Potential Centre Back signing?

Bastian

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We already have trouble fielding a consistent centre back pairing in a 40 match season. Yoro and Heaven are both good prospects who will get decent game time, but haven't staked a claim to be first choice and neither is really good aerially in a pretty physical league.

De Ligt and Martinez both have fitness/injury issues so cannot be expected to be consistently available. And Maguire good as he's been this season, does not help us play a high line, does not help us with the tempo playing out from the back, and is starting to get little niggles here and there.

We have seen how much of a game changer Martinez' ball playing ability is for us, both in terms of carrying the ball with intent and passing through the lines. We need another defender with those attributes who is grown like a defender, doesn't have major injury issues and has more pace than both Martinez and Maguire.

Is there such a player not already at a European powerhouse?
 
Bastian said:
We already have trouble fielding a consistent centre back pairing in a 40 match season. Yoro and Heaven are both good prospects who will get decent game time, but haven't staked a claim to be first choice and neither is really good aerially in a pretty physical league.

De Ligt and Martinez both have fitness/injury issues so cannot be expected to be consistently available. And Maguire good as he's been this season, does not help us play a high line, does not help us with the tempo playing out from the back, and is starting to get little niggles here and there.

We have seen how much of a game changer Martinez' ball playing ability is for us, both in terms of carrying the ball with intent and passing through the lines. We need another defender with those attributes who is grown like a defender, doesn't have major injury issues and has more pace than both Martinez and Maguire.

Is there such a player not already at a European powerhouse?
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French centre back at Middlesbrough - Malanda.
 
Luka Vuskovic and Murillo. But I think we can priorities Center Back position next season.
 
Sensei on a free and trust in Yoro and Heaven, if Maguire stays. If Maguire goes, we will have to go into the market for someone. Don't think De ligt can be counted on either.
 
I think Senesi is going to have a selection of suitors so it could be quite rich that. But a good player. Vuskovic is another highly rated young centre back, younger than the prospects already at the club. I think we need a first XI ready centre back who can help the two we have develop. Murillo we have already been linked with and yes, he's a great shout, especially if Forest go down. A bit on the short side.

@whitbyviking never seen him. I'm looking at highlights, looks a beast. Was he there when Carrick was managing them?

edit: @RedKnight88 I did not see this until now:

top1whoisman said:
It’ll be interesting to see where he ends up this summer. Reportedly he doesn’t want to return to Spurs (who would) with Bayern and Barca amongst the clubs interested in signing him.
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RedKnight88 said:
Luka Vuskovic and Murillo. But I think we can priorities Center Back position next season.
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It’s nuts to think we need another CB - but I take the OPs point.

If we did… then Murillo is the one I’d go for too.
 
The Irishman Nathan Collins from Brentford.
6'4" - 24 years old, has a very short injury history record, good passer, good in the air, a very solid defender that I think we should look into.
 
Bondi77 said:
Can we get a refund on De Ligt?
Fecking ridiculous!
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The CB issue can be solved but we need to take sentiment out of it. Sell MDL and Martinez, replace them with Senesi and Van Hakke. The replacements rank among the top 4 long range passers in the league, with the latter out of contract in 2027. Both over 6”, always fit and good defenders. This is the kind of ruthless decision that’s needed to get us back challenging.
 
RedKnight88 said:
Luka Vuskovic and Murillo. But I think we can priorities Center Back position next season.
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I think even if they somehow get relegated Spurs would insist on keeping Vuskovic. Spurs dont play friendly with us and hes doing really well without even having a run in the Spurs team yet. I could see them selling him to another club for less money than we'd offer just so we dont get him

Senesi and Murillo as mentioned here are sensible options given Senesi will be free and Forest could go down. However Murillo hasnt been as good as last season and if he plays like he has at Forest this season wouldnt be as good as our Cbs - he would be fit more often though thats the main difference. But he also plays LCB and unlike Lisandro hes average playing out from the back. Despite his size being quite small he's more like a Maguire or De Ligt as a CB who is going to clear balls from his box due to a big leap and leaves the ball playing to others. There are only going to be a couple of players who could potentially play out almost to Lisandro's level anyway and theyre at the top teams.

