Centre Midfielder Transfer Links

luke511

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Jul 13, 2013
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We need a big player adding in if we want to see a strong improvement on last season, feed links here. Casemiro, Ugarte, Bruno, Mainoo, Collyer, Kone are our current options, I'm not convinced that's enough.
 
We're not signing a CM, think thats now apparent with our change of plans for Kone.

Getting £40m for Rashford would've meant a CM coming in.

I think after a backup GK, we're likely to be done in the window.
 
pascell said:
We're not signing a CM, think thats now apparent with our change of plans for Kone.

Getting £40m for Rashford would've meant a CM coming in.

I think after a backup GK, we're likely to be done in the window.
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God speed. Seriously bad planning if we don't.
 
I’ve said this before, he’ll play Bruno as a CM, probably with Ugarte. It’ll be a disaster, first good team we play (incidentally Arsenal on the first day of the season) will walk through the midfield and then we’ll panic and pay over the odds for someone.
 
pascell said:
We're not signing a CM, think thats now apparent with our change of plans for Kone.

Getting £40m for Rashford would've meant a CM coming in.

I think after a backup GK, we're likely to be done in the window.
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Think we'll still get a ST or CM, probably not both though
 
From the minute Bruno decided to stay, I believed we wouldn't sign a midfielder this summer. I'm fine with it to be honest. We obviously need one, but sorting out the attack is the bigger priority and we don't have the finances to fix everything this window. Upgrading on the likes of Maguire and Casemiro can come next year.
 
Our midfield options are screwed up. We have some midfielders but either they don’t work together or don’t have the qualities needed for the Amorim system. Both Mainoo and Bruno are players for a 3 man midfield, Casemiro doesn’t have legs and Ugarte is a DM who doesn’t cover ground as effectively as what’s needed and is also on the slower side.

I actually think we need to start from scratch, identify the profiles of the 2 CMs we need and make two signings. These would need to be 20-25m per signing to be realistic.

Then, we should decide what to do with the rest -

- Bruno will play either 10 or CM depending on the type of opposition.
- Mainoo - Think we should just let him develop as a backup 10.
- Mount - loan and sell. Not sure what he is meant to be.
- Casemiro should leave in my opinion
- Collyer - don't mind him sticking around as a rotation option. He is a physical, hard working player and has decent ball carrying.
- Ugarte - should keep him but he is not a starter. He is good in games when the other team is dominating possession.

That makes it 5 CM options - New CM1, New CM2, Bruno (depending on tactics), Ugarte and Collyer. Kone on loan.
 
We’ll spend yet another season neglecting this abundantly clear priority position.

Current midfield options are what — Bruno Fernandes, Manuel Ugarte, Casemiro, Kobbie Mainoo, and Toby Collyer.

One of those isn’t a central midfielder, one isn’t good at football, one should be enjoying the remainder of his career in Saudi or America, and one is just an academy player filler. Mainoo has some serious potential but I worry heavily about his passing ability to be a real quality option.
 
luke511 said:
Given the lack of options for a striker in the market, and that we've just bought two attackers that can play there, the priority has to be midfield imo.
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Probably, but I'm not sure there are many viable options there either.
 
We'll buy a striker before a midfielder. I don't understand how anyone can watch Hojlund and think "nah, it's fine"
 
No midfielder is going to be good enough for us.

Mainoo, Casemiro, Bruno, Ugarte have all been trash under Amorim.

Rodri in a flat back 2 will be half the player.

The formation is absolutely rubbish and doesn't get the best out of players & is only good for small teams playing against big teams hence why Sporting beat some big boys.
 
What midfielder are we going to realistically get that would make any difference? For as long as Bruno is in the midfield two, it doesn't matter who the other midfielder is. No one is going to be good enough.

I would stick with Ugarte and Casemiro, and save for future purchases, or bring in a good all-round midfielder just to improve the quality of the squad for when we do go back to a three-man midfield.

I don't want us to spend big on a defensive midfielder that would soon become a liability for us because we are looking for a perfect partner for Bruno that doesn't exist.
 
AndySmith1990 said:
We'll buy a striker before a midfielder. I don't understand how anyone can watch Hojlund and think "nah, it's fine"
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I don't think anyone actually thinks that. It's more to do with us already spending £120-130 million on two players that can play in that position vs nothing spent on the most important position on the pitch.
 
We are the only supposed big team that does nor prioritize midfield. It cost Ole, ETH, and it will cost Amorim, absolutely no presence or control, weak defensively and poor at even moving it around.
 


Ederson is a weird target if Bruno is playing midfield. Ederson is an 8 and pairing him with Bruno imbalances the midfield even more
 
pcaming said:
We are the only supposed big team that does nor prioritize midfield. It cost Ole, ETH, and it will cost Amorim, absolutely no presence or control, weak defensively and poor at even moving it around.
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It’s been an issue since Fergies time post Scholes/Carrick/Haregreaves. I can’t believe how poor we’ve been in midfield for 15 years now really, it’s why small teams can run rings around us and control the game and we end up playing counter attacking football.
 
