‘No value in the market’ - 2026

[Berbasbullet]

Guimaraes. We should sign him

Isn’t he injured a lot? Or have I made that up.

I wouldn’t hate it but an injury prone 29 year old fills me with concern.

 

[DannyCAFC]

Wharton isn't similar at all to mainoo is he?

On the ball certainly not but I think you have similar limitations off-the-ball in terms of the lack of ground speed. Mainoo appears to be stronger in actual duels but I think a midfield pairing of those two would be torn through quite easily by athletic runners.

 

[Pickle85]

On the ball certainly not but I think you have similar limitations off-the-ball in terms of the lack of ground speed. Mainoo appears to be stronger in actual duels but I think a midfield pairing of those two would be torn through quite easily by athletic runners.

Yeah, I agree that off the ball there are some similarities in terms of their limitations. On the ball they're nothing alike though as you say.

 

[pelterz]

Just putting this out there for anyone who is struggling a bit with the fact the world cup is holding up many a transfer...
So far there have been just 32 signings across the Premiership, with three teams equating nearly half of all these signings....(Spurs, Chelsea and Brighton with 15 altogether).

Seven teams are still yet to make a signing, with at least four others yet to make a significant signing.

Yet it's United who are unprepared, awful at transfers etc despite us actually making a transfer already (albeit not fully ratified due to....gasp....the World Cup).

Both can be true.

LvG and EtH don’t get even remotely enough hate for the financial damage they have done to this club, with their nepotistic, deer in the headlights, FM transfer strategy that set the club years back financially and competitively.

If SAF had even half of their budgets to spent we would have walked to 7 PL titles in a row and probably another CL.
A farce.

I imagine it will be years before we recover from Eth and his gang of thieves. Spent 450m and 180m worth of average players and that’s being generous. Could have ended most clubs in the league. Although non of the others would be that poorly run. Still hoping we will do something about that. If it was the states his yacht would have capsized by now.
Having said that it doesn’t make it ok for the club to gaslight the fans about big signings. It’s pisspoor. Our valuations are so far out as to seem on purpose.

 

[Champ]

I imagine it will be years before we recover from Eth and his gang of thieves. Spent 450m and 180m worth of average players and that’s being generous. Could have ended most clubs in the league. Although non of the others would be that poorly run. Still hoping we will do something about that. If it was the states his yacht would have capsized by now.
Having said that it doesn’t make it ok for the club to gaslight the fans about big signings. It’s pisspoor. Our valuations are so far out as to seem on purpose.

I don't understand how anyone could even contemplate the club 'gaslighting' fans.
That just doesn't even make sense.

The simple fact is we need three if not four players, we have a budget and we have our targets.
If you'd rather we just buy one player like Fernandes for over the odds money leaving minimal amount for other targets then for me that's short sighted and poor planning.
If you'd rather the club spend the money wisely on players that a) want to be here and not just get paid handsomely, b) get players in that'll raise the squads level but do it within the confines of the budgetary requirements then you'd be thinking straight and making sense.

 

[Ali Dia]

I really don't think we have any solid midfielder targets now. It all seems really speculative and vague. Like going to the shop hungry but not knowing what you want to eat or what you can and can't afford

On the other hand I do think ederson is a proper player and he'll suprise a few people but we need to find someone who can become world class in there. Thats surely the name of the game. I think Fernandes fit the bill there. Too expensive sure but still the best young midfielder on the market this summer. I get we would have been paying finished article prices for him but he's very close to reaching his potential and I think he'll do very well in a better team

 

[Steve Bruce]

Stiller and/or Barella would be my ideal signings

 

[Rozay]

Just for anyone of the view that we were not really interested in Fernandes and he was just a player we were ‘looking at’, with ‘priority’ a fake concept created by emotional bed-wetting fans.

 

[Red Comet]

Just putting this out there for anyone who is struggling a bit with the fact the world cup is holding up many a transfer...
So far there have been just 32 signings across the Premiership, with three teams equating nearly half of all these signings....(Spurs, Chelsea and Brighton with 15 altogether).

Seven teams are still yet to make a signing, with at least four others yet to make a significant signing.

