Is there a tall right-footed CB/DM out there?

NoPace

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You could argue the squad would be pretty much complete if we signed one along with obviously a #9 (and maybe a 2nd keeper who can pass and compete with De Gea, like Raya or )

Striker/Martial
Rashford/Garnacho
Antony/Sancho

Bruno/Amad
Eriksen/Fred/Mainoo or Iqbal
Casemiro/ThisGuy

Shaw/Malacia
Lisandro/Shaw
Varane/ThisGuy/Lindelof
Dalot/WanBissaka

De Gea/Heaton

Problem is the only ones I can think of (Alvarez, Timber, Guilliamon) are either short or left-footed.

The one exception is Declan Rice, but he may not want to wait to take over from Casemiro, and Ten Hag may not consider him a good enough creator as a #8 and a better choice to backup Varane (and where he grew up playing I think?), but for his price and also just him wanting to do it, seems unlikely.

De Jong too I guess, though I don't think he'd play much RCB for us, and we'd probably need a new RCB to replace Maguire.

Erik Dier isn't good enough, certainly not to pay a transfer fee to Spurs for.

A search on FIFA turns up De Roon (cheaper, Dutch, might get murdered playing CB in the Prem), Emre Can (nah), Foyth (can he really play DM?).

Guys like Sammer, Ronny Johnsen and Rafa Marquez don't seem to really exist anymore as tactics have changed.

Casemiro is the answer but we already have him.
 
More viable to sign an upgrade on McTominay at DM and an upgrade on Maguire at CB than it is to find one player whose an upgrade on the pair of them in both positions.

Versatile players are useful but there's enough games to have two players for each position, so it's just a nice bonus if a player can play two positions.
 
Scalvini doesn't play in midfield but he looks the part with the ball and is everything with Atalanta he rotates into that position anyway at times. Will be a great signing.

Edit: There is also Danilo from PSG
 
amolbhatia50k said:
We need a midfield playmaker more than a tall DM
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100%. Someone who can hold onto the ball would be nice.

It’ll be interesting to see our midfield games against Barcelona. Fernandes, Eriksen, Casemiro all counter punchers vs the techno twinks like Pedri and De Jong (the midfield profile we are still missing)
 
I don’t think there is really anyone who can play both roles to a good enough standard apart from Declan Rice and maybe Kalvin Phillips
 
DWelbz19 said:
100%. Someone who can hold onto the ball would be nice.

It’ll be interesting to see our midfield games against Barcelona. Fernandes, Eriksen, Casemiro all counter punchers vs the techno twinks like Pedri and De Jong (the midfield profile we are still missing)
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I mean the suggestion that another tall DM would complete us would imply that our first choice central midfield as of now is perfect which is simply not the case. Bruno is an attacking midfielder / second striker hybrid. Eriksen had added a lot in terms of creating chances but he's not very mobile and doesn't do his best work in building play from deeper areas. Casemeiro is better on the ball than expected but still mostly a DM. And that's why we still spend a lot of football matches without any control and big matches having been pinned back a fair bit.

So yeah this team needs a playmaker in midfield to help us make that shift to being a team that's genuinely good at possession football and controlling matches. Other things like another RB and an actual attack will help but so will the right CM. And that's not a TALL DM.
 
It doesn't have to be one player. I'd quite like Enzo Fernandez and a highly talented young centre back who we could bring through as a long term Varane replacement. Much like Varane himself was, behind Ramos/Pepe.
 
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Personally we need another hybrid type like Casa or we sign a pure progressive CM AND some cheap DM cover for Casa too
 
What about Jurrien Timber? Could be a backup/rotational option on CB, RB and perhaps also on DM..
 
Why would you need the same player to cover CB and DM? What a strange request. Just get a CB and a DM, no need for one player.

Anyway Andreas Christensen from Barcelona fits your description…
 
Romeo Lavia to be Casemiro's backup, Southampton might go down so it would be much cheaper. Only 19, huge potential.