I'm going to make an outside of the box suggestion, someone who I picked several years ago in another thread - I think the underrated players you want us to sign thread. James Hill from Bournemouth. He's had 5 or 6 great performances at CB since Jan 2026, hes 24 now and he reminds me of a young Chris Smalling. Not the tallest CB option at 184 cm and hes only started 12 premier league games this season at CB with 7 sub appearances. But I think his recent form showing a breakthrough and him not being a first choice all season and not being at all hyped up in the past as a young English player would work in favour of a low transfer fee. It wouldnt be free like Senesi but more likely £15-25 million depending on how well he keeps his current form till the end of the season.

He would just be a good solid stand in at a few levels above Yoro and Heaven for when first choice CBs are out. So we would still need to sign a first choice to replace Maguire in the summer. But if that player or Lisandro pick up an injury, James Hill would be the level needed to do a good job while they are out in terms of defending. Like Murillo as I talked about above hes just a normal CB and would defend, leaving the ball playing to others so he would not be able to do that in Lisandro's place. Just the defending. Just the core values of a CB

 
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Bastian said:
I think Senesi is going to have a selection of suitors so it could be quite rich that. But a good player. Vuskovic is another highly rated young centre back, younger than the prospects already at the club. I think we need a first XI ready centre back who can help the two we have develop. Murillo we have already been linked with and yes, he's a great shout, especially if Forest go down. A bit on the short side.

@whitbyviking never seen him. I'm looking at highlights, looks a beast. Was he there when Carrick was managing them?

edit: @RedKnight88 I did not see this until now:
Click to expand...

They signed him at the beginning of this season but let him stay in America until Jan window, it was allegedly the only reason they got him as there were Prem teams interested. There is a rumour a Prem team tried to sign him from them before he’d even kicked a ball for them. Think he cost £6m and they were offered £15m ish by whichever team that was.

He looks a good prospect; fast, strong, good positionally, plays a lot of balls through the lines. Does look a bit too confident at times and occasionally gives the ball away but centre backs of his type are unusual in the championship so be interesting to see him in the prem.
 
Bastian said:
We already have trouble fielding a consistent centre back pairing in a 40 match season. Yoro and Heaven are both good prospects who will get decent game time, but haven't staked a claim to be first choice and neither is really good aerially in a pretty physical league.

De Ligt and Martinez both have fitness/injury issues so cannot be expected to be consistently available. And Maguire good as he's been this season, does not help us play a high line, does not help us with the tempo playing out from the back, and is starting to get little niggles here and there.

We have seen how much of a game changer Martinez' ball playing ability is for us, both in terms of carrying the ball with intent and passing through the lines. We need another defender with those attributes who is grown like a defender, doesn't have major injury issues and has more pace than both Martinez and Maguire.

Is there such a player not already at a European powerhouse?
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I raised the exact same point last year and got laughed out of it. Include shaw in that list too. We have good players who just cannot stay fit as their bodies can’t do it

IF we had the money after addressing the priorities, I’d get Murillo
 
Ekeke said:
unlike Lisandro hes average playing out from the back.
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Murillo looks like a player that could be very good playing out from the back if he playsin a more possession orientated team.

Centerbacks are often victims of how a team is set up. Considering all the issues Forest have had this year, I think Murillo have turned out very underrated.
 
Bastian said:
We have seen how much of a game changer Martinez' ball playing ability is for us, both in terms of carrying the ball with intent and passing through the lines. We need another defender with those attributes who is grown like a defender, doesn't have major injury issues and has more pace than both Martinez and Maguire.

Is there such a player not already at a European powerhouse?
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Jan Paul. But he too lacks pace, already an issue at the club.
 
RedKnight88 said:
Murillo
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Lash said:
Sensei on a free
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Bastian said:
I think Senesi is going to have a selection of suitors so it could be quite rich that. But a good player. Vuskovic is another highly rated young centre back, younger than the prospects already at the club. I think we need a first XI ready centre back who can help the two we have develop. Murillo we have already been linked with and yes, he's a great shout, especially if Forest go down. A bit on the short side.
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Ekeke said:
Senesi and Murillo as mentioned here are sensible options given Senesi will be free and Forest could go down. However Murillo hasnt been as good as last season
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andersj said:
I think Murillo have turned out very underrated
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United will be losing Casemiro this summer, and Maguire is unlikely to play regularly for more than one more season. That's United's two best players in the air (basically their only exceptional players in the air) on the way out.

