I get that, but technically how many AM’s do city have? The lack of creativity is a huge issue for us.
I think Bruno and Grealish could line up centrally with a competent cdm and defence that doesn’t need protecting.
How many players do we need to sign this summer?
- Thread starter charlenefan
- Start date
I think Bruno and Grealish could line up centrally with a competent cdm and defence that doesn’t need protecting.
I agree with everything you’ve said, you’ve nailed who our ideal targets should be but this lad is a must for me. Absolute levels above Fred and has a great passing range.
Predictably there are no rumours of our interest whilst Chelsea seem very keen.
We've got a few players back haven't we?
Well we have Pogba, DDG & Donny back but would only expect one of them to start
Id probably forget the midfielder as if we got another quality centre back that complements Maguire and another game changing forward those are serious additions that could push us to contenders.
So lets say one of Varane/Kounde as CB who do you see as the game changing forward
This is the huge question.
Will we/can we attract/afford a Haaland or Sancho? Or will the club surprise us from elsewhere?
Yeah hard to see that happening if we bought one of those CB's
I don’t really agree.Get the best striker in the world and even he will struggle at times in our team...We don’t creat enough chances and we look very ponderous and sterile because our defenders aren’t comfortable moving the ball forward with intent and precision...Our performances lack any tempo or Rhythm because we don’t have a deep lying playmaker who can run the show...
In my view we desperately need a top class RW,but we don’t really need a “striker” if we can sort out some of the other problems in our squad.Ole wants to have a fluid front 3 and that’s a good idea in my view...
If we want top class RW should go all out for Jadon in the summer
This window would be a tough one, I can see us going for one absolute class player in attack with the idea of giving Diallo and Shoretire more mins, so between Haaland and Sancho
In midfield I don't see anyone coming in, Rice is too costly for what he'll bring and we already have six players for the three midfield roles, so I see Hannibal being given an opportunity to break in
In defence we are covered at Left back at right back we have Williams and a returning Dalot to cover for Awb, at center back only a genuine upgrade on Bailly and Lindelof would do I don't see any obvious target.
So I'll say Sancho (more realistic than Haaland). Maybe a young DM that will go into the youth set up for a short period.
In midfield I don't see anyone coming in, Rice is too costly for what he'll bring and we already have six players for the three midfield roles, so I see Hannibal being given an opportunity to break in
In defence we are covered at Left back at right back we have Williams and a returning Dalot to cover for Awb, at center back only a genuine upgrade on Bailly and Lindelof would do I don't see any obvious target.
So I'll say Sancho (more realistic than Haaland). Maybe a young DM that will go into the youth set up for a short period.
Balls to Murtough hire davbon. Agree with everything you've said there. When you look at City's and Liverpool's defences, they aren't really all that. The reason they are successful (or were, in the case of the scousers) is because they have an abundance of creative and attacking outlets. We unfortunately don't. The fact we're relying on Dan James, a semi injured Rashford and a teenager to score our goals is a recipe for disaster (as talented as Greenwood is he needs to be managed properly still, he's not the finished article yet). If we can get a winger and a forward we'll play well placed to challenge City for the title.
We need a creative defensive Midfielder for starters, someone that not only can do the hard graft like McTom and Fred but have a bit of skill about them also, some to help Bruno because I’m not convinced Pogs will stay.
Out and Out Striker...Haaland is the guy for this, or perhaps Kane Or Matinez from Inter. Not convinced we would get Kane though, levy will want €150m for him
A right back to put some fire in Wan Bissaka’s game just like Telles did for Shaw.
And of course an injury free centre half, with balance of muscle and pace, someone with a minimum height of 6foot
Out and Out Striker...Haaland is the guy for this, or perhaps Kane Or Matinez from Inter. Not convinced we would get Kane though, levy will want €150m for him
A right back to put some fire in Wan Bissaka’s game just like Telles did for Shaw.
And of course an injury free centre half, with balance of muscle and pace, someone with a minimum height of 6foot
As we probably won't have a lot to spend this summer, it might be a good idea to consider which signings will help improve the players we already have. A holding midfielder that can take up the right positions in both attack and defence will help a lot for the rest of our players to improve.
