Squad analysis

Jaap · Feb 25, 2024

Couldn’t find a thread on this, so here it is: who do we keep & sell in the summer?

I expect Ten Hag not to survive this summer, so we have a new manager coming in with different ideas & obviously wanting a different squad.

GK
Onana
Bayindir
Heaton

DF
Martínez
Vatane
Maguire
Lindelöf
Evans
Kambwala
Dalot
Wan-Bissaka
Shaw
Malacia

MF
Casemiro
Amrabat
McTominay
Eriksen
Mainoo
Mount
Fernandes

ATTACK
Rashford
Garnacho
Hojlund
Antony
Martial
Amad

X
X X Martínez X
Mainoo X
Garnacho X X
Hojlund

I think, only these four are untouchable. We need a new culture. Some players, who could be kept, are part of the problem, because of their character (Bruno, Rashford, for example). While they may be good enough for a top four finish, we are in desperate need to install a new -winning- culture at United & I don’t see them being part of it. I don’t know what has happened to Rashford. He does not seem happy. He hardly puts in any effort for a long period of time (Wolves, Luton being exceptions).

What do you think - also, who do we promote from the U21s, who do we buy?

bosnian_red · Feb 25, 2024

There's the never ending what do we still need thread that's pretty much this. But for me, the positions that won't or shouldn't be touched for a while are:

Dalot
Martinez
Mainoo
Garnacho
Hojlund

There's questions to be asked about most others, either down to age, performances, or wages. I like always looking at it like 2 players per position, and having the right blend in terms of wage for the role they play (starter vs backup wages), fit players, the right ages, etc. Being realistic, don't see any urgent need to move on these guys:

Onana
Altay
Wan Bissaka (backup Rb)
Lindelof (backup RCB)
Kambwala & Evans (5th and 6th choice CBs)
Shaw (CB/LB starter or competition)
Malacia - depending on his injury situation. Is this a one of or is he fine?
Bruno (not until other positions are addressed and we have the funds to spend big here)
Rashford
Amad (4th choice winger after garnacho, Rashford and a new guy)
Mctominay (whatever as an impact sub he does well, homegrown, can cover multiple positions, stays fit, is happy in his role)

The rest? I don't see the balance of wages vs the role they play, or the right age, or the right fitness. That means we need to sign:

RCB starter
LB starter competition (this is a weird case as our injuries here might not be long term and we have a young star to come in a bit later)
DM (ball winner) starter
DM competition (younger, can cover for Mainoo or partner Mainoo)
Winger (competition, direct runner with the ball like Garnacho is, not a wide forward or a system pass and move guy)
CF competition, experienced guy

So for sales, that is this list:

Maguire
Varane
Casemiro
Eriksen
Amrabat
Mount - some might disagree, but he's not good enough to be starter as a 10 here, he's not a deep midfielder for me, and has too many recurring injury issues, and is on too much money for being an injury prone squad player)
Antony
Martial
Greenwood
Sancho

Basically these guys are either the wrong profile, the wrong fitness levels, the wrong wage, wrong age, not good enough, or a mixture of all these. This is what I'd deem the priority list to address. After them, I'd look at LB, Onana, Rashford and Bruno.

Oranges038 · Feb 25, 2024

Posted this before, you have to look at what the player are offering now and where they'll be in 2/3/4 years.

If you look 3 years down the road, how many of this current squad are actually going to be useful.

GK: Onana? Questionable, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now.
GK: Backups Bayindir? Maybe + 1

DF: Martinez, will be 28 and at his peak.
DF: Shaw? He will be 31, will need replacing at some point, but he could still be useful.

MF: Bruno - will 31 will need replacing
MF: Mount - he's got the right age profile. Should be coming into his peak as a player.
MF: Mainoo, lets just pretend he comes good for the sake of argument.

FW: Rashford, again will be 29 - should be still a useful player if he can hit his purple patches more regularly.
FW: Hojlund, assuming he can cut the mustard.
FW: Garnacho, if he can develop as hoped.

That's 10 players I count out of this current squad that I think will have any sort of useful value to the team in 3 years. We could think that Amad, Pellestri, Hannibal, Gore etc might do something, but we've not seen enough from them to suggest there's enough there yet to make that call. There needs to be a progression plan to develop and integrate these young players or you may as well cash in early.

