Our Biggest Needs Priority Order

TheNewEra

Knows Kroos' mentality
Joined
Jan 20, 2014
Messages
8,133
In order: 1) Striker, 2) CM, 3) GK, 4) CB, 5) RB

If all those positions are met United are contenders for the title.

1. Striker
Outs:
Ronaldo - Free
Ins: Joao Felix, Sesko or another option £100M budget*
Net Spend £100M


2.
CM
Outs :
Ship out Fred & VDB ~ approx £50M combined
Ins:
1) Tielemans on a free if he wants to come, give him a nice signing bonus, allows Eriksen to push further up the field when Bruno needs a rest and when United need to actually retain the ball.
2) Bellingham or FDJ to get a ball running midfielder. £100-120M
Net Spend: Around £ 70M


3. GK
Outs:
DDG in good form but we need a modern keeper- £40M
Ins:
Diogo Costa - £55M
Net Spend: £15M

4.
CB
Outs:
Bailly out £5.1m end of season (already done), Maguire £30-35m: Total £40M
Ins:
Jurrien Timber, Min-Jae or Skriniar (on a free if he wants to join) £60M or free of Skriniar joins.
Net Spend: £20M

5. RB
Outs: AWB £20M
Ins:
Frimpong, Dumfries, Malo Gusto - £35M
Net Total Spend: £15M

Total Spend: £220M with maybe some restructure payments like add ons* ~ top spend
 

Escobar

Shameless Musketeer
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Messages
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Location
La-La-Land
Striker, midfielder(s), right back.

A striker in January is a must, but I doubt we can add a midfielder and RB as well
 

led_scholes

Full Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2012
Messages
2,417
In order: 1) Striker, 2) CM, 3) GK, 4) CB, 5) RB

If all those positions are met United are contenders for the title.

1. Striker
Outs:
Ronaldo - Free
Ins: Joao Felix, Sesko or another option £100M budget*
Net Spend £100M


2.
CM
Outs :
Ship out Fred & VDB ~ approx £50M combined
Ins:
1) Tielemans on a free if he wants to come, give him a nice signing bonus, allows Eriksen to push further up the field when Bruno needs a rest and when United need to actually retain the ball.
2) Bellingham or FDJ to get a ball running midfielder. £100-120M
Net Spend: Around £ 70M


3. GK
Outs:
DDG in good form but we need a modern keeper- £40M
Ins:
Diogo Costa - £55M
Net Spend: £15M

4.
CB
Outs:
Bailly out £5.1m end of season (already done), Maguire £30-35m: Total £40M
Ins:
Jurrien Timber, Min-Jae or Skriniar (on a free if he wants to join) £60M or free of Skriniar joins.
Net Spend: £20M

5. RB
Outs: AWB £20M
Ins:
Frimpong, Dumfries, Malo Gusto - £35M
Net Total Spend: £15M

Total Spend: £220M with maybe some restructure payments like add ons* ~ top spend
I love your optimism. But no club in the world would spend 40 millions on DDG. And I doubt we can fetch 50 for Fred and DvB and even 35 for Maguire. AWB would probably go for around 15.
 

TheNewEra

Knows Kroos' mentality
Joined
Jan 20, 2014
Messages
8,133
I love your optimism. But no club in the world would spend 40 millions on DDG. And I doubt we can fetch 50 for Fred and DvB and even 35 for Maguire. AWB would probably go for around 15.
AWB is still very young, solid defensively I think he's worth £20M easily.

DVB and Fred are full internationals for their country and will easily get £25M each too.

Maguire would do fine in a back 3.

I see the biggest issue in my list is getting Tielemans on a free over Arsenal :lol:
 

Borussia Teeth

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Oct 18, 2019
Messages
531
In order: 1) Striker, 2) CM, 3) GK, 4) CB, 5) RB

If all those positions are met United are contenders for the title.

