Erling Haaland or Jadon Sancho?

Which player would represent a better signing for United in January?


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troylocker

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Kane does it in the most competitive league in the world and Haaland has not as yet but I would be interested to see what sort of stats he knocks up if he makes the step up.
Let's compare national team and CL stat's then:

National team:
Kane - 32 goals and 11 assists in 3765 minutes, 118 min/goal and 88 min/contribution
Kane (20) - 0 goals 0 apps

Haaland - 6 goals and 1 assist in 546 minutes, 91 min/goal and 80 min/contribution

CL:
Kane - 20 goals and 3 assists in 2088 minutes, 104 min/goal and 91 min/contribution.
Kane (20) - 0 goals and 0 apps

Haaland - 11 goals and 1 assist in 644 minutes, 59 min/goal and 54 min/contribution.

Beaten at NT-level playing for a far better team, crushed in CL. One has just turned 20, the other 27.

I get that you are English and Kane is a world class striker, but you should be able see that there is even greater talents out there.
 

Devil may care

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It's looking less and less like a front 3 to me.

The 4222, 442 diamond and 352 seem very similar on the attacking front and getting Haaland means we have 2 left footed strikers and 2 right footed strikers.

The only doubt I have about this is that Ole to me had previously looked like a manager that would use nothing apart from the 4231 unless we were going defensive counter attack against a top team.

Even then, in such a formation Haaland is needed because Martial is a support striker that should be playing in a 433 a bit deeper rather than one who leads the line in a 4231.
I think Martial plays the striker role well in his all round play but I think the consistency of goal scoring isn't quite where it needs to be, but in fairness this is only his second full season playing week in and week out as a striker.

If we did move full-time to a two striker system than Haaland definitely would make a better buy than Sancho, I mean a quartet of Mason/Haaland/Martial/Rashford would be the most diverse and high quality set of striking options we've had since the Cole/Yorke/Ole/Sheringham days.
 

Bebestation

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I think Martial plays the striker role well in his all round play but I think the consistency of goal scoring isn't quite where it needs to be, but in fairness this is only his second full season playing week in and week out as a striker.

If we did move full-time to a two striker system than Haaland definitely would make a better buy than Sancho, I mean a quartet of Mason/Haaland/Martial/Rashford would be the most diverse and high quality set of striking options we've had since the Cole/Yorke/Ole/Sheringham days.
And this is why I think Ole went for Haaland (and why we went for Ighalo and Cavani after that failed).

There is some fans that want to sell Martial when we get a more predatory striker but when you look at a team like Arsenal and how they use Lacazette centrally to try and get balls in to Aubameyang in from out wide - I think Martial is one of the best we could find to do exactly that as one of our tactics. He can also cover LW. There is no reason to sell him because he gives us a versatility in how we play our forwards and formation.

Rashford looks like he is capable LW aswell as a CF that gets behind the defensive line (a bit like young Aubameyang).

Greenwood can play RW aswell as CF. I was also surprised at his ability to shoot from long distance and not just in the box all the time.

If we get a striker like Haaland then our 4 strikers are very flexible to adapt to our need of tactics. For example, Someone like Telles & an attacking RWB becomes more important to Haaland than the other strikers we may play. Likewise a defensive fullback on both sides with Shaw & Wan Bissaka may help us to play the ball more on the floor and more centrally to suit our current forwards as we saw last season when they were out scoring the rest of the PL.

I still believe that if Ole is manager when Haaland is available that we will have a very good chance of buying him as he rejected us only to develop in the Bundesliga.

Even if Ole's tactics might not be perfect all the time - I can see what he is planning to do with our squad. A fully capable and flexible group of 4 strikers that have different ways of playing. A flexible mix of 2 attacking and 2 defensive fullbacks. Have CAM, that are able to play as CM or even further forward. Have CM and CDM that are able to play at CB to create a flowing back 3 when needed (Mctomminay, Matic and getting linked to a player like Zakaria).

I really like the way he is building this squad.
 