There's a huge amount of work to be done to turn this squad into something resembling a team that can compete at the top consistently over a number of years.

Aside from those players mentioned above, the rest of the first team squad will need to be phased out and replaced over the next few windows. Thats 15+ players out and a similar number required to come in. There needs to be set programme put in place, put players on 1,2 & 3 years lists in terms of usefulness, age etc and phase them out and replace over that period.

McFred · Feb 25, 2024

The squad is an absolute mess

MancunianAngels · Feb 25, 2024

This would be what I'd do.

A few of the options depend on whether we get in Europe.

GK
Onana - keep
Bayindir - keep
Heaton - keep

DF
Martínez - keep
Varane - keep
Maguire - sell
Lindelöf - sell
Evans - keep
Kambwala - loan
Dalot - keep
Wan-Bissaka - keep
Shaw - keep
Malacia - keep

MF
Casemiro - keep
Amrabat - don't sign permanently
McTominay - keep
Eriksen - release
Mainoo - keep
Mount - keep
Fernandes - keep

ATTACK
Rashford - keep
Garnacho - keep
Hojlund - keep
Antony - sell
Martial - release
Amad - sell

Remember the geese · Feb 25, 2024

My analysis is: Burn it down. There's only 5 or 6 worth keeping.

RuudTom83 · Feb 25, 2024

McFred said:
The squad is an absolute mess

100%

The table doesn’t lie, it’s a mid table team when a few are injured and a Top 4-6 team if everyone is fit and on form.

Changing the manager might get a bump in results but with that bunch of players it would only ever be temporary.

The squad needs long term planning.

DWelbz19 · Feb 25, 2024

GK: Onana - keep. First choice undisputed, I’m a fan. Don’t really care about the others.

Defence:
RBs: Dalot — keep. He can stay first choice for another season. Wan Bissaka can be moved on if there’s appropriate fees.

LBs: I would try to move on one of Malacia/Shaw. Shaw is too injury prone for his status in the side (irrespective of his quality), and Malacia isn’t that good anyway when he is alive.

CBs: Licha is first name on the team sheet. I would move on whoever we can from Maguire and Lindelof. Varane is so-so — if we get big money from Saudi, do it. Evans can stay another season as 5th choice.

Midfield:
I’d honestly move on all of them not named Kobbie Mainoo. Casemiro to the highest Saudi bidder; Amrabat back to Italy; McTominay to the highest PL bidder; and Fernandes to whoever wants him. Eriksen probably goes back to Ajax. Mount will stay by virtue of the fact he’s the no.7 key signing and hasn’t played enough to disappoint yet. Get in an entirely new midfield who can function with the ball and circulate possession.

Wingers: I’d keep Garnacho and Amad. Antony goes to whoever wants him, likewise Pellistri, and Sancho. Rashford probably stays, but I wouldn’t be particularly averse to his departure.

Forwards: Martial leaves this summer on a free. Rasmussy gets a new no.9 to dovetail minutes.

Probably asking for way too many departures there, particularly in midfield. But that’s my ideal shaving of the squad.

Telsim · Feb 25, 2024

It's Groundhog Day at Manchester United. I feel like we need to move on and bring in the same number of players as we did back when Ole was fired two years ago. Some of the names are just different. A "rebuild" that has failed so utterly, it's difficult to digest, though not surprising. There's not a single position that doesn't need either complete overhaul or reinforcing, apart from GK, although we will need a backup there as well. I just hope this supposedly new regime does an actual clear out this time around, to go alongside the management change.

But for me, everyone over 21 is fair game, apart from Martinez and Onana. Top priority should be given to Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford, both as massive help for FFP and as means of cultural change. This will rustle many feathers, but it's necessary. Then you have the obvious ones like Sancho, Antony, Van de Beek, Martial, who just have absolutely no business being here. We can't move and replace everyone, so the rest of who stays, who goes, and who comes will have to be decided on a case-by-case basis with the new coach and FFP in mind.