Yet it's United who are unprepared, awful at transfers etc despite us actually making a transfer already (albeit not fully ratified due to....gasp....the World Cup).

The reason why so many of the CAF are having a meltdown is because our club has a long history of fecking around in the transfer market like a headless fly, only to make a desperate signing right before the transfer window close, with already some games underway, and by the time the signing fits in the momentum would be over and we are looking at yet another season of mediocrity.

 

[Crimson King]

Just for anyone of the view that we were not really interested in Fernandes and he was just a player we were ‘looking at’, with ‘priority’ a fake concept created by emotional bed-wetting fans.

Get over it man, he's gone

 

[Crimson King]

The reason why so many of the CAF are having a meltdown is because our club has a long history of fecking around in the transfer market like a headless fly, only to make a desperate signing right before the transfer window close, with already some games underway, and by the time the signing fits in the momentum would be over and we are looking at yet another season of mediocrity.

Every fan thinks this about their club, at some point or another

 

[Rozay]

Get over it man, he's gone

So? I should be a child and say ‘he’s dead to me, I will never speak his name again?’. If I want to reference him as part of any point about our market approach, then I will.

 

[Bilbo]

Just for anyone of the view that we were not really interested in Fernandes and he was just a player we were ‘looking at’, with ‘priority’ a fake concept created by emotional bed-wetting fans.

I dont think anyone is disputing our interest. How do you think it would impact the likes of Mainoo, contract just signed, seeing a player that IMO he is better than coming in on a much higher salary?

 

[Ali Dia]

So? I should be a child and say ‘he’s dead to me, I will never speak his name again?’. If I want to reference him as part of any point about our market approach, then I will.

I haven't been chatting to you about this but I can see you're posting a fair bit about it. I wish we'd signed the player but I don't think he should be coming in here on more than players who've been here for years, especially when he's only coming off the back of one fairly good season and one good season. It does feel crappy that spurs of all teams got the two midfield players I thougt would do the best next year. But it's more than likely they'll keep doing spursy things. I still can't see them breaking into the top 4 next season whoever they sign

So if they hit the EL places next season is that outlay worth it?

 

[acnumber9]

I dont think anyone is disputing our interest. How do you think it would impact the likes of Mainoo, contract just signed, seeing a player that IMO he is better than coming in on a much higher salary?

How do you think it would make any of our players and any other potential targets feel when they see us sign lesser players instead?

 

[Red Comet]

Every fan thinks this about their club, at some point or another

We don't only think, we have a "proud" tradition of it:

• When Moyes took over, we spent the entire window chasing marquee signings like Fabregas and Thiago, only to end up panic signing Fellaini AFTER his minimum release clause expires.
• In 2018/2019 Mou was very public about us needing a CB. We spent the entire window chasing the likes of Maguire only to end the transfer window with Fred and Dalot instead of a centre back.
• In 2020/21 we spent the entire transfer window trying to sign Sancho and ended up with Cavani, Telles, and Pellistri as late signings.
• In ETH's first trasfer window we fecked around trying to sign FDJ, and end up with panic buys in Anthony and Casemiro.
• I still can't get over the fact that we funded PSG signing Neves by signing Ugarte from them.

-

 

[dutchred]

I hope we get Stiller. A midfield of Stiller, Mainoo and Bruno is better than most midfileds in the PL

 

[Rozay]

I dont think anyone is disputing our interest. How do you think it would impact the likes of Mainoo, contract just signed, seeing a player that IMO he is better than coming in on a much higher salary?

Firstly, I don’t think Mainoo is better than him, but that is subjective I appreciate anyway. But secondly, to answer your question, maybe it will make him up his game knowing that the club pays out top salaries and he wants a better one.

Whether United or Spurs pay Fernandes significantly more money than Mainoo, it can impact his thoughts on his salary anyway if he does indeed think he’s the better player. Players are swayed by the market, not just their own clubs. If the most we will pay Mainoo is 100k and 3 clubs are offering him 200k, he would probably leave. Players sign for new clubs all the time because they have outgrown the salary structure at their clubs. Us paying Fernandes 200k+ only shows Mainoo that such figures are within our structure.

Anyway, he signed a new deal just the other day and can’t do anything anyway.

