If the choices are signing one superstar/strengthening the squad - what do you do?

[Redcy]

Can you tell me where you read 80+m transfer fee for either? Fee being touted is around 50-60m range and we have 25% sell-on clause on Zaha.

Depay maybe, Zaha is playing in the EPL and I cannot see anyone getting him for less than 80 when you are looking at Ake for 40m, Grealish for 70-80m, ok we would get some money back on Zaha arguably. I don't think he would come back to us to be honest,

 

[kkengvib]

At this point I would say Star.
Great players make others around them better.
Bruno has made others around him better
I'm hoping Sancho can do the same.

Ole also needs to do better in getting the most out of our average players if he's going to be successful.
The likes of Klopp and SAF can bring out the best of squad players. We can get more out of our bench I think, therefore I'd take a star now over depth.

 

[Kurton]

I'd consider none of them top class. I'd much rather sign Sancho, who can play all 3 positions behind the striker and is actually top class. Imagine having the posibility to bench/rest Rashord, Greenwood or Bruno and bring them on later in the game. That would add a lot more than having Memphis or Zaha in the squad who will be expensive on their own. We'd improve our first team and our options to rotate. We've seen this week Fred can do a shift filling in for Matic. We have McTominay too. Can we improve those positions, yes. Do we have rotation options, absolutely. Do we have rotation option in attack? Hardly. In defence, even less.

Get Sancho, a CB and a young talented LB, sell Smalling, Jones, Rojo, Dalot, Lingard, Pereira, TFM and Romero. Promote Laird (or play Williams on the right), Mengi (if Tuanzebe can't stay fit) and Henderson. Excellent window.

Sure, but wasn't the title of the thread one superstar or improving the squad. I don't know where you are putting a CB in that from. So, if we just have euro 120m transfer budget (as that is what is being asked for Sancho) getting those 3 would lead us to have a better season than just Sancho.

Also, we've seen Ole not trusting McT or Fred in important games. Fred had a good game, but its just one game, he hasn't shown he can be consistent. What if we get another injury to Shaw, we are back to playing Brandon or Timothy and both are not good at left-back.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

As always the correct answer is Jadon Sancho.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

They didn't buy "superstar". They bought the "Grealish", then made them "superstars".

Allison and Van Dijk allowed them to go from decent to winning major trophies. They werre both superstars. Their price certainly suggested that anyway.

 

[JPRouve]

To win trophies, You need a strong SQUAD not just a team of 11. FFS we had 4 centre forwards when we won the treble or do you not remember. We need gamechangers on the bench in a long season that is the Premiership. So if you seen gamechangers on our bench, in the europa semi final and most games after our best 11 is picked, your on your own. Accept it.

No one told you to stop at the first 11. To win you first need to have an elite first eleven, you need to walk before running, focus on being good with your fist team before thinking about winning. I feel that you are skipping steps here.

 

[Redcy]

Which average players did Klopp turn into world class players.

Salah - Was pretty much ripping it up at roma
Sane - Was performing decent at Soton, maybe not WC but we looked at him as did others, I still dont think he is WC
Firmino - Again hardly a hidden gem, diamond in the rough type, was BL fourth highest scorer and outstanding new talent
VVD - Lots of people wanted him, expensive buy
Allison - Again expensive wc GK

 

[JPRouve]

Which average players did Klopp turn into world class players.

Salah - Was pretty much ripping it up at roma
Sane - Was performing decent at Soton, maybe not WC but we looked at him as did others, I still dont think he is WC
Firmino - Again hardly a hidden gem, diamond in the rough type, was BL fourth highest scorer and outstanding new talent
VVD - Lots of people wanted him, expensive buy
Allison - Again expensive wc GK

And all of them were meant to be starters, not squad depth.

 

[MadDogg]

Ultimately it comes down to one question. How much do you trust our management and scouts to sign the right players if we spread it out over 2/3/4 players?

If we could be confident that they'll get each one of those players right then that would be the better option, and then hopefully we could still get Sancho (perhaps a bit cheaper) in a season or two. If we could sign three players that would go on to have an impact like Vidic, Evra and Carrick, then that would easily be the better option. On the other hand, if they ended up more like Depay, Schneiderlin and Lukaku then it would be an unmitigated failure. Most likely it'd be somewhere in between and we'd get players more like Maguire, AWB and James. They'd be an improvement over what we currently have, but there would be question marks over whether they'll end up being good enough to truly challenge and perhaps may need to be improved upon further.

The thing with Sancho is that he's probably the most 'sure thing' to come through since Rooney, in terms of both succeeding and staying with us pretty much his entire career (as long as we start competing at the top). As such, if we don't sign him somebody else will and he'll go on to have that career with them.