On several occasions successful periods for teams have coincided with introduction/top performances from defensive midfielders, like Real Madrid with Casemiro, Liverpool with Fabinho, City with Fernandinho, Chelsea with Makelele/Matic and so on. I think we can get a similar effect. My first choice would be Ndidi, alternative Rice.
Similarly a world class attacker like Haaland or Sancho would improve our other attacking players, for Greenwood and Rashford Sancho might be the best fit.
I'd give it a season with those two signings to see if our defenders can perform in a more balanced team.
On several occasions successful periods for teams have coincided with introduction/top performances from defensive midfielders, like Real Madrid with Casemiro, Liverpool with Fabinho, City with Fernandinho, Chelsea with Makelele/Matic and so on. I think we can get a similar effect. My first choice would be Ndidi, alternative Rice.
Similarly a world class attacker like Haaland or Sancho would improve our other attacking players, for Greenwood and Rashford Sancho might be the best fit.
I'd give it a season with those two signings to see if our defenders can perform in a more balanced team.
The only way Utd don't buy a striker in the summer is if Pogba stays,
We can buy a RW and use Rashford as a FW Pogba on the left and new RW.
Cavani already injury prone,
Greenwood shouldn't be playing every game
James still needs time
We can buy a RW and use Rashford as a FW Pogba on the left and new RW.
Cavani already injury prone,
Greenwood shouldn't be playing every game
James still needs time
Considering we probably cant get Haaland and we have limited funds Id go for Sancho and Saul Miguez and hope Pogba stays. Then Id turn Bruno into a false 9. Crazy? I think not. It would give us much better balance in midfield and free Pogba. Only question is how will Bruno adapt to a false 9. We have tried it before and it worked ok. Anyone else would be a bonus - Alaba, Ramos if at all possible. Or a cheap attacking RB as back up/alternative to WB.
Rashford--------------Bruno-------------------Sancho
----------Pogba----------Saul--------Fred/McTominay
Martial can play the 9 or LW. VDB can come into midfield and Greenwood can back up RW and striker.
Rashford--------------Bruno-------------------Sancho
----------Pogba----------Saul--------Fred/McTominay
Martial can play the 9 or LW. VDB can come into midfield and Greenwood can back up RW and striker.
At least two from CB/CDM/RW/ST
In the order of most to least important:
1) Right winger - Jadon Sancho, to provide some proper quality on the right and balance to our attack for the first time in a decade since Valencia’s horrible injury against Rangers.
2) Centre back - Someone quick, hopefully Konate or Kounde, to allow us to play a high line and squeeze up the pitch to really consistently dominate and beat the lesser teams. Obviously, both have defensive quality in abundance too, and that’s their main role, to defend.
3) Striker - This is definitely not far behind RW and CB in terms of our transfer priorities. I don’t need to list options here; there’s only one.
4) Defensive midfielder - Someone who can begin attacks better than Fred or McTominay while protecting the defence adeptly as well. Ndidi or Rice would be phenomenal. Both fit the bill perfectly.
5) Right back - Would just be a bonus. It’s not vital that we upgrade on AWB, certainly not now, because while he has some way to go in attack, he’s the best in the league defensively. Some competition wouldn’t go amiss though. Trippier or Aarons would do very nicely.
Get 1, and fans will have the right to protest vehemently against the board because Ole would have been let down. Get 2, I’ll personally be indifferent. Get 3, we’ll challenge for the title. Get 4 or 5, and all our attention will be diverted to the players and Ole next season, because Woodward would finally not have let anyone down. It would be an obligation to win the title should that happen.
We’ve made some decent progress this season up to now, so it’s time for the board to back Ole properly.
1) Right winger - Jadon Sancho, to provide some proper quality on the right and balance to our attack for the first time in a decade since Valencia’s horrible injury against Rangers.
2) Centre back - Someone quick, hopefully Konate or Kounde, to allow us to play a high line and squeeze up the pitch to really consistently dominate and beat the lesser teams. Obviously, both have defensive quality in abundance too, and that’s their main role, to defend.
3) Striker - This is definitely not far behind RW and CB in terms of our transfer priorities. I don’t need to list options here; there’s only one.
4) Defensive midfielder - Someone who can begin attacks better than Fred or McTominay while protecting the defence adeptly as well. Ndidi or Rice would be phenomenal. Both fit the bill perfectly.