Wisqo · Feb 25, 2024

bosnian_red said:
There's the never ending what do we still need thread that's pretty much this. But for me, the positions that won't or shouldn't be touched for a while are:

Dalot

Martinez

Mainoo

Garnacho

Hojlund

I'm keeping pretty much this + Shaw. It's crazy to me that I can't think of any more to add. We need a new leader, someone who gets the best out of those around. Bruno is not it.

Irwin99 · Feb 25, 2024

Agree with some of the posters above. Let yet another rebuild commence but this time actually commit to it.

Keep: Dalot, Martinez, Hojlund, Mainoo, Garnacho- Build around youth, developing players and the few quality signings we've made

Phase out/sell- Lindelof, Maguire, McTominay, Rashford, Bruno, Varane, Casemiro, AwB, Eriksen, Martial, Shaw - players who have had far too many chances, been here for many years, or just don't look like players you can rely on going forward.

Wait and see: Onana, Malacia, Mount, Diallo,

Ollie Derbyshire · Feb 25, 2024

Onana - Keep
AWB - Sell
Dalot - Keep
Shaw - Keep
Malacia - Sell
Maguire - Sell
Evans - Sell
Lindelof - Sell
Varane - Keep
Martinez - Keep
Casemiro - Sell
Mainoo - Keep
McTominay - Keep
Amarabat - Leave
Mount - Keep
Eriksen - Sell
Bruno - Sell
Rashford - Sell
Garnacho - Keep
Amad - Keep
Antony - Sell
Pellestri - Sell
Martial - Sell
Hojlund - Keep

That‘s a lot of sales but I don’t think they are good enough, fast enough, smart enough and/or mentally strong enough to move us forward.

mintyred · Feb 25, 2024

Jaap said:
Couldn’t find a thread on this, so here it is: who do we keep & sell in the summer?

I expect Ten Hag not to survive this summer, so we have a new manager coming in with different ideas & obviously wanting a different squad.

GK
Onana
Bayindir
Heaton

DF
Martínez
Vatane
Maguire
Lindelöf
Evans
Kambwala
Dalot
Wan-Bissaka
Shaw
Malacia

MF
Casemiro
Amrabat
McTominay
Eriksen
Mainoo
Mount
Fernandes

ATTACK
Rashford
Garnacho
Hojlund
Antony
Martial
Amad

X
X X Martínez X
Mainoo X
Garnacho X X
Hojlund

I think, only these four are untouchable. We need a new culture. Some players, who could be kept, are part of the problem, because of their character (Bruno, Rashford, for example). While they may be good enough for a top four finish, we are in desperate need to install a new -winning- culture at United & I don’t see them being part of it. I don’t know what has happened to Rashford. He does not seem happy. He hardly puts in any effort for a long period of time (Wolves, Luton being exceptions).

What do you think - also, who do we promote from the U21s, who do we buy?

I don't think we need a massive overhaul as many people think, there beginnings of a good team is there, the main thing we need is a good manager. We need a few players that can stay fit and add quality, but overall a style of play and philosophy is the main thing. How can some of our players play well when they don't know what they're doing?

Aside from Chelsea, no team overhauls their squad. Most teams implement changes over time and when a new manager comes in, players that people thought were rubbish can play better. We have a lot of good players but we don't have the manager who can get the most out of them.

Judas · Feb 25, 2024

I can genuinely count on one had the players I'd care about keeping.

Andycoleno9 · Feb 25, 2024

Most of our players are good but we need a new manager who will set style of play and a few signings.
But above all; we must stop having players who are completely out of depth for highest level of football. McDross, Maguire, Evans and Antony should not be anywhere near United team.

SNes · Feb 25, 2024

Keep Kambwala, Evans, Mainoo, Garnacho, Hojlund.

Andycoleno9 · Feb 25, 2024

For title challenge (with new manager).

Onana- he was no1 for two clubs which won titles so despite i am not a fan, i think he is good enough.
Dalot- good
Shaw - good
Varane- good. He is only 30 ffs and our best defender.
Lisandro. Keep i guess but not for first 11.
Casemiro - Good
Bruno - Good
Mainoo - good
Rashford - good but needs serious kick in the ass.
Hojlund -good
Garnacho -good
Lindelof - good for rotation
Mount - good for rotation
Amad - good for rotation

All others should be sold and replaced.

