João Palhinha

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

We need a younger Eriksen who's a bit more capable defensively. The quality of our possession when Eriksen plays is far better than without him. Orkun Kokcu from Benfica or Enzo Le Fee at Rennes maybe.

I agree. Any young player with that or Bernardo Silva type skill set should be a target. Basically an attacking midfield playmaker who can really defend.

 

[Scholsey2004]

I agree. Any young player with that or Bernardo Silva type skill set should be a target. Basically an attacking midfield playmaker who can really defend.

Yeah. Its a shame Jack Fletcher isnt a couple of years older as he's very highly rated in that position.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

Yeah. Its a shame Jack Fletcher isnt a couple of years older as he's very highly rated in that position.

well Fergie thought his Pa good enough for first team ball at 15/16. So let's see how he develops. He could end up ready earlier than we imagine....

 

[NZT-One]

Eh? Carrick and Scholes as a pair, with Bruno, would dominate in this current Premier League.

I doubt it. But each to their own.

Carrick was susceptible for pressing even back in the day. Nowadays this is even more organised and on point. Scholes would still be fine, I agree. In front of Rio and Vidic and behind Rooney and Ronaldo, you may be right.

 

[Sammy McIlroys fan club]

I doubt it. But each to their own.

Carrick was susceptible for pressing even back in the day. Nowadays this is even more organised and on point. Scholes would still be fine, I agree. In front of Rio and Vidic and behind Rooney and Ronaldo, you may be right.

A point not taken onboard much when talking about press resistance is having players around you who want the ball. Our current midfield would look a lot better with a prime Rooney and Ronaldo upfront. Would any team leave a fullback one on one with Ronaldo while everyone else presses? Very brave if you do and liable to end in tears.

 

[NZT-One]

A point not taken onboard much when talking about press resistance is having players around you who want the ball. Our current midfield would look a lot better with a prime Rooney and Ronaldo upfront. Would any team leave a fullback one on one with Ronaldo while everyone else presses? Very brave if you do and liable to end in tears.

Yeah definitely. I think, this along with other factors makes it so difficult to compare players from different eras. I am sure, a player with Carricks intelligence would have found a way to deal with organised press. Scholes for sure would have. But still, we don't know for sure because they played in times with different struggles.

 

[GoldanoGraham]

Palhinha would be a great asset to our team - would give us that combativeness we clearly lack.

 

[Murder on Zidane's Floor]

Palhinha would be a great asset to our team - would give us that combativeness we clearly lack.

Him and Mainoo would be a good pairing.

 

[Bwuk]

Him and Mainoo would be a good pairing.

Agreed. Stick him next to Mainoo and let Bruno roam at 10.

 

[bond19821982]

60m + and 28 + years old. And we thought signing Casemiro was a bad decision.

 

[André Dominguez]

Great player to have on your side, because he's a bit of a dirty cnut if you start watching his games. Quite inteligent with the ball on his feet, knows how to pass very well and has a very powerful shot as a bonus. Not very accurate with his shots, though.

 

[André Dominguez]

60m + and 28 + years old. And we thought signing Casemiro was a bad decision.

Casemiro will still be an asset this season. He's having some physical problems, but nothing long term. Will be a very decisive player again once he returns from injury and gets on form.

 

[Ali Dia]

Hopefully we stop signing players who are over 26 for big money. Plenty of them to be had if we are smart with expiring contracts and scouting. Go for Neves with that money. If he doesn’t do it over his first contract sell and take the loss and move on to the next one

 

[sammyhol]

Unpopular opinion...

I dont think we actually need a midfielder... we just need to play the right system.

None of our DMs are capable of playing the lone 6 ETH wants to play... But very few players are, and I'm not sure Palhinha could either.

But if we went back to a double pivot, which in my eyes is clearly the right system to get the best out of our squad, we actually have decent options when everyone is fit.

Casemiro, Mainoo, Amrabat and Eriksen for the double pivot, and Bruno, Mount and McT for the 10 position.

It's all irrelevant anyway, because there is zero chance ETH is going to change back. I predict him dying on the alter of his 4-1-----4-1 formation by around Feb.

 

[daba]

Unpopular opinion...

I dont think we actually need a midfielder... we just need to play the right system.

None of our DMs are capable of playing the lone 6 ETH wants to play... But very few players are, and I'm not sure Palhinha could either.

