I remember us being linked to him, but he wouldn't get in over Alonso. Alonso can cross, defend, good in the air, dangerous at free kicks, and can score. I would take Alonso all day. It's amazing how good Alonso has been for us. The one negative for Alonso If I had to pick one, would be his lack of pace, but for what else he offers, only an elite level wing back could take his first team spot, and even then I would be reluctant. Unless we're talking Marcelo lol.
Benjamin Mendy
- Thread starter LuisNaniencia
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Agreed, both excellent players and worth every penny City paid. We should have been competing for both.
And yet you guys seemed hellbent on replacing him with Sandro this summer, after spending £30m on Alonso.
The Shaw thing really bugs me, he was supposed to be our own English Evra for the next 10+ years. I still have hope he'll come good this season though, however naïve this is of me
Yeah that's a bit baffling. Sandro has pace on Alonso, but for what else he offers I'm not sure, as Alonso really has been a diamond in the rough and has won us games and scored important goals.
Alonso can't defend for nuts. Mendy, Rose and Sandro are vastly superior players.
Never in doubt. He is one of the best full backs in the world when it comes to cross.
Would you consider swapping Alonso for our world class fullback Luke Shaw? We can't provide you with any footage of any of his world class displays but trust me when he gets over his latest twinge in 2026 he will be a future Ballon d'or winner for sure.....guaranteed.
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He looks a good player based on early impressions. Would be brilliant to have a LB like that supporting Martial/Rashford.
He'll be up to 92 before we know it.Aye hilarious... trying to get himself an upgrade on a video game
It's all a bit cringey to me, personally. Same as Batshuayi.
Then again, I love Evra's Instagram posts so maybe I'm just being hypocritical.
Then again, I love Evra's Instagram posts so maybe I'm just being hypocritical.
To me he''s great, he's probably something that's been missing in the dressing room for a few years, absolutely baking mad with a real fun streak and the players (appear to me) to love his sense of humour
Your last line is true. Its good to see that a player actually has a sense of humour.
Mendy is a funny guy, his interview after the CL match was incredible When asked about Ederson, he said that he is from the favelas and he is used to have a boot to the face
When asked about Ederson, he said that he is from the favelas and he is used to have a boot to the faceHe is a beast of a player, most on here knew as much though. Was gutted when it was obvious we weren't even really interested
It's stupid not to have invested in a LB, instead of chasing for players like Perisic.
It's obvious Jose was intending on giving Shaw once last chance to really establish himself. Which is weird as he's usually ruthless when it comes to replacing players. It's looking like the wrong decision though, we desperately needed a LB.
Perisic continued his good form from last season atm, so he is not a bad option if we could have gotten him.
The problem with Mendy is that he can strengthen our attack on left side, but he is not exactly that good defensively. Which means we would have to dispose some of our left back options, yet we still need to find &I play another defensive player to help cover for him, which in turn means more restricted game time for our attacker.
While placing hope for Shaw is a big gamble, it's not the end of world not getting a LB as I just said Mendy ain't exactly an upgrade on defensive side of it and there is hope for our left side attackers to improve, while waiting for the outcome of the Shaw gamble.
Same, don't think it's funny at all. Also I think that's his social media manager running his twitter and not him.
It's 100% the case for Batshuayi, who can barely speak a word of English. Both came from Marseille, and both tweet very similarly - wouldn't surprise me if the same social media team ran their accounts.
seems good going forward, shit defending. Kyle Walker similar, i think the latter is so so so overrated
Will get found out against bigger teams in the champions league but for 75% of the PL season he'll look like the best left back in the league.
Seems like a good left back, still young with a lot of potential.
Watched him a few times for Monaco in the Champions League. Price is a bit steep however City got themselves a good signing.
Watched him a few times for Monaco in the Champions League. Price is a bit steep however City got themselves a good signing.