5) Right back - Would just be a bonus. It’s not vital that we upgrade on AWB, certainly not now, because while he has some way to go in attack, he’s the best in the league defensively. Some competition wouldn’t go amiss though. Trippier or Aarons would do very nicely.
Get 1, and fans will have the right to protest vehemently against the board because Ole would have been let down. Get 2, I’ll personally be indifferent. Get 3, we’ll challenge for the title. Get 4 or 5, and all our attention will be diverted to the players and Ole next season, because Woodward would finally not have let anyone down. It would be an obligation to win the title should that happen.
We’ve made some decent progress this season up to now, so it’s time for the board to back Ole properly.
I think Pogba and Haaland end up at Real Madrid.
Will Madrid then sell Benzema or Luka Jovic? Benzema would be nice on a 2 year deal.
Ins - Benzema - 15m
Nathan Collins - 15m
Camavinga - 60m
Emiliano Martinez - 27m
Outs - Martial - 25m
De Gea - Free
Pogba - 22m
Bailly - 10m
Jesse - 18m
Jones - 3m
Will Madrid then sell Benzema or Luka Jovic? Benzema would be nice on a 2 year deal.
Ins - Benzema - 15m
Nathan Collins - 15m
Camavinga - 60m
Emiliano Martinez - 27m
Outs - Martial - 25m
De Gea - Free
Pogba - 22m
Bailly - 10m
Jesse - 18m
Jones - 3m
Whether to go in for a RW, CDM and a CB comes down to whether we can in fact bring in Haaland and keep Pogba. Wiser heads than mine argue we have no realistic shot at bringing in Haaland and keeping Pogba. I can accept that brutal reality, but before accepting that brutal reality I would just that if all we could accomplish this summer is bringing in Haaland and keeping Pogba I’d call that a great summer.
But let’s go back to reality. If and when Pogba leaves this summer, I’d go in for Sancho and Grealish and Kounde, as it looks likely Bailly will be leaving as well. Pogba should bring in around 75m from Real. We should be able to get 30m for Bailly. Sancho, probably 75m and I’m guessing 75m for Grealish as well. Word going around today for Kounde is 50m. We may also want to sell VdB (say 20m) although that would disappoint me as I see a quality player in Donny.
I’d like to bring in Rice too but he’s way overpriced. I just don’t see any CDM who could be dropped in to the starting XI right away that we can afford for that role.
Can we start all of Bruno, Rashford, Greenwood, Sancho and Grealish? I think so, but even if we can’t because we have to stick with McFred on many occasions we can drop Greenwood. And we know injuries will take their toll so there will be spots to fill.
The prospect of Bruno, Rashford, Sancho and Grealish up front to dissect the dozen or so bus parkers of the PL is intriguing. We don’t need to shit our pants for these dozen PL clubs with McFred and we can go with either Martial or Greenwood on such occasions.
And for what it’s worth, the global commercial appeal of adding Jack and Jason would not be inconsequential. It’s my thesis that now that the pandemic is nearing its end that global interest in the PL is about to enter a golden age. Revenue galore for the PL over the next 5-10 years IMO. Now is the time to spend on quality, especially when it’s right there in front of us.
And Kounde looks a special CB.
But let’s go back to reality. If and when Pogba leaves this summer, I’d go in for Sancho and Grealish and Kounde, as it looks likely Bailly will be leaving as well. Pogba should bring in around 75m from Real. We should be able to get 30m for Bailly. Sancho, probably 75m and I’m guessing 75m for Grealish as well. Word going around today for Kounde is 50m. We may also want to sell VdB (say 20m) although that would disappoint me as I see a quality player in Donny.
I’d like to bring in Rice too but he’s way overpriced. I just don’t see any CDM who could be dropped in to the starting XI right away that we can afford for that role.
Can we start all of Bruno, Rashford, Greenwood, Sancho and Grealish? I think so, but even if we can’t because we have to stick with McFred on many occasions we can drop Greenwood. And we know injuries will take their toll so there will be spots to fill.
The prospect of Bruno, Rashford, Sancho and Grealish up front to dissect the dozen or so bus parkers of the PL is intriguing. We don’t need to shit our pants for these dozen PL clubs with McFred and we can go with either Martial or Greenwood on such occasions.