 

[Beachryan]

I'd imagine the club were really confident on Fernandes, especially in lieu of accepting the possiblity of reaching 80m for the transfer fee. However, if we wanted to - sensibly - align him with Kobbie et al around 125-150k per week (which is kind of where the first teamers have sensibly been put now) and Mendes was able to get him 250k or so at Spurs, we can't and shoudn't match that. In context, that's around 25m more on a 5 year contract. That's a crazy incremental risk to take on an already hugely expensive gamble.

I know people are desperate for signings, and I know our midfield is lite, but we can't put ourselves back into financial danger beacuse of FOMO. There are plenty of players out there that can play in central midfield. Maybe they won't be transformational, but if there's anything one can comfortably say over the last few years in the premier is that signings above 70m are definitely NOT a sure thing in any way. In fact, here's the whole list from the past 6 seasons, let me know what you think the hit rate is: Isak, Wirtz, Enzo, Grealish, Rice, Caicedo, Lukaku, Antony, Gvardiol, Havertz, Hojlund, Nunez, Mbuemo, Woltemade.

Of that what, maybe 3 or so are 'worth it'?

I'd much rather we keep things sensible and sign two players for the kind of package Fernandes came in at. (or three!) If anything, watching the world cup should remind us that there are talented players all over the world, not just in the premier league.

 

[Fortitude]

The context is no one really fancied us to jump from 15th to 3rd. We've not proved we're at that level over multiple seasons, essentially just half a season, where we surprised everyone. During that period we benefited massively from one game a week compared to our rivals for top 5.

Just thinking back to recent years. Liverpool went from 1st to scraping 5th. Chelsea went from 4th to 10th. Ten Hag took us from 3rd to 8th. Ole/Rangnick took us from 2nd to 6th. Mourinho from 2nd to 6th. No one really predicted these drop offs.

So there is plenty of precedent for us finishing in the CL spots, having a questionable summer window and falling off a cliff the following season and missing out on CL. And that was done without the added context of going from no European and minimal domestic cup games, to CL and a lot more domestic cup games. So maintaining our top 4/5 level this time on paper is more difficult than the times we've failed to do it.

Good post.

 

[Fortitude]

Exactly, See my post above,

32 signings made in the Premiership so far, with 15 of those going to three clubs (Brighton, Chelsea and Spurs).
7 teams have made zero signings, three teams have made one.

The WC is having an affect on transfer dealings as it always does, whenever KO rounds hit transfers are inevitably slowed.

And who has an area of their team as decimated as our midfield currently is? In other words: which PL clubs have enough consolidation to take their time, and which ones don’t? We’re net negative and far worse now than we were when the season concluded, how many other clubs can say the same?

 

[Rozay]

I haven't been chatting to you about this but I can see you're posting a fair bit about it. I wish we'd signed the player but I don't think he should be coming in here on more than players who've been here for years, especially when he's only coming off the back of one fairly good season and one good season. It does feel crappy that spurs of all teams got the two midfield players I thougt would do the best next year. But it's more than likely they'll keep doing spursy things. I still can't see them breaking into the top 4 next season whoever they sign

So if they hit the EL places next season is that outlay worth it?

What happens with Spurs isn’t really a consideration for me. He could go and get relegated again with Spurs, the issue is how he would have improved us.

He and Anderson stood out to me on the market due to how they combine on the ball ability with off the ball qualities and intensity. Losing out on Anderson never really bothered me because we could have gotten Fernandes and still not felt that we’ve necessarily come off worse.

After Fernandes, however, I think the market changes. It’s either the skill and passing without the intensity, or the intensity without the same level of quality. I don’t think 85m was too much in terms of market value, personally. I think he offered us an opportunity to correct our failing with Joe Neves. I would have wanted to get him at 70, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t worth it at 85. I think even just looking at the market now would tell you that. Of course, we could just ‘go and get someone else’, but when we start asking ‘who?’ - the head-scratching starts a bit I think. I don’t think the options are as good, and I also don’t think they are cheaper enough to warrant not paying 85m for Fernandes. I’d take Fernandes for 85m over Scott for 75m, but that’s just me perhaps. All these other 40m names from France I’m reading as options are all bigger gambles to me. Bouaddi is the same price, but doesn’t have the same distribution of quality and intensity either for me, and is also notably younger.