At CB, Bella Kotchap looks like he has big potential, strong and fast and physical. Only 21.
Anel Ahmedhodzic for my Bosnian bias shout, but he's great in FM and has been great for Sheffield United since he joined and is clearly far too good for the Championship (but most of his time has been a RCB of a back 3, and in classic Bosnian fashion he is tall but lanky and technical rather than super physical. But has huge potential as a ball playing CB IMO. Only 23 but genuinely has huge potential.

There are actually a good amount of options we could go for in these 2 positions to replace McTominay and Maguire basically that would help us out and be logical eventual replacements for the 2. Always important to have a good blend of youth and experience, and for these 2 specifically, definitely need younger with big potential who could come in to cover for Casemiro and Varane when necessary and learn from them, and take over in 3-4 years.
 
In the Midfield, There are so many good options available for free in the summer who are way better than mctominay e.g Ruben Neves, Dahoud from Dortmund, Tielemanns, Houasem Auoar etc. Actually think we dont need crazy money to fix our whole squad
 
A better profile of player to target would be one who could play instead of and alongside Casemiro. But given the skillset I'd want for the player alongside him, I'm not sure how viable that is.

For centre back you just have to sign a young RCB to replace Maguire/Lindelof and compete with and cover for Varane.
 
Mwooyo said:
In the Midfield, There are so many good options available for free in the summer who are way better than mctominay e.g Ruben Neves, Dahoud from Dortmund, Tielemanns, Houasem Auoar etc. Actually think we dont need crazy money to fix our whole squad
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None of these are players who are good McTominay replacements. McTominay's direct role in the squad is to be Casemiro's backup. We need a real backup for Casemiro, a real DM, who can eventually replace him. So guys like Caicedo, Lavia etc. Guys like Neves, Tielemans, Dahoud all need the DM to partner them and would be Eriksen competition. Aouar would play in the same with Bruno if anything...
 
sullydnl said:
A better profile of player to target would be one who could play instead of and alongside Casemiro. But given the skillset I'd want for the player alongside him, I'm not sure how viable that is.

For centre back you just have to sign a young RCB to replace Maguire/Lindelof and compete with and cover for Varane.
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The only one out there is Enzo Fernandez basically who can be a 6 or an 8 very effectively. Otherwise though, should just get a younger DM who can rotate in when needed and learn from Casemiro.
 
No squad that includes David De Gea as a starting goalkeeper can be considered "complete".
 
What's the obsession with right/left footedness on this forum? As long as the players aren't one-footed, who actually gives a feck which foot they prefer?
 
Samid said:
What's the obsession with right/left footedness on this forum? As long as the players aren't one-footed, who actually gives a feck which foot they prefer?
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A lot of managers, especially our current one in charge put a lot of importance in it. It opens up different passing angles. Ten Hag has specifically mentioned it a lot of times.

This is why Maguire isn't a LCB option. This is why he really wanted Antony. He wants a left footed LCB, and a left footed RW.
 
NoPace said:
You could argue the squad would be pretty much complete if we signed one along with obviously a #9 (and maybe a 2nd keeper who can pass and compete with De Gea, like Raya or )

Striker/Martial
Rashford/Garnacho
Antony/Sancho

Bruno/Amad
Eriksen/Fred/Mainoo or Iqbal
Casemiro/ThisGuy

Shaw/Malacia
Lisandro/Shaw
Varane/ThisGuy/Lindelof
Dalot/WanBissaka

De Gea/Heaton

Problem is the only ones I can think of (Alvarez, Timber, Guilliamon) are either short or left-footed.

The one exception is Declan Rice, but he may not want to wait to take over from Casemiro, and Ten Hag may not consider him a good enough creator as a #8 and a better choice to backup Varane (and where he grew up playing I think?), but for his price and also just him wanting to do it, seems unlikely.

De Jong too I guess, though I don't think he'd play much RCB for us, and we'd probably need a new RCB to replace Maguire.

Erik Dier isn't good enough, certainly not to pay a transfer fee to Spurs for.