Lee565 · Feb 25, 2024

Sell

Onana - too many errors in him per season

Bissaka - extend contract and sell for as much as possible

Varane - he's not going to get better and is on a big contract to make something back on him.

Maguire - take advantage of him having decent form this season but is way too slow to play a highline with.

Malacia - he is just a poor man bissaka, decent defensively but very poor offensively.

Casimero - legs have gone now, terrible buy.

Mount - bang average, try to recoup as much as possible whilst some mug of a club might still be willing to believe he is worth north of 35 million

Fernandes - take the money before his age puts off other clubs outlying a good fee for him and he is too wasteful on the ball and resricts us tactically.

Mctominay - he is not good enough for a top side even as a back up and we can probably get a good fee for him with him having a decent season by his usual poor standards.

Beek - nothing to say about him.

Antony - we are going to have to take q massive hit for a complete flop.

Rashford - would get us a very good fee but way too inconsistent and questionable mentality.

Sancho - like Antony we will have to take a big hit on him, waste of space with poor mentality.

Martial - get rid for free, waste of space.

The rest of the players are good enough to keep as either first teamers or back up like shaw who should not be our first choice lb any more but would be a good back up for left back, centre back and possibly even as defensive midfielder because he definitely has the talent but injuries let him down to be reliable. Lindelof is good back up centre back to have around.

bosnian_red · Feb 25, 2024

Wisqo said:
I'm keeping pretty much this + Shaw. It's crazy to me that I can't think of any more to add. We need a new leader, someone who gets the best out of those around. Bruno is not it.

TBF i think it's common for teams to have a small list of core players that are deemed long term core guys, somewhat untouchable, what they want to build on. The right age, type of players, not overpaid, have the right injury history and all that.

There's then a big group of players who are fine, but if there is interest at the right price we could sell and replace with an equal choice without too many worries. That's where guys like Rashford, Bruno, Shaw, Malacia, Lindelof, Onana, Altay, Wan Bissaka, etc etc all fall in. You need a big group like that where they are good for various roles but they aren't your building blocks. Or at least the previous building blocks who are tailing off now like Bruno and Shaw and possibly Rashford.

PeteRae · Feb 25, 2024

Everyone should be for sale from yesterdays game except Mainoo and Garnacho. Nobody else deserves to wear the shirt. Ship the lot out and start again.

TwoSheds · Feb 25, 2024

This idea that we're going to sell half our squad for peanuts in the summer and replace them with... something....is a bit odd. Happens every year mind but it's both drama queeny and thick.

Just selling the obvious names is going to leave us short, never mind getting rid of all the squad players on top. The squad is already bare and we'll be getting rid of at minimum Greenwood, Sancho, Van de Beek and Martial.

We could probably afford to lose 3 or 4 on top of those if we got decent fees for them, but we're going to need at least 4 players to come in as is unless several of the youngsters can step up and fill the squad gaps. If you want to lose 6 or 7 there's just no way we could do that much business in one summer whilst both getting good fees for the ones going out, and bringing in decent players at sensible prices.

100 · Feb 25, 2024

Sell the players that will bring in a fee and replace with younger players with high potential

Rashford
Casemiro
Bruno
McTominay
Varane
Maguire

Phase out / don’t renew /1 year contracts to those who might be useful as depth

Evans
Lindelof

Keep
Hojlund
Dalot
Martinez
Garnacho
Diallo
Shaw

Happy to keep and happy to sell if a decent fee
Mount
Onana
Malacia

Do utmost to get rid
Antony
Martial

Nickelodeon · Feb 25, 2024

Oranges038 said:
Posted this before, you have to look at what the player are offering now and where they'll be in 2/3/4 years.

If you look 3 years down the road, how many of this current squad are actually going to be useful.

GK: Onana? Questionable, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now.
GK: Backups Bayindir? Maybe + 1

DF: Martinez, will be 28 and at his peak.
DF: Shaw? He will be 31, will need replacing at some point, but he could still be useful.

MF: Bruno - will 31 will need replacing
MF: Mount - he's got the right age profile. Should be coming into his peak as a player.
MF: Mainoo, lets just pretend he comes good for the sake of argument.