The big problem with both Murillo and Senesi is that they really are not good in the air for CBs. Aerial ability is already Yoro's biggest weakness as well. For squad planning and the way the PL is going, you can't have an entire team without anyone strong in the air. And ideally you need a few.

For that reason, I'd rather look more in the way of players like Schlotterbeck or Vuskovic. Though of course they won't come cheap.
 
I can see us buying a CB this summer given how poorly MdL and Matinez can manage their fitness. We do have good you haters though and Maguire will get an extension I reckon.
I’d still prioritise the CM area before anything this summer. We need 2 maybe 3 there.
 
goldenboy said:
rather look more in the way of players like Schlotterbeck or Vuskovic.
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The problem is not the fee. If a player like Schlotterbeck move, clubs like Liverpool, Bayern and Real Madrid are likely to enter the competition.

You might be right that adding a player like Murillo would give us further issues down the line. The problem is that with injury issues of both de Ligt and Martinez, and Yoro not looking like a good fit for now, we have really messed up. It feels as if we are looking for the perfect CB not someone complementary too the one we have. If Martinez stayed fit, I guess we would look for a physical, quick CB. Maybe someone like Lacroix.
 
Was particularly impressed by Chris Richards at Palace. Purely in terms of defending.
 
andersj said:
The problem is not the fee. If a player like Schlotterbeck move, clubs like Liverpool, Bayern and Real Madrid are likely to enter the competition.

You might be right that adding a player like Murillo would give us further issues down the line. The problem is that with injury issues of both de Ligt and Martinez, and Yoro not looking like a good fit for now, we have really messed up. It feels as if we are looking for the perfect CB not someone complementary too the one we have. If Martinez stayed fit, I guess we would look for a physical, quick CB. Maybe someone like Lacroix.
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I keep seeing Alessandro Bastoni linked to Liverpool and Barcelona. he might be an option.
Lucas Hogsberg looks interesting too.
It's a bad era for defenders if we're being honest. Not too many standouts
 
Harry190 said:
Was particularly impressed by Chris Richards at Palace. Purely in terms of defending.
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Really good shout, he's calm and collected, and a good option on corners. Lacroix's also slick. Hard to tell how well either would fit in a back four though.
 
RedKnight88 said:
I keep seeing Alessandro Bastoni linked to Liverpool and Barcelona. he might be an option.
Lucas Hogsberg looks interesting too.
It's a bad era for defenders if we're being honest. Not too many standouts
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Bastoni would also of course be very good. Even more expensive than Schlotterbeck (1 year left on contract) and Vuskovic though.

I think there seem to be more available decent CB options this summer than there are available decent CM options tbh. Which is unfortunate for United as they have a bigger budget and need for CMs.

Red_Orchestra said:
The Irishman Nathan Collins from Brentford.
6'4" - 24 years old, has a very short injury history record, good passer, good in the air, a very solid defender that I think we should look into.
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He is hugely error prone.
 
Scalvini from Atlanta. Has played over 100 games. Good in the air, fast and a playmaker from the back.

Not going to be cheap but we can sell De Ligt if we sign him. Then we have Scalvini, Licha, Yoro, Heaven and maybe Maguire as options.
 
Red_Orchestra said:
The Irishman Nathan Collins from Brentford.
6'4" - 24 years old, has a very short injury history record, good passer, good in the air, a very solid defender that I think we should look into.
Click to expand...
Yep this is a smart move or go for Jared Branthwaite or Dan Ballard we need a reliable British CB, we need to resign Harry for 1-2 years and get rid of MDL as this season has proven his body can’t handle the PL.
 
For inatant impact - Romero. Romero- Yoro pair would be great. Or Romero- De Ligt.

He will do everything to leave Spurs
 
Woziak said:
Yep this is a smart move or go for Jared Branthwaite or Dan Ballard we need a reliable British CB, we need to resign Harry for 1-2 years and get rid of MDL as this season has proven his body can’t handle the PL.
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Lets just go for the best option instead of going for the British option this time... going for the British option caused us to pay a world record fee for Harry Maguire. Everton will demand crazy money for Branthwaite anyway.
 