Bondi77

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Let's compare national team and CL stat's then:

National team:
Kane - 32 goals and 11 assists in 3765 minutes, 118 min/goal and 88 min/contribution
Kane (20) - 0 goals 0 apps

Haaland - 6 goals and 1 assist in 546 minutes, 91 min/goal and 80 min/contribution

CL:
Kane - 20 goals and 3 assists in 2088 minutes, 104 min/goal and 91 min/contribution.
Kane (20) - 0 goals and 0 apps

Haaland - 11 goals and 1 assist in 644 minutes, 59 min/goal and 54 min/contribution.

Beaten at NT-level playing for a far better team, crushed in CL. One has just turned 20, the other 27.

I get that you are English and Kane is a world class striker, but you should be able see that there is even greater talents out there.
Stats tell part of a story I agree but they are not everything.
I would be pretty sure that if you checked the stats of Lukaku at all levels they would be through the roof apart from his last season with us and if you checked the stats of Sancho at international level then you would laugh your head off at a 50mil valuation never mind the price we were quoted.
 

Devil may care

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And this is why I think Ole went for Haaland (and why we went for Ighalo and Cavani after that failed).

There is some fans that want to sell Martial when we get a more predatory striker but when you look at a team like Arsenal and how they use Lacazette centrally to try and get balls in to Aubameyang in from out wide - I think Martial is one of the best we could find to do exactly that as one of our tactics. He can also cover LW. There is no reason to sell him because he gives us a versatility in how we play our forwards and formation.

Rashford looks like he is capable LW aswell as a CF that gets behind the defensive line (a bit like young Aubameyang).

Greenwood can play RW aswell as CF. I was also surprised at his ability to shoot from long distance and not just in the box all the time.

If we get a striker like Haaland then our 4 strikers are very flexible to adapt to our need of tactics. For example, Someone like Telles & an attacking RWB becomes more important to Haaland than the other strikers we may play. Likewise a defensive fullback on both sides with Shaw & Wan Bissaka may help us to play the ball more on the floor and more centrally to suit our current forwards as we saw last season when they were out scoring the rest of the PL.

I still believe that if Ole is manager when Haaland is available that we will have a very good chance of buying him as he rejected us only to develop in the Bundesliga.

Even if Ole's tactics might not be perfect all the time - I can see what he is planning to do with our squad. A fully capable and flexible group of 4 strikers that have different ways of playing. A flexible mix of 2 attacking and 2 defensive fullbacks. Have CAM, that are able to play as CM or even further forward. Have CM and CDM that are able to play at CB to create a flowing back 3 when needed (Mctomminay, Matic and getting linked to a player like Zakaria).

I really like the way he is building this squad.
Some good points mate, I think the good thing is that its going to be summer 2022 before he moves from Dortmund as nobody has the money to buy him before that buyout clause kicks in, so by then the team shape and formation should be clear and established, and we'll see specifically how Mason has developed as a striker and if Martial has progressed in his scoring consistency and if Diallo has made an impact in the RW role.
 

MikeKing

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If we did move full-time to a two striker system than Haaland definitely would make a better buy than Sancho, I mean a quartet of Mason/Haaland/Martial/Rashford would be the most diverse and high quality set of striking options we've had since the Cole/Yorke/Ole/Sheringham days.
That sounds incredible. Imagine that in a couple of years. With that kind of firepower some matters suddenly seems completely irrelevant like Maguire's pace, AWB's inconsistent crossing, McTominay's passing range. Those things can easily be worked around. If you have talent like that quartet and Bruno behind them as well, it will not only win you games but elevate everyone on the team to a higher level as well.

Henderson and Milner might look like world beaters fighting and winning the ball back but only after giving the ball to Mane and Salah.

The thing about Bruno is that we can easily get away with selling Pogba, and probably replace him with Sancho. If we could some how get Haaland on top of that, we'd be unstoppable. I mean, is that even conceivable?

