Goncalo Inacio

The Sporting defender that we really need is Diomande. Not Inacio.
 
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Rojofiam said:
It's the Sporting defender that we really need, Diomande. Not Inacio.
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Considering the state of Martinez, Shaw and Malacia this season there is a good case to be made that we need a flexible, left footed defender. I think Inacio fits that bill, and could be an option in the Ake/Gvardiol-mould; a player well suited being both an inverted LB and LCB in a back four.

My concern is if he has the agility needed for the PL. Bu really experienced at 23.
 
andersj said:
Considering the state of Martinez, Shaw and Malacia this season there is a good case to be made that we need a flexible, left footed defender. I think Inacio fits that bill, and could be an option in the Ake/Gvardiol-mould; a player well suited being both an inverted LB and LCB in a back four.

My concern is if he has the agility needed for the PL. Bu really experienced at 23.
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Yes exactly. We need an Ake / Gvardiol mould at LB and not a guy like, say, Maatsen. Hoping this guy is it.

re: agility, I've never seen him play but his progressive carrying stats are great. Actually the whole fbref page is delightful.

https://fbref.com/en/players/33651873/scout/365_m2/Goncalo-Inacio-Scouting-Report

Here's a comparison to Dias when he was at Benfica: https://fbref.com/tiny/xnOPd
 
Portuguese sources are the worst. Still waiting on Gaitain to join. & Vidal.
 
El-Manos said:
Portuguese sources are the worst. Still waiting on Gaitain to join. & Vidal.
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Looking at r/soccer, this source is credible and zerozero (most credible source apparently) have said a club from the PL have/or going to make a bid.

One of the sources have connections with Bruno agents, who are the agents of Inacio.
 
Don’t we have an actual Sporting fan on the Caf? Can’t remember his username. Seen him give decent write ups on their players previously. Be good to get one about Inacio.
 
We're monitoring Inacio ahead of every transfer window it seems.

El-Manos said:
Portuguese sources are the worst. Still waiting on Gaitain to join. & Vidal.
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We actually signed Goncalo Ramos last summer according to Record.
 
KjaAnd said:
I doubt we're going to spend 60m on a backup LCB. Nor should we. There are more pressing needs.
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He'll be either LB in the Ten Hag system (similar to Gvardiol) or starting LCB if we're getting Tuchel. Either way doesn't look great for Shaw.
 
I may have only watched European games, but I'm not convinced he's worth a big fee.
 
I’d rather Diomande who I believe will be one of the top five centre backs in the world in the next few years along with Yoro, Silva and Scalvini but I’d rather Inacio than Branthwaite from what I’ve seen of both players.
 
Bit too much money for a backup lcb and to be honest I prefer us to be looking at his CB partner
 
Teja said:
He'll be either LB in the Ten Hag system (similar to Gvardiol) or starting LCB if we're getting Tuchel. Either way doesn't look great for Shaw.
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Which is the correct approach. Shaw shouldn't be starting for us or thought of as our main LB. He's completely unreliable unfortunately.
 
Wouldn’t be against this at all. Martinez yet to play a full season for us albeit he’s been unlucky with the nature of his injuries.

If the plan is to have him as an inverted LB then that also makes sense with how unreliable Shaw is, although I’d rather an out and out full back like Maatsen personally.
 
andersj said:
Considering the state of Martinez, Shaw and Malacia this season there is a good case to be made that we need a flexible, left footed defender. I think Inacio fits that bill, and could be an option in the Ake/Gvardiol-mould; a player well suited being both an inverted LB and LCB in a back four.

My concern is if he has the agility needed for the PL. Bu really experienced at 23.
Click to expand...

I do think we need an LCB as well, but the player I'd put into that Ake role is Martínez, however it wouldn't hurt having two players capable of playing both LB and LCB. I just believe Diomande is a bigger prospect, and RCB is a slightly bigger need than LCB this summer for me. Both of them would strengthen the team, no doubt.
 
Judas said:
Which is the correct approach. Shaw shouldn't be starting for us or thought of as our main LB. He's completely unreliable unfortunately.
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When fit, he obviously should be starting. And he's a very good backup to Martinez at LCB. Main thing is obviously fitness. And it's a bit of a crazy situation to be going into the new season with major question marks over them both in terms of fitness and durability.
 
Diomande doesn’t appear to have played many games. It might be better to let him develop and show he can handle a full season.
 
He would be an excellent addition if we are hoping to play a possession style, with pressure coming from the centre of the pitch. I dont see him fitting into the ETH system at LB.
 