If we could go and upset the market and do something unexpected like get Zaire-Emery out of Paris, I’d be content as he has it. But the way the market looks, I think I’d have rather just paid 85m for Fernandes over what we would likely have to go and still pay 70m for anyway.

 

[Smores]

I hope we get Stiller. A midfield of Stiller, Mainoo and Bruno is better than most midfileds in the PL

Stiller is the opposite of athletic isn't he? That looks like a very slow midfield that would get walked through.

 

[dutchred]

Stiller is the opposite of athletic isn't he? That looks like a very slow midfield that would get walked through.

is he not athletic? Where are you getting that from?

 

[Smores]

What happens with Spurs isn’t really a consideration for me. He could go and get relegated again with Spurs, the issue is how he would have improved us.

He and Anderson stood out to me on the market due to how they combine on the ball ability with off the ball qualities and intensity. Losing out on Anderson never really bothered me because we could have gotten Fernandes and still not felt that we’ve necessarily come off worse.

After Fernandes, however, I think the market changes. It’s either the skill and passing without the intensity, or the intensity without the same level of quality. I don’t think 85m was too much in terms of market value, personally. I think he offered us an opportunity to correct our failing with Joe Neves. I would have wanted to get him at 70, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t worth it at 85. I think even just looking at the market now would tell you that. Of course, we could just ‘go and get someone else’, but when we start asking ‘who?’ - the head-scratching starts a bit I think. I don’t think the options are as good, and I also don’t think they are cheaper enough to warrant not paying 85m for Fernandes. I’d take Fernandes for 85m over Scott for 75m, but that’s just me perhaps. All these other 40m names from France I’m reading as options are all bigger gambles to me. Bouaddi is the same price, and doesn’t have the same distribution of quality and intensity either for me, and is also notably younger.

If we could go and upset the market and do something unexpected like get Zaire-Emery out of Paris, I’d be content as he has it. But the way the market looks, I think I’d have rather just paid 85m for Fernandes over what we would likely have to go and still pay 70m for anyway.

Hit the nail on the head, the market for all rounders this summer was severely limited.

Lots of posters saying just sign some cheap midfielders as if there's dozens of equivalent midfielders. These same folk will then complain if Mainoo ends up on the bench as he can't play next to our new limited signings.

The saving needed to be on the 3rd backup midfielder, we could have relied on youth instead there. I'm fairly sure if we'd have moved quicker on MF then we'd have got him on far cheaper wages too, yet we waited on the pipedream of Anderson.

 

[flameinthesun]

Hit the nail on the head, the market for all rounders this summer was severely limited.

Lots of posters saying just sign some cheap midfielders as if there's dozens of equivalent midfielders. These same folk will then complain if Mainoo ends up on the bench as he can't play next to our new limited signings.

The saving needed to be on the 3rd backup midfielder, we could have relied on youth instead there. I'm fairly sure if we'd have moved quicker on MF then we'd have got him on far cheaper wages too, yet we waited on the pipedream of Anderson.

On saving on a 3rd player, if we couldn't afford to get a 3rd CM we should just use a youth teamer e.g. T Fletcher, Collyer etc. That 3rd CM, unless we have major issues, would have likely played a small amount of games. Plus you have Bruno and Mount who could jump in if needed. So we should have pushed to match the Spurs transfer offer at the least, if not the wages of Fernandes.

The most important thing was that we got our no 1 target in a very tight market. Anderson would have been great but Fernandes fully fit the profile of what we needed. All other names e.g. Scott, Nmecha come with gaps in their game. Its going to be very difficult for us to not take a step back this season as there does not seem to be alternatives that are better than Anderson or Fernandes. Which then increases the chance of us getting Ugarte level midfielders.

 

[TheRedDevil'sAdvocate]

I believe the money is there for marquee signings, and the phrase "no value in the market" refers more to the player's future relationship with the club. We're a family club, not a selling club, so we want to sign people who are "committed to the cause". We would have paid for Fernandes, but Mendes expects another big transfer for him in the near future. Spurs are willing to play that role and pay a premium for a few good years in the short term. Anderson declared his preference early on. Just a hunch, that's all.