Personally, I would prefer Sancho now and then buy the cheaper players the following season. The exception is if we are exceedingly confident that we would be his preferred option ahead of anybody else that might come in for him in another season or two. If that is the case AND if we're confident in being able to sign somebody else that can do well on our right wing (in rotation with Greenwood) for relatively cheap in the meantime, then it might be worth going that way instead.

 

[Ekeke]

If Sancho wants to come and hands in a transfer request, then we pay £100 million I guess I'd take it. If he isnt willing to do that then I dont think we should blow our entire budget on him.

Instead I'd prefer £50 million on Chiesa or Coman for the RW and up to £50 million on a CB. Anything left over plus player sales we can put towards long term prospects like Brooks and other less expensive projects.

 

[Bestietom]

No one told you to stop at the first 11. To win you first need to have an elite first eleven, you need to walk before running, focus on being good with your fist team before thinking about winning. I feel that you are skipping steps here.

You just don't give in, do you. Name me a top team with a small squad.

 

[croadyman]

Rather than spending money on players first, how about we throw a shit load of money at the Bayern scouting and recruiting team instead?

I mean, is there any club that has done better in getting both great youth and great value players in over the last 10 years or so - especially the latter? Makes us look like proper mugs.

Yeah did you see how little their starting XI cost last night,the figure was absolutely staggering

 

[JPRouve]

You just don't give in, do you.

Why would I?

 

[croadyman]

Filling out the squad with middle of the road players doesn't close the gap on City and Liverpool, signing a top player will. We need more Bruno type signings and less James type signings.

Furthermore I dont think signing average players is the right way to build depth. If you sign players that push your current players out the starting 11 your bench and squad get stronger as a result. Lindelof, Matic, Greenwood, Shaw etc. are stronger backups for a potential new starter than any £20m player would be for them.

Yeah no doubt that strengthening the first XI will mean that our bench is also going to be stronger as well so should always be looking to do that.

 

[deleon]

Sancho, assuming he's the star.

Rashford and Greenwood both like to cut inside, making it easy for opponents to stay compact. We need someone who would not only provide natural width, but also make up for Wan-Bissaka's arguable shortcomings in attack.

As for squad depth, having Brooks and/or Grealish won't alleviate the creative burden on Fernandes, who instead could be more safely rested if we had someone like Sancho on the pitch.

 

[JPRouve]

Rather than spending money on players first, how about we throw a shit load of money at the Bayern scouting and recruiting team instead?

I mean, is there any club that has done better in getting both great youth and great value players in over the last 10 years or so - especially the latter? Makes us look like proper mugs.

That's the type of thing you can do when you start from a position of strength. They brought most of these players while they had one of the best starting eleven in the world and could therefore take gambles or wait for a player to be out of contract.

 

[Ødegaard]

Get Sancho.
Great players and talents wants to play with the best, and he is a big a talent as we can possibly get.

He would complete our attack, give us more creative force so we won't get fecked if Pogba or Bruno are injured and he would change our first off the bench from James to Greenwood, giving us more strength in depth for attack.
With Fred & McTominay we've got square pegs for a round hole, but at least they are players at a half-decent level compared to Mata, Lingard & (a bit harshly) James.

If there is any chance to sell some fillers then I would very much like to see us buy one of Telles or Regullion with that money. Preferably Telles as he doesn't come with a buyback clause.

We can wait another year with finding the perfect partner for Maguire. Upamecano has a release clause from next season and I don't think anyone else is going to spend 40 million on Pau Torres in the meantime. So options will have been developed further.
For all we know Camavinga or other talents could take further steps and be ready for the DM position next summer.

One thing is certain, no matter how we change the makeup of the squad we need a right winger. The cheaper alternative could give us more players but Sancho is the best available and he is young enough to hold down his position for years to come. It is a no brainer unless we cannot do it financially.

 

[EwanI Ted]

Its going to take more than 1 season to have both a first team and a quality bench whatever we choose, so all that matters is choosing the best order. Players of the quality of Brookes and Grealish, or centre backs in the 30-40 mil range, come along regularly. Players like Sancho dont. Seems sensible to prioritise Sancho then.

 

[croadyman]

Its going to take more than 1 season to have both a first team and a quality bench whatever we choose, so all that matters is choosing the best order. Players of the quality of Brookes and Grealish, or centre backs in the 30-40 mil range, come along regularly. Players like Sancho dont. Seems sensible to prioritise Sancho then.

Yeah it's an absolute no brainer

 

[LawCharltonBest]

The one player that can make a difference.

With the other positions, promote from within. Garner, for example, seems fantastic and well worth a formal promotion into the first team. The two teenage full backs from Madrid and Barcelona will have joined to knock on the door of the first team.

 

[Isotope]

Allison and Van Dijk allowed them to go from decent to winning major trophies. They werre both superstars. Their price certainly suggested that anyway.