He's probably the best CB in Portugal as far as what he can do in-possession. He has enormous potential as far as what he can do on the ball, but the question mark surrounding him would be if he can deal with the out of possession demands that will be required off him in a physically and athletically demanding EPL. He's a very interesting player and utilising him as how @andersj mentions above, could well be a very good move and his ability on the ball looks of a very high quality. The type of player ten Hag would want in his team to exert possessional control and make our build up phase from the back more effective.

https://x.com/DataMB_/status/1797714182311453128?t=l6g39i6EhPaRAJU7Pf0G9Q&s=19

Fabrizio Romano is also saying that we're going to sign at least one right footed CB as well. So if we signed Inacio along with someone like Diomande from SCP, then I think that definitely has potential as far as playing out from the back at a good to high level.

Diomande's form did dip slightly after returning from AFCON duty. But we should expect young talent to have dips in form, but the talent is quite obvious and he'd be someone that we can plan with for the now and also the mid to long-term. Signing players like Diomande or Yoro who are projects, will eventually bear fruit.

I think the back 5 below potentially provides a good platform for the team to exert more control in possession. I think having someone like Inacio invert inside to form a 3 man back-line is a huge advantage due to his potential ability on the ball and how that could help us control the game better and further raise our technical level in the first line. He's 22 years old and eventhough there's question marks surrounding out of possession game in open spaces, he's a player I'd definitely take a chance on due to his obvious qualities on the ball. I'd say he's a better player than Zinchenko in a similar LB/LCB hybrid role.

---------------------------Onana---
Dalot------Diomande-----Martinez------Inacio
 
I never watch him so I don’t know about how good this guy and how versatile he is and how intelligent he is in term of tactical awareness.

Can he cover left back as well? If he can cover left centre back and inverted left back then in term of role, he ticks the boxes. The fbref stats also suggest he’s great on the ball and a ball progresser. The best thing is that he has great injury record. Only injured 11 days this season and 0 injuries in 22/23.

Todibo for £35m and Inacio for £50m release clause. £85m for centre backs. On paper, it’s not bad to get two centre backs for that value
 
Adnan said:
He's probably the best CB in Portugal as far as what he can do in-possession. He has enormous potential as far as what he can do on the ball, but the question mark surrounding him would be if he can deal with the out of possession demands that will be required off him in a physically and athletically demanding EPL. He's a very interesting player and utilising him as how @andersj mentions above, could well be a very good move and his ability on the ball looks of a very high quality. The type of player ten Hag would want in his team to exert possessional control and make our build up phase from the back more effective.

https://x.com/DataMB_/status/1797714182311453128?t=l6g39i6EhPaRAJU7Pf0G9Q&s=19

Fabrizio Romano is also saying that we're going to sign at least one right footed CB as well. So if we signed Inacio along with someone like Diomande from SCP, then I think that definitely has potential as far as playing out from the back at a good to high level.

Diomande's form did dip slightly after returning from AFCON duty. But we should expect young talent to have dips in form, but the talent is quite obvious and he'd be someone that we can plan with for the now and also the mid to long-term. Signing players like Diomande or Yoro who are projects, will eventually bear fruit.

I think the back 5 below potentially provides a good platform for the team to exert more control in possession. I think having someone like Inacio invert inside to form a 3 man back-line is a huge advantage due to his potential ability on the ball and how that could help us control the game better and further raise our technical level in the first line. He's 22 years old and eventhough there's question marks surrounding out of possession game in open spaces, he's a player I'd definitely take a chance on due to his obvious qualities on the ball. I'd say he's a better player than Zinchenko in a similar LB/LCB hybrid role.

---------------------------Onana---
Dalot------Diomande-----Martinez------Inacio
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Agree with everything you've said here. I think it would be extremely unlikely to get both Diomande and Inacio out of Sporting.

Inacio is already one of the best defenders in Europe on the ball. A defense featuring both Inacio and Martinez as the LCB & LB would become the most progressive defensive pairing in the league. However, Inacio would have to be the LB and not the LCB, as his defensive abilities are actually fairly poor from the dozen or slightly more games I have seen.

Diomande on the other hand is someone I would take the risk on due to his all-round potential. He is very inexperienced and he would need to be handled carefully in his first 1-2 seasons, but he has shown fantastic physical traits and has also flashed raw technical ability that could make him a very very good modern day defender. When I first saw him, I couldn't help but compare him to Bailly but with more composure and controlled aggression.
 
Redivy said:
Agree with everything you've said here. I think it would be extremely unlikely to get both Diomande and Inacio out of Sporting.

Inacio is already one of the best defenders in Europe on the ball. A defense featuring both Inacio and Martinez as the LCB & LB would become the most progressive defensive pairing in the league. However, Inacio would have to be the LB and not the LCB, as his defensive abilities are actually fairly poor from the dozen or slightly more games I have seen.