 

[bucky]

is he not athletic? Where are you getting that from?

From watching him play, he is slow as feck.

 

[ron86]

is he not athletic? Where are you getting that from?

He's very unathletic. Great on the ball but very slow and weak

 

[Gandalf Greyhame]

For me, it’s not about Fernandes. My point is I want United to get the player they want/identify - if they are open to coming. The merits of us identifying Fernandes as the player that we want is a different conversation, but given we have all established that we are searching for high end midfielders this summer - I have a problem with us deciding upon a player but not buying him because he cost 85m.

My worry is that we are simply out of touch with the market realities. Identifying players we want isn’t the hard part. We seem to identify the same players other top clubs want. The issue is this position of us deciding they cost too much, but other teams deciding they don’t. If that is our case, what is our standing in the market? Do we sit near the top of it, or are we now somewhere in the middle? We seem to be falling behind being one of the biggest dogs in the market now. We don’t seem to think any player that we like is valued fairly. Yet the market simply moves on without us.

I have little doubt we’d be after Diomande at 65m. Some may say that is a ‘fair value’ even. Yet Liverpool are willing to go to 100m. We probably won’t, we think that’s too much. Spurs willing to go to 85m for Fernandes, but we think that’s too much. Spurs willing to go to 85m for Tonali, but ‘the cost of a potential deal is too much’, has been the line around him. City willing to go to 115m+ for Anderson, but we are ‘not interested at those numbers’. It’s a trend. There’s no mention of whether or not we want these players. Seemingly, we do. We just don’t want/can’t pay for them. So we are basically recusing ourselves from the best market options, and shopping somewhere else, where I would expect clubs smaller than us to be shopping frankly. Literally every PL club in and around us doesn’t seem to be put off by the figures that we are put off by. If such an equation continues for 2 or 3 years - it will simply show on the pitch quite quickly.

All of this has no bearing to what any of us think Fernandes is worth, it’s more about our position in the market. The first group of players we are identifying cost ‘too much’ for us, but not for our rivals. So we move down to cheaper players, while they don’t.

Quite simply, with the position we are in as a team and club, we should be buying the midfielders we want this summer, unless they say they don’t want to come regardless, or their clubs will not sell regardless. But if they are on the move, and we have identified them - we should be in for midfielders in the Declan Rice, Caicedo, Anderson range if that is what’s out there - because the bar has been set for 5 years now that this is the level for the best. Chelsea have 2 100m+ midfielders, Arsenal have 1, City have 1, and Liverpool have 1 too in Wirtz while we are here, with a terrible midfield saying ‘Christ, these fecking prices’. Get with the program.

Great post. This is exactly how a club falls behind its rivals.

 

[Eplel]

From watching him play, he is slow as feck.

Yeah, but people would have said the same about Kroos.

 

[Dominos]

For me, it’s not about Fernandes. My point is I want United to get the player they want/identify - if they are open to coming. The merits of us identifying Fernandes as the player that we want is a different conversation, but given we have all established that we are searching for high end midfielders this summer - I have a problem with us deciding upon a player but not buying him because he cost 85m.

My worry is that we are simply out of touch with the market realities. Identifying players we want isn’t the hard part. We seem to identify the same players other top clubs want. The issue is this position of us deciding they cost too much, but other teams deciding they don’t. If that is our case, what is our standing in the market? Do we sit near the top of it, or are we now somewhere in the middle? We seem to be falling behind being one of the biggest dogs in the market now. We don’t seem to think any player that we like is valued fairly. Yet the market simply moves on without us.

I have little doubt we’d be after Diomande at 65m. Some may say that is a ‘fair value’ even. Yet Liverpool are willing to go to 100m. We probably won’t, we think that’s too much. Spurs willing to go to 85m for Fernandes, but we think that’s too much. Spurs willing to go to 85m for Tonali, but ‘the cost of a potential deal is too much’, has been the line around him. City willing to go to 115m+ for Anderson, but we are ‘not interested at those numbers’. It’s a trend. There’s no mention of whether or not we want these players. Seemingly, we do. We just don’t want/can’t pay for them. So we are basically recusing ourselves from the best market options, and shopping somewhere else, where I would expect clubs smaller than us to be shopping frankly. Literally every PL club in and around us doesn’t seem to be put off by the figures that we are put off by. If such an equation continues for 2 or 3 years - it will simply show on the pitch quite quickly.

