Centre Midfielder Transfer Links

Orange Tree said:
With Casemiro confirmed leaving at the end of the season and possibly Ugarte being sold, we need 3 new midfielders and probably 4 if we make it to Europe next season.
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Looks like we will finally get our midfield overhaul that’s been needed for almost 10 years.

Definitely need at least 2 - even 3 so we have four options for the two midfield positions (with Mainoo)?
 
Bojan11 said:
Well with Casemiro confirmed gone, and Ugarte needs to be moved on, I just don’t see how we are going to let Bruno leave. There’s no chance we are signing four midfielders in the summers.
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Zero chance of Bruno leaving now. No chance with Casemiro going. You just can't let that much experience leave the club in the same window.
 
Bojan11 said:
Well with Casemiro confirmed gone, and Ugarte needs to be moved on, I just don’t see how we are going to let Bruno leave. There’s no chance we are signing four midfielders in the summers.
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Yeah no chance Bruno leaves. I think Bruno swaps between #10 and #8 next season while Mainoo is that #8, and then we sign a starting #6 and a versatile deep midfielder that can rotate among both deep positions. Definitely need 2 midfielders who have reliable fitness though. That way we have a group of 5 with Bruno, Mainoo, 2 new ones and Mount finishing it. Could be Cunha as a 10 in a pinch too.
 
ManhattanRed said:
I mean his motivation would be having a realistic chance to be a starter, no? Like I said I’ve never seen him play but surely he’s not starting over FDJ or Pedri.
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Wouldnt he push for the move in the first place then? If thats the case, then it makes more sense, but not if a player is pushed out due to economics like they tried with FdJ
 
Casemiro going and surely Ugarte goes as well. That means we need 3 midfielders and even then we’re quite thin on numbers.
 
bosnian_red said:
Yeah no chance Bruno leaves. I think Bruno swaps between #10 and #8 next season while Mainoo is that #8, and then we sign a starting #6 and a versatile deep midfielder that can rotate among both deep positions. Definitely need 2 midfielders who have reliable fitness though. That way we have a group of 5 with Bruno, Mainoo, 2 new ones and Mount finishing it. Could be Cunha as a 10 in a pinch too.
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I don’t think any manager but Amorim would play Bruno as anything but a #10. Even as a #10, he is more of a support striker in the mold of Rooney than an attacking midfielder.
 
Yes. This raise a chances that we are signing multiple midfielders next summer. And this makes me think do we already have some deal agreed/almost agreed for the summer? There at least should be some strong candidates who are ready to join when we announce this few months ahead. Hopefully...
 
I would love a summer with Baleba, Angelo Stiller, and Ayyoub Bouaddi.

Would provide some different profiles to complement Mainoo, and Bruno as well as give us some youth as well to further develop. Anderson is another dream signing but I think that him and Baleba is too much of an outlay to be realistic.
 
I would genuinely be happy if we only bought midfielders in the summer - prioritise everything to get it right please
 
Knowing our recruitment we go and buy another winger for huge money.

We end up with bottom of the barrel midfielders and we be still talking about how we need to strengthen the midfield in summer 2027
 
We have to find a CDM that can do everything Casemiro can do, and MORE.

He brought alot to the team in all phases of the play other than sprinting back when out of position which was past him.

Replacing him might prove harder than you think when you factor in his goals and assists for us.
 
daba said:
I’d use the Wharton money on Welbeck (or another ST option) and Kayode as a Dalot replacement personally.
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Random this. Wharton would be a star singing, £100m, Welbeck would be a 1 year stop gap and Kayode would cost about 30/40m quid
 
Godfather said:
This Welbeck talk needs to stop immediately
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Lennon7 said:
Random this. Wharton would be a star singing, £100m, Welbeck would be a 1 year stop gap and Kayode would cost about 30/40m quid
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There’s no chance we sign all 3 of Anderson, Baleba and Wharton so IMO it’s kinda pointless even suggesting it IMO. Firstly from a financial perspective, as all 3 are costing at the very least £250m combined, probably more. If we were signing 3 CMs then I’d expect one to be a bit cheaper at around £40-50m like Bouaddi or Kouadio Kone. Secondly, how are we even meant to convince all 3 of them to sign and compete for 2 starting spots alongside Kobbie. Even if your thought process is to sell Bruno to free up space, then I still don’t see it as I think we would target a more creative type as his replacement. We also won’t be the only team after them too, so they’ll have other more attractive offers on the table to be a nailed on starter somewhere.