Both are as 'superstars' as Maguire. Although if you think Maguire was a superstar at Leicester already, fair enough.

 

[ATXRedDevil]

We're not winning the league next year, either way. In my opinion, you sign Sancho and give him a year to click with the rest of our forwards this year and find a long-term Matic replacement, a new LB and a new CB the following summer.

 

[romufc]

Which average players did Klopp turn into world class players.

Salah - Was pretty much ripping it up at roma
Sane - Was performing decent at Soton, maybe not WC but we looked at him as did others, I still dont think he is WC
Firmino - Again hardly a hidden gem, diamond in the rough type, was BL fourth highest scorer and outstanding new talent
VVD - Lots of people wanted him, expensive buy
Allison - Again expensive wc GK

I think the way he has got them playing in a system.

I agree, you need to buy the right talent though.

The interesting thing is when people say Klopp has done well with players will also criticise our manager saying that is the players natural progression.

 

[SAFMUTD]

Rather than spending money on players first, how about we throw a shit load of money at the Bayern scouting and recruiting team instead?

I mean, is there any club that has done better in getting both great youth and great value players in over the last 10 years or so - especially the latter? Makes us look like proper mugs.

Thay have the great advantage that all the german clubs feed them, for relatively low prices, every german player seems to be a Bayern's fan so as soon as theyre wanted by them they put their club underpressure to sell.

The last example of this is Sane no other club in the world, no matter which scouts and recruitment team they had, would had been able to pull this one. Convincing the player to not renew two years before, it takes a serious lack of moral and serious comitment from the player as well.

Davies is obviously a huge success but appart from that I dont think they have recluted anything from outside Germany that is a good money/qualirt return. They bought Lucas Hernandez for 80M and he barelely plays.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Both are as 'superstars' as Maguire. Although if you think Maguire was a superstar at Leicester already, fair enough.

Yes, and the acquisition of Maguire, whether people think so or not, has vastly improved our back four.

What I am saying is, we need a couple more of those.

 

[Scholsey2004]

Sancho.

 

[Zlatattack]

If we can get Sancho and that means we only have money left over for 1 other player, i'd like to get Sancho, I think he'll add so much to the team.

If we can't get Sancho i'd like to try the squad approach. Why? Because I think our first 11 is very good, what's let us down this season has been our options beyond it. There are quality players available at reasonable prices which would improve our team.

Telles, Upamecano, Partey, Costa/Bale on loan.

Get the LB attacking properly and regularly.
Get a decent defensive partner for Maguire (someone with pace, can pass and decent in the air)
Perfect Matic replacement/cover/rotating option.
RW option on the relative cheap so we can try for Sancho next year?

The only one which might be a bad idea is Bale, but even then maybe we can try for Douglas Costa?

 

[Bastian]

Sancho. It would also show ambition. A player of his level is not going to join unless they're convinced by the project presented to him. It would - in a roundabout way - be quite encouraging, and I'd start waiting for the next signing to come in soon after.

 

[Isotope]

Yes, and the acquisition of Maguire, whether people think so or not, has vastly improved our back four.

What I am saying is, we need a couple more of those.

I'd love too. It's just I think we don't need too hang up on buying an expensive superstar. Especially from Bundesliga, where their transfers success to PL isn't that encouraging.

 

[tjb]

Squad additions? Why? Because one or two of them might end up being top quality talent like Salah and Mane. For example, I dont think there is a gap in quality between grealish and sancho. If we could sign grealish, Brooks and a young left back to compete with Shaw, we would have gained far more in squad quality than simply signing sancho

 

[JPRouve]

Squad additions? Why? Because one or two of them might end up being top quality talent like Salah and Mane. For example, I dont think there is a gap in quality between grealish and sancho. If we could sign grealish, Brooks and a young left back to compete with Shaw, we would have gained far more in squad quality than simply signing sancho

Salah and Mané were signed to be starters not squad additions, they were supposed to be upgrades on the likes of Sturridge, Ibe or Origi.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

I'd love too. It's just I think we don't need too hang up on buying an expensive superstar. Especially from Bundesliga, where their transfers success to PL isn't that encouraging.

That's fair. Sancho is just an example that the OP has used, but I would always choose a 'superstar' over squad players.

 

[Lee565]

Signing squad players is a poor plan, we need to sign first teamers, whether that means signing just sancho or signing 2 or 3 first team intended players with the same money we was going to spend on sancho.

 

[Bullhitter]

You should only really target squad players if the player in front of them in the first X1 is already as good as you can possibly attain.

Like you buy a backup for Robertson if you're Liverpool but not Alonso/Shaw if you're Chelsea/United. That is a one way road to a bang average squad full of players tough to shift.

