How come we are not linked with a number 6?

[Amadaeus]

Looking at our squad, I believe that would be the smartest signing we would have made in years. William Carvalho or Kevin Strootman are names that have been mention before that would have been excellant addition. Although, their price are high they would solve our most problematic area in the team.

We last won the title when our number 6, Carrick had his best season. Now that he is declining, we have nobody in the team that can do that role justice at the moment. Chelsea -Matic/Mikel, Man City-fernandinho/Fernando, Liverpool - Lucas/Gerrad(mid three), Arsenal - Arteta/Flamini(mid three), Man United - ?????Carrick (declining), Fletcher(barely a number 6), Fellaini( )

 

[Kayo]

Don't even need to get a big name.

Cattermole would improve us.

 

[Ibi Dreams]

I honestly think there's a very good chance we won't sign another midfielder in this window unfortunately.

 

[Siorac]

Don't even need to get a big name.

Cattermole would improve us.

Stop with these kinds of posts. I know you probably have zero influence on the club and it's just pointlessly exaggerated muppetry but still. This kind of thinking brought us Fellaini.

 

[mufcwarm92]

We need to avoid the term 'number 6'. In England that's a centre half.

 

[BD]

Who knows. I've stopped trying to understand our transfer strategy these days. Someone like Fernando that City signed would be a great addition. De Jong would be great too, and you'd imagine he'd be cheap enough too. Hopefully that happens, but nothing has been reported on it yet. We need a number 6 more than a number 8.

 

[100]

I honestly think that LvG has misjudged Fletcher in pre-season and has probably expected Fellaini to have basic footballing abilities because he's here and we spent 28M on him. I think that might change following Sunderland next week.

 

[Pexbo]

We need to avoid the term 'number 6'. In England that's a centre half.

I think of 4 and 5 as centre halfs.

1
2 4 5 3
7- 6 - 8 - 11
10
9​

 

[Siorac]

Who knows. I've stopped trying to understand our transfer strategy these days. Someone like Fernando that City signed would be a great addition. De Jong would be great too, and you'd imagine he'd be cheap enough too. Hopefully that happens, but nothing has been reported on it yet. We need a number 6 more than a number 8.

Have we forgotten that De Jong is really not great in any sense of the word? I mean he played in Manchester! It wasn't even that long ago. We should remember that he's really not that good.

 

[mufcwarm92]

I think of 4 and 5 as centre halfs.

1
2 4 5 3
7- 6 - 8 - 11
10
9​

Tradition would switch 4 and 6.

 

[SiRed]

Is the question really asking why we aren't being linked with a number 6???
Linked???

We have been linked with every player and his 3 legged dog ALL summer long.

I could link us to someone now but it doesn't mean F-all, especially with Woodward seemingly unable to do deals.

I think your question maybe is why haven't we signed a defence minded midfielder, is it not?

There could be a number of answers here
Either LVG doesn't want that type of midfielder,
Maybe LVG is a bit of a Cleverley fan,
Maybe we have prioritised the signing of a defender more,
Maybe we have no money left to spend,
Maybe we have unlimited budget and are in negotiations,
Or maybe, Just maybe, Woodward has forgot to plug his fax machine in.

 

[BD]

Have we forgotten that De Jong is really not great in any sense of the word? I mean he played in Manchester! It wasn't even that long ago. We should remember that he's really not that good.

He's no Vidal, but he's a solid enough player IMO. Better than Fletcher at holding for sure, and we need a holding midfielder. Obviously I'd love a better player for that position, but I'd still take him.

 

[SATA]

I'm baffled we are not even considering Khedira. He's perfect for the Fletcher role and he's available for a reasonable fee

 

[RDCR07]

Don't even need to get a big name.

Cattermole would improve us.

 

[entropy]

Don't even need to get a big name.

Cattermole would improve us.

Caf legend chris brunt, surely?