Diomande on the other hand is someone I would take the risk on due to his all-round potential. He is very inexperienced and he would need to be handled carefully in his first 1-2 seasons, but he has shown fantastic physical traits and has also flashed raw technical ability that could make him a very very good modern day defender. When I first saw him, I couldn't help but compare him to Bailly but with more composure and controlled aggression.
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It would be a waste of Inacio's ability in possession to utilise him as a fullback in the traditional sense. Signing him and then having him invert inside to form a 3 man backline with Martinez as the CCB, Diomande as the RCB and Inacio the LCB makes sense if the aim is to build play from the back and control the game in possession at a high level. Inacio is already being utilised as the LCB at SCP with the only difference being that at United his position could be slightly wider in the build up phase with him then inverting in-field. Very similar to the way ten Hag utilised Blind in alot of games at Ajax.
 
Adnan said:
He's probably the best CB in Portugal as far as what he can do in-possession. He has enormous potential as far as what he can do on the ball, but the question mark surrounding him would be if he can deal with the out of possession demands that will be required off him in a physically and athletically demanding EPL. He's a very interesting player and utilising him as how @andersj mentions above, could well be a very good move and his ability on the ball looks of a very high quality. The type of player ten Hag would want in his team to exert possessional control and make our build up phase from the back more effective.

https://x.com/DataMB_/status/1797714182311453128?t=l6g39i6EhPaRAJU7Pf0G9Q&s=19

Fabrizio Romano is also saying that we're going to sign at least one right footed CB as well. So if we signed Inacio along with someone like Diomande from SCP, then I think that definitely has potential as far as playing out from the back at a good to high level.

Diomande's form did dip slightly after returning from AFCON duty. But we should expect young talent to have dips in form, but the talent is quite obvious and he'd be someone that we can plan with for the now and also the mid to long-term. Signing players like Diomande or Yoro who are projects, will eventually bear fruit.

I think the back 5 below potentially provides a good platform for the team to exert more control in possession. I think having someone like Inacio invert inside to form a 3 man back-line is a huge advantage due to his potential ability on the ball and how that could help us control the game better and further raise our technical level in the first line. He's 22 years old and eventhough there's question marks surrounding out of possession game in open spaces, he's a player I'd definitely take a chance on due to his obvious qualities on the ball. I'd say he's a better player than Zinchenko in a similar LB/LCB hybrid role.

---------------------------Onana---
Dalot------Diomande-----Martinez------Inacio
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Agreed. I'm all aboard this transfer especially at 50M or so. Only nit: I'd compare him more to Ben White than Zinchenko in the Arsenal side. The setup in possession is basically a carbon copy of the Arsenal system with LB / RB swapped.

--------- Zinchenko ---- Partey ---------
------- Gabriel --- Saliba --- White --------

vs

------------- DM ---- Dalot ---------------
------- Inacio --- Martinez -- RCB --

IMO the fast, aggressive RCB to partner Martinez is a must and arguably more important than this one. I don't know if we can convince Sporting to sell both their CBs so the order in which we do things is interesting.

It also provides a clue about what type of footballer we want for the DM role. Unless Mainoo inherits that responsibility, both City and Arsenal build up with guys like Rodri, Partey, Jorginho etc. Proper tempo dictating playmakers. I think that's what we'll go for as well and not a pure DM like Amrabat / Casemiro. I think both are going to be on their way out but maybe we'll keep Amrabat around for shut up shop and defend type situations.

For a full 3 box 3 type team we're moving to, here's what we need.

--- Rashford ---- Hojlund --- RW* ----------
--------------- Mainoo -- Bruno -----------------
--------------- DLP ---------- Dalot ---------------
------ Inacio -- Martinez --- New CB ------
------------------ Onana

That needs 4 signings on top of whatever we add for depth later on (Hojlund backup, DLP backup, CB backups etc.). I think very doable if INEOS are competent.

50M each for a CB pair.
50-60M for Olise.
120M for the other Portuguese lad we are talking about. (280M EUR total)

Sancho, Greenwood, Casemiro out (~80-100M) leaving us with a net spend of 180M or so. Big window, let's see.
 
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Teja said:
Agreed. I'm all aboard this transfer especially at 50M or so. Only nit: I'd compare him more to Ben White than Zinchenko in the Arsenal side. The setup in possession is basically a carbon copy of the Arsenal system with LB / RB swapped.