And for what it’s worth, the global commercial appeal of adding Jack and Jason would not be inconsequential. It’s my thesis that now that the pandemic is nearing its end that global interest in the PL is about to enter a golden age. Revenue galore for the PL over the next 5-10 years IMO. Now is the time to spend on quality, especially when it’s right there in front of us.
And Kounde looks a special CB.
I am Dave Smith and I approve of this post.
But seriously, I think that is going to take a year or two to do. Cannot see Utd doing all of that in one year.
Same here. 5 would be an absolute dream, but I think 3 is a necessity still, and as I said, should lead to a proper title challenge.
Agreed. The problem is budget and where to focus the funds. Personally, I would rank them as CB, DM, RW, CF and RB/RWB. The problem however is who and when.
If you go for Haaland, that would essentially be the entire budget gone for the Summer, so whilst that is an amazing buy, I am not sure it is the one to do. My approach would be to get Konate and Rice or Tchouaméni and a right winger (Sancho ideal) and then try and fill CF and RB/RWB over the next year following.
The problem however is cost. Those players will cost:
Konate - £35m+
Rice - £65m+
Tchouaméni - £30-£40m?
Sancho - £75m+
Haaland - £100m+ or £65m in 2022.
That is around £250m+, with it approaching £300m if you go for Haaland this year. That is why I think he may go elsewhere as the priorities at Utd need addressing first before he comes in but that cannot be done in 2021 with his fee then.
We need a minimum of 4 for the first XI alone and that doesn't include the couple of players we could also do with which makes it SIX and yes that really is over half a team which is quite frankly outrageous. I think the absolute best we can get is only one starter whether that's RW or ST a cheap young CDM prospect and maybe something short term like Ramos too.
Last edited:
Better start preparing for the protests then because don't see us doing more than that
1 signing will be an absolute disgrace, especially if it’s only something like a Cavani or Matic replacement.
I totally agree with you but have to say the signs aren't positive
The touted £80m budget doesn’t sound too good, but by some accounts, Ole is looking to raise a further £60m by selling players. Maybe sell De Gea, Jones, Matic, Pereira, Lingard, Mata, Williams, and invest in two starters and a backup.
We need to be realistic, a year affected by covid and lack of fans in stadiums, we're not going on a massive spending spree. What is an absolute priority is a winger and a striker. We cannot go into next season relying on Martial and greenwood again, otherwise you might as well kiss the season goodbye.
It totally depends on how many leave. We need 2 players for every position. Plus 3 more for a 25 man squad. In practice - 3 goalies, and probably 3 strikers (because subbing on a striker is common when behind or chasing a win). The 3rd extra will depend on how likely other players are at picking up injuries - for example - if United have lots of injury prone CBs we need 5 not 4. Plus we don't have a left-footed CB, do we? My priorities. in order are:
potentials - players currently starring in the youth setup, or on loan.
- DCM: Matic is United's only 1st team DCM; he's getting on and falling away a bit. Looks like Ole doesn't trust him. McFred are not ideally suited to the role. Garner is unproven at top level.
- CB: Phil Jones, Eric Bailly may leave. Even were they to stay, issues with fitness remain.
- CF: Cavani may not re-sign. Martial and Greenwood are not performing (with goals) this season. But we have Joe Hugill and Charlie McNeill; as potentials. Both still need experience; so at least 2 years away.
- B2B: Pogba may leave. VdB and McTominay mean we don't need to replace Pogba but would like to. Other than Levitt - who hasn't done well on loan - we have no potentials.
- RW: United don't have an experienced RW; but have lots of potentials. Not as urgent as it used to be.
- AM. Mata may leave. Again we have loads of potentials; all at least 2 years away.
potentials - players currently starring in the youth setup, or on loan.
Last edited:
Ideally:
Saul - loan with option to buy. BtB or DCM (prefer him at BtB)
Çalhanoğlu - on a Bosman. Can play AM, RW ( + BtB when playing with a specialist DCM?).
I think United will buy 3:
DCM - My guess is as bad as yours
CB - who's at least as fast as Bailly. Must be speedier than Maguire and Linderof. We've been linked with loads.
CF - an experienced goal-scoring CF costs a fortune; I expect United will get someone with only 1 years experience (Silva from Frankfurt?), or a potential who's one year further developed than Hugill/McNeil. Brobbey from Ajax?, or both.