FW: Rashford, again will be 29 - should be still a useful player if he can hit his purple patches more regularly.
FW: Hojlund, assuming he can cut the mustard.
FW: Garnacho, if he can develop as hoped.

That's 10 players I count out of this current squad that I think will have any sort of useful value to the team in 3 years. We could think that Amad, Pellestri, Hannibal, Gore etc might do something, but we've not seen enough from them to suggest there's enough there yet to make that call. There needs to be a progression plan to develop and integrate these young players or you may as well cash in early.

There's a huge amount of work to be done to turn this squad into something resembling a team that can compete at the top consistently over a number of years.

Aside from those players mentioned above, the rest of the first team squad will need to be phased out and replaced over the next few windows. Thats 15+ players out and a similar number required to come in. There needs to be set programme put in place, put players on 1,2 & 3 years lists in terms of usefulness, age etc and phase them out and replace over that period.

Shaw is 28 right now. 31 is quite a jump

dcrompton · Feb 25, 2024

Shag: Hojlund, Garnacho
Marry: Mainoo
Avoid: All the rest

Jaap · Feb 25, 2024

For me, one of THE key aspects will be to install a new culture within the squad. That means though, there have to be drastic changes. Will it happen? Doubt it.

Overhaul FC · Feb 25, 2024

Level 1: Indispensable
Onana
Martinez
Mainoo
Garnacho
Hojlund

That should be the spine of the team.

Level 2: Keep unless we have world class replacements
Varane
Dalot
Casemiro

Level 3: Sell if we can get good money and a better replacement
Shaw
AWB
McTominay
Rashford

Level 4: Sell if we can get some resale value
Maguire
Antony
Malacia

Level 5: Must go asap don't care if it's for little money, just ship them off
Lindelof

Sign:
Starting LB
Starting CB x 1
Squad CB x 1
Starting RB
Starting CM
Squad RW to rotate with Greenwood (Sorry)
Squad ST to rotate with Hojlund

I think this summer we need to sign 4 X starting calibre players, and 3 players for the squad who have the quality or potential to become starting players but aren't on the contracts or wages to demand being a starter.

KiD MoYeS · Feb 25, 2024

Man, I'm so sick of having this conversation annually and having to list 75% of the squad as for sale every time.

EdinburghDevil · Feb 25, 2024

We need a big overhaul about every 18 months as we've made so many short term or poor signings.

Not necessarily all starters, but I'd be open for offers for anyone other than the below:

Onana, Dalot, Licha, Shaw, Mainoo, Bruno, Mount (haven't seen anything of him), Garnacho, Ramus.

If Casemiro and Varane signed reduced terms I'd like to keep them too.

cpresc · Feb 25, 2024

GK
Onana - KEEP
Bayindir - Don't care
Heaton - Don't care

DF
Martínez - KEEP + CAPTAIN
Vatane - Sell to Saudi
Maguire - Sell
Lindelöf - Sell
Evans - KEEP (Professional character)
Kambwala - Loan
Dalot - KEEP + VICE CAPTAIN (I think he's becoming very good)
Wan-Bissaka - KEEP (competent backup)
Shaw - KEEP (Great mentor for Amass if he's coming up)
Malacia - KEEP (competent backup)

MF
Casemiro - Sell to Saudi
Amrabat - End Loan
McTominay - KEEP (Professional character and versatile)
Eriksen - Sell to Saudi
Mainoo - KEEP
Mount - KEEP
Fernandes - KEEP

ATTACK
Rashford - Sell to PSG
Garnacho - KEEP
Hojlund - KEEP
Antony - Sell
Martial - Sell
Amad - Sell
Sancho - Sell
Greenwood - Sell

Here's the mad part:

WAGES SAVED
300? Vatane - Sell to Saudi
250? Maguire - Sell
120? Lindelöf - Sell
250? Casemiro - Sell to Saudi
120? Eriksen - Sell to Saudi
350? Rashford - Sell to PSG
150? Antony - Sell
150? Martial - Sell
80? Amad - Sell
350? Sancho - Sell
80? Greenwood - Sell

£2.2m a week - just get rid of them all.

Redivy · Feb 26, 2024

Sell:
Maguire
Antony
Sancho
Malacia
VdB
Pellistri

Eriksen and Martial to leave on a free. Kambwala to go out on loan.