--------- Zinchenko ---- Partey ---------
------- Gabriel --- Saliba --- White --------

vs

------------- DM ---- Dalot ---------------
------- Inacio --- Martinez -- RCB --

IMO the fast, aggressive RCB to partner Martinez is a must and arguably more important than this one. I don't know if we can convince Sporting to sell both their CBs so the order in which we do things is interesting.
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SCP have already bought the highly rated Belgian CB, Zeno Debast from Anderlecht. So it does seem like one or two of their CBs will leave. I think both Inacio and Diomande could leave.
 
On reflex I didn’t like the idea of spending this kind of money on a left footed CB given our need for an RCB, but i’m coming around to it given his versatility. The idea of him starting as LB in a back for a playing a Gvardiol type role for us is quite appealing, especially when you consider that it would let Dalot sit in midfield and fly forward more comfortably. Coverage for the left side of our defense would look really good with Inacio and Shaw both being able to cover LB and LCB along with Malacia’s assumed availability for next year. Now if we could find an RCB/RB hybrid for the other side we’d really be talking.
 
Adnan said:
SCP have already bought the highly rated Belgian CB, Zeno Debast from Anderlecht. So it does seem like one or two of their CBs will leave. I think both Inacio and Diomande could leave.
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Debast is a righty isn't he? That would suggest it's Diomande that they're preparing to part with.

I suppose it wouldn't be unlike SCP to sell multiple key players in one window, but us signing two of their centre halves seems a little unlikely. I'm far from convinced we'll sign two centre halves at all truth be told.
 
Adnan said:
He's probably the best CB in Portugal as far as what he can do in-possession. He has enormous potential as far as what he can do on the ball, but the question mark surrounding him would be if he can deal with the out of possession demands that will be required off him in a physically and athletically demanding EPL. He's a very interesting player and utilising him as how @andersj mentions above, could well be a very good move and his ability on the ball looks of a very high quality. The type of player ten Hag would want in his team to exert possessional control and make our build up phase from the back more effective.

https://x.com/DataMB_/status/1797714182311453128?t=l6g39i6EhPaRAJU7Pf0G9Q&s=19

Fabrizio Romano is also saying that we're going to sign at least one right footed CB as well. So if we signed Inacio along with someone like Diomande from SCP, then I think that definitely has potential as far as playing out from the back at a good to high level.

Diomande's form did dip slightly after returning from AFCON duty. But we should expect young talent to have dips in form, but the talent is quite obvious and he'd be someone that we can plan with for the now and also the mid to long-term. Signing players like Diomande or Yoro who are projects, will eventually bear fruit.

I think the back 5 below potentially provides a good platform for the team to exert more control in possession. I think having someone like Inacio invert inside to form a 3 man back-line is a huge advantage due to his potential ability on the ball and how that could help us control the game better and further raise our technical level in the first line. He's 22 years old and eventhough there's question marks surrounding out of possession game in open spaces, he's a player I'd definitely take a chance on due to his obvious qualities on the ball. I'd say he's a better player than Zinchenko in a similar LB/LCB hybrid role.

---------------------------Onana---
Dalot------Diomande-----Martinez------Inacio
Click to expand...

Similar to ETH’s 21/22 Ajax.

Dalot plays in Mazraoui’s role, while Inacio plays in Blind’s role.

I wonder if Inacio is the right profile that fits to play in the role where Blind played in 21/22?
 
Would be a good signing. Even though I understand people who'd prefer Diomande. Get Inacio + Todibo + new attacking LB and we would be tactically flexible to play different styles depending on who is available.
 
JE-365 said:
Similar to ETH’s 21/22 Ajax.

Dalot plays in Mazraoui’s role, while Inacio plays in Blind’s role.

I wonder if Inacio is the right profile that fits to play in the role where Blind played in 21/22?
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I think he's the right profile for that hybrid role, especially in possession. He's got the ability to break lines at will.
 
If the plan is for Inacio to play that inverted full back role, Rashford might as well be sold. He can’t function without an overlapping LB
 
didz said:
Debast is a righty isn't he? That would suggest it's Diomande that they're preparing to part with.

I suppose it wouldn't be unlike SCP to sell multiple key players in one window, but us signing two of their centre halves seems a little unlikely. I'm far from convinced we'll sign two centre halves at all truth be told.
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Debast is a RCB, but it's difficult to say with SCP because they could potentially already have a LCB replacement already at the club and they're known to be good at developing talent via their youth setup. Diomande can also be utilised as the central CB in a back 3 where he's already played a number of games and his long-term future will likely be in that role.

But having said that, they have young Eduardo Quaresma playing at RCB and he's also very good on the ball. So it would make sense to sell Diomande and have Debast as a direct replacement.
 
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