A search on FIFA turns up De Roon (cheaper, Dutch, might get murdered playing CB in the Prem), Emre Can (nah), Foyth (can he really play DM?).

Guys like Sammer, Ronny Johnsen and Rafa Marquez don't seem to really exist anymore as tactics have changed.

Casemiro is the answer but we already have him.
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I think Timber could make sense. Playing him as an inverted RB would make it easier for us to do without Casemiro.

We sometimes see how Pep play with an inverted fullback, and often tuck the other fullback inside as a DM/CM. We could probably do the same with Timber and Shaw.
 
NoPace said:
You could argue the squad would be pretty much complete if we signed one along with obviously a #9 (and maybe a 2nd keeper who can pass and compete with De Gea, like Raya or )

Striker/Martial
Rashford/Garnacho
Antony/Sancho

Bruno/Amad
Eriksen/Fred/Mainoo or Iqbal
Casemiro/ThisGuy

Shaw/Malacia
Lisandro/Shaw
Varane/ThisGuy/Lindelof
Dalot/WanBissaka

De Gea/Heaton

Problem is the only ones I can think of (Alvarez, Timber, Guilliamon) are either short or left-footed.

The one exception is Declan Rice, but he may not want to wait to take over from Casemiro, and Ten Hag may not consider him a good enough creator as a #8 and a better choice to backup Varane (and where he grew up playing I think?), but for his price and also just him wanting to do it, seems unlikely.

De Jong too I guess, though I don't think he'd play much RCB for us, and we'd probably need a new RCB to replace Maguire.

Erik Dier isn't good enough, certainly not to pay a transfer fee to Spurs for.

A search on FIFA turns up De Roon (cheaper, Dutch, might get murdered playing CB in the Prem), Emre Can (nah), Foyth (can he really play DM?).

Guys like Sammer, Ronny Johnsen and Rafa Marquez don't seem to really exist anymore as tactics have changed.

Casemiro is the answer but we already have him.
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I think we're likely going to buy people for each position rather than one player.

I agree we need some height in midfield, I think finding a CB will be easy.

Sivert Mannsverk is an interesting one we've been linked to as well, tall CM/DM, at Molde. I think both positions have to be young players, due to the fact they clearly have a world class player in their position ahead of them - I also think the outlay shouldn't be that big for the same reason. I hope Erik uses the scouting network we have to explore the options in South America, seeing as we highlighted Fernandez and Caicedo, just never pulled the trigger.
 
bosnian_red said:
A lot of managers, especially our current one in charge put a lot of importance in it. It opens up different passing angles. Ten Hag has specifically mentioned it a lot of times.

This is why Maguire isn't a LCB option. This is why he really wanted Antony. He wants a left footed LCB, and a left footed RW.
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What's the relevance to the DM position? Are you trying to say that if Casemiro preferred his left foot, ETH would say "no chief, wrong foot, not for me"?

If Antony is the benchmark for "opening up different passing angles" then I can't take this argument seriously. His refusal to use his right foot makes him awfully one dimensional. That's far more detrimental than whatever little gains he might be offering from his "different passing angles". There's a reason why Bruno, who is an awful RW, gets shoved to RW in most games. And that's Antony not being good at the things expected from a winger.

Again, buy two-footed players and play them wherever you want. At this level there is no excuses for being solely one-footed. Buying players who only can play one specific role based on the foot they use is a recipe for trouble.
 
Samid said:
What's the relevance to the DM position? Are you trying to say that if Casemiro preferred his left foot, ETH would say "no chief, wrong foot, not for me"?

If Antony is the benchmark for "opening up different passing angles" then I can't take this argument seriously. His refusal to use his right foot makes him awfully one dimensional. That's far more detrimental than whatever little gains he might be offering from his "different passing angles". There's a reason why Bruno, who is an awful RW, gets shoved to RW in most games. And that's Antony not being good at the things expected from a winger.

