Dont understand how people think Chelsea are in for Sancho when they bought Ziyech and are desperate for a striker as well?
Jadon Sancho| Staying at Dortmund for now
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
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Bit of clarification. Frankie's reported salary is €10m net a year (~£160k after tax) with another €6m in potential bonuses. At 40% tax rate that's £260k pw before the bonuses. Now the Dembele mention for me is rather poignant. That has been a large pile of money pissed down the drain for Barca and a source of great amusement for the rest of us taking the piss out of them. Not really something to be emulated.
It's not that I'm worried that Sancho will be a failure or a fraud. But offensive players in that league, in that setup, tend to perform well above their actual level as evidenced multiple times. From fraud to world beater there's many levels in between. Sancho could blossom into a very good player for us and still not be worth that kinda money (£250k) at start. If Pogba and Sanchez were to leave this summer and Sancho to be offered the salary mentioned, it would make the 19yo the highest earner at the club despite being the youngest player in the squad and having achieved nothing of note in his career. He hasn't won a league, a cup, an international tournament, he's not a starter for his country yet (he's behind Rashford and Sterling).
This would be a pretty absurd situation in my book. It exposes us to a huge risk and puts him under an immense pressure and spotlight. Dembele might have been offered insane money, but he was still below a handful of other stars at Barca. What happens if in his first season he doesn't outperform our other attacking players like Rashford, Martial and Fernandes, as I honestly wouldn't expect him too? And what happens if while Sancho is finding his feet, Greenwood (who is already putting out impressive numbers) is performing better off that RW role? Then you'll have all those, rightfully, moping around clamouring for pay rises to match or surpass Sancho.
We're not a league where TV rights are dominated by 2-3 clubs, like in Spain. Nor do we have oil-rich owners running the club with a deficit funded out of their own pockets. We can't match Real, Barca or PSG on salaries. And we should pay what is realistic for this league or look elsewhere frankly. Besides those 3 clubs, no one else would give anywhere near that kinda money to Sancho.
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You don’t have Grealish waiting for Bruno or Pogba to get injured. If he gets injured, you play McTominay as an 8 and move on with it really.
I do wonder if even trying for Sancho is dependent on us first getting rid of Sanchez...
With such common sense, we are not going to sign top talents like Sancho. Let's face it, Man Utd isn't a very attractive place these days, if we don't overpay bit, there's no chance top players would have preferred to join us.
I'm getting to the point where i want Pogba to leave so we can afford him and Grealish.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Pogba ends up signing a new contract 
. I’m fine with him leaving though if he does. We’ve been playing without him this season already basically.
. I’m fine with him leaving though if he does. We’ve been playing without him this season already basically.What about offering bigger chunk of his next 4 years salary as a signing bonus or pay on image rights and then put him on 200K a week so that others wont make too much noise OR feel bad to hear his salaries are around 300K a week.
I am in the same camp. I actually don't want him to stay because we will miss out on Grealish.
It makes sense on all parts, lower wage, less baggage, leadership, young English talent and a pretty decent footballer.
I really hope someone has told Pogba and his entourage that he needs to find himself a new club. 12 months from when a manager wanted to build the team around him to now where we don't care if he leaves.
I couldn't agree more, At least Grealish won't feel like he's doing us a favour.
And we’ve hardly been brilliant to be fair.I wouldn’t be surprised if Pogba ends up signing a new contract
I also think there’s a good chance he signs a new contract tbh. I thought this last summer, and I reckon it would have happened by now if he hadn’t been injured all season. My thinking was he’d get offered a stupid salary, but his absence has surely weakened his position to leverage like a £500k salary or something, which I think Woodward would have gone to for him this season if he was fit and playing well.
With Pogba, like Rooney before him, I don’t think the club would want to let him go, for a number of reasons. Since Ronaldo, we haven’t sold a star player in his prime. It is more symbolic than anything else. I think the board are very much against the optical illusion that is created by other big clubs coming and taking your best players. And I’m inclined to agree with the notion. It is potentially very damaging to the status.
Rooney got his two big contract renewals at times we could not afford to lose him as much for off field reasons as on it. The first came about a few months after we had reluctantly sold Ronaldo. Selling them other one’ too would have said too much of the wrong thing about us.We were at his mercy. The second contract came a few months after we lost Fergie, and the ‘Empire has fallen’ narrative was building rapidly, especially as we were struggling under Moyes. Rooney demanding time leave at that moment would have seemed confirmation of this, being our biggest name.
Ultimately, I think the club will only be happy to sell a player like Pogba if we are in a position of strength. While we are struggling, while the ‘big players don’t want to play for United’ narrative keeps floating around - the club will do all they can to hang on to Pogba.
Then so be it. Using money as our only draw is how we ended up where we are. And it's not a good place.
Also, he's not a top player yet. He's a 19yo starlet putting up incredible numbers in the Bundesliga for Dortmund. Some perspective is needed, the defences are a running joke over there. The last 3 players to occupy Sancho's position before him were Mkhitaryan, Dembele and Pulisic. All billed to be a lot better than they turned out to be when put under the pressures of a tougher, better league.
