Cristian Orozco new midfielder to sign in 2026
- Thread starter Red_toad
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Giuseppe Antonaccio is United's lead scout in South America and he's been with the club since 2016. So this lad Orozco and Diego Leon previously were signed on the recommendation of our scout Giuseppe Antonaccio according to the Colombian source that first broke the Orozco transfer to us.
Leon seems like a long term project. I don’t think he will be ready for first team anytime soon.
Hopefully, Giuseppe knows his stuff
It’s 5’ 10” - 6ft isn’t 180cm
Sorry you were on the first page
Orozco looks great mind, and fits into our young player buying strategy. We’ve got a tonne of talent around 16-19 and it could start to transform the team in 3-5 years. Orozco - Kone - Mainoo in a midfield 3?
He’s got a class name and Colombian to boot. No way he doesn’t make it
2 'talents' in 1-1.5 years, you've got to wonder how many we passed on since 2016.
I would presume we passed on a number of talents due to our chief scout (Jim Lawlor) at the time being reluctant (according to some reports) towards signing players from the South American market. Lawlor was a prominent scout at the club from the Fergie days.
But the same scouts who have been at the club since 2016 have pushed for signings like Orozco and Leon who may or may not become first team players but thus strategy will likely yield better results in the mid to long-term imo.
The guy has thrown so much shit to the wall that some stuff sticks. He’s cynically used here in South América cause he hypes so much crap. The “malas lenguas” (poisoned tongues, haha) says he gotten wealthy from his transfer hype, which if you think about it, makes total sense. He must’ve made duckets on that Moreno transfer to Citeh. Was way over the top
These type of signings rarely come off, especially when going directly to a club of this size.
People always bang on about Caicedo going to Brighton, but he was the exception rather than the rule.
It's far far better to let these type of players take a step up at a lower level where there's less of a spotlight and more time to develop with less scrutiny.
We waste so much money on completly unproven project players that would be better served on improving the first team.
People always bang on about Caicedo going to Brighton, but he was the exception rather than the rule.
It's far far better to let these type of players take a step up at a lower level where there's less of a spotlight and more time to develop with less scrutiny.
We waste so much money on completly unproven project players that would be better served on improving the first team.
3.5 million isn't going to break the bank.
And on the flip side, we don't sign him, some one like Brighton does, we go to try sign him for 100 million pounds. Then the questions are asked what the hell our scouts are doing?
You can't win, I'd rather trust the scouts than have no scouts.
He was our best player in the academy at a point for sure, and was unfortunate to have been part of a United that simply had a terrible first team. He was on the bench every game for about 3 months waiting for us to have a comfortable lead just once so he could make his debut, but of course - it was literally desperate times every week.
What’s happening with Dabo?
Completely disagree. This is exactly what we should be doing and you shouldn't conflate the project signings we've made for the first team to this potential deal for the young 17 year old from Colombia who is reported to cost us £1m. The likes of Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo and several others have been identified in similar fashion with the long-term in mind and we've made good money from them. With Garnacho the latest example of a young 16 year old being signed for £100k and being sold for around £40m.
This is how you improve the first team now by also having a conveyor belt of talent coming through the ranks who can be either utilised to strengthen the first team squad for the present and also to boost our PSR potential by selling players on.
This is great. We are going to make very good money on these kinds of signings. they might become class and stay here or we will make a profit on them. Either way it seems like we are raising our standards in the slighlty older youth recruitment from South America and Africa. There's massive value to be had if the scouting is on point and the pathway is clear
Still dabbling.
If done well, we should make back any money we spend on these sort of signings though
Definitely not a sure thing but approx. $1m fee, fantastic name, solid physicality, looks like he reads the game well and decent tekkers/passing ability all alongside being a national team captain which always says a great deal about character.
About as good a punt as you'll ever get to make, all the best for your time here Cristian! Hopefully we see a lot of this kid.
About as good a punt as you'll ever get to make, all the best for your time here Cristian! Hopefully we see a lot of this kid.
5 years until he's in the first team
Dont forget we came within a whisker of signing Caicedo before we got cold feet.
We were also interested in Julian Alvarez and we had Martinelli on trial four times.
Our scouts can only make recommendations - dread to think how many we have passed on for basically no good reason.
It took Caicedo a year and half to reach good levels Brighton, people tend to forget this. He also needed a full season with Chelsea to reach a consistent level.
We only see the successes at Brighton, but they’ve had their fair share of failed prospects.
And what do they do differently? They have time and way less pressure to develop their players, crazy how people underestimate the difference the environment can make.
