both sides well tbf. Lahm/Irwin style
Could be a good call. Not to fan of Frimpong either. But KWP or Justin, for a reasonable fee, could be sensible.
I agree. I like Frimpong as a player but I don't trust him defensively. I don't see him doing enough defending. At Leverkusen it's mostly done by the CBs and Palacios for him. Yet with us, as a fullback if defending isn't at the very least decent, you will get murdered due to our style of play. That's why for example I was convinced a Cancelo would be terrible for us.
Last edited:
I think it’s clear none of Varane, Lindelof, Maguire and Evans have a long-term future at the club, so I agree we need 3 but I struggle to see us committing to that in one window. My guess that two will go and two will stay.
I predict we extend Evans for one more season who will be happy to be 5th choice on cheap wages and quite frankly I feel like he has earned it. Then it’s anyone’s guess on the others. But I expect us to cash in on either Maguire or Lindelof (most likely Lindelof) and release Varane to free up wages.
Bring in Todibo and Branthwaite or another LCB like Lucumi from Bologna who we have been linked to this week. All are CBs who could fill in as a FB is needed, which I agree gives us more flexibility tactically and helps keep a lean squad.
Personally I like the idea of Frimpong but will require us to make a change tactically. If we did switch manager to Alonso (unlikely) or Amorim (more likely) then he would easily fit in. If we stick with ETH, it will likely require the LB to play more like an LCB when in possession.
RB is an unusual market atm. There’s no obvious target that like you said that can contribute defensively and offensively.
to address this specifically tbf I don't think we will have a choice. I believe Varane is leaving on a free. Lindeloff desires first team ball and is a saleble asset and I doubt Maguire will desire another season fighting desperately for place if ETH stays. Whilst Evans could as easily stay as he could retire ..
I agree with all the rest.
I like Milos Kerkez of Bournemouth. A Hungarian 20 years old and doing well for Bournemouth this season. Seems like an aggressive, less injury prone version of Reguilon. They signed him around £14m pre season so it would probs take 30 something to get him now she's showing he can do it at a Premier League level aswell as Holland.
The only other LB that's impressed me is Hincapie at Leverkusen who can play either LCB or LB. Would be great to play him with Martinez as our first choice left back.
No idea what Shaw's leg injury is but given his age now and his injury record it might make sense to cash in on him and get the two left backs we need.
Malacia would never be anything more than a backup player. If he ever comes back and plays he could be another one to cut our losses with and start again unless we replace Shaw and we need him as the backup.
The only other LB that's impressed me is Hincapie at Leverkusen who can play either LCB or LB. Would be great to play him with Martinez as our first choice left back.
No idea what Shaw's leg injury is but given his age now and his injury record it might make sense to cash in on him and get the two left backs we need.
Malacia would never be anything more than a backup player. If he ever comes back and plays he could be another one to cut our losses with and start again unless we replace Shaw and we need him as the backup.
Bournemouth left back is pretty decent.
Agree that we need somewhere around three new signings in the defensive line (at least two at CB), this is where foundations of the team lays and we are too fragile and inconsistent there at the moment.
I’m thinking about something like this: signing a RCB starter (J.C. Todibo), a LB/LCB hybrid (P. Hincapie or F. Medina) and a versatile full back (J. Justin). I think it’s doable for a decent, not crazy, amount of money. Add someone like E. Palacios to replace Casemiro and we have a much stronger base to start with next season.
I like the look of Alfie Doughty from Luton. Was good when we played them recently too. I'm sure I remember hearing somewhere that his contract is up at the end of this season (correct me if I'm wrong here).
Strong, physical attacking left-back with a massive engine. Great crosser of the ball and 6ft tall too.
Strong, physical attacking left-back with a massive engine. Great crosser of the ball and 6ft tall too.
Why wouldn’t Maguire desire another season fighting for place? He rejected last summer offer to stay when Varane is still in the club. Now Varane is going to leave and Maguire has been getting lot of minutes this season in comparison to last season. You added up all of those, it’s enough to convince himself that he will be happy to collect his 200k pw wages and he will think that this time will be more chance to play now that Varane is leaving. I think Lindelof will need to be sold because he will be out of contract, Varane will leave because he doesn’t want to lower his wages, while Maguire will stay because no one can afford his wages and the club will trigger the one year extension in January.
We 100% have a choice as all are under contract and even for Varane who is supposedly OOC we have an extension clause. In the same way that a player has a choice to leave for lower wages elsewhere or stay put on their juicy Ed Woodward contract.
I’ll eat my bleedin hat if we sign 3 CBs this summer, as it will be too much change and we will want to reinforce other areas. Not saying I don’t want us to get 3 in, if I was playing football manager I would trust me!