And again, I'm not saying that he won't turn out to be a top player. I'm not saying that because of the way the others turned out, he will turn out the same. I'm just saying that tearing it up at Dortmund does not one a top player make. And therefore we should be very careful about paying him like he's top player already.
That word you used is key. Pogba is doing United 0 favours.
That is the reason we need to get rid of him, when a player thinks he is bigger than the club, it becomes annoying. It feels like we can't upset him or he will leave. We cant criticise him or he will leave.
Grealish will be hungry to play for the club and not walk around the pitch.
The difference however is that Rooney had made himself indispensable with his contribution to the team, being on route to be the top scorer in the history of the club and winning great honours, something Pogba hasn't quite done yet. It's one thing saying he is our best player (which he is) and another saying he is indispensable. We're in the same position we were last year even without Pogba or Lukaku.
Playing the game Rooney played is a double edged sword. If you're a talismanic figure of a performing club, you could get away with it like he did. If you're a controversial figure of an under-performing club, this could well backfire.
EDIT: And by backfire, I mean told to bring an offer and feck off. That could still work out well for Pogba and United in the long term.
Yeah, I agree - don't think Chelsea will be in for him.
Unless Real or Barca get involved, I'd say we've got a free run at him.
I think if we get rid of pogba then we will sign grealish and hopefully sancho aswell using the pogba money.
Getting rid of Pogba will be the key, economically. The deal doesn't make sense otherwise.
We will also need to qualify for the Champions League.
I'm going to get hated for this - but this was always the case, if we do get Sancho then we need to get rid of Daniel James.
They are too much of a similar player (not in ability) but in position.
I really don't want two right footed right wingers at the club. I'd rather have one world class one and one left footed one like Fekir, Chuekwueze, Zaniolo (if he is better there than CAM) etc.
They are too much of a similar player (not in ability) but in position.
I really don't want two right footed right wingers at the club. I'd rather have one world class one and one left footed one like Fekir, Chuekwueze, Zaniolo (if he is better there than CAM) etc.
I’m not sure it’s a game being played tbh, not was it with Rooney. The contract is the contract, it so happens that the contract was running down at a time where the club was weak on each occasion. And Rooney was not indispensable by any means when he signed his second mega-deal. Sir Alex has tried to shop him in the summer before, Moyes famously said to him ‘if you still have it, why are Chelsea not offering more than £25m for you?’. His deal was strongly criticised at the time, and not hailed as some sort of statement of anything other than ‘the biggest names are still happy to play for United post-Fergie’. He was generally rubbish for the duration of that contract and eventually left when in a situation where it could not be spun as us being unable to keep our best players.
Regarding Pogba, I think it’s fairly known that my views differ from the vitriolic consensus I read on him on here. Firstly, on a purely footballing basis, I don’t agree that he’s anywhere near as bad a player as he’s being made out to be on Redcafe. His poor performances are overstated, to me. I think maybe some have forgotten how good he is due to his absence, but he seems to be getting worse and worse on here by the day. He’s a top player and would make this team a lot better. Other top teams have top players who do not play amazingly every game. It’s a problem when the team doesn’t win. To me, very often, Pogba looks a level above all of his teammates on the pitch. Not once every 2 or 3 months like is implied, but most games. I also don’t think he’s against staying, but the longer he doesn’t play, the negative sentiment is growing and growing, especially with his agent and media fuelling the narrative. It’s come to the point where I expect United fans to boo him when he returns, just as some did when he came back against Watford. I think he’s a convenient figure to deflect negative emotion towards for the fans and press. We haven’t been a great side since he’s been here, but there haven’t been many better creative midfielders in the PL since he’s been here either. He regularly passes forward and creates chances, but the caf consensus seems to be that he does little other than dwell on the ball and fails to release it.
Anyway, I’ve digressed a bit, but yea - ultimately I don’t think the club want to lose him, and everything I’ve heard from the manager suggests that he wants him to stay and play a key part in his side. Coupled with the fact that there are a limited number of teams he could join in the summer (because he’s actually not a rubbish/average footballer at all), I can’t see many of them willing or able to do the sort of deal that would be required. I also feel that we will do good business of our own in the summer, so all of those things considered, all parties may we’ll be in a place where we feel it is best to continue. Of course, he may well leave, likely to a better football team than ours, and if so, then by all means - take the money, get Grealish and move on. The club will survive. But I think it’s far from as set in stone as all the ‘Pogba is gone’ stuff I read, which I suspect is largely wishful thinking.
Don't see why signing Sancho means we need to get rid of James. Our squad is thin.
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one would be a starter, the other a squad player. James can play backup on the left too.
It's anything but thin, it's fat with mediocre players but anway..
James has nothing to do with Sancho he is a LW not a RW. His skill is cutting in from the left, not getting to the byline and crossing. We've played him on the RW due to complete absence of a RW at the club. He will be covering for Rashford at LW next year, I'm sure
No need. Keep him for depth, even now our attacking depth isn't great so there's no use selling him.
Martial, Rashford, Sancho, Greenwood and James are all versatile and each one can occupy at least 2 of the front 3 positions. Then there's the possibility of another striker.