1. Striker
Outs:
Ronaldo - Free
Ins: Joao Felix, Sesko or another option £100M budget*
Net Spend £100M


2.
CM
Outs :
Ship out Fred & VDB ~ approx £50M combined
Ins:
1) Tielemans on a free if he wants to come, give him a nice signing bonus, allows Eriksen to push further up the field when Bruno needs a rest and when United need to actually retain the ball.
2) Bellingham or FDJ to get a ball running midfielder. £100-120M
Net Spend: Around £ 70M


3. GK
Outs:
DDG in good form but we need a modern keeper- £40M
Ins:
Diogo Costa - £55M
Net Spend: £15M

4.
CB
Outs:
Bailly out £5.1m end of season (already done), Maguire £30-35m: Total £40M
Ins:
Jurrien Timber, Min-Jae or Skriniar (on a free if he wants to join) £60M or free of Skriniar joins.
Net Spend: £20M

5. RB
Outs: AWB £20M
Ins:
Frimpong, Dumfries, Malo Gusto - £35M
Net Total Spend: £15M

Total Spend: £220M with maybe some restructure payments like add ons* ~ top spend
We won't get anything close to the valuations which you've listed for our players.
 

Borussia Teeth

New Member
Newbie
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Oct 18, 2019
Messages
531
1) Deep lying playmaker who can pass, dribble and is press resistant. This is where the bulk of the budget should be spent.

2) Centre back to can fill in for and eventually replace Varane.

3) Striker with decent all round game. (This position is not as important to me as it seems to be for others because I believe that Rashford and Martial can do the buisness)

4) Ball playing goalkeeper.

5) Back up right back (no need if Laird is brought into the fold).
 

yumtum

DUX' bumchum
Joined
May 10, 2009
Messages
7,117
Location
Wales
There's a few players who could be interesting on a free/cheap with contracts expiring.

RB - Wilfried Singo, 21 years old who's a beast physically (tall and rapid) and looks good technically (dribbling and passing) - contract ends in 2023 (with a year option) has about 90 games of first team football in Italy.

There's a few strikers who are out of contract in the summer, three most interesting ones are Moukoko, Thuram, Brereton and possibly Belotti.

Midfield we need cover and an upgrade on Eriksen, we need to spend most of our budget here in the summer if we can get the above players cheap enough.

De gea also needs to be replaced, but it all depends on how negotiations go, if he wants to remain on 375k a week we need to splurge on a GK too, maybe activate De Gea's option so we can focus on a GK in 2024.
 

MikeUpNorth

Wobbles like a massive pair of tits
Joined
Apr 26, 2007
Messages
19,938
1. Striker.
We’re not going anywhere without a reliable goalscorer.

2. Right back.
Competition/ backup for Dalot. If Laird is good enough for that role, great.

3. Midfielder.
If we’re honest, only Casemiro is truly up to scratch from our current options. We need more quality in the midfield.

Then there are long-term questions about central defence and goalkeeper. But they’re not as urgent as the above.
 

croadyman

Full Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2018
Messages
34,337
Priority is obvious. Buy a forward in January, no matter the cost.
Don't think it's the cost that's the issue so much more the fact there aren't any top strikers available then, maybe you are talking about bringing in a different sort of forward
 

Messier1994

The Swedish Rumble
Joined
Oct 7, 2022
Messages
1,368
Would move RB down the priority list a bit because Dalot is doing well and feel a striker and cover for Eriksen is more important right now. There is also that issue of no proper cover for Varane either.
I agree 100%, it’s not the most obvious conclusion given how much Darlot has played. I think Eriksen is harder to replace for us if injured than Darlot would have been. And also that Eriksen is less durable than Darlot.
 

Arlo

Full Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2022
Messages
344
  1. Centre Forward - Not having a consistent goal-scorer up front takes so much away from our attack. With Martial's injuries and whats-his-face misbehaving, this is our number one priority.
  2. Right Back - After seeing Malacia struggle in Dalot's absence we really need a backup option there. Fortunately for us Dalot isn't injury prone, but we shouldn't rely on that.
  3. Centre Mid - Our options are better here with the addition of Casemiro and Eriksen but the huge drop off in quality beyond them really needs to be addressed.
  4. Centre Back - Not as much of a priority as last season but I'd still like to have a better backup/rotation option than what we have at the moment.
 

davidmichael

Full Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2015
Messages
3,373
With Ronaldo 100% never playing for the club again and Martial not briny able to stay fit long term our biggest need is definitely a striker but there’s so much opportunity to be clever in the market in January and in the summer.

In the summer Zaha, Ndicka, Thuram, Tielemans, Rabiot and Moukoko are all available on frees in the summer.