I’m my eyes, out of the 3, Wharton is the one I’m least certain about due to his injuries but I’d also be fine with him over Baleba. Anderson is the one with the least risks and we simply cannot afford to not get this one right. Despite Baleba’s performing below expectations, I think he’s still got the tools and potential to be world class, and alongside a calm, reliable partner in Anderson, I think he could develop really well and our midfield could easily compete with the likes of Arsenal’s as the best in the league.

On Welbeck, I don’t see the problem unless you don’t believe Sesko will be a success. I personally think Sesko will be a success, so what we need is someone with experience who would be content not being a nailed on starter each week, to share the workload. Welbeck ticks all of those boxes for me and as a bonus he loves the club, we know he can handle the pressure of playing for the club and would be a fantastic personality in the dressing room. Oh and he’d be free and on modest wages. Given his age he’d join on a max 2 year contract, which gives Chido time to develop out on loan and a clear pathway to challenge Sesko in a couple years.

Even if you’re not confident on Sesko, signing Welbeck still buys us time to give Sesko another year to prove he has what it takes, and if not we replace him next summer when hopefully we have more budget to focus on a ST, as this summer has to be primarily about the midfield.
 
Overhaul FC said:
We have to find a CDM that can do everything Casemiro can do, and MORE.
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I honestly think that's pretty much impossible. It really is slim pickings already, including from the already narrowed down candidates below...

With the sad news of Casemiro leaving , combined with the sad loss of fbref, I thought I'd try and use some of the other tools I've since discovered to try and find possible replacements. The most interesting tool I found, which I've used for a lot of the following analysis, was this rather temperamental one:
https://best11scouting.streamlit.app/Men's_App
I also cross-referenced those findings with the stats and visualisations on other sites, eg https://datamb.football/midfielders/ and https://www.fotmob.com/en-GB/players/208494/casemiro.

I've focused on the key attributes for a #6 /DM that Casemiro brings to the table, and which should be the minimum requirements for United's needs, namely: strong ball winning ability, and strong forwards passing/play-making from deep. Were I to have also tried to factor in some of Casemiro's other strengths, such as aerial ability and goalscoring, then it would have removed far too many possible candidates already. The field is narrow enough as it is even just focusing on DMs who are both solid at ball-winning and forwards passing. Considering United might have someone like Mainoo as an 8 who lacks pace and ball-winning ability, I really think that strong ball-winning stats can not be compromised, e.g. someone like Wharton would be too defensively weak as a 6 alongside a Mainoo.

The final combination of parameters I settled upon resulted in the following list of matching players from the Premier League, which I think is a good demonstration that it is broadly focusing on the correct profile of player, even if some of them may have a couple of things which mean they are not ultimately United quality, or suitable for United's needs.

I have bolded those who seem to stand out as potentially possible and sensible. I left all the PL players below for demonstration purposes, but from other leagues I removed most of the older (27/8+) and notably lesser players to save space as they are unlikely to ever be under consideration.

