Ok who is Mengi though?? One of our youngster? How good is he?
Centre Back... Who do we go for?
- Thread starter Macern
- Start date
Yeah I definitely wouldn't be against Ake if Bournemouth get relegated. Stylistically he would compliment Maguire very well. I'm not sure if he's quite good enough, but I've been impressed plenty of times, is at a good age, good on the ball, agile and fast, aggressive enough in the air and knows how to score (and defend) set pieces. Also was highly touted for a long time so has that going for him too.
Positioning is the only thing I can think of in honesty. Passing, one on one defending, reading of the game are all pretty much bang on.
I’d be intrigued to see how he gets on there, I just feel him and Harry could be something.
This. I would sell Maguire and buy Koulibaly or Skriniar. I guess we could get 50-60 mil for Harry from Spurs or maybe even Leicester would be glad to take him back.
Yes, i know that it will not happen but it would be best solution for club.
I don't think he's good enough or let me say I'm not certain if he's good enough. If we needed another CB for depth reasons then I'd be all for it, but we need someone to slot right next to Maguire and I don't think Ake is better than Lindelof.
I don't get why people are so harsh towards Maguire and Lindelöf. Yeah, Maguire has been skinned twice now recently. Unlucky for us de Gea hasn't looked sharp those two times either so we've been rightly punished for it. Players can get outplayed. Defenders can get outplayed. Happens. We are the fourth least scored against team in the league. Maguire and Lindelöf have played half a season together and in my opinion they are looking promising. I don't think our defense is anywhere near as bad as it's made out to be.
There are a few left-footers around that might be of interest to us. Romagnoli and Bastoni at the two Milan clubs. Badiashile (Monaco) looks a good prospect. Lille are reportedly about to have a fire sale to raise much needed funds, so Gabriel could be available at a reasonable price. Perhaps the most interesting might be Torunarigha at Hertha - he's the quickest of the CBs mentioned here and probably the best 1v1, so he could be a good partner for Maguire. All of these CBs are strong in the air and have quality on the ball.
Of course there is also Malang Sarr. He's not great in the air, but definitely has the pace to cover Maguire, is also left footed, good on the ball, 21 years old and available on a free this summer.
We definitely won't be signing either of those. Inter probably will not sell Skriniar and Koulibaly is too old to be spending a fortune on. He'll go to PSG possibly. Besides if we buy Sancho, there won't be much cash left over.
I think Ole will either go for someone like Konate, or will put trust in Teden Mengi and possibly even McTominay as possible options next season. Tuanzebe too but he seems like a sick note
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Ake is 5'11 in height. It's far too small for a CD for a top European side. I don't think Ole would buy him unless it's to play him as a deep-lying playmaker
Dayot Upamecano is the most logical option. Quality defender available for a good price due to his release clause which would allow us to spend in other areas as well. Only concern may be with injuries but I think he’s worth the risk, especially with Mengi also coming through who’s meant to be highly rated so we’ve got cover options available.
We need to find a suitable partner for Maguire. Upamecano could be ideal, bit worried with all the injuries. If he fulfills his potential he could be the best bet for us.
Romagnoli is a great shout, he is a top class CB, not the fastest though.
Konate is a better option than Upamecano
You mean Ruben Dias? Not bad not great either.
For a quick comparison Lindelof was MUCH better then Ruben Dias when he was at Benfica.
If your looking for a top quality center back that will make a difference and get you closer to winning the EPL again then Ruben dias is 100% not the guy to go for.
No chance. Ole will not take a risk on an Italian defender. They tend to shine much more in Italy than elsewhere
Bar Koulibaly I struggle to think of anyone who`s a guaranteed upgrade on what we have
Upamecano- Injury prone and also suspect to mistakes to those who`ve watched him
Konate- Injury prone
Ake- Too short IMO and more of a LCB and we need a RCB
Dias- Not good enough on the ball or good enough in general for the fee he will cost
And there is no chance we pay crazy money for Koulibaly at his age. We may have to settle for a "cheaper" option and hope Maguire/Lindelof sort out their chemistry
Upamecano- Injury prone and also suspect to mistakes to those who`ve watched him
Konate- Injury prone
Ake- Too short IMO and more of a LCB and we need a RCB
Dias- Not good enough on the ball or good enough in general for the fee he will cost
And there is no chance we pay crazy money for Koulibaly at his age. We may have to settle for a "cheaper" option and hope Maguire/Lindelof sort out their chemistry
Selling is not even a possibility now. He is our captain, record signing and is definitely here to stay.
We got to identify the right partner. Baily is the perfect guy but is too injury prone. Upamecano or Konate would be perfect . I
Maguire, Lindelof, Upamecano, Baily would be nice set of options.
If we can do some player swaps with Brighton. I would love Dunk as well.( Rojo, Smalling or Jones )
They do, but I don't pay that much attention to those things to be honest. He's a good player and would adapt if we were to bring him in. On the other hand he is Italian, you can hardly get wrong with Italian CBs
I prefer Upamecano but Konate is also a very good CB. I do think that Upamecano is the better one.
You failed to mention our best CB. Without him our backline can't win a header to save their lives.
Maguire is good enough for top 4, especially if he had a partner that could cover for his lack of mobility. And his mentality, if quantifiable, is what he really brings to the table. However, regardless of the type of player that is bought to partner with him, his lack of mobility would still be an obvious weak point in our defence. And in games against capable teams where we aim to press high, it could be difficult. As long as he is not isolated 1v1 against a player Maguire is good, but it is difficult to have a central defender that will struggle in most 1v1s and push the team high.