 

[bosnian_red]

I'm baffled we are not even considering Khedira. He's perfect for the Fletcher role and he's available for a reasonable fee

Not sure he's available for a reasonable fee (or reasonable wages) given that Arsenal and Chelsea both pulled out because he was asking for too much, as did Real Madrid in contract talks with him.

 

[Amadaeus]

I missed adding the adjective 'heavily' in the thread title before linked. We have been linked with some, but it does not look like a priority area from what I gather from rumors.

I actually think our defense is not as bad as our midfield. Blackett, Jones and Smailling is pretty solid back three that only lacks experience.

 

[Siorac]

He's no Vidal, but he's a solid enough player IMO. Better than Fletcher at holding for sure, and we need a holding midfielder. Obviously I'd love a better player for that position, but I'd still take him.

He'll be 30 this year and he's mediocre. He'll become deadwood really soon and we don't need more of that. We need a rebuild.

If we want a cheap-ish option, go all out for Khedira. He's a better and younger player, supposedly available.

 

[Big Ben Foster]

Stop with these kinds of posts. I know you probably have zero influence on the club and it's just pointlessly exaggerated muppetry but still. This kind of thinking brought us Fellaini.

Thank you for being sensible. It's ridiculous isn't it?

 

[Acole9]

Caf legend chris brunt, surely?

I've heard he's got a cracking left foot.

 

[Santos J]

Looking at our squad, I believe that would be the smartest signing we would have made in years. William Carvalho or Kevin Strootman are names that have been mention before that would have been excellant addition. Although, their price are high they would solve our most problematic area in the team.

We last won the title when our number 6, Carrick had his best season. Now that he is declining, we have nobody in the team that can do that role justice at the moment. Chelsea -Matic/Mikel, Man City-fernandinho/Fernando, Liverpool - Lucas/Gerrad(mid three), Arsenal - Arteta/Flamini(mid three), Man United - ?????Carrick (declining), Fletcher(barely a number 6), Fellaini( )

Strootman's a box-to-box not the type of defensive midfielder you'd have sitting in front of the defence like Carvalho.

 

[SiRed]

I've heard he's got a cracking left foot.

Does he attack the space

 

[Devil may care]

Some of the players listed are not classic #6's, they are more crunchers, DM's. I imagine no recent links with one is that Strootman is LvG's target to replace Carrick next summer.

 

[Gopher Brown]

On this board we have a problem because these types of players rarely stand-out. They are the reliable interceptors and passers which all teams have, but you'd never consider signing.

The problems are that we need that sort of player and the scouting system the club has seems to know less about players than even we do.

 

[2 man midfield]

Carvalho or Khedira would be the ideal choice. Maybe lvg planned to have 2 box to box players this season (Vidal and Herrera) before signing a holding player next summer and moving to his favoured 433? Hence our lack of interest this year and focus on 352.

 

[Santos J]

Carvalho or Khedira would be the ideal choice. Maybe lvg planned to have 2 box to box players this season (Vidal and Herrera) before signing a holding player next summer and moving to his favoured 433? Hence our lack of interest this year and focus on 352.

Khedira isn't a holding player by any strecth though and van Gaal said he prefers 'the point' to be at the top of the midfield 3 as opposed to the bottom, meaning it'd basically be a 4-3-2-1 so I doubt we'd be in for a proper holding player in that sense.

 

[DWelbz19]

How many good ones are available? The likes of Strootman and Khedira are far more like #8's - box to box midfielders. The only ones I can think of are Carvalho and Gustavo, one of which has said he will not leave this season and the other is €37m.

 

[Amadaeus]

Strootman's a box-to-box not the type of defensive midfielder you'd have sitting in front of the defence like Carvalho.

He has the discipline and positional sense to play the number 6 role. He would be very effective in that role because like Schneiderlin he would not only be limited to stabilizing our midfield, but also contribute to our attacking play.