Sign:
RCB
LB
CDM
Backup ST
Backup LW

The three starters you are signing must be the right profile and fit, players that become indispensable.

Defence: Ideally you'd come off Varane too, but I think we need the experienced backup there whilst we work out if Martinez is going to come back and stay fit. Regardless of who the manager is, ETH or any new manager will want to play a high line and so we need a centre back with good transition pace, and who is comfortable on the ball.
We need a new left back, Malacia was average at best last season, and injured all of this season. Its not easy to find a left back better than Shaw when he is fit, but we have to bring someone in that can seriously challenge him for that spot.

Midfield: Next season will probably be Casemiro' last season, I would be open to him leaving if we get a big offer from Saudi. But whether its Europa League or UCL, we will need the extra set of legs and so I would be open to keeping him.
I would like to see a #6 come in that plays the Kante role, the player who covers every part of the pitch, as I think that would suit Mainoo more than a traditional DM. It would also allow us to press higher up.

Attack: We need a backup striker, that is one of the most important signings we can make. I would give Amad one more season to try and break into the squad, and I think Rashford is nailed on to stay at the club for a while, regardless of what we think. Im not sure what the club will do with Greenwood, so Im just not going to touch that topic.

Keepers:
Onana
Bayindir

Defense:
Shaw
New LB
Martinez
New CB
Varane
Lindelof
Evans
Dalot
AWB

Midfield:
Bruno
Casemiro
Mainoo
Mount
New CDM
McTominay

Attack:
Holjund
Garnacho
Rashford
Amad
New striker

tenpoless · Feb 26, 2024

Keep Mainoo, Licha, Garnacho, Hojlund. The rest arent safe and shouldn't be. They might stay and see out their contracts if theyve been contributing well in the past 3-4 years but thats all their past contributions afford them.

Valencia Shin Crosses · Feb 26, 2024

bosnian_red said:
There's the never ending what do we still need thread that's pretty much this. But for me, the positions that won't or shouldn't be touched for a while are:

Dalot

Martinez

Mainoo

Garnacho

Hojlund

There's questions to be asked about most others, either down to age, performances, or wages. I like always looking at it like 2 players per position, and having the right blend in terms of wage for the role they play (starter vs backup wages), fit players, the right ages, etc. Being realistic, don't see any urgent need to move on these guys:

Onana

Altay

Wan Bissaka (backup Rb)

Lindelof (backup RCB)

Kambwala & Evans (5th and 6th choice CBs)

Shaw (CB/LB starter or competition)

Malacia - depending on his injury situation. Is this a one of or is he fine?

Bruno (not until other positions are addressed and we have the funds to spend big here)

Rashford

Amad (4th choice winger after garnacho, Rashford and a new guy)

Mctominay (whatever as an impact sub he does well, homegrown, can cover multiple positions, stays fit, is happy in his role)

The rest? I don't see the balance of wages vs the role they play, or the right age, or the right fitness. That means we need to sign:

RCB starter

LB starter competition (this is a weird case as our injuries here might not be long term and we have a young star to come in a bit later)

DM (ball winner) starter

DM competition (younger, can cover for Mainoo or partner Mainoo)

Winger (competition, direct runner with the ball like Garnacho is, not a wide forward or a system pass and move guy)

CF competition, experienced guy

So for sales, that is this list:

Maguire

Varane

Casemiro

Eriksen

Amrabat

Mount - some might disagree, but he's not good enough to be starter as a 10 here, he's not a deep midfielder for me, and has too many recurring injury issues, and is on too much money for being an injury prone squad player)

Antony

Martial

Greenwood

Sancho

Basically these guys are either the wrong profile, the wrong fitness levels, the wrong wage, wrong age, not good enough, or a mixture of all these. This is what I'd deem the priority list to address. After them, I'd look at LB, Onana, Rashford and Bruno.