(TLDR, only ones even close to consideration worthy, but all would be initial downgrades: Yarmoliuk, Anderson, Ampadu* Janelt, Chema Andres, Seiwald, Casado*, Barrios, Ederson, M Sangare, Siltanen* ; asterisks = additional caveats)

Premier League results (age order):

Yarmoliuk - Brentford - 21
Anderson - Forest - 23
Nico Gonzalez - Man City - 24
Caicedo - Chelsea - 24
Ampadu** - Leeds - 25
Janelt - Brentford - 27
Ibrahim Sangare - Forest - 28
Bruno Fernandes - Man United - 31
Casemiro - Man United - 33
Xhaka - Sunderland - 33

Anderson is the most obvious potential replacement out there, with some of the best overall CM stats in the PL. No doubt he'll plenty of suitors in the summer. He can as a 6 as well as an 8.

Yarmoliuk stands out as being another very promising young candidate not already at a big club. I don't think he'll be ready yet to be first-choice at a club like United, but given what he's doing so far at 21, and the improvements he's showing, he's not one to rule out in future. He could also be a good second-choice 6/Ugarte replacement. He doesn't have Casemiro's aerial ability unfortunately.

Janelt is having a very strong season so far for Brentford, and is very good in the air, but his age and potential fee would probably rule him out.

Ampadu** is a curious one. I've bolded him as I've just noticed he'll only have 1 year left on his contract in the summer, so could be a useful inexpensive squad option/Ugarte replacement. Not as obviously elite all-round as Casemiro, or Anderson, but as a pure ball-winner in the 6 position his stats are right up there for the Premier League. He certainly has plenty of pace and mobility, and is a good age. His passing is also surprisingly solid, even if he lacks the creativity and flashiness of the likes of Anderson and Wharton. He might get less hype as he plays for Wales, rather than being in the England conversation.
Quote from Leeds' forum: "If Ampadu and Aaronson, in particular, maintain the level of play they've attained in the last couple of months they will attract a lot of attention".

I think it's worthwhile adding a note that Garner scores very well on some of these measures, but where he gets cut-off by my criteria is "Accurate Long Pass %" - his figure for this looks really bad. I don't know whether set-pieces are a factor in this (but they don't impact Anderson's and Bruno's numbers in the same way if so) - but the data has him close to Ugarte for giving the ball away when trying longer passes. Seems he loses the ball too much with too many Hollywood passes that go astray. Short-medium passes he seems fine.

Bundesliga:
Chema - Stuttgart - 21
Kemlein - Union Berlin - 21
Avdullahu - Hoffenheim - 21
Seiwald - RB Leipzig - 24

Chema is the clear stand-out here from his stats. He is also strong in the air, which is rare for his age and position. Real Madrid will surely use their buy-back clause though. The others have too many deficiencies to move at the moment, but could still improve.
Seiwald seems a solid, if unspectacular, defensive-minded player.

La Liga:
Marc Casado* - Barcelona - 21
Pablo Barrios - Atletico Madrid - 22

It's funny to see Man United linked recently with Marc Casado, as his tackling and passing stats look pleasingly close to Casemiro's. He is on the small side though and lacks aerial ability, but at least has a bit of pace and goal threat. I've added the asterisk as his stats only tally for his 24/25 season - he hasn't really played enough this season, with Eric Garcia being favoured right now.
Pablo Barrios isn't as defensively solid as some of the others, but has a bit more mobility and creativity than many. Would probably be too expensive though with a recently extended contract at Atletico.

Serie A
Ederson - Atalanta - 26
Locatelli - Juventus - 28

United linked with Ederson a few times before. Seems very much a jack of all trades, master of none. Seems a solid all-rounder, without being better than Casemiro at anything.
I've added Locatelli back to the long-list as his stats are very good and he has a good profile, but I reckon his age would contribute to him being a non-starter.

Ligue 1
El Mourabati - Strasbourg - 20
Avom - Lorient - 21
M Sangare - Lens - 23
Tessmann - Lyon - 24

Mamadou Sangare and Avom have been mentioned before on here, and United have been linked with Sangare recently. Sangare's ball-winning stats look elite (in Ligue 1 at least), and his passing doesn't look too shabby either. It's only his first consistent season at a decent level though - United could be a big jump for him.
As an aside, El Mourabati looks an another annoyingly promising player on the Strasbourg/Chelsea production line.

