I've been consistent in my assessment that the £150m spent, was spent poorly by the club on players that didn't give us the significant boost we needed in the positions in question. Dan James I could understand as a punt as he was a low risk buy due to price and is someone who I think could become a squad player in a title challenging team but nothing more. I'd like to know why Ole and Phelan thought it was necessary to not look past AWB and Maguire for the ridiculous sums they were going for. Both players had flaws and it didn't justify spending such ludicrous sums on them. Then to compound things, Smalling was let go on loan which exposed Maguire's vulnerabilities further and also further demonstrated our naivety at boardroom level/first team coaching.
Maguire will still come good I feel if he is partnered alongside a commanding CB that is physically and athletically gifted. Maguire is strong aerially and is good on the ball. The issue with him currently is that the he has too much responsibility to actually engage against the big threats especially aerially without adequate help. Playing a high-line is also a issue with the current pair. I'd personally sell both Smalling and Lindelof and make a move for Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig. Konate imo is a better CB than Upemecano who afew have suggested in this thread. Konate would be the commanding CB that would bring the best out of the team and not just Maguire. Konate at 20 is already considered among the best in the Bundesliga and should be doable with the money received from the sales of Smalling, Lindelof, Rojo, Bailly etc.
Ethan Laird will eventually make AWB redundant at first team level if he can stay clear of injuries. Laird is the biggest fullback talent from the academy and i'm very optimistic he could be a mainstay at first team level in the longterm.