Are you just underrating these players because they play for a rival? Come on they are surely better than Valencia who couldn't find a cross in a church and Luke the never fit Shaw. Luke Shaw has done so much damage to Manchester United not just because he has contributed bugger all in 3 years but because of his continued presence at the club, we refuse to sign a specialist left back and instead play wingers, CBs and RBs there. I know it's not his fault he got injured but it's like he's cursed or something. It seems the longer that Luke Shaw is out injured the more his legend grows, initially he was described as a promising defender then best in EPL then potentially world class.
Just because someone can barely speak english during interviews doesn't mean (when he has all the time in the world) he cannot manage a twitter account. I'm not saying you're wrong but just that there are no 100% certainty to have here.
Even at his best, Shaw is still a fairly average LB in general and who is terrible at attacking. We have zero width in terms of wide players (Martial and Rashford both love to cut inside) so a pure attacking LB would have good for variety. When it comes to the defensive side of Mendy, he's better than what he's showed I think but there are no guarantees in football.
I'm just saying it's a bit stupid not to have a player of that variety in our team. Going from Blind to Darmian is terrible and let's be honest, we'll dominate most games and we'll play against buses more often than not.
He freaking cost 53 m. We would have not spent that much
I never said we needed to target him specifically but a player of that mould and yeah if you have weaknesses, you have to invest.
Obviously Jose see's Shaw as that player. Clubs can't just replace players every time they get injured, otherwise squads would be vast. We have players who can do a job until Shaw is fit, then we'll have to see how he goes.
Jurgen Klopp said that when he was a boy butter was really cheap and now it's really expensive. It's the same with players, world-class and very good players cost a lot of money. You either pay the going rate, roll the dice on a prospect or you make do with a never fit Luke Shaw, no attack Darmain or my granny moves faster than D Blind. A club of Manchester United's standing should be a really have a fullback that can at least cross the ball more than once a season. The only place Manchester United fans see crosses is in church.
We lack width, a proper attacker down the left would have been ideal for us, not make shift midfielders. Also I wouldn't be fussed about Mendy's defensive ability, our manager is Jose Mourinho, defence is the least of our problems. He's improved almost all our defenders.
Here's hoping Shaw finally picks his game up this season as a proper LB could be the difference between us winning the league and coming up short.
Yeah, especially given Jose doesn't seem to fancy Shaw and seems to think he's miles away from the player he needs in that position.
Mendy may prove to have defensive weaknesses, but I'd happily take a player like him who can be a threat against most PL teams and actually give some support to our LW. The whole one man must take on the defender thing is outdated. You need combinations to break down and hurt defences and the likes of Blind and Darmian don't have the qualities to do it well.
That's far from obvious going by his treatment of and comments on Shaw thus far. He's shown very little faith in his qualities in the first season and so. And even if that is the case, which I would be in favour of given I rate the kid, a team that has big ambitions doesnt just sit and wait on a talent it never seems to play. I'd have replaced Darmian with someone with actual quality with Shaw as backup till he fulfills his potential. Now we're left with average stuff till that happens. It doesn't make any sense.
I agree about the Luke Shaw bit. Needs to be sold if he doesn't step up this season. I don't think Kyle Walker is underrated, he is average.
I am not saying Young would solve our problem , but he is an option.
It's personal opinion but I rate Shaw's raw attribute. He has not been able to fulfill his potential, but I feel like people via frustration, not fairly judge his ability, at least physical side.
By the way, by Perisic example, I meant a genuine winger system than a makeshift wing back.
I know exactly what you said. My point was if Mendy is our player, Mourinho would require to change the approach to accodomate 2 attacking full backs. Which may mean 3 at the back and one less attacker. It's all about balance of the team.
For Smaller sides daley blind can do that job majority of the season very well, and we gave another chance for luke shaw to prove himself who has been unlucky with contact injuries he has had.
Very glad to see we are concerned about this situation and maybe hopefully some one from manchester united office might take a note of it and get a decent cover in left back position. If not a world class, just a decent left bank from a lower league will do. I would love to see our scouts get down to the business and really work hard to work on such a player atleast by January.
Unbelievable player. Key acquisition for City's future, I'm sad to say.