Jupiler Pro League
Van De Perre - Union St Gilloise - 21
Seems a strong ball winner who I wouldn't be surprised see move to USG's sister club Brighton.

Eredivisie
Regeer - Ajax - 22

Liga NOS
Juanse Rodriguez - Fiondela - 19
Barrenechea - Benfica - 24
Juanse Rodriguez is an Ecuador u20 international, only recently moved to Portugal from LDU Quito. Expect a move to another stepping-stone club soon.
Not sure why it's not worked out at Villa for Barrenechea?

I've applied my criteria to a few smaller leagues out of curiosity, and one player from one other league jumped out:

Allensvenskan
Siltanen - Djugardens - 18
This kid is Finnish and only signed for Djugardens one season ago - to replace Bergvall. Looking at their stats, Siltanen's last season for Djugardens were incredibly similar in standard overall to Bergvall's in his final season for Djugardens when he was also 18. Funnily enough - Fotmob assigned Siltanen's 2025 season an overal player rating of 7.28, and Bergvall's s 2024 season there a rating of 7.27... However, whereas Bergvall was more of a #8 or #10, Siltanen looks a true #6, with excellent ball-winning and progressive passing stats. He was linked with Man City and Bournemouth even before he signed for Djugardens. Obviously with his age won't be ready to be a regular starter, but like Bergvall could become the real deal, for cheaper than PL players.
 
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goldenboy said:
I honestly think that's pretty much impossible. It really is slim pickings already, including from the already narrowed down candidates below...

With the sad news of Casemiro leaving , combined with the sad loss of fbref, I thought I'd try and use some of the other tools I've since discovered to try and find possible replacements. The most interesting tool I found, which I've used for a lot of the following analysis, was this rather temperamental one:
https://best11scouting.streamlit.app/Men's_App

I've focused on the key attributes of a #6 that Casemiro brings to the table and which should be the minimum requirements for United's needs, namely: strong ball winning ability, and strong forwards passing/play-making from deep. Were I to have also tried to factor in some of Casemiro's other strengths, such as aerial ability and goalscoring, then it would have removed far too many possible candidates already. The field is narrow enough as it is even just focusing on DMs who are both solid at ball-winning and forwards passing.

The final combination of parameters I settled upon resulted in the following list of matching players from the Premier League, which I think is a good demonstration that it is broadly focusing on the correct profile of player, even if some of them may have a couple of things which mean they are not ultimately United quality, or suitable for United's needs.

I have bolded those who seem to stand out as potentially possible and sensible. I left all the PL players below for demonstration purposes, but from other leagues I removed all the older and notably lesser players to save space as they are unlikely to ever be under consideration.

(TLDR, only ones even close to consideration worthy, but all would be initial downgrades: Yarmoliuk, Anderson, Chema, Seiwald, Casado, Barrios, Ederson, M Sangare)

Premier League results (age order):

Yarmoliuk - Brentford - 21
Anderson - Forest - 23
Nico Gonzalez - Man City - 24
Caicedo - Chelsea - 24
Ampadu - Leeds - 25
Janelt - Brentford - 27
Ibrahim Sangare - Forest - 28
Bruno Fernandes - Man United - 31
Casemiro - Man United - 33
Xhaka - Sunderland - 33

Anderson is the most obvious potential replacement out there, with some of the best overall CM stats in the PL. No doubt he'll plenty of suitors in the summer. He can as a 6 as well as an 8.

Yarmoliuk stands out as being another very promising young candidate not already at a big club. I don't think he'll be ready yet to be first-choice at a club like United, but given what he's doing so far at 21, and the improvements he's showing, he's not one to rule out in future. He could also be a good second-choice 6/Ugarte replacement. He doesn't have Casemiro's aerial ability unfortunately.