Short term, Maguire is more than good enough, but if we are to really compete against top teams, he could be an issue.
Short term, Maguire is more than good enough, but if we are to really compete against top teams, he could be an issue.
Koulibaly if price is around 50-60 million. He just turned 29 so there are at least three more years in him at high level. And use another 60million for Grealish. This will make our team much stronger. Unfortunately that will mean that Sancho will not be coming our way.
Why would you want Grealish over Sancho?
I don't. But if it's around 100+ million then I think MU will be much stronger with upgraded CB and AM. I'd love to have Sancho and Grealish and Koulibaly but that's simply not possible. Not to jinx it but let's assume that Bruno get's injured - who will take his spot? Lingaard, Mata?
If sancho takes almost all of our budget then djene of getafe would be worth a punt, a little on the small side but has an a great jump on him, doesn't get out muscled, comfortable on the ball and is quick, he is basically like a smaller version of koulibaly.
Isn't he almost the same age as Koulibaly? I don't think getting a player over the age of 27 for cb would be a smart investment.
Tyrone Mings
You smoking crack?
Edit - haha sorry just seen the date.
Still though, Dier and Luiz in 2018... are you smoking crack?
Exactly. People don't understand that they system allows them to flourish. Put them in City's team for example and Trent would just get in KDB's way. The instructions of Liverpool's 3 midfielders is pretty much just prevent the counter attack. They do very little creatively.
People don't understand this when doing England teams with Trent and right back and Grealish & Maddison in midfield. For Trent to do what he does for Liverpool in an England shirt he'd need Henderson, Rice and Winks (or players of that ilk) in midfield.
I must have beenTuanzebe went on loan for two straight season prior to this one and helped Villa win promotion for this season. Huh? He doesn't need a loan. He needs to stay fit.
*Cringe*
Koulibaly has had a disaster season and feck that paying for a 29 year old! Zero upside to buying someone for that fee at that age! Did you learn nothing from the Sanchez sh*t show?
I know he did but first season he hardly played anything and second he played about half the matches due to injuries. Also it was not PL football.
I just dont think he is good enough but as many have seen him as a great talent when he was young, maybe he need to play consecutive matches. I doubt he will get that opportunity at United.
Worrying though that Koulibaly has been out twice for thigh injury this season.
It's a waste of time sending him on loan. He's 22 now. He's already gotten playing experience. What he needs to be doing now is staying fit and pushing the first choice CBs for his chance. If he'd managed to stay fit this season he'd have likely been first choice alongside Maguire.
I don’t agree. There is really nothing of what we have seen that indicates that he is PL class. He is not the same level as Maguire, Lindelof or Bailly. That’s why he will get difficult to get minutes even if he suddenly can stay fit. Add that Jones also needs minutes. Tuanzebe is too old to not play. Simple as that. When Lindelof was in his age he had played 12 CL matches including quarter finals against Bayern Munich, and he played for the Swedish national team. Tuanzebe is behind in schedule if he is going to develop in to a Manchester United starting CB. His career desperately cries for matches. He needs to stay fit and go on a loan, and hopefully come back on a new level.
The problem is that there are no available stand out CBs in the world football. its much harder to find a new Stam or Rio nowadays than a new Salah or Lewandowski. Hence, Maguire’s price tag. We will rely on our transfer committee and Ole’s coaching talent to find a CB worthy to be Man United defender.
Exactly this. The annoying thing is HM/Lindelof/Bailly are top CBs but they all have flaws that makes them incompatible. Bailly is injury prone and HM/Lindelof both lack the proactiveness that a Koulibaly has. Whilst that pairing will get the job done for you 7/8 times out of ten it will come at the cost of some mistakes. Due to lack of stand out CBs cause Utd aint paying crazy money for Kouliblay best thing Utd can do is get a cheap CB and hope either HM/Lindelof actually become a top class partnership or one of Axel/Bailly overcome their injury problems.
I wouldn't be against the idea of getting Smalling back. Sell Bailly and let Smalling give Lindelöf a challenge for the spot. We'd then have Maguire, Lindelöf, Smalling and Tuanzebe.
Smalling could compliment Maguire quite well. Bit more pacy, strong, positions well and heads well.
Smalling could compliment Maguire quite well. Bit more pacy, strong, positions well and heads well.
Since Smalling's career is over at United, I have a few players in mind that we should go for, but failing that I would move Wan-Bissaka to partner Maguire. Yes, he might not be the tallest at 6 feet, but he would offer his defensive excellence in that role and win more headers than Bailly and Lindelof. We can then try and sign a right-back who offers more going forward than what Bissaka offers.
I think Ole might go for Nathan Collins and loan him out for a season, and stick with Tuanzebe and Mengi to put pressure on Lindelof.
I really like Konate and Upamecano. Konate is better on the ball and cultured in his play but i keep leaning towards Upamecano more bruiser style between the two.
That said with Ake I think there is a really good opportunity in picking up a quality PL experienced player, that has a bit of everything, is left footed, can provide LB cover if needed and is a set piece threat
That said with Ake I think there is a really good opportunity in picking up a quality PL experienced player, that has a bit of everything, is left footed, can provide LB cover if needed and is a set piece threat