Centre Back... Who do we go for?

bond19821982

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No mention of Alderweireld ?

Sell Smalling,Rojo and Blind.

Toby, Jones,Bailey, Lindeloff ,Alex as first choice CBs

Very injury prone though.
 

Wednesday at Stoke

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Not sure he wants to stay. He is an international who is barely getting any playing time.
Yeah there's that but if we change the system that gives him more opportunities in a position hes good at.

He'd also get more playing time as a left wingback if he improved his crossing to be more consistent but that's a different matter altogether.
 

golden_blunder

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Varane, Umtiti and Sandro please

Bailey-umtiti-Varane-Sandro

Then bring in Fabinho or Jorginho for midfield

If money allows add Siri or someone of similar ilk

Go back to 4-3-3

League won

</FM Mode OFF>
 

Patrick220571

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I'm not sure we need another centre back. That said, we need Bailly back and he needs to stay fit. We also need Lindelof to step up.
 

sully1

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Lindelöf needs chucked in the team for a lengthy run of games. I’ve been quietly impressed by him, and think he’ll develop into a top drawer ball playing CB.
Hes a bit suspect in the air for me, but on the floor and reading of the game has been superb.

He's very similar to Blind in certain ways but with more pace
 

sun_tzu

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What's his clause? He's a proper baller
Its around £53m apparently
But Barca have already said that paying the clause does not guarantee the player himself wants to move and they are confident he wants to stay at Barca
I suspect a new contract with a much higher clause will be signed before the next window opens
 

sully1

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Its around £53m apparently
But Barca have already said that paying the clause does not guarantee the player himself wants to move and they are confident he wants to stay at Barca
I suspect a new contract with a much higher clause will be signed before the next window opens
So basically we need to blow Barca out of the water with the wages we offer him.
 

Raees

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I’ll admit I don’t watch that much of Barca anymore but when I have seen him I’ve never been impressed. Has he improved lately or did I just catch him on a bad day?
He's top drawer, watch them every week and he is consistently very good and has it all.
 

Ikon

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Apparently, Koulibaly & Varane are both admired by Mourinho.
 

OldTrevil

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Its around £53m apparently
But Barca have already said that paying the clause does not guarantee the player himself wants to move and they are confident he wants to stay at Barca
I suspect a new contract with a much higher clause will be signed before the next window opens
Yea £53m would be a bargain for him, it makes sense for them to try a new deal with a higher clause. If they sleep on it I'm sure Woody would love to get one over barca :devil:
 

gaz1185

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Preferably someone who's playing in there prime, our oldest CB is Smalling at 28 and he's hardly Mr. Reliable, we need someone in their early 30s who can pass on some experience to the likes of Jones, Bailly & Lindelof for a couple of seasons & sure up that back line.
 

Dolf

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We use Bailly and Jones.
What's up with all these people going into panic buying mode when we loose one game? Let's leave that to Pep.
 

poleglass red

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we need a physical, good in the air centre half for the pl, we've been bullied in recent weeks by Glen Freaking Murray in the game v Brighton, and now Kane. I mean Kane you can maybe say he's a top player but Glen Murray. Bailly isn't the answer either, physically he can compete but he's not strong enough in the air. Only problem is having a big strong, aerially dominant centre half isn't really needed in CL. There we'd need a more cultured, comfortable on the ball defender. I think also our protection from mid esp in central areas in poor. Matic doesn't track runners and is maybe a bit exposed due to Pogba not tracking back, the inclusion of a 3rd mid with a bit of pace and aggression would certainly benefit our backline. Our defensive stats are good but I think that's more of a reflection on De Gea than it is collectively of our backline
 

T A

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Dont think it will happen in the near future. Not only because we are currently having 5 different options for this two positions (plus Matic/Blind as backups if needed) but also the fact no one wants to leave. Bailly and Lindelof are new, Jones and Smalling for years they have shown no intention of leaving even when managers kept benching them, Rojo looks on Jose as his mate.

Anyway i think Bailly - Varane would be the centre-back duo of the next decade. Cant see him leave Real though, Varane will be Ramos The Second, no matter how much we love and want him, he will remain at Bernabeu forever. So for reality, i believe in Lindelof, he is a real prospect, would prefer to give him more playing time rather than buy another name with the money we should spend on midfield reinforcement
 

serxyo

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We've already got 5 CBs in Jones, Smalling, Rojo, Bailly and Lindelof. There are also TFM and Tuanzebe that can play as CB, if we won't start playing them, they won't develop. Bailly - Rojo partnership sounds the best possible, Jones is also in top form this season. The truth is with left footed CB we probbably wouldn't concede an own goal (look the way Phil clears it). Mou is getting a full back in the summer and I'm 100 % sure about it.