Ampadu is a curious one. Not as obviously elite all-round as Casemiro, or Anderson, but as a pure ball-winner in the 6 position his stats are right up there for the Premier League. He certainly has plenty of pace and mobility, and is a good age. His passing is also surprisingly solid, even if he lacks the creativity and flashiness of the likes of Anderson and Wharton. Not someone you'd go for as a regular starter, but seems someone who could be a solid squad option for a better side if available for the right price.

Janelt is having a very strong season so far for Brentford, and is very good in the air, but his age and potential fee might rule him out.

Bundesliga:

Chema - Stuttgart - 21
Kemlein - Union Berlin - 21
Avdullahu - Hoffenheim - 21
Seiwald - RB Leipzig - 24

Chema is the clear stand-out here from his stats. He is also strong in the air, which is rare for his age and position. Real Madrid will surely use their buy-back clause though. The others have too many deficiencies to move at the moment, but could still improve.
Seiwald seems a solid, if unspectacular all-rounder.

La Liga:
Marc Casado* - Barcelona - 21
Pablo Barrios - Atletico Madrid - 22

It's funny to see Man United linked recently with Marc Casado, as his tackling and passing stats look pleasingly close to Casemiro's. He is on the small side though and lacks aerial ability, but at least has a bit of pace and goal threat.
Pablo Barrios isn't as defensively solid as some of the others, but has a bit more mobility and creativity than many. Would probably be too expensive though with a recently extended contract at Atletico.

Serie A
Ederson - Atalanta - 26

United linked with him a few times before to Ederson. Seems very much a jack of all trades, master of none. Seems a solid all-rounder, without being better than Casemiro at anything.

Ligue 1
El Mourabati - Strasbourg - 20
Avom - Lorient - 21
M Sangare - Lens - 23
Tessmann - Lyon - 24

Mamadou Sangare and Avom have been mentioned before on here, and United have been linked with Sangare recently. Sangare's ball-winning stats look elite (in Ligue 1 at least), and his passing doesn't look too shabby either. It's only his first consistent season at a decent level though - United could be a big jump for him.
As an aside, El Mourabati looks an another annoyingly promising player on the Strasbourg/Chelsea production line.

Jupiler Pro League
Van De Perre - Union St Gilloise - 21
Seems a strong ball winner who I wouldn't be surprised see move to USG's sister club Brighton.

Eredivisie
Regeer - Ajax - 22

Liga NOS
Juanse Rodriguez - Fiondela - 19
Barrenechea - Benfica - 24
Juanse Rodriguez is an Ecuador u20 international, only recently moved to Portugal from LDU Quito. Expect a move to another stepping-stone club soon.
Not sure why it's not worked out at Villa for Barrenechea?
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Anderson plus Sangare as a cheaper option to Baleba would be sensible business.

I agree on Yarmoliuk too, he’s developed really well in the last couple seasons but he wouldn’t be cheap and maybe not quite ready just yet. He’s an interesting, more under the radar option though.
 
goldenboy said:
I honestly think that's pretty much impossible. It really is slim pickings already, including from the already narrowed down candidates below...

With the sad news of Casemiro leaving , combined with the sad loss of fbref, I thought I'd try and use some of the other tools I've since discovered to try and find possible replacements. The most interesting tool I found, which I've used for a lot of the following analysis, was this rather temperamental one:
https://best11scouting.streamlit.app/Men's_App
I also cross-referenced those findings with the stats and visualisations on other sites, eg https://datamb.football/midfielders/ and https://www.fotmob.com/en-GB/players/208494/casemiro.

I've focused on the key attributes for a #6 /DM that Casemiro brings to the table, and which should be the minimum requirements for United's needs, namely: strong ball winning ability, and strong forwards passing/play-making from deep. Were I to have also tried to factor in some of Casemiro's other strengths, such as aerial ability and goalscoring, then it would have removed far too many possible candidates already. The field is narrow enough as it is even just focusing on DMs who are both solid at ball-winning and forwards passing. Considering United might have someone like Mainoo as an 8 who lacks pace and ball-winning ability, I really think that strong ball-winning stats can not be compromised, e.g. someone like Wharton would be too defensively weak as a 6 alongside a Mainoo.