We'll regret turning down £100m for Bruno, for the experiment to turn Bruno into a CM. And then going head first into that CM, by spending £130m on 2 players that occupy his best position.
 
We are really weak in midfield but I’m guessing it is something that will be addressed next summer. Most teams are going fancy their chances of outrunning and out muscling us.

Amorim did refer to us lacking pace in midfield after the game today so maybe he will push for a signing there.
 
Roboc7 said:
We are really weak in midfield but I’m guessing it is something that will be addressed next summer. Most teams are going fancy their chances of outrunning and out muscling us.

Amorim did refer to us lacking pace in midfield after the game today so maybe he will push for a signing there.
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Think they want Casemiro and his wages off the books before it happens.
 
pcaming said:
We are the only supposed big team that does nor prioritize midfield. It cost Ole, ETH, and it will cost Amorim, absolutely no presence or control, weak defensively and poor at even moving it around.
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This doesnt make sense. We're playing our highest paid and most successful players in midfield, Bruno and Casemiro
 
Ekeke said:
This doesnt make sense. We're playing our highest paid and most successful players in midfield, Bruno and Casemiro
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But they are misfits there - thats the point. Especially in the EPL as a 2
 
luke511 said:
God speed. Seriously bad planning if we don't.
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The club invested 60m in Ugarte last summer. We're in a financial mess. You can bet they're just going to sit tight and hope Amorim can work with what he has.
 
Blood Mage said:
The club invested 60m in Ugarte last summer. We're in a financial mess. You can bet they're just going to sit tight and hope Amorim can work with what he has.
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We needed at least 2 midfielders last summer and we ended up with 1, who has turned out to be a questionable fit. The lack of quality was a big contributing factor to our league position. Now we need at the very least 1 this summer, there’s no two ways about it.
 
Skills said:
We'll regret turning down £100m for Bruno, for the experiment to turn Bruno into a CM. And then going head first into that CM, by spending £130m on 2 players that occupy his best position.
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I have to agree with this. Signing Mbeumo and Cunha then turning down the Bruno offer is bizarre.

Having 100+ mil to spend on 2 solid midfieders would transform our team right now.
 
It's a shame Lisandro is still injured, I know it is a bit left field but it could have been an interesting preseason experiment deploying him in a defensive midfield role in the event we don't bring in a midfielder.

I know it's not his natural position but he has played in midfield in the past, he certainly has the passing range and the attributes to play deep, having said that, I think Adam Wharton at some point is a no brainer of a signing.
 
jamesjimmybyrondean said:


Ederson is a weird target if Bruno is playing midfield. Ederson is an 8 and pairing him with Bruno imbalances the midfield even more
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I really don't think we know what we're doing there, as has been the case for many years.
 
Don’t make me question the summer priorities.

You can’t sign 2 attackers and then complain about the midfield.

After spending 130M you cannot complain the midfield doesn’t work.

If Amorim starts moving Bruno around and one of Amad/Mbeumo ends up on the bench I will lose all faith in his management.
 
I believe it’s on an equal priority to getting a new striker

I’m in no way a football coaching expert but if our front three work hard and press as we desire them too, wouldn’t that mitigate some issues of opposition going straight through us? Since they’re dropping back and harassing opposition deep midfielders as well as opposition defenders? I feel like having Cunha and Mbeumo up top will help this out a lot more than having Garnacho and Rashford up there in recent history.
 
The 10s were obviously the priority seeing as we're trying to sell Garnacho, Rashford and Antony.

This has to be the second priority though. It hinders all our play having no pace and physicality there.
 
I assume your plan is that Mainoo-Ugarte will click at some stage? Ugarte looked completely terrible in the run in and was overlooked for Europa league final so that dosen't feel a promising desire at this stage but perhaps he'll get going with regular starts.

Beyond that other prem sides won't have sleepless nights at the thought of Mason Mount being deployed yet again as an 8. He was a failure there under ETH in the few games he played there before his constant injuries. Fernandes can be nullified more from deep.

Surely you'll get in a CM though late on in the window (reality will probably sit in if Arsenal beat you comfortably on opening day) as Eriksen still played a fair amount in second half of the season and so you're a player down in that position from what started last season.
 
Remember the geese said:
From the minute Bruno decided to stay, I believed we wouldn't sign a midfielder this summer. I'm fine with it to be honest. We obviously need one, but sorting out the attack is the bigger priority and we don't have the finances to fix everything this window. Upgrading on the likes of Maguire and Casemiro can come next year.
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I am sure the club is 'relaxed' about not getting a midfielder but I am also sure that is wrong and will mean amorim won't last the season. Then if that's the case there will be no natural place for both cunha and mbuemo
 
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