Again, buy two-footed players and play them wherever you want. At this level there is no excuses for being solely one-footed. Buying players who only can play one specific role based on the foot they use is a recipe for trouble.
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Ah for DM yeah I don't see it at all. Mean more for RW and LCB. It's the way they play and the balance they provide. Antony was purchased due to his potential, don't judge him on right now because he's giving very little compared to what Ten Hag will want from him eventually. He's young. But stylistically, Ten Hag pretty much wants someone who can cut in and play the passes inside or combine with the fullbacks, and provide similar to what we get from the left. It's not there right now, but the profile of player that Antony is, is exactly that, and he has shown it at a much higher level in the past. Classic case of struggling to adapt to a big move/adapt to the Premier League/deal with the price tag etc. No sense judging him yet.

But with LCB, it is very clear the benefits of a left footed and why ~every top manager who implements a proactive system is using them (and the same with left footers playing on RW). It's not a coincidence that Pep and Arteta happen to both do the same thing and will play a "lesser" player in that spot just because of their foot preference. It's not a recipe for trouble, managers have their systems how they want to play, and have the profile of player they want, and the foot they prefer to use plays a massive part in that of course as the angles very obviously change with how they receive and pass the ball.

In terms of being one footed/two footed - that is most biology based and not something that a player has too much control over to be honest. No use in being overly annoyed with that, some players are stupidly one footed and they still reach the top (Robben), others are extremely 2 footed and remain mediocre players (Lallana).
 
I actually like Sander Berge from Sheffield United. Always calm distributing balls with both feet, give me the vibe of Carrick . If needed, also able to drive forward with great ball-shielding techniques.
 
sullydnl said:
A better profile of player to target would be one who could play instead of and alongside Casemiro. But given the skillset I'd want for the player alongside him, I'm not sure how viable that is.

For centre back you just have to sign a young RCB to replace Maguire/Lindelof and compete with and cover for Varane.
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I think this might be close to as impossible as the player I'm talking about here. Who passes like a #8 AND can win headers in front of Lisandro. Arguably De Jong, though he's not exactly a hardman at DM.

Obviously we could just sign an expensive #8, a cheap DM and a promising, aerially strong RCB to backup and hopefully take over in time from Varane, but if we're short on funds, buying a striker, and Ten Hag doesn't want to make more than 2-3 changes to the locker room when it's in good shape (which is more common than transfer muppet fans like us tend to take into account, managers are like Bielsa n that way compared to us).

But it wouldn't shock me if say we just signed a #9 and Timber to play this role (again I'd like someone taller, but he is a good player) and had Fred/Eriksen as the #8 options for one final year until we sell Fred and buy an expensive #8. Odds of this go up if we pursue De Jong or Ten Hag believes that Mainoo can be a starter at age 19 like Pedri or Bellingham.
 
Samid said:
What's the relevance to the DM position? Are you trying to say that if Casemiro preferred his left foot, ETH would say "no chief, wrong foot, not for me"?

If Antony is the benchmark for "opening up different passing angles" then I can't take this argument seriously. His refusal to use his right foot makes him awfully one dimensional. That's far more detrimental than whatever little gains he might be offering from his "different passing angles". There's a reason why Bruno, who is an awful RW, gets shoved to RW in most games. And that's Antony not being good at the things expected from a winger.

Again, buy two-footed players and play them wherever you want. At this level there is no excuses for being solely one-footed. Buying players who only can play one specific role based on the foot they use is a recipe for trouble.
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Backup DM can be left-footed, but if it's one player to cover DM and RCB then he has to be right-footed. Also Shaw > Lindelof at CB and Lisandro is a better bet to play 50 games next year than Varane obviously, and I just don't see Maguire being willing to stay and sacrifice his England spot and pride and be 4th choice CB here.
 
afatzp said:
I actually like Sander Berge from Sheffield United. Always calm distributing balls with both feet, give me the vibe of Carrick . If needed, also able to drive forward with great ball-shielding techniques.
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Interesting idea here. Basically a more talented McTominay.
 
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