Sancho-Haaland-Greenwood
Bruno

That is overkill actually. We'd have to sell one of Rashford and Martial for that to happen probably if we're realistic. Well, a man can dream.
 

tenpoless

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I think Martial plays the striker role well in his all round play but I think the consistency of goal scoring isn't quite where it needs to be, but in fairness this is only his second full season playing week in and week out as a striker.

If we did move full-time to a two striker system than Haaland definitely would make a better buy than Sancho, I mean a quartet of Mason/Haaland/Martial/Rashford would be the most diverse and high quality set of striking options we've had since the Cole/Yorke/Ole/Sheringham days.
Definitely has more variation in play style than if it's Sancho instead of Haaland.
 

amolbhatia50k

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With Martial, Rashford and Greenwood we have goals, but they're all similar in terms of being players who are more like inverted wingers. Greenwood of course looks like he'll develop into a top no.9, but Haaland is just a freak of nature, and is already a WC striker.

I can see him surpassing Ronaldo's CL goal haul if he joins a team that consistently gets to the latter stages. For me, Sancho isn't as unique as Haaland in the sense of pure goalscorers are the hardest to come by. We'd have to fight off a lot of competition for him, City should be all over him to replace Aguero. Madrid, Bayern will surely come sniffing too.
I'd argue that Halaand and Greenwood aren't a good fit. The latters truly comes alive in the box. Having two players like that, although Greenwood is better as an all around talent (outside the box), doesn't make any sense. Who creates , who is the winger ? Rashford and Diallo off the bench?
 

amolbhatia50k

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Definitely has more variation in play style than if it's Sancho instead of Haaland.
Debatable. Haaland gives you power that the others don't. But on the other hand with Halaand, Greenwood and Rashford/Martial it's yet again an overkill of strikers as always with us.

Sancho on the other hand is a natural wide player and a naturally creator unlike the players above who are in one way or another strikers.
 

tenpoless

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Debatable. Haaland gives you power that the others don't. But on the other hand with Halaand, Greenwood and Rashford/Martial it's yet again an overkill of strikers as always with us.

Sancho on the other hand is a natural wide player and a naturally creator unlike the players above who are in one way or another strikers.
Haaland will break his nose to score a goal. Just like what Ole wanted out of his CF. He's at his best as a Central Forward because he is purely a CF. With Martial, Greenwood, Rashford it's different, they all could provide link-ups and play wide. I'd say they are more similar to Sancho than they are to Haaland. Granted, Sancho will do much better than any of them from the right hand side.
 

TsuWave

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Feel like Halaand would be good for a team that is already good, whereas Sancho is more likely to create chances and open up spaces for the rest of the attack based off of how skilful he is
 

amolbhatia50k

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Haaland will break his nose to score a goal. Just like what Ole wanted out of his CF. He's at his best as a Central Forward because he is purely a CF. With Martial, Greenwood, Rashford it's different, they all could provide link-ups and play wide. I'd say they are more similar to Sancho than they are to Haaland. Granted, Sancho will do much better than any of them from the right hand side.
Sure, he has that goalscorers instinct but I don't believe any of Rashford, Martial or Greenwood has Sancho's link up play and creative and playmaking instinct. At Manchester United play making doesn't seem to be valued. We want creativity, to be press resistant and to run games smoothly but refused to sign playmakers who can do that. We put Pogba and work horses in midfield , we play strikers out wide and just don't seem to prioritise players who can truly create.

It's fine to prefer Halaand but I think it's not as clear cut in terms of balance as some make it out to be. I completely get why Ole made Sancho his number 1 target as he has those creative qualities.
 

archiebald

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I think a certain Harry Kane may disagree :eek:
Ah yes Harry Kane, totally slipped my mind as he seems set at Spurs and not likely to be on the market anytime soon. Dealing with Levy would be a pain in the rear anyways.
 

golden_blunder

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If it’s a choice who to spend the money on, then definitely Haaland. He’s a player who could go on to break goal scoring records. Sancho is a good player but I wouldn’t spend €100+m on him.
There are bargain creative players out there (feel we missed a trick with Hauge) but top notch goal scorers are short on the ground
 

Sayros

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Sancho without question, unless we take finance into account, then Halaand would come cheaper. But Halaand is not going to be the savior of this club, he needs service, consistently, he doesn't create his own opportunities enough to be THE answer. This club needs players that will transform the club, I think Sancho is far more capable of that with his skillset than a guy like Halaand.
 