I think Ndicka would be a fantastic back up option to Martinez ahead of Maguire or Lindelof, either of Tielemans or Rabiot add depth to the role Eriksen is currently playing (I’d like Eriksen to rotate with Fernandes at 10 whilst bringing De Jong or someone like that coming in too) whilst Zaha or Moukoko add depth to the forward line.

Laird coming back to compete with Dalot at right back makes right back sorted with Jurado also coming through, left back is sorted with Shaw and Malacia, we’re stocked well out wide up top so I’d say in order it’s a striker, a De Jong type midfielder, a keeper and a centre back.
 

RkkMan

Full Member
Joined
May 16, 2019
Messages
2,179
Same as I've said before
CF- Self Explanatory and we specifically need a prolific goalscoring No9 not a False 9
CM- The drop off between Eriksen and the other CMs is too big and Eriksen himself isn't exactly getting younger or a high energy pressing CM(he tires out from the 60th min) that can also dictate the tempo of a game like FDJ/Enzo Fernandez/Benaccer
RB- Dalot needs cover. AWB/Williams are absolute trash and if Ten Hag doesn't fancy Laird we'll have to buy one
CB- Gap in quality and profile between Licha/Varane and The Fridge/Lindelof is too big. We need to accept we made a tragic mistake with Maguire and cut our losses for a more reliable 3rd choice CB
GK- Much farther down the list as De Gea is performing better than I expected and Costa's release clause is too expensive for us at this point. Other potential GKs aren't guaranteed upgrades on De Gea so I think it's wise we renew him on a 2yr deal on like a 50% pay cut and sign a 2nd Choice Sweeper GK to offer solid cover and competition like Romero did
 

Scandi Red

Hates Music.
Joined
Sep 25, 2022
Messages
4,471
1. Holy Water to cleanse ourselves from the recent filth
2. CF - the reason is obvious
3. CB - Varane is excellent, but he's injured too often
4. CM - if Fred gets sold
5. RB - backup for Dalot
 

Isotope

Ten Years a Cafite
Joined
Mar 6, 2012
Messages
23,554
Getting a competent striker is just sooo important. If we don’t have to chase games, our midfield and fullbacks wouldn’t get too tired in every game. And we don’t to play casemiro, eriksen and bruno in almost every freaking game.
 

croadyman

Full Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2018
Messages
34,337
Getting a competent striker is just sooo important. If we don’t have to chase games, our midfield and fullbacks wouldn’t get too tired in every game. And we don’t to play casemiro, eriksen and bruno in almost every freaking game.
Definitely is but can we wait until the summer with how poor our output is currently
 

Mr Smith

Full Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2015
Messages
4,013
Location
Australia
In order: 1) Striker, 2) CM, 3) GK, 4) CB, 5) RB

If all those positions are met United are contenders for the title.

1. Striker
Outs:
Ronaldo - Free
Ins: Joao Felix, Sesko or another option £100M budget*
Net Spend £100M


2.
CM
Outs :
Ship out Fred & VDB ~ approx £50M combined
Ins:
1) Tielemans on a free if he wants to come, give him a nice signing bonus, allows Eriksen to push further up the field when Bruno needs a rest and when United need to actually retain the ball.
2) Bellingham or FDJ to get a ball running midfielder. £100-120M
Net Spend: Around £ 70M


3. GK
Outs:
DDG in good form but we need a modern keeper- £40M
Ins:
Diogo Costa - £55M
Net Spend: £15M

4.
CB
Outs:
Bailly out £5.1m end of season (already done), Maguire £30-35m: Total £40M
Ins:
Jurrien Timber, Min-Jae or Skriniar (on a free if he wants to join) £60M or free of Skriniar joins.
Net Spend: £20M

5. RB
Outs: AWB £20M
Ins:
Frimpong, Dumfries, Malo Gusto - £35M
Net Total Spend: £15M

Total Spend: £220M with maybe some restructure payments like add ons* ~ top spend
Targets are realistic, valuations sadly less so. But if we could get even just the top two priorities done, I feel it would be good business.
 

Strelok

New Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2018
Messages
5,279
Of course a #9. Then a CM. A backup RB. And a backup left footed RW. Antony out and anyone we've tried there has been basically shit.