Only thing I really disagree with is not needing to move on from Bruno. With how central he always is to any lineup in his involvement, along with this probably being the last summer you can get a very nice few for him, I’d say it’s imperative to move on. For the 60m (give or take) we’d get for him I certainly think a capable midfielder can be found that would be funded fully through his sale.

daba · Feb 26, 2024

bosnian_red said:
There's the never ending what do we still need thread that's pretty much this. But for me, the positions that won't or shouldn't be touched for a while are:

Dalot

Martinez

Mainoo

Garnacho

Hojlund

There's questions to be asked about most others, either down to age, performances, or wages. I like always looking at it like 2 players per position, and having the right blend in terms of wage for the role they play (starter vs backup wages), fit players, the right ages, etc. Being realistic, don't see any urgent need to move on these guys:

Onana

Altay

Wan Bissaka (backup Rb)

Lindelof (backup RCB)

Kambwala & Evans (5th and 6th choice CBs)

Shaw (CB/LB starter or competition)

Malacia - depending on his injury situation. Is this a one of or is he fine?

Bruno (not until other positions are addressed and we have the funds to spend big here)

Rashford

Amad (4th choice winger after garnacho, Rashford and a new guy)

Mctominay (whatever as an impact sub he does well, homegrown, can cover multiple positions, stays fit, is happy in his role)

The rest? I don't see the balance of wages vs the role they play, or the right age, or the right fitness. That means we need to sign:

RCB starter

LB starter competition (this is a weird case as our injuries here might not be long term and we have a young star to come in a bit later)

DM (ball winner) starter

DM competition (younger, can cover for Mainoo or partner Mainoo)

Winger (competition, direct runner with the ball like Garnacho is, not a wide forward or a system pass and move guy)

CF competition, experienced guy

So for sales, that is this list:

Maguire

Varane

Casemiro

Eriksen

Amrabat

Mount - some might disagree, but he's not good enough to be starter as a 10 here, he's not a deep midfielder for me, and has too many recurring injury issues, and is on too much money for being an injury prone squad player)

Antony

Martial

Greenwood

Sancho

Basically these guys are either the wrong profile, the wrong fitness levels, the wrong wage, wrong age, not good enough, or a mixture of all these. This is what I'd deem the priority list to address. After them, I'd look at LB, Onana, Rashford and Bruno.

Agree with a lot of this apart from McT, I think he should leave. Rashford is the other one but his list of suitors is incredibly slim so might be hard to sell. And regarding Mount, if he is to go who is the Bruno back-up? VDB?

Woziak · Feb 26, 2024

Reality check is our Squad is not fit for purpose, the problem is we can’t replace the whole squad this summer. We will have a new coach but certain players should be removed as they are not the right criteria. We also need to be mindful of the homegrown rule and recruit players with PL experience.

Assuming the club sell release the following; R Varanne(Free),
V Lindelof(15m), A Fernandez(7m),
T Mallacia(13m), Casemiro(40m), B Williams(5m), Amrbat(sent back), C Eriksen(10m), Hanibal(15m), DVB(10m),
A Martial(Released), Antony(25m), F Pellistri (15m), Greenwood(35m).

I have a feeling we can’t sell J Sancho because of his wages and if we get a German manager like Naigelsman, Tuchel or Flick he’ll get one final chance, I wouldn’t give him or Rashford a chance but the club simply can’t remove 15 to 16 players in one window but rest assured Onana, Bayinder, Maguire, Sancho, AWB, Bruno, Mount, Mctominay and Rashford are all on a one year trial.

The club will raise £160- 175m, selling Williams, Hanibal, Greenwood and A Fernandez will generate £50-60m of 100% profit so the transfer Budget will be £150m plus the £150m generated in player sales.

Dan Ashworth and Berada will have key areas of the team/squad they wish to recruit ;
Attack - Number 1 Priority / Two players needed, one young creative right winger and one centre forward (Decision required whether experienced or younger )

Defence - Number 2 Priority / Three Players, One Left sided CB, One Right Sided RB and one Elite left footed Left back

Midfield - Number 3 Priority/ Three players required, One Young Physical Athletic DM preferred PL experience, One emerging Midfield creator/controller and one PL experienced all round midfielder.

This is the true extent of this summer job required, removing at least 13 or 14 squad and on loan players to raise at least £150m and then buying 8 players that suit the style the club wants to buy within a £300-325m budget.