All of this has no bearing to what any of us think Fernandes is worth, it’s more about our position in the market. The first group of players we are identifying cost ‘too much’ for us, but not for our rivals. So we move down to cheaper players, while they don’t.

Quite simply, with the position we are in as a team and club, we should be buying the midfielders we want this summer, unless they say they don’t want to come regardless, or their clubs will not sell regardless. But if they are on the move, and we have identified them - we should be in for midfielders in the Declan Rice, Caicedo, Anderson range if that is what’s out there - because the bar has been set for 5 years now that this is the level for the best. Chelsea have 2 100m+ midfielders, Arsenal have 1, City have 1, and Liverpool have 1 too in Wirtz while we are here, with a terrible midfield saying ‘Christ, these fecking prices’. Get with the program.

Good post.

We may end up signing players now for a price that our fans declare "better value" than the players we missed out on due to cost.

The problem is, we're now going to sign players that the United hierarchy think are worse players/worse options than the ones we missed out on. Hence why the players we got priced out of were our preferred choice, and the "better value" players were much further down the list.

At the moment - having been priced out of Anderson, Fernandes and Tonali - I also expect us to fail to sign Tchouameni and Lewis Hall - which is a list of players that likely would have been our preferred summer window. It also looks like our next in line target Scott, Bournemouth aren't looking to sell, which means an obscene fee will be needed, and probably another name crossed off the list.

I'm not convinced we're going to get back to the top settling on our 6th and 7th choice midfield targets because they're cheaper.


Of course this will be met with "you don't know who our targets are, journalists know nothing, the summer window is going exactly to plan, the club know what they're doing".

 

[ron86]

Good post.

We may end up signing players now for a price that our fans declare "better value" than the players we missed out on due to cost.

The problem is, we're now going to sign players that the United hierarchy think are worse players/worse options than the ones we missed out on. Hence why the players we got priced out of were our preferred choice, and the "better value" players were much further down the list.

At the moment - having been priced out of Anderson, Fernandes and Tonali - I also expect us to fail to sign Tchouameni and Lewis Hall - which is a list of players that likely would have been our preferred summer window. It also looks like our next in line target Scott, Bournemouth aren't looking to sell, which means an obscene fee will be needed, and probably another name crossed off the list.

I'm not convinced we're going to get back to the top settling on our 6th and 7th choice midfield targets because they're cheaper.


Of course this will be met with "you don't know who our targets are, journalists know nothing, the summer window is going exactly to plan, the club know what they're doing".

This is the thing. It was clear our top choices were Anderson and Fernandes, whoever we sign is going to be a player our staff thought wasn't as good. You will struggle to kick on and compete if you are signing your 5th choice options.

 

[bucky]

Yeah, but people would have said the same about Kroos.

Comparing him with the best possible outcome of his career, which he is unlikely to reach, is questionable. We already have a good midfielder, who isn't the most athletic, we don't need to add another.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

For me, it’s not about Fernandes. My point is I want United to get the player they want/identify - if they are open to coming. The merits of us identifying Fernandes as the player that we want is a different conversation, but given we have all established that we are searching for high end midfielders this summer - I have a problem with us deciding upon a player but not buying him because he cost 85m.

My worry is that we are simply out of touch with the market realities. Identifying players we want isn’t the hard part. We seem to identify the same players other top clubs want. The issue is this position of us deciding they cost too much, but other teams deciding they don’t. If that is our case, what is our standing in the market? Do we sit near the top of it, or are we now somewhere in the middle? We seem to be falling behind being one of the biggest dogs in the market now. We don’t seem to think any player that we like is valued fairly. Yet the market simply moves on without us.