Ikon

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If it’s in January then Sancho for me. Haland can wait until the summer as we have Cavani on a short term basis.
Fact is though, it's very unlikely that either of these two will ever play for United, nice to enjoy the fantasy though.
 

wolvored

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We will never sign either one imo, but if hypothetically we could, I would go for Haaland. A big upgrade on Martial and maybe get the goals to lead us to the title. Sancho is good, but I would sooner let Greenwood have game time there. The 2 young kids we have just bought may be good as well.
 

GameOn

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Haaland.

This guy is a force of nature and the scary part is that he still has so much room for growth.

On top of that he's also a top-notch professional (no scandals/women/parties at all) and has an absolute winners-mentality. I've heard several Dortmund reporters say that he's the first one to arrive in the morning and the last one to go.
 

drmuji

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Very shocked by the results. We've not had a proper right winger for God knows how long now.
Amad Diallo was bought for this purpose and I know he isn't the quality of Sancho, yet Going for dembele for a year so that these two wingers would adjust made so much sense.
 

elnorte

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Amad Diallo was bought for this purpose and I know he isn't the quality of Sancho, yet Going for dembele for a year so that these two wingers would adjust made so much sense.
Diallo and who?
 

Walters_19_MuFc

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Amad Diallo was bought for this purpose and I know he isn't the quality of Sancho, yet Going for dembele for a year so that these two wingers would adjust made so much sense.
Fair enough. Don't you think we'd be going back in for Sancho then?

As for Diallo, I've never seen him play so I can't comment, but I'd have thought we'd need someone who can go straight into our XI, as opposed to someone with potential, as we have that with Greenwood.
 

Adnan

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Sancho would be the better signing right now because I feel he would enhance our transitions and help with the build up phase which is still a work in progress. Diallo's performances could sway me though..
 

lysglimt

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Try to sell fringe players and get in £50-60 million - spend additional £110-120 million or so and try to get both next summer
 

Walters_19_MuFc

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Try to sell fringe players and get in £50-60 million - spend additional £110-120 million or so and try to get both next summer
I'd much prefer we spend our budget on a CB and CDM. We need a replacement for Matic and someone to rotate with McTominay and Fred in the deeper role, whilst also focusing on requiring a top-class CB.
 

choccy77

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Say we sign one in January.

Who are you choosing?
No point signing a striker if we don't have players who can supply him.

When you look at Kane and Son at Spurs, those two players do more damage then any of our front 5

In SAF days, supply was constant but since then, its hardly ever in existence regularly enough.
 

Betson

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Would be very surprised if City did not go all out for Haaland at some stage in the near future , suspect he will end up there.
 

MikeKing

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Would be very surprised if City did not go all out for Haaland at some stage in the near future , suspect he will end up there.
Well, I hope not. They might go for a different profile though, well for me that's what I'm going with. Whoever get Haaland will probably become the leading top club.
 

amolbhatia50k

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We've not had a proper fit and firing CF capable of 25+ goals since 12/13.
Martial and Rashford I believe both got 20 goals last season?

Another reason it's hard for these non proper CFs to score is because we lack creativity. That has been our biggest problem for the last 8 years, not finishing or goal prowess imo. We don't slice teams open with consistent ease
 

Inigo Montoya

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Freund backs Haaland to join Liverpool,and I have to ask why he’d join the shit show that is Utd right now anyway?
 

redshaw

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The Haaland links come from him knowing Ole well but even before the start of the season I thought any chance had gone. He'll be setting his sights higher than United and we've proved again already we're a boom bust side with huge doubts over Ole staying when we're on these long losing streaks. United are coin toss club to get a CL spot.