Potential Centre Back signing?

If we get another centre back they will need to be someone who's dominant in the air, especially with Casemiro leaving.
 
Blood Mage said:
Senesi has been great all season for Bournemouth and was motm against us on Friday I thought, he'd be a great signing.
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FriedClams said:
+1, great player
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Disappointing to hear we don't want him especially on a free. Our transfer funds will be tied up elsewhere so it's looking unlikely we'll have the funds for a big money centre back signing. Besides, some of our more successful signings in recent years have been free transfers i.e. Eriksen, Cavani, Ibrahimovic, Romero.
 
CM said:
Disagree on both really. I think left wing and left back both need attention before centre back.

Martinez's passing from defence offers us something unique, it's like having an additional midfielder. I'd keep him even if it's just as a squad option. I'd sell De Ligt if we had to sell one, I think his skillset is a lot more replaceable and that back injury doesn't seem like one that's going away any time soon.
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De Ligt is on big wages, I don’t think we would be able to move him on. So Martinez is the one who we might get a fee for.

Of the two, I think De Ligt is the better player, and one who can play with any other partner. Martinez with Yoro or Heaven is not a good combo.
 
ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg said:
De Ligt is on big wages, I don’t think we would be able to move him on. So Martinez is the one who we might get a fee for.

Of the two, I think De Ligt is the better player, and one who can play with any other partner. Martinez with Yoro or Heaven is not a good combo.
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I don't expect he'll go either. Same issue we have with Mount.

Martinez is a cheat code for punching the ball through the lines.
 
Blood Mage said:
Well apart from that moment yeah. I was impressed by his tackling and passes through the lines.
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Yeah, he's good. But he's in high demand and will be able to negotiate an unusually high wage, and what is being pointed out is also hugely important in the Premier League. We cannot really compromise on central defenders (or any position to be honest). We need an allrounder, a physical specimen with ball playing and passing ability to an acceptable level. Preferably two, but even being a muppet, I accept that's highly unlikely unless we bite the bullet with both Martinez and De Ligt.
 
Acrobat7 said:
He‘s not a crock. Just not THAT good.
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You don't understand. I meant we will give you a crock as payment for him. It was in jest. I agree. He's not that good. I would take Upamecano though, I know people don't rate him given his on occasion brainfarts, but he's the level I think we need.
 
Mickey Van Der Ven. Left footed and quickest CB in PL. Though most likely will end up at Bayern.

Sensei. Another left footed CB. Good passer of the ball. On a free this summer. Probably end up at Barcelona though.
 
dinostar77 said:
Mickey Van Der Ven. Left footed and quickest CB in PL. Though most likely will end up at Bayern.

Sensei. Another left footed CB. Good passer of the ball. On a free this summer. Probably end up at Barcelona though.
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Van Der Van will cost a fortune and is an injury concern as well as a bit of a hot head but I’d take Sensei on a free although Sensei as well as Martinez when fit and Heaven is left footed centre back overkill.
 
Bastian said:
You don't understand. I meant we will give you a crock as payment for him. It was in jest. I agree. He's not that good. I would take Upamecano though, I know people don't rate him given his on occasion brainfarts, but he's the level I think we need.
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Ah, I understood that as a crock for crock swap. Upa is not for sale. He just extended his contract (for an eye watering amount of wages) and is Bayern‘s best defender. He has been bossing it for 18 months.

Kim is definitely for sale though.
 
If we sign a left back, Shaw at centre half becomes an option for next season too. Between Shaw, Maguire, Martinez and de ligt, you’d hope at least one would be available!
 
IrwinwasbetterthanCarlos said:
If we sign a left back, Shaw at centre half becomes an option for next season too. Between Shaw, Maguire, Martinez and de ligt, you’d hope at least one would be available!
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This is a good point. I could see Shaw potentially being a good option at CB, even in 4ATB formation. I vaguely remember him filling in there a few years ago and being decent. Or maybe I just felt the same way back then that he’d be good there.
 
Silas said:
This is a good point. I could see Shaw potentially being a good option at CB, even in 4ATB formation. I vaguely remember him filling in there a few years ago and being decent. Or maybe I just felt the same way back then that he’d be good there.
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I think so too. Another way I look at it is that if we sort out our midfield well enough, even if it’s not with the best in class players (e.g. Anderson), it takes more unnecessary pressure off our back four. Would make or LB spot light though, so either way, we have to buy someone.
 
Personally think we should only be going for a CB this summer if there is a market opportunity for a player we're eyeing. JP Van Hecke at Brighton only has one year left on his deal and given you would imagine he fancies himself at a CL level team there is no chance Brighton let him leave for nothing, so there could be a decent value deal to be had. Outside of that there aren't many CBs that wouldn't break the bank that I'm too excited for currently.
 
I’m trying to think about the profile of the defender that we might need and what might happen with other players in the squad.

Heaven for example is someone who I think would need at least 25/30 games to kick on from where he is and to where I think could get too but will be get them here? Hopefully with European football coming back next season in some form there will be games to go around and the with the injuries we usually have he should be ok.

Yoro will he the player I think we will build around as much as possible so I expect him to get sufficient game time. He was nervous at times when the team was suffering and I think some of the criticism was overblown but he has the talent to be our leading centre back.

The three elder guys I’ll almost group as one as it’ll be about keeping them fit and using them in the bigger games for my money.

Thus i don’t think we will invest in central defence next season as we have 2 young high potential players, 3 senior guys who for different reasons will probably still be here next season and Shaw who covers when fit.

If we do get a central defender in I’d say it might come in the form of a left back who can cover inside like Luke does now. Or could Heaven do this?
 
Silas said:
This is a good point. I could see Shaw potentially being a good option at CB, even in 4ATB formation. I vaguely remember him filling in there a few years ago and being decent. Or maybe I just felt the same way back then that he’d be good there.
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Shaw played CB a fair bit in the latter part of 22/23 and he was quite good there. I think it started due to an injury crisis, but he did well enough that he continued playing there at times ahead of recognised CB's.

I think he has lost a bit more pace since then, but he might still be a decent option. He's probably still faster than any of our other defenders other than Yoro.
 
MadDogg said:
Shaw played CB a fair bit in the latter part of 22/23 and he was quite good there. I think it started due to an injury crisis, but he did well enough that he continued playing there at times ahead of recognised CB's.

I think he has lost a bit more pace since then, but he might still be a decent option. He's probably still faster than any of our other defenders other than Yoro.
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Thanks for confirming. Like you say, even if he’s lost pace by his own standards, he’s more than mobile enough for a CB. His somewhat unadventurous, but solid passing would be appreciated more in that position too.

Florida Man said:
I think so too. Another way I look at it is that if we sort out our midfield well enough, even if it’s not with the best in class players (e.g. Anderson), it takes more unnecessary pressure off our back four. Would make or LB spot light though, so either way, we have to buy someone.
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This is true too. I guess depending on what we do with Dorgu, we could have Dorgu, Shaw, Dalot and Mazraoui all capable of playing LB to varying degrees. If Dorgu doesn’t work out as a LB, then we’ll probably need to consider dipping into the market eventually. Frustrating that he got injured so early into Carrick’s run. If not for that, I’m sure we’d have a decent idea by now of whether he’s a viable LB.