I have little doubt we’d be after Diomande at 65m. Some may say that is a ‘fair value’ even. Yet Liverpool are willing to go to 100m. We probably won’t, we think that’s too much. Spurs willing to go to 85m for Fernandes, but we think that’s too much. Spurs willing to go to 85m for Tonali, but ‘the cost of a potential deal is too much’, has been the line around him. City willing to go to 115m+ for Anderson, but we are ‘not interested at those numbers’. It’s a trend. There’s no mention of whether or not we want these players. Seemingly, we do. We just don’t want/can’t pay for them. So we are basically recusing ourselves from the best market options, and shopping somewhere else, where I would expect clubs smaller than us to be shopping frankly. Literally every PL club in and around us doesn’t seem to be put off by the figures that we are put off by. If such an equation continues for 2 or 3 years - it will simply show on the pitch quite quickly.

All of this has no bearing to what any of us think Fernandes is worth, it’s more about our position in the market. The first group of players we are identifying cost ‘too much’ for us, but not for our rivals. So we move down to cheaper players, while they don’t.

Quite simply, with the position we are in as a team and club, we should be buying the midfielders we want this summer, unless they say they don’t want to come regardless, or their clubs will not sell regardless. But if they are on the move, and we have identified them - we should be in for midfielders in the Declan Rice, Caicedo, Anderson range if that is what’s out there - because the bar has been set for 5 years now that this is the level for the best. Chelsea have 2 100m+ midfielders, Arsenal have 1, City have 1, and Liverpool have 1 too in Wirtz while we are here, with a terrible midfield saying ‘Christ, these fecking prices’. Get with the program.

It’s shambolic. Our priority target makes it clear that he wants City. We are seemingly taking ages negotiating with our next choice with nobody else in the picture playing the waiting game like arrogant prats only to get gazumped by fecking Spurs. One half decent summer and we’ve already become cocky and sloppy in the market as per usual.

People can laugh it off as Spurs being silly but we’ve lost out on our me summer signing who we were prepared to spend 85m on while our midfield is really poor as things stand.

 

[Champ]

And who has an area of their team as decimated as our midfield currently is? In other words: which PL clubs have enough consolidation to take their time, and which ones don’t? We’re net negative and far worse now than we were when the season concluded, how many other clubs can say the same?

We're one midfielder down in Ugarte,

We've lost Casemiro and have brought in his younger national team mate who's more mobile.

I don't think we're in that much of a negative position, yes we need bodies, but the right bodies and at a decent price.

 

[Champ]

This is the thing. It was clear our top choices were Anderson and Fernandes, whoever we sign is going to be a player our staff thought wasn't as good. You will struggle to kick on and compete if you are signing your 5th choice options.

It was rumoured that Hoijlund was top choice above Sesko when we signed him....that went well.
So no, that's not always the case.

 

[Rozay]

We're one midfielder down in Ugarte,

We've lost Casemiro and have brought in his younger national team mate who's more mobile.

I don't think we're in that much of a negative position, yes we need bodies, but the right bodies and at a decent price.

I’m not sure Ederson was brought in for the first XI. So the first XI still remains one midfielder down.

 

[MDFC Manager]

I’m not sure Ederson was brought in for the first XI. So the first XI still remains one midfielder down.

Yes, and then when you have to consider that the workload is much higher this season on account of more matches to play.

 

[Fortitude]

We're one midfielder down in Ugarte,

We've lost Casemiro and have brought in his younger national team mate who's more mobile.

I don't think we're in that much of a negative position, yes we need bodies, but the right bodies and at a decent price.

Casemiro was a major reason why we achieved what we achieved to even be in this position. He’s gone now. Ederson isn’t rated (which is why people are happy so long as he’s the third option from a hopeful three), certainly not a replacement for a marquee talent on marquee wages. Ederson is also a complete unknown entity at this level. Ugarte is someone we were going to try and shift by any means necessary, but now we can’t. Of the midfield that qualified us for the CL, only 21-year old Mainoo remains. We’re obviously well below what we ended the season as so it’s a considerable drop, as things currently stand.

We don’t just need bodies; we need a lot of quality just to replace what we’ve lost, and even more to kick on and actually be fit for purpose next season across multiple competitions. Decent price is the premise of the thread - what is a decent price? What is the going rate? Are we prepared to meet it? Can we identify talent in line with kicking on? There’s a lot to be thinking about.