As if Mourinho would have been thinking of Laird, though...
Ethan Laird
- Thread starter Adnan
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Ethan Laird was still 16 on the day Dalot was signed.
Mourinho made a lot of stupid signings. I wouldn't have paid that price for Dalot on the basis of his injuries. No way could you say back then that any of United's teenage right-backs were better than Dalot.
Does this mean Gomes is staying?
Of course Laird should get a chance.
But Dalot was impressive for the youth teams of Porto and Portugal........should we sell him in the summer then we will regret it in a couple of years.
But Dalot was impressive for the youth teams of Porto and Portugal........should we sell him in the summer then we will regret it in a couple of years.
Selling him might bite us in the ass so i'm hoping we loan him out.
Chong has already been given chances and has not taken them,
Sometimes Ole has a selective memory.
I think most of us love/rate Laird but first of all he must show that he can stay fit for a longer period.
The schedule for next season is brutal therefore we can't risk to have only three full-backs for a longer period (It's fantastic to see that Shaw's injury-problems are behind him).
Completely agree mate.
He is not going to say anything different though
Exactly. While I understand he is shit now but he is only 20 and is one of the biggest talents Portugal has ever produced. Alves was playing in Brazilian league at the age of 20 , Evra was playing in Italian third division at the same age. We are being too impatient!
Really?
What he needs is games at his age consistently so loaning him out to Porto if possible might be the best all round, especially for his development.
Well, that's what I read. Ofcourse I dont see Portuguese league .
Yeah, but Porto being a traditional big club they wouldn't agree . May be a championship team or a Spanish mid table side could do it ?
I know,
Just makes him look a bit silly though.
Stevie Wonder can see that the bloke needs to spend a season in the Championship and that should be the next chance he should be given.
He's the next kid to be given over the top hype? 
It is true,He's the next kid to be given over the top hype?
A poster put up something the other day about Louie Sibley.
This is a bloke who is doing the business at Championship level so he deserves attention but until a player starts doing that it really is hit and miss.
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Can’t stress how much of a fan of this kid I am. Of the kids in and around the first team, him and Mason are a class above.
Honestly can’t wait to see Liard, Levitt and Garner in the first team. This is one of the best things about being a United fan and having a manager that believes in the academy
Seems like a really good player. Can we find another position for him in the team or is he just suited as RB and rotation with Awb
It's almost a shame he has AWB ahead of him as he does seem a real talent also. Bad timing for sure.
Ethan will eventually become a CB.
It also might transpire that AWB had the misfortune that Ethan Laird was his competition.
Maybe in the future but he's going to have to be bloody awesome to displace AWB right now.
Still not convinced defensively Laird is ready yet, but we will only know once he plays.
I hope not because I want to see him as our long-term RB due to his attacking prowess which will give us a potentially world class fullback who will be excellent in tandem with Sancho hopefully.
I think in attack Laird will be comfortably better. But like you said it will come down to how he can defend aswell in the first team.
But before all that he has to steer clear of injuries and if he does I believe he will be our staring fullback in the first team in the next 2 years.
He can also play as a left-back.
Can he be a LB?
Alternatively, if we move to a back 3, AWB could play RCB and him as RWB if he is that good in attacking
Alternatively, if we move to a back 3, AWB could play RCB and him as RWB if he is that good in attacking
Yes, he actually scored a lot of goals from LB in the academy.
Obviously though that won't be so easy in mens football but he's capable.
I think AWB will the 3rd CB in a 3-man backline in the long-term, sort of akin to the Walker experiment with England in 2018, but with it actually working because AWB is a much better defender.
I mentioned this in the New generation England thread earlier. I think it would be worth a try for England for sure seeing as they have Trent at RWB who's strengths lie in attacking.
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There is little basis for this or to even support AWB would be any good at it.
If we were gonna do that then he’d be playing it, not Shaw. But he isn’t because Shaw is easily better as a CB.
AWB stand out quality by far is his 1v1 defending. Important for a fullback, almost the last thing you want your CBs to be exposed to. CBs don’t isolate and stand up forwards for a 1v1. You’re taking away his biggest strength and in turn focusing on his weaknesses of average positioning and giving too much space. His game doesn’t fit what you want from a CB at all really. Shaw is better than him at basically every aspect of a CB and it’s why he’s the one that plays there.
He played there for England 17s and he looked a natural, plus if Sancho is as good as everybody thinks it's probably best to have somebody behind him who loves defending, and not Laird who instinctively would want to out winger him
Nothing to do with Shaw being left-footed then?
Sancho and Hakimi worked great for BvB. And Hakimi is not a typical defensive fullback.He played there for England 17s and he looked a natural, plus if Sancho is as good as everybody thinks it's probably best to have somebody behind him who loves defending, and not Laird who instinctively would want to out winger him
So it’s entirely because Shaw is left footed, so we can play a right footer at LWB? Yea no I don’t think so.
Sancho has been fantastic for Dortmund but that's also down to the fullback/wing back behind him offering support and top class combination play like @Fosu-Mens mentioned which brings out the best in Sancho.He played there for England 17s and he looked a natural, plus if Sancho is as good as everybody thinks it's probably best to have somebody behind him who loves defending, and not Laird who instinctively would want to out winger him
Laird has shown he can play all across the back line but I do think he's best suited to a fullback/wingback role longterm.