The final combination of parameters I settled upon resulted in the following list of matching players from the Premier League, which I think is a good demonstration that it is broadly focusing on the correct profile of player, even if some of them may have a couple of things which mean they are not ultimately United quality, or suitable for United's needs.

I have bolded those who seem to stand out as potentially possible and sensible. I left all the PL players below for demonstration purposes, but from other leagues I removed all the older and notably lesser players to save space as they are unlikely to ever be under consideration.

(TLDR, only ones even close to consideration worthy, but all would be initial downgrades: Yarmoliuk, Anderson, Janelt, Chema Andres, Seiwald, Casado, Barrios, Ederson, M Sangare)

Premier League results (age order):

Yarmoliuk - Brentford - 21
Anderson - Forest - 23
Nico Gonzalez - Man City - 24
Caicedo - Chelsea - 24
Ampadu - Leeds - 25
Janelt - Brentford - 27
Ibrahim Sangare - Forest - 28
Bruno Fernandes - Man United - 31
Casemiro - Man United - 33
Xhaka - Sunderland - 33

Anderson is the most obvious potential replacement out there, with some of the best overall CM stats in the PL. No doubt he'll plenty of suitors in the summer. He can as a 6 as well as an 8.

Yarmoliuk stands out as being another very promising young candidate not already at a big club. I don't think he'll be ready yet to be first-choice at a club like United, but given what he's doing so far at 21, and the improvements he's showing, he's not one to rule out in future. He could also be a good second-choice 6/Ugarte replacement. He doesn't have Casemiro's aerial ability unfortunately.

Janelt is having a very strong season so far for Brentford, and is very good in the air, but his age and potential fee would probably rule him out.

Ampadu is a curious one. Not as obviously elite all-round as Casemiro, or Anderson, but as a pure ball-winner in the 6 position his stats are right up there for the Premier League. He certainly has plenty of pace and mobility, and is a good age. His passing is also surprisingly solid, even if he lacks the creativity and flashiness of the likes of Anderson and Wharton. Not someone you'd go for as a regular starter, but seems someone who could be a solid squad option for a better side if available for the right price.

Bundesliga:

Chema - Stuttgart - 21
Kemlein - Union Berlin - 21
Avdullahu - Hoffenheim - 21
Seiwald - RB Leipzig - 24

Chema is the clear stand-out here from his stats. He is also strong in the air, which is rare for his age and position. Real Madrid will surely use their buy-back clause though. The others have too many deficiencies to move at the moment, but could still improve.
Seiwald seems a solid, if unspectacular all-rounder.

La Liga:
Marc Casado* - Barcelona - 21
Pablo Barrios - Atletico Madrid - 22

It's funny to see Man United linked recently with Marc Casado, as his tackling and passing stats look pleasingly close to Casemiro's. He is on the small side though and lacks aerial ability, but at least has a bit of pace and goal threat. His stats also only tally for his 24/25 season - he hasn't really played enough this season, with Eric Garcia being favoured right now.
Pablo Barrios isn't as defensively solid as some of the others, but has a bit more mobility and creativity than many. Would probably be too expensive though with a recently extended contract at Atletico.

Serie A
Ederson - Atalanta - 26

United linked with him a few times before to Ederson. Seems very much a jack of all trades, master of none. Seems a solid all-rounder, without being better than Casemiro at anything.

Ligue 1
El Mourabati - Strasbourg - 20
Avom - Lorient - 21
M Sangare - Lens - 23
Tessmann - Lyon - 24

Mamadou Sangare and Avom have been mentioned before on here, and United have been linked with Sangare recently. Sangare's ball-winning stats look elite (in Ligue 1 at least), and his passing doesn't look too shabby either. It's only his first consistent season at a decent level though - United could be a big jump for him.
As an aside, El Mourabati looks an another annoyingly promising player on the Strasbourg/Chelsea production line.

