Doughty is my first choice pick too. He's hard-working, has a nice left peg, 6ft tall, tough and a great engine. Great mentality too. He won't be very expensive and doubt he'd command big wages either.
Both Malacia and Shaw are injury prone which means that whoever comes in will get regular football. Amass had just turned 17 years of age. I can't think of many 17 year old FBs who cemented a regular role at a top club. The only guy I can think of was a certain Paolo Maldini. He did so in a defense which was way stronger then ours, under a manager who was way better then ETH and a time when it was considered acceptable for FBs to just sit deep and defend their quarter if they wanted to. Thus a new LB is a must unless we want to risk another season without a LB.
If you really think Amass can start games by 19, we could buy a backup for Licha who can play LB like Hincapie. It makes even more sense to do that if the new manager is someone who switches from 3 to 4 at the back at times like Tuchel or (yikes but who knows) Southgate.
Right back is definitely not a bigger priority. A new LB (or at least CB who can play as LB) is essential. No professional club would ever trust a 17 year old to start 30 games, which will happen with the constant injuries of Shaw and Malacia. Imagine him against the likes of Palmer or Saka. We gotta carefully integrate the youngsters, as not everyone has the same development tempo as Mainoo or Garnacho.
Is it really? Playing for United will at least not next season offer him a platform to really show off on the biggest stages. To win titles with the national team you need players who can deal with the highest pressure knockouts. CL experience is more relevant to that than PL experience. I know Southgate doesn't seem to watch anything else than the PL, but we aren't sure he is staying, are we?
At LWB, I don’t think he’s good enough defensively to play in a back 4 personally so it’ll be interesting to see how you set up next season.
I think he can improve in that area and if you have a manager who can set up accordingly with a robust defense and cover it would be alright.
As said before I can see Leif Davis route to the first team as pretty straightforward. Now what United will bring to the table from a career perspective?
That's the point I am not so sure about. I am aware that there is massive media coverage for United in England, simply because United still has a huge amount of fans and therefore it sells well. But is it the biggest spotlight in the world? I don't think so. When I look at German media for example the clubs who are in the CL spotlight get much more coverage while United is rarely mentioned at all. So clubs like Real, Barcelona, City, Liverpool, Chelsea, I think even PSG got much more coverage than United during the last years. The clubs status is slowly fading and when it's mentioned it's usually only when it hits a new low as an update "the fallen giant falls further".
In England it surely is and that's what often matters for England's manager.
Yep, that's why I mentioned Southgate as for him it's definitely the case.
I'm of the opinion that we need a new left back. We can look to sell one of Malacia or Shaw. I'd probably keep Shaw as depth. Amass can deputise for the new left back.
In my opinion we should be realistic.
Its not just Southgate. The Italians and the Spanish do the same.
I agree. When fit it's hard to find anyone better than Shaw, at least someone obtainable. Malacia is fine as cover. People are being unrealistic if they think we'll be able to sell one of them. I agree about Amass as well, we should be looking to prepare him to be our starting LB if we really think he can be that good. Even Mainoo could have done with a year on loan somewhere. The fact he's a nailed on starter right now is as much to do with our poor midfield options as it is to do with his own ability and potential.
With Southgate I feel he only rates PL performances and nothing else. Other international managers seem to rate more the performance in the CL as well. But as I said, just a feeling.
There are a few of those around which I think are options:
A lot of what you say makes sense including Dalots ability at LB but I don't agree with the bold, we absolutely should be able to sell him, not always injured, decent for a lower positioned team, homegrown and not on £300k a week.
Fair enough mate, I hope you're right to be honest.
Personally agreewith the post you are responding to. We have two right backs have been here for years and neither are good enough to warrant being first choice.
Nobody is buying Malacia. He hasn’t played a game since April last year.
What made you think he was available on a free
I honestly don’t know if Davis is good enough or not…. But keep in mind when comparing him to players like Chilwell: the Ipswich player nominated alongside Davis for PFA player of the season from Ipswich is on Chelsea’s books, and was not always picked to start for the U21’s prior to this loan.
Luke is only a top LB when he is not injured and in good form. Other than that he is just a good defender, who can play LB and LCB. He shouldn't be a clear starter and needs competition. Sure, we could gamble on Amass, but I would prefer to loan him to Nice or Lausanne for two seasons and let him develop. When he's back he's still U-20 and will have experienced more game time and with less pressure than here. Malacia is unreliable and should be sold. Even when he was fit, he's never shown he is any good enough for the EPL imo. Having a younger LB who is available, challenges Luke and replaces him when he's injured again, would be a massive help. Basically a Reguilon in good. I don't mind Davis, Locko or Doughty. I want a LCB that can play LB too, but seperate from a new LB specialist.
Come on when he is fit he is one of the best left backs in the world and a surprisingly good centre back. Our right backs have zero sense of positioning, sloppy passing, poor awareness in there own area and one of them cant even defend.
A system player who has excelled as an attacking player in a well disciplined Ipswich side. As a pure LB, he can't defend very well and is a bit wasted there. He probably spends around 60-75% of his time in the LW position. He could work wonders but only in a certain system where one of the midfielders (Loungo for Ipswich) covers his LB/LWB position.
Can remember Arsenal being linked to Hincapie
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