On a last note, United’s academy has consistently been one of the biggest providers of PL players
Don’t worry, in a few years it will be pontificating the significant calf circumferences relative to progressive passing ability and press resistance.
A large circumference being indicative of a stable base and therefore press resistance. A smaller circumference allowing for a greater fluidity of strike when progressing the ball.
So what is the perfect balance? One thick calf, one thin (on predominant leg) or both legs somewhere in the median range?
Can’t wait to hear Carragher spitting out his musings on the subject.
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About time we build long term again
I understand not being 'excited', as it's true most young punts like this don't make it at big clubs. But how can some people be against these types of signings? They're low cost and are not impacting the first team transfers. It's not one or the other. it is, and should always be, both.
And players like this don't need to become world beaters - that's just the unfair expectations thrown at them by fans and media. They just need to become somewhat decent to recoup our spending or profit.
And players like this don't need to become world beaters - that's just the unfair expectations thrown at them by fans and media. They just need to become somewhat decent to recoup our spending or profit.
This is clearly part of our transfer strategy for the last couple of years though. Buying up tonnes of exciting young and inexpensive talent. I’m well on board - the thinking behind it has to be that if even a one or two of them become top first team players then it’s worth it.
It will rarely be for no good reason or 'cold feet'. It will be finances at that point in time, question marks over their actual potential or mentality or potential complications with the deal (agents, families, relocation etc).
Most young hyped players don't turn into Caicedo, Martinelli and Alvarez, even if they look like they'll be world beaters. You do have to be selective, even though it means you'll occasionally miss out on good players. And there's not a single club that won't have a list of near misses.
How many of these young exciting prospects could we get for the cost of one Anthony or Sancho?
That's why it's worth it.
Moan if we don't take punts, moan if we do, moan if we sign established. Moan, moan, moan
I mean yeah, if you say so
Can we get him on at half time please?
He really was not. Maybe a few people incorrectly thought so, but I said at the time that some were conned by his hype and running around. Someone like Mainoo was looking a level above while Hannibal was still in the academy. He's exactly the type and level of player I expected him to be.
You're right and wrong as well. The scouts at the bottom of the scouting chain or often known as the lead scouts make recommendations to the chief of scouting who then has to decided if the recommendation is good enough to be made to the higher ups who will then proceed to get a deal done. Our issue pertaining the South American market has been that the recommendations didn't pass through the chief of scouting with reports suggesting that Jim Lawlor seemed to have reservations about signing players from South America.
But it does seem that the potential Caicedo deal did get passed through hence the likes of Woodward and Matt Judge attempted to get a deal done.
Exactly this. Chelsea have made £365mil from selling academy players since 2020.
That's £73mil a year.
It's the way forward. A small few will make it, many may not. However it's more transfer money to put towards the first team.
They hade a bit of an unfair advantage having the talent pool of London and a bottomless pit of money to dip into under Abramaovich. They've shifted that model somewhat to bigger purchases, I'm not sure it's as sustainable as before, but we'll see.
He's barely 0.001 miles tall. Too short!
From this video, in possession he plays like Mainoo.
Looks like he's got heartburn
Honest verdict:
Passing - underwhelming (didn't look crisp at all whether it was short or turning play. Seems to lack through balls but I see that as a bonus, not a requirement for a DM)
Positioning - great (able to receive passes and to anticipate opposition passes)
Recoveries (as in actually turning and hunting down a player and winning it back) - probably lacking (didn't see much of it in the video)
Breakthrough ability - unclear (he clearly knows how to turn in to space but the pressing of the opponents was abysmal, slow paced and way too much space available)
Stamina, pace - unclear (didn't see it at all so need more pictures)
I love South American DMs as they usually have decent technique (not always the most refined to be honest, often just functional) on top of a nasty side and hard running. Based on the clip I wouldn't buy him or I would at least want to watch him for 2 games to better understand why I should consider it.
Passing - underwhelming (didn't look crisp at all whether it was short or turning play. Seems to lack through balls but I see that as a bonus, not a requirement for a DM)
Positioning - great (able to receive passes and to anticipate opposition passes)
Recoveries (as in actually turning and hunting down a player and winning it back) - probably lacking (didn't see much of it in the video)
Breakthrough ability - unclear (he clearly knows how to turn in to space but the pressing of the opponents was abysmal, slow paced and way too much space available)
Stamina, pace - unclear (didn't see it at all so need more pictures)
I love South American DMs as they usually have decent technique (not always the most refined to be honest, often just functional) on top of a nasty side and hard running. Based on the clip I wouldn't buy him or I would at least want to watch him for 2 games to better understand why I should consider it.
Being a bad passer is a prerequisite not a hindrance for us