 

[starman]

On the presumption we have a 140m budget which I think is what the OP is suggesting.....

I would love Sancho but Thaigo/VDB/Aouar (30m-45m) Brooks (30m) Upamecano/Torres (35m) Reguilon (30m) is probably money better spent, for now at least.
Buying Sancho is going to likely limit Greenwood's games, so buying a back up for Greenwood himself (Brooks) might be more wise right now.

Next year I think we will truly know if Martial, Rashford & Greenwood are the real the deal as a trio, if not, bring in Sancho

 

[G_and_T]

My first choice would be Jadon Sancho. We saw how Rooney made a difference and more recently how Bruno made a difference. Sancho is in the same class and will make others like Rashford, Martial, Mason and James raise their standard a little.
I am no expert in the transfer market, but if we couldn't get Sancho, I think there are a few really talented players who could make our squad really strong, who seem to be available (just off the gossip columns of course) so I could be happy if we got a mixture of Coman, Brooks, Van der Beek, Auoar or Dembele. I don't rate Grealish, I think he has a bad attitude and mostly just falls to the floor. He is a good player in a poor squad so he looks better than he is, IMO.

 

[JPRouve]

On the presumption we have a 140m budget which I think is what the OP is suggesting.....

I would love Sancho but Thaigo/VDB/Aouar (30m-45m) Brooks (30m) Upamecano/Torres (35m) Reguilon (30m) is probably money better spent, for now at least.
Buying Sancho is going to likely limit Greenwood's games, so buying a back up for Greenwood himself (Brooks) might be more wise right now.

Next year I think we will truly know if Martial, Rashford & Greenwood are the real the deal as a trio, if not, bring in Sancho

Strategically there is no difference beyond 12 months, unless if you think that you will never sign someone like Sancho because here you added 4 players that will greatly increase your wage bill, you won't do that every year for that very reason. So the question for me is still about quality, you still prioritize the caliber of players that you believe won't be available in 12 months. Among the players that you highlighted, Thiago and Regulon would be the reason why I would be tempted to not chase Sancho, good left backs and deep lying playmakers are rare and valuable, also there is a chance that Sancho won't go anywhere and that we will still have the opportunity to chase him for 2021.

But to me it's not about quantity vs quality but entirely about scarcity. Most depth options are available every year and there is a continuous supply of new players in that bracket while top players are rare and need to be chased when possible. We shouldn't focus on the next 12 months but the next 48.

 

[Bestietom]

On the presumption we have a 140m budget which I think is what the OP is suggesting.....

I would love Sancho but Thaigo/VDB/Aouar (30m-45m) Brooks (30m) Upamecano/Torres (35m) Reguilon (30m) is probably money better spent, for now at least.
Buying Sancho is going to likely limit Greenwood's games, so buying a back up for Greenwood himself (Brooks) might be more wise right now.

Next year I think we will truly know if Martial, Rashford & Greenwood are the real the deal as a trio, if not, bring in Sancho

Top teams will always want to improve every year. Extending your squad doesn't have to mean buying just SQUAD players. You always bring in players that can compete or are better than the player for the position you want to improve.
Competition for places make players better, and this means you get a better percentage performance from your players and team.
A balanced side is better than a team full of individuals, but yes you do need 4/5 world class players in a top team now.
If we could afford Sancho and still bring in a CB and DM it would be a great window for us. But I would not put all my monies into one player this season.

 

[sp_107]

A couple of great signings, I'm tired of ending up with so much dross.

I go by this.

 

[AneRu]

Firstly, I think signing Sancho alone wont elevate us into title challengers. I think we have several issues that will always hold us back:

1. Our fullbacks are just terrible going forward and it limits what we can do as a team particularly against teams that park the bus. However I think it's a matter of replacing AWB with a more forward thinking fullback like Laird so a lot depends on how Ole views Laird as an immediate first team option. Shaw, for now, is serviceable but we could do worse than sign a proper attacking LB for depth and competition, £30m.

2. My views on our DM situation are well known especially if we aim to use Pogba in the deeper role or play him and Bruno in the same midfield. I don't know why we haven't made a move for Thomas Partey as he is gettable at £50m.

3. If Sancho is not on for this season I think we just have to sign a squad option that provides us with goals and creativity from the Right Wing and who is prepared to come in and rotate with Mason. With Mason good enough for 10 league goals I think Brooks would be a fine addition to step in during injuries or as a different option to Mason.

4. A CB is necessary but not urgent because Maguire and Lindelof have done well over the season.

5. We need a genuine back up striker that we can bring in for Martial or Rashford during games or when players are injured.

I think we can go into a season without 4 and 5 but we wont be as strong. If we do none of the above I think we would be in for a lot of pain and will struggle to make top 4 because Spurs, Leicester, Wolves and Arsenal will be there or thereabouts.