But if we went back to a double pivot, which in my eyes is clearly the right system to get the best out of our squad, we actually have decent options when everyone is fit.

Casemiro, Mainoo, Amrabat and Eriksen for the double pivot, and Bruno, Mount and McT for the 10 position.

It's all irrelevant anyway, because there is zero chance ETH is going to change back. I predict him dying on the alter of his 4-1-----4-1 formation by around Feb.

If we were serious we’d sell McTominay whilst his stock is reasonably high, improve our FFP position ahead of the summer and invest in a new midfielder now.

Andre Trindade is available for potentially £30m or less and he has effectively said his next destination is the prem. Strong links to Fulham which smells like another situation where in 6-12months time we’ll be being quoted 2-3x more like Palhinha.

 

[Devil81]

Would love home at United but given Bayern nearly had him signed in the summer and City have shown an interest I think we have little chance given our current situation.

 

[GoldanoGraham]

He would be a massive upgrade for us.

Proven premier league player, good pal of Bruno…..this is the type of player we should be targeting…..someone that could hit the ground running immediately.

 

[Kostov]

I'd bin Casemiro and bring this guy in.

 

[daba]

I like Palhinha but as so many posters have already said the right time to buy him was when we was at Sporting. We’ve missed the boat unfortunately as he’ll be 29 soon I believe and we need to start actually squad planning and not looking for constant quick fixes.

Somehow this has become an unpopular opinion, but in the right system Casemiro is still a better player for the record too.

 

[aeh1991]

Can't believe people forget so easily how good Casemeiro was for us last season. Even though he's had a rough start followed by an injury, he remains one of our best players. If he returns from injury we will be able to judge fairly but I still believe he hasn't regressed as much as some people here are saying.

Regarding Palhinha, sure he'd be a massive upgrade over McT or Amrabat, but we simply can't afford him this winter and next summer he reaches an age similar to Casemiro's when he joined us. So if we follow the same logic, he's got 1-2 years of time before regressing. We should have signed him years ago, like some posted.

 

[sdb4884]

Todibo- Nice
Koopmeiners- Atalanta
Hernandez- Milan
Gimeniez- Feyenoord
Oryzabal- Real Sociedad

 

[pascell]

I like Palhinha but as so many posters have already said the right time to buy him was when we was at Sporting. We’ve missed the boat unfortunately as he’ll be 29 soon I believe and we need to start actually squad planning and not looking for constant quick fixes.

Somehow this has become an unpopular opinion, but in the right system Casemiro is still a better player for the record too.

I was very surprised no one, never mind United, went for him after the last Euros as he had a brilliant tournament.

I think he's nailed on for Bayern anyhow.

 

[Acrobat7]

I was very surprised no one, never mind United, went for him after the last Euros as he had a brilliant tournament.

I think he's nailed on for Bayern anyhow.

It has been very quiet on that front. It would make sense since he basically already was a Bayern player in the summer, but it still is a lot of money for a limited player that isn’t the youngest.
No idea, why he extended at Fulham.

 

[Lash]

It has been very quiet on that front. It would make sense since he basically already was a Bayern player in the summer, but it still is a lot of money for a limited player that isn’t the youngest.
No idea, why he extended at Fulham.

You have to think they agreed a fee that they would let him go for, I thought you guys just ran out of time in the summer, so to avoid that in the future?

 

[Acrobat7]

You have to think they agreed a fee that they would let him go for, I thought you guys just ran out of time in the summer, so to avoid that in the future?

He already took his medical in Munich in the summer but Fulham wasn't able to get his replacement in time.

 

[didz]

It has been very quiet on that front. It would make sense since he basically already was a Bayern player in the summer, but it still is a lot of money for a limited player that isn’t the youngest.
No idea, why he extended at Fulham.

Maybe it was a "sorry we killed your big move by not getting a replacement; here's some more money and please keep playing really well" kinda thing?

He's got to be moving on at some point soon and Fulham keep getting linked with Palhinha replacements. You would think they'd be more resilient to selling him this month though.

 

[Lash]

He already took his medical in Munich in the summer but Fulham wasn't able to get his replacement in time.

Ah I see. They seem to be the ones linked most heavily to Andre, so perhaps they're just sorting their replacement and it will be a formality.