The Cat said:
No thanks we've had enough of defenders missing games.
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Guy is never injured. He misses games only because of red cards. And we would sort that out.

He played 90% of PL games since he joined, btw.
 
Romero is okayish but we have an opportunity to add some real quality here. I wouldn't waste it on Romero.

If we want to sign an okayish player, we can sign Senesi on a free.
 
Andycoleno9 said:
Guy is never injured. He misses games only because of red cards. And we would sort that out.

He played 90% of PL games since he joined, btw.
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Absolutely not. You know what I don’t want in a centre half? Them to be impulsive and erratic. Romero has all the physical and technical talents and absolutely none of the mental ones.
 
Tallis said:
Scalvini from Atlanta. Has played over 100 games. Good in the air, fast and a playmaker from the back.

Not going to be cheap but we can sell De Ligt if we sign him. Then we have Scalvini, Licha, Yoro, Heaven and maybe Maguire as options.
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He'd be my dream CB signing, but he's going to cost an absolute bomb.
 
goldenboy said:
United will be losing Casemiro this summer, and Maguire is unlikely to play regularly for more than one more season. That's United's two best players in the air (basically their only exceptional players in the air) on the way out.

The big problem with both Murillo and Senesi is that they really are not good in the air for CBs. Aerial ability is already Yoro's biggest weakness as well. For squad planning and the way the PL is going, you can't have an entire team without anyone strong in the air. And ideally you need a few.

For that reason, I'd rather look more in the way of players like Schlotterbeck or Vuskovic. Though of course they won't come cheap.
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I know Murillo isn't, but I don't remember Sensei being particularly poor in the air, just not dominant. Fair enough, but my post does specifically say if Maguire stays.
 
Red_Orchestra said:
The Irishman Nathan Collins from Brentford.
6'4" - 24 years old, has a very short injury history record, good passer, good in the air, a very solid defender that I think we should look into.
Click to expand...

Darren Fletcher apparently wanted Utd to sign him from Stoke.

I don't think he's all that, good player on the ball, he's physical, but can be error prone. Wouldn't say he's good enough for a team with serious aspirations of winning the league.
 
andersj said:
Murillo looks like a player that could be very good playing out from the back if he playsin a more possession orientated team.

Centerbacks are often victims of how a team is set up. Considering all the issues Forest have had this year, I think Murillo have turned out very underrated.
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I think hes simply played a bit worse, as have Forest in general. Last season he was good in the air, I remember researching him and his stats and he was best at clearing the ball out of the box. Now looking at his stats he does seem weaker in the air and better defending on the floor. 2 sides of the same coin - if he was good at it last season he can be good at it again in the future. The other side is it shows inconsistency. He might be able to do one thing well for a season and then the next season hes different. It makes it harder to count on him for specific things and finding the right players to play around him
 
Ekeke said:
I think hes simply played a bit worse, as have Forest in general. Last season he was good in the air, I remember researching him and his stats and he was best at clearing the ball out of the box. Now looking at his stats he does seem weaker in the air and better defending on the floor. 2 sides of the same coin - if he was good at it last season he can be good at it again in the future. The other side is it shows inconsistency. He might be able to do one thing well for a season and then the next season hes different. It makes it harder to count on him for specific things and finding the right players to play around him
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He has a knack for last minute goal line clearances though. Two against us and one against city last week. He definitely has that sniffing danger, trait.
 
We must sign Luka Vuskovic if Spurs get relegated. Future world class CB
 
I thought that left winger is going to be the big problem for next season(lack of one), but center back might take that spot. I could see a repeat of 2023/24 - a season where we played in the UCL and had most CBs injured. Signing De Ligt was a mistake - now we have two injury prone CBs who will miss a lot of time. That leaves us just with two 20 year olds, Yoro and Heaven.

There won't be enough money for CBs in the summer, midfield and left wing are the priority. We'll have to hope that De Ligt and Martinez stay healthy as long as possible next season. That probably won't end well...
 
We need a reliable cb who can play out from the back, and with leadership qualities. I don't think we need any young prospects for that position.
Personally I would like to see Konsa brought in for 3-4 years.
Or Pacho from PSG, if you really could dream.
Outside bet Collins from Brentford.
 
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