Jupiler Pro League
Van De Perre - Union St Gilloise - 21
Seems a strong ball winner who I wouldn't be surprised see move to USG's sister club Brighton.

Eredivisie
Regeer - Ajax - 22

Liga NOS
Juanse Rodriguez - Fiondela - 19
Barrenechea - Benfica - 24
Juanse Rodriguez is an Ecuador u20 international, only recently moved to Portugal from LDU Quito. Expect a move to another stepping-stone club soon.
Not sure why it's not worked out at Villa for Barrenechea?
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Well done and thank you. That's exactly what I was looking for. Will have a look to see if any of those stand out as the ideal Casemiro replacements.
 
daba said:
There’s no chance we sign all 3 of Anderson, Baleba and Wharton so IMO it’s kinda pointless even suggesting it IMO. Firstly from a financial perspective, as all 3 are costing at the very least £250m combined, probably more. If we were signing 3 CMs then I’d expect one to be a bit cheaper at around £40-50m like Bouaddi or Kouadio Kone. Secondly, how are we even meant to convince all 3 of them to sign and compete for 2 starting spots alongside Kobbie. Even if your thought process is to sell Bruno to free up space, then I still don’t see it as I think we would target a more creative type as his replacement. We also won’t be the only team after them too, so they’ll have other more attractive offers on the table to be a nailed on starter somewhere.

I’m my eyes, out of the 3, Wharton is the one I’m least certain about due to his injuries but I’d also be fine with him over Baleba. Anderson is the one with the least risks and we simply cannot afford to not get this one right. Despite Baleba’s performing below expectations, I think he’s still got the tools and potential to be world class, and alongside a calm, reliable partner in Anderson, I think he could develop really well and our midfield could easily compete with the likes of Arsenal’s as the best in the league.

On Welbeck, I don’t see the problem unless you don’t believe Sesko will be a success. I personally think Sesko will be a success, so what we need is someone with experience who would be content not being a nailed on starter each week, to share the workload. Welbeck ticks all of those boxes for me and as a bonus he loves the club, we know he can handle the pressure of playing for the club and would be a fantastic personality in the dressing room. Oh and he’d be free and on modest wages. Given his age he’d join on a max 2 year contract, which gives Chido time to develop out on loan and a clear pathway to challenge Sesko in a couple years.

Even if you’re not confident on Sesko, signing Welbeck still buys us time to give Sesko another year to prove he has what it takes, and if not we replace him next summer when hopefully we have more budget to focus on a ST, as this summer has to be primarily about the midfield.
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Sorry, who suggested we sign all 3? You’ve completely made that up…

The ‘Wharton money’ will be spent on Anderson and/or another midfielder
 
Anderson/Baleba, Garner and one promising midfield superstar like Kees Smit would be my achievable dream midfield overhaul.
 
I would be pleased with Baleba as I reckon him and Mainoo would be quality.

Gutted Garner is signing a new deal as him being the 3rd choice/competition who plays loads is a great situation.
 
Foolsgold21 said:
Looks like we will finally get our midfield overhaul that’s been needed for almost 10 years.

Definitely need at least 2 - even 3 so we have four options for the two midfield positions (with Mainoo)?
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We always think we are getting the midfield upgrade every transfer window.

Can't wait until the summer window opens and we are only linked to left wingers!
 
Syphon Wallet said:
We always think we are getting the midfield upgrade every transfer window.

Can't wait until the summer window opens and we are only linked to left wingers!
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Hate to break it to you, but we will be as we are looking to sign one no doubt
 
Do we expect any of the youth lads to be promoted to fill a gap or is it all external recruitment? Will Collyer be part of the squad or do we expect him to leave (loan or perm)?
 