Problem behind some goals might still be in our midfield. I just have to write down Pogba. The situation is that he doesn't make as much recovery runs as CDM should when he's playing at that position. Matic isn't that fast so he can't cover all the space in front of defensive line. I'd love to see someone who can play with Matic and is faster, maybe smaller then him, but phisically strong - I can't see Herrera beeing the one. Pogba has to play in 433 midfield or as number 10 in 4231 - no need for aditional CB, we are good right there.

EDIT: It looks like Chiellini will be available in the summer (according to their president), since Milan doesn't stand a chance to get in CL. I'd take him if there's any chance for us.
 

Thelyonking1

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WHY has nobody mentioned Toby Alderweirald he would be absolutely ideal, leader, premier league proben and a world class CB. We need someone senior in the centre back role
 

Kag

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Why would most people agree? Because we lost a game?

Jones and Smalling are two of the best defenders in the country. We have one of the best defences in Europe.

Harry fecking Maguire is better than neither. Jesus.
 

fcbforever

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Just putting this in here: Boateng might become available, and not even because he’s a crook. He’s been talking about maybe wanting a new challenge and as of now, I don’t think Bayern would stop him when there’s a really good offer as we are looking to juvenate our team.
 

ivaldo

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I think all you need to do is look at those listed options in the OP and you'll realise our collection of CBs really isn't that bad.
 

James Peril

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Lindelöf needs chucked in the team for a lengthy run of games. I’ve been quietly impressed by him, and think he’ll develop into a top drawer ball playing CB.
You can’t have high standards then. He has been pretty awful for us, always on the back-foot and often clearing balls in desperation.

As for the OP, I don’t see a big need for a new defender. We have Bailly, Jones, Smalling and Rojo - top 2 in England and I fail to see many better line-ups in Europe. Could of course change one player with a world-class, proven, stand-out ability - but those are hard to find! Even the «best in the world» Bonucci looks very average this year, so imagine paying 80M for him.

I’ve always liked Varane and Marquinos though, but I am certainly not good enough to judge defensive potential.
 
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Why would most people agree? Because we lost a game?

Jones and Smalling are two of the best defenders in the country. We have one of the best defences in Europe.

Harry fecking Maguire is better than neither. Jesus.
He’s nowhere near being one of the top defenders in the country. Being a defender these days comes with a lot more prerequisites than it used to, and he’d still have been suspect back in the days where a defenders ability to pass and control a ball were a non point.
 

Deleted member 101472

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You can’t have high standards then. He has been pretty awful for us, always on the back-foot and often clearing balls in desperation.
You can tell that he’s a modern defender and I’ve seen enough to know he can settle in. Probably more suited to a back 3 though.
 

podurban2

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Why would most people agree? Because we lost a game?

Jones and Smalling are two of the best defenders in the country. We have one of the best defences in Europe.

Harry fecking Maguire is better than neither. Jesus.
Smalling is definetely not.
 

AndyJ1985

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If a very good CB is available for a reasonable fee I'd sell Smalling and Lindelof and sign him, then bring Tuanzebe in to the first team as a squad player.
 

whatwha

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CB should be far from top priority. We need two midfielders and maybe a FB first.
Preferably someone who's playing in there prime, our oldest CB is Smalling at 28 and he's hardly Mr. Reliable, we need someone in their early 30s who can pass on some experience to the likes of Jones, Bailly & Lindelof for a couple of seasons & sure up that back line.
The last thing we need is another short term solution.
 

Nostradamus

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Just putting this in here: Boateng might become available, and not even because he’s a crook. He’s been talking about maybe wanting a new challenge and as of now, I don’t think Bayern would stop him when there’s a really good offer as we are looking to juvenate our team.
Thats total nonsense..Boateng ll go nowhere and I m well aware of his last statements.
 

Roeindo

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Why are we stockpiling CB when its clear that for the past 3 season our FBs are crap
 

Red Royal

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Don't think we need one. Jones had a really bad day on Wednesday; but he and Bailly with Rojo and Smalling are better than most clubs and even then we have LindelovTuanzabe/TFM/Blind (if still around) as cover - we can get rid of one and not even have to replace. What we need is some protection in front in the big games - so a holding/DM should be our priority.
 

CM10

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We don't. Of all the outfield positions it's the least of our worries.
 

Cee90

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If we didn't lose to Spurs do you think this thread would exist?
 

DroV

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The Athletic Club defender Unai Núñez is a good "cheap" option.
 

Fer

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What do you think about Škriniar from Inter?