 

[2 man midfield]

Khedira isn't a holding player by any strecth though and van Gaal said he prefers 'the point' to be at the top of the midfield 3 as opposed to the bottom, meaning it'd basically be a 4-3-2-1 so I doubt we'd be in for a proper holding player in that sense.

So he likes a number 10 then. I still think in a 4231 we'd need something akin to a holding player.

 

[RuudTom83]

I'm baffled we are not even considering Khedira. He's perfect for the Fletcher role and he's available for a reasonable fee

Exactly it is very odd, and for some reason the club would rather pursue players they have little chance of signing and for astronomical amounts of cash too.

Plus, as it is a year without European football, i would have thought smaller buys would have been a wiser choice. Players like Khedira, Nigel De Jong, Blind* could have been added to the squad with little fuss. But as the transfer deadline comes closer every player's price will increase and any player arriving now will have the added pressure of being United's savior!

So far this has been another average transfer window...and even if Woody performs wonders next week, questions will still need answering as to why it was left so late.


* I'm not saying these players would solve all the problems, but replacing the dead wood with a few fresh faces that LVG knows would be a start.

 

[sun_tzu]

Arsenal are linked with rabiot for about 6 million (last year of contract)

Why we are linked with 30m plus for unproven carvahllo or injured Strootman I just don't know.

If there is any truth psg are willing to let rabiot go I hope we are all over it... Though I think psg would be mad to let a young french homegrown player go

 

[Buchan]

We need to avoid the term 'number 6'. In England that's a centre half.

Aye.

1

5 ------- 6
2 -----------------------3

4 -------- 8
7 ------------------------ 11

9 ------ 10​

 

[Rezyuz]

We have been linked with Nigel de Jong

 

[An Irish Red]

Carvalho or Khedira would be the ideal choice. Maybe lvg planned to have 2 box to box players this season (Vidal and Herrera) before signing a holding player next summer and moving to his favoured 433? Hence our lack of interest this year and focus on 352.

Agreed. I think the general idea was to have one of the centre-backs pushing forward and breaking up play at times. Two box-to-box players would be fine if we had someone doing that.

 

[Coca Cola]

We need to avoid the term 'number 6'. In England that's a centre half.

Not to go too far off topic but the whole"referring to positions by numbers" malarkey confuses me. Referring to strikers as 9s and 10s is pretty old I guess but I never until recently remember midfielders being called 6s and 8s. Neither even makes sense as 8 isn't worn more often by one type of midfielder than another and 6 is just as common for defenders.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

If we're playing 3 CBs do we really need a crunching CM who can't keep the ball? Herrera can defend lets just get someone else that can defend but also attack. Veratti or Pogba or Vidal or any number of similar players but slightly less well thought of players. These players drive every team so they're a hot commodity of course. We'll have to steal someone elses

 

[RedStarUnited]

Carrick



*runs away*

 

[itso 7]

If we're playing 3 CBs do we really need a crunching CM who can't keep the ball? Herrera can defend lets just get someone else that can defend but also attack. Veratti or Pogba or Vidal or any number of similar players but slightly less well thought of players. These players drive every team so they're a hot commodity of course. We'll have to steal someone elses

You don't concede silly goals like the Swansea ones with a good DM in the side. Preferably you'd want someone like Javi Martinez, who is solid but can pass it around too.
Besides, didn't LvG say that this formation is temporary until we have better options outwide ?

 

[KiD MoYeS]

Oh RedCafe, when was the last time the club acted logically in the transfer market? We do not do it the easy way.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

You don't concede silly goals like the Swansea ones with a good DM in the side. Preferably you'd want someone like Javi Martinez, who is solid but can pass it around too.

in fairness we were playing a debutante could well be something more to do with that, not to mention unfamiliarity with the system not to mention jones playing in cm and rb the last 2 seasons not to mention whoever these bloody wingbacks are? But yeah maybe we need to sacrifice one of our remaining 5 attacking players to play a pure destroyer at home vs swansea