Only if that stupid lad didn't feck up we'd have solved two of the above.
 

devilish

Juventus fan who used to support United
Joined
Sep 5, 2002
Messages
61,526
We will be lucky to have 80m to spend next summer. Id say we should buy

STK: Moukoko (free)
MC: Aouar (free)
RB: Frimpong - 20m
CB: Kim Min-jae - 40m
STK: Thuram (free)
 

FrankWhite

Not Frank White
Joined
May 3, 2017
Messages
1,002
Of course a #9. Then a CM. A backup RB. And a backup left footed RW. Antony out and anyone we've tried there has been basically shit.

Only if that stupid lad didn't feck up we'd have solved two of the above.
Agreed. Though Sancho could also still play there. I haven't given up on him completely even if I'm one of his harshest critics on here. The goal keeping one is interesting, De gea his improved a fair bit since I started this thread though isn't quite there yet. Problem is his contract situation, The length and cost. I would activate the one year extension then sign a decent back up to compete with him. See how he does next year then decide. This gives us time to focus on CF, RB and CM transfers.
 

Rampant Red Rodriguez

Scared of women, so hates them.
Joined
Aug 7, 2019
Messages
972
Exits are also a big priority for us, the wage bill is nuts and needs trimming and economising.

AWB Phil Jones and Telles will be going out with Timber coming in.

Ronaldo will be going out and a unit of a Cfwd in, hopefully 2 will come in.
 

sullydnl

Ross Kemp's caf ID
Joined
Sep 13, 2012
Messages
34,063
  1. Centre Forward - Not having a consistent goal-scorer up front takes so much away from our attack. With Martial's injuries and whats-his-face misbehaving, this is our number one priority.
  2. Right Back - After seeing Malacia struggle in Dalot's absence we really need a backup option there. Fortunately for us Dalot isn't injury prone, but we shouldn't rely on that.
  3. Centre Mid - Our options are better here with the addition of Casemiro and Eriksen but the huge drop off in quality beyond them really needs to be addressed.
  4. Centre Back - Not as much of a priority as last season but I'd still like to have a better backup/rotation option than what we have at the moment.
Looks about right.

Goalkeeper situation has to be sorted one way or another too though. De Gea out of contract, Henderson presumably going to be sold, Dubravka only on loan and (I think) Heaton's contract coming to an end too? Even if De Gea stays all of that will probably necessitate a goalkeeper signing of some description, though it may not be a particularly costly one. And obviously if we decide not to keep De Gea then signing a new goalkeeper jumps to the top of the priority list.
 

Arlo

Full Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2022
Messages
344
Looks about right.

Goalkeeper situation has to be sorted one way or another too though. De Gea out of contract, Henderson presumably going to be sold, Dubravka only on loan and (I think) Heaton's contract coming to an end too? Even if De Gea stays all of that will probably necessitate a goalkeeper signing of some description, though it may not be a particularly costly one. And obviously if we decide not to keep De Gea then signing a new goalkeeper jumps to the top of the priority list.
I agree. The quality of goalkeeper that we need may also mean a significant outlay, especially if the rumours about Diogo Costa are true.

There's quite a lot to be done between now and the summer in terms of deciding who warrants an extension, whether we can get suitable replacements for players at the end of their contracts, selling off unwanted players, and who we need to add to the squad.

It might be a bit too much to have all these issues sorted out before the start of next season, but I'm hopeful we won't still be asking the same old questions like how are we going to dispose of underwhelming players on high wages.
 

croadyman

Full Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2018
Messages
34,337
We will be lucky to have 80m to spend next summer. Id say we should buy

STK: Moukoko (free)
MC: Aouar (free)
RB: Frimpong - 20m
CB: Kim Min-jae - 40m
STK: Thuram (free)
Shrewd business on a low budget
 

FrankWhite

Not Frank White
Joined
May 3, 2017
Messages
1,002
Safe to say Football Atlantis is a Redcafe member then?

Looks like the order of priority needs has fluctuated this season month on month but I think they still all stand as our top priorities.
Currently, order looks like CF, CM, GK then RB.
AWB is not great but will do as a back up for now. Eriksen has been great however we're starting to see why he's a makeshift in that position and really should be a backup to the starter.
 
Last edited:

croadyman

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Safe to say to Football Atlantis is a Redcafe member then?

Looks like the order of priority needs has fluctuated this season month on month but I then they still all stand as our top priority.
Currently, order looks like CF, CM, GK and RB.
Yeah that should be the order