Foolsgold21 said:
Looks like we will finally get our midfield overhaul that’s been needed for almost 10 years.
Click to expand...
Syphon Wallet said:
We always think we are getting the midfield upgrade every transfer window.
Click to expand...

A warning to both of you - as per my post above there is pretty much no one in the market who will be an upgrade on Casemiro, at least not in their first season or two. At best, United somehow manage to win the race for Anderson, who would a roughly sideways move in quality initially. Beyond that, most possibilities are either: still young, learning and inconsistent; have key holes in their game relative to Casemiro; or would be making a big leap to a club like United.

It is a bad time to be needing to "upgrade" your midfield given the paucity of options out there.
 
Syphon Wallet said:
We always think we are getting the midfield upgrade every transfer window.

Can't wait until the summer window opens and we are only linked to left wingers!
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If it was still Woodward he would spend all summer chasing Cole Palmer!

goldenboy said:
A warning to both of you - as per my post above there is pretty much no one in the market who will be an upgrade on Casemiro, at least not in their first season or two. At best, United somehow manage to win the race for Anderson, who would a roughly sideways move in quality initially. Beyond that, most possibilities are either: still young, learning and inconsistent; have key holes in their game relative to Casemiro; or would be making a big leap to a club like United.

It is a bad time to be needing to "upgrade" your midfield given the paucity of options out there.
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Agree to disagree. Casemiro whilst still very useful is best in game where we sit back (like City) - he doesn't have the legs these days. Liverpool managed a midfield overhaul in one summer so why can't we?
 
Foolsgold21 said:
Casemiro whilst still very useful is best in game where we sit back (like City) - he doesn't have the legs these days.
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If Casemiro didn't "have the legs these days" - he wouldn't be in the top 1% for Pass-adjusted Tackles + Interceptions per 90 minutes... he just doesn't have the stamina to do it for a full 90 any more.

Foolsgold21 said:
Liverpool managed a midfield overhaul in one summer so why can't we?
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The problem is, there are no players in the market who can do what Casemiro does for 60 or 70 minutes for a full 90. There aren't even any players who could do 90% of what Casemiro does for a full 90 when you consider his contribution with and without the ball. His defensive stats are even better than someone like Caicedo's ffs.

Liverpool's midfield was, and arguably still is, the least World Class area of its team btw, but they had the benefit of WC players in most other positions already (eg Alisson, Van Dijk, TAA, Salah etc.). Their CM is solid and workmanlike, without the stars of some of their other positions. But they could afford that in a way this current United squad can't so much. City, Arsenal, even maybe Chelsea, have had better midfields in the last couple of years than Liverpool.

United will be losing a World Class player in Casemiro, and they don't grow on trees. If you end up with a solid and workmanlike, but no longer World Class central midfield (and when Bruno leaves from AM this will be even more the case), then you're going to need more World Class players in other positions to compensate for that if you want to compete at the very highest level. But Casemiro and Bruno were two of United's very few arguably World Class players.
 
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goldenboy said:
A warning to both of you - as per my post above there is pretty much no one in the market who will be an upgrade on Casemiro, at least not in their first season or two. At best, United somehow manage to win the race for Anderson, who would a roughly sideways move in quality initially. Beyond that, most possibilities are either: still young, learning and inconsistent; have key holes in their game relative to Casemiro; or would be making a big leap to a club like United.

It is a bad time to be needing to "upgrade" your midfield given the paucity of options out there.
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Casemiro has done a good job this season but he has gaps in his game as well and the club should be able to find better players. Even at his peak in the first season he started slow and his form fell off a cliff after the League Cup Final.

We’re not replacing a top class player who can perform week in week out for 90 minutes, there is plenty of scope to find someone as good or better even if they have a different skillset.

He was brilliant in the last game but there are also a lot of games where he just doesn’t have the legs. We have a low bar for midfielders at Utd because we’ve been so bad for so long, Casemiro is the best of an average bunch rather than an exceptional player at this stage of his career.
 
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