No - but you have options. Grealish is a massive improvement over everyone bar Bruno.
I agree, he’s a fantastic player. If indeed Pogba leaves, then I’d be all for it. But not if he doesn’t. I mean, I’d still take him here, because I’m a United fan and would prefer us to have a squad full of quality players rather than average ones - but it just doesn’t seem like a realistic or sensible scenario if we already have Bruno and Pogba. I’d love it though. City have built squads like this for years.
I’m sure I’ve read on here how Sancho’s natural and best position is on the left.
People could be surprised at the offers that come in for Pogba and I don’t know why. His star was far brighter when we signed him. Unless he plays a major role in this summers tournament I can’t see many offers over what we paid. Half of the people on here keep saying he’s no Hazard or he’s no x and then expect us to be fighting off 150m bids.
He is top talent though. How many 19 years old player having with such good numbers and looks as exciting as him?
No I don't think any of the Mkhitaryan or Pullisic looks half as exciting as him, in my honest opinion.
Maybe only Dembele or Mbappe looks similar to him, one of them cost PSG 180m and has even outscore/outshine Neymar.
You just have to pay premium price for top talent, especially in the current market. There's no exception, just look at how much Atletico has paid for Felix, who has achieved nothing.
Everytime I see Sancho play he seems to be playing from the left. Is he definitely just as good from the right? Would hate a Sanchez situation again.
Same with Grealish too, when I’ve seen him play well this season it’s been as a left forward are we 100% sure he can deliver the same quality from midfield? Or are we just assuming with both?
Same with Grealish too, when I’ve seen him play well this season it’s been as a left forward are we 100% sure he can deliver the same quality from midfield? Or are we just assuming with both?
Got a weird feeling about this. 90m + addons.
James would be great option from the bench running against tired legs. He will also be decent backup to Rashford and Sancho on left or right wing. Our first choice wing forward should ideally be able to score 15-20+ goals a season, James is far from that level unfortunately.
If that's the case, then he's not coming cause that is Rashford's position.
Depends on the level. Tammy Abraham was tearing the Championship up and posting ridiculous numbers but no one was willing to offer £120m and £250k salary for him with good reason.
Also Mbappe at Sancho's age had already torn up all the youth records set by none other than Hazard, had won the Ligue 1 title against PSG, had won a World Cup and had reached the CL final with Monaco. Comparing apples to oranges here. Sancho is much closer to Dembele than Mbappe in my opinion.
EDIT: Not to mention we can't compare what PSG paid and pay for Mbappe, to us and Sancho. We're not owned by Qatar. They can pay 300k pw for Herrera without batting an eye ffs. We can't use what they're paying as a yard stick. And if that means missing out on some players, so be it there's plenty of amazing players left regardless. Liverpool won the CL and are about to walk the league without anyone on £250k pw. Salah got offered £200k on his last extension.
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Do we need that more or a left footed right winger more?
For me - if we do get Sancho -
Sancho is a better LW than Daniel James. Check.
Sancho is a better RW than Daniel James. Check.
Sancho is a better CF than Daniel James. Check.
Sancho is a better CAM than Daniel James. Check.
That's because Sancho is a better right footed attacker than Daniel James.
At that time what we lack is a left footed attacker in our squad - we literally only have Greenwood.
Never mind potential players like Grealish potentially taking over the LW cover spot from Daniel James either - we seriously lack a left footed inverted forward in my opinion - Daniel James, Sancho as our only RW option still seems plastered over than perfect to me.
I'm not sure if it's been said here but Castles' thinks we might be his only option come summer, even though Liverpool and Chelsea are interested.
Dan James was always supposed to be a backup, he wasn't supposed to come in start week in and week out.
He also plays better on the left anyway, so would be a good bench option for Marcus. Ideally our front 3 would be:
Marcus(James) - Martial(Dembele) - Sancho(Greenwood)
But we're not gonna sign Sancho and a left-footed wide player, so we'll need a squad player like James to provide cover. It's not rocket science.
We only have 2 wide players, Rashford and James, for 2 positions at the moment. Maybe 3 if you count Greenwood. We obviously need 4. We also need a cover for Martial at CF because we're no gonna play James or Sancho in that position.
I reckon it'll be more like 120m.
I think I understand the sentiment of what you say, but Pogba has barely performed in games back to back let alone for numerous seasons like Rooney did for us. His best spell was when Ole first came in, but we have to be honest in that we had a nice run of games there. If Pogba was the player we thought we had signed and was dominating every game he was in then I would be more inclined to agree, but he hasn't lived up to the price tag yet and hasn't delivered us any real form of success.
I do think Pogba is a very talented player, probably our most talented in our squad, but the level of consistency hasn't been there nor have there been many match winning moments, other than away at city. I struggle to recall many games where he has dominated the midfield in a way Keane, Scholes or Carrick could even with their contrasting styles of play.
We could take the money for Pogba and reinvest on Sancho with a cap on a salary for him considering his age. Structure any contract with the ability for large salary rises but based on performances and output. Sancho, Bruno, Rashford and Martial as a front 4 looks exciting and would do more for the benefit of the team.
90m + a lot of addons.
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