If all goes well, hopefully we have a squad that looks like this ;
Goalkeepers (3) - A Onana, A Bayinder, T Heaton - 1 HG
Defence(10) - D Dalot, AWB, L Shaw, W Kambalwa, H Maguire, L Martinez, J Evans, *J C Todibo(35m), *J Braithewaite(55m),
*T Hernandez(50m) - 6 HG
Midfield(7) - M Mount, K Mainoo, Bruno, S Mctominay, * R Barkley(Free),
*J Neves(45m), Matts Wieffer(20m) or A Onana(50m) - 4 HG
I’d love FDJ or Joshua Kimmich but not happening unless Naigelsman or Flick becomes manager plus their wages will be a huge issue as no sell on value
Attack(7) - M Rashford, A Garnaucho, Amad, R Hojlund, J Sancho, *M Olise (50m), * B Sesco or S Gimenez(40m)

This will be a total spend of £295-330m and a net spend of £140-175m.

We can all change the names here and there but for the club to be effective in INEOS first window there has to be at least 11/12 out and 6/7 in this summer, the core needs to change.

ifightdragons · Feb 26, 2024

Number one priority:

•Trim the wage bill significantly by selling our highest earners to alleviate FFP restrictions
(Rashford, Bruno ++)

•Get rid of negative, lazy players
(Rashford, Sancho ++)

•Get rid of players who don't fit a dominating, possession-based playing style, as that is the only style that can make us a serial winning dynasty again (Bruno, Rashford ++)

•Get rid of senior players who are past their peak
(Casemiro, Varane, Eriksen ++)

Anything else, is just a bonus.

Scandi Red · Feb 26, 2024

Must keep for potential:
- Mainoo
- Højlund
- Garnacho

Must keep because they are still good at football:
- Martinez
- Bruno
- Shaw

Should keep because they deserve one more season:
- Mount
- Onana

Should keep because we still need a squad (but sell if we get a ridiculously good offer):
- Dalot
- AWB
- Lindelöf
- Evans
- Malacia
- Rashford
- Casemiro
- Bayandir
- Amad
- Forson
- Kambwala

Reluctantly keep because we need to get rid Greenwood and Sancho first:
- Antony (crying emoji)

Licha-Vidic · Feb 26, 2024

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Desert Eagle · Feb 26, 2024

ETH's transfer failings have really fecked us over. After the crap Ole left us with the last thing we need was more useless players but it seems that's what we are left with.

Scandi Red · Feb 26, 2024

Licha-Vidic said:
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Hard to disagree with the overall assessment, but that's just wishful thinking. We'd have to sign or promote 11 players! :lol:

Craig Ward · Feb 26, 2024

Our squad has been a joke for years.

Our boards inability to sell in the transfer market and the logic of keeping fringe players on bumper contracts to "retain value" has really out us in this spot.

With each new manager, we get a bump and a bunch of new players. We have a squad of misjointed misfits from about 5 managers worth of decisions.

Just think of how many players we have who are on the fringes/out on loan who don't come NEAR the first team squad before we even start looking at players around the squad who don't have a future here. It's unreal.

Hannibal. Donny. Williams. Pellistri. Fernandez. Sancho.

That's 6 high earners out on loan who seemingly cant get a look in our squad. Our board would historically struggle to get these 6 out on permanent deals, yet alone an actual meaningful squad overhaul.

I'd love to think we'd see a transformative change to the 1st team squad. Eriksen, Varane, Lindelof, Maguire, Martial. Basically anyone who has been at the club for 3yrs+ wouldn't be suitable for the new regime in my opinion due to them being unable to adapt to the cultural reset that needs to happen.

Makes my blood boil every time we get into these posts about our squad. It's been mid table level for years. We have zero world class players at the club. Zero. Absolutely no one at this club is an elite level consistent performer. In small spurts, sure we have very capable players.

Even our very best isn't the best in the league. Martinez? He's a great CB. Does he get in the best teams in the country? Absolutely not. Fernandes? Absolutely not. Casemiro? Christ no.

We are blessed with a lot of raw potential. Garnacho, Amad, Mainoo. Hojlund. We always have a knack for finding players - they just rarely develop into elite level serial winners these days. That's down to the culture around the place. If Rashford had come through in the glory days, we'd be talking about a monster of a player. Around this place, with this turmoil over the last decade - he's a rotten egg. Shambles

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