Financed by £50m 'investment' + funds from selling several players (Pogba, Bailly, Lingard, ...)
Saul - loan with option to buy. BtB or DCM (prefer him at BtB)
Çalhanoğlu - on a Bosman. Can play AM, RW ( + BtB when playing with a specialist DCM?).
I think United will buy 3:
DCM - My guess is as bad as yours
CB - who's at least as fast as Bailly. Must be speedier than Maguire and Linderof. We've been linked with loads.
CF - an experienced goal-scoring CF costs a fortune; I expect United will get someone with only 1 years experience (Silva from Frankfurt?), or a potential who's one year further developed than Hugill/McNeil. Brobbey from Ajax?, or both.
Financed by £50m 'investment' + funds from selling several players (Pogba, Bailly, Lingard, ...)
We likely need at least three first team players:
- Bailly out
- Pogba out
- I also think it’s time for Martial to move on.
a right winger and attacking right back as we're pretty predictable
I'd be happy with Max Aaron's or Matty Cash not sure how much theyd cost..
Sancho is a must, freeing up Greenwood to move to the striker role.
Konate or Kounde.
I'd be happy with Max Aaron's or Matty Cash not sure how much theyd cost..
Sancho is a must, freeing up Greenwood to move to the striker role.
Konate or Kounde.
One of Grealish, Haaland and Sancho should be priority #1.
Loads of clubs struggle financially now so lets see if we can get a quality CDM for cheap.
Loads of clubs struggle financially now so lets see if we can get a quality CDM for cheap.
Well now we’ve got Tunku Ismail (whoever the feck he is) buying 5% of the club and throwing his 50th wealthy Malaysian status around like confetti you could throw Mbappé into the mix now.
In:
Donnarumma (free)
Aarons £30m
Kounde £50m
Sancho £80m
Calhanoglu (free)
Haaland £110m
Total: £270m
Out:
De Gea (free)
Bailly £18m
Jones £2.5m
Williams (loan)
Tuanzebe (loan)
Matic £7m
Pogba £60
James (loan)
Cavani (free)
Toal: £97.5m plus some very large wages gone
One ‘small’ caveat; this most definitely won’t happen.
Donnarumma (free)
Aarons £30m
Kounde £50m
Sancho £80m
Calhanoglu (free)
Haaland £110m
Total: £270m
Out:
De Gea (free)
Bailly £18m
Jones £2.5m
Williams (loan)
Tuanzebe (loan)
Matic £7m
Pogba £60
James (loan)
Cavani (free)
Toal: £97.5m plus some very large wages gone
One ‘small’ caveat; this most definitely won’t happen.
If we can keep Pogba, then we only need to sign new DM (30m), Haaland (120m) and Sancho (70m) or Grealish (90m).
Surely a new CB would be good too, but we need to be realistic with our budget.
We can sell the following players to raise some funds: VDB (20m), Lingard (18m), Martial (35m).
Surely a new CB would be good too, but we need to be realistic with our budget.
We can sell the following players to raise some funds: VDB (20m), Lingard (18m), Martial (35m).
Last edited:
In = £270m. Out: £97.5m. Net spend = £172.5m. Result = fantasy. We ain't playing FM here.
Did you not read the last line?
Yeah, because it's not FM / FIFA, but real life.
I take it you wanna swap De Gea with Donnarumma? There's no way Milan would ever accept that, would be the worst deal they've probably ever made: Lose their 22-year-old homegrown Italian goalkeeper that's still one of the hottest prospects around and get a 30-year-old keeper in return that's been in a huge slump for 3 years.
Also, have you ever seen Kounde play? The guy's 1,78m tall, would be interesting to see him in the Prem. And why in the world would we want to sign Calhanoglu? We have much better players in his positions + it seems he's been garbage at Milan but still wants a huge payday from a new contract, that's why he hasn't renewed yet (what I've heard from Milan fans).
People need to realise that it's not just a manager game you can play on your PC, you can't just list 5-6 players that are generally sought after these days, name a price for them and then be disappointed at the end of the transfer window because the club does something completely different.
Big money transfers are getting more and more difficult to pull off these days and all 6 players you've listed could easily struggle at United in the beginning...I don't want a "Werner, Havertz, Ziyech" situation at our club