 

[Acrobat7]

Maybe it was a "sorry we killed your big move by not getting a replacement; here's some more money and please keep playing really well" kinda thing?

He's got to be moving on at some point soon and Fulham keep getting linked with Palhinha replacements. You would think they'd be more resilient to selling him this month though.

I assume that as well, but I would expect a release clause to be in place as well, if this is the case. And there has been no talk about one.

 

[Acrobat7]

Ah I see. They seem to be the ones linked most heavily to Andre, so perhaps they're just sorting their replacement and it will be a formality.

https://talksport.com/football/1552994/joao-palhinha-denied-bayern-munich-transfer/

It was a bit of a strange one in the summer

 

[Lash]

https://talksport.com/football/1552994/joao-palhinha-denied-bayern-munich-transfer/

It was a bit of a strange one in the summer

Yeah, that is really odd.

My friend who's a Fulham fan has said he's been really poor for a few months, but now picked back up again now it's January, so he's convinced he's leaving - Bayern or somewhere else.

 

[UpWithRivers]

An unpopular opinion but I'd rather go for Ndidi. Both are not ideal for us but Ndidi is on a free and younger and I think he has the potential to step up levels as seen this season he is playing a lot more offensively. If we need a single pivot to guard the backline he can do a job as good as anyone. And as I said - free. What's to loose? Spend the cash on strikers.

 

[Lemon Moon]

An unpopular opinion but I'd rather go for Ndidi. Both are not ideal for us but Ndidi is on a free and younger and I think he has the potential to step up levels as seen this season he is playing a lot more offensively. If we need a single pivot to guard the backline he can do a job as good as anyone. And as I said - free. What's to loose? Spend the cash on strikers.

What happened to Ndidi ? He was looking like a proper premier league CDM a few seasons ago... now on a free?

 

[Acrobat7]

An unpopular opinion but I'd rather go for Ndidi. Both are not ideal for us but Ndidi is on a free and younger and I think he has the potential to step up levels as seen this season he is playing a lot more offensively. If we need a single pivot to guard the backline he can do a job as good as anyone. And as I said - free. What's to loose? Spend the cash on strikers.

Zubimendi should be the target for everyone.

 

[Lash]

An unpopular opinion but I'd rather go for Ndidi. Both are not ideal for us but Ndidi is on a free and younger and I think he has the potential to step up levels as seen this season he is playing a lot more offensively. If we need a single pivot to guard the backline he can do a job as good as anyone. And as I said - free. What's to loose? Spend the cash on strikers.

We don't want to play like that though. We want a dictator of play from deep and a combative 8, not a water carrier 6. I think you have a point that he's managed to improve his attacking output this season and carries the ball well, he could be an option there, but I think that's what we're looking at in the links to Javi Guerra.

 

[didz]

What happened to Ndidi ? He was looking like a proper premier league CDM a few seasons ago... now on a free?

Apart from being pretty limited on the ball, he had a lot of injuries in his lack couple of seasons in the Premiership. He looks good in the Championship, but he's injured again and missing AFCON.

 

[Lee565]

I get Schneiderlin vibes with this guy

 

[poleglass red]

we are so poor right now that any player mentioned feels like an upgrade. There are people on an other thread genuinely interested in us getting Timo Werner, that's how bad it is. Palhinha, the one thing he does bring is a physicality that our midfield has been lacking for a long time. I mean someone who makes tackles, wins the ball, regains possession. McT and Casemiro fouling people is not being physical, it's reckless, that's the difference.

 

[Lee565]

we are so poor right now that any player mentioned feels like an upgrade. There are people on an other thread genuinely interested in us getting Timo Werner, that's how bad it is. Palhinha, the one thing he does bring is a physicality that our midfield has been lacking for a long time. I mean someone who makes tackles, wins the ball, regains possession. McT and Casemiro fouling people is not being physical, it's reckless, that's the difference.

It's not so much that we just that bad It's just a set of supporters on here that wears rose tinted glasses and will champion any rubbish player or manager that looks to join united as seen with the past positive spin for even ragnick, moyes, weghorst and ighalo.

 

[Lemon Moon]

Apart from being pretty limited on the ball, he had a lot of injuries in his lack couple of seasons in the Premiership. He looks good in the Championship, but he's injured again and missing AFCON.

Eric Bailly vibes then

 

[BAMSOLA]

You have to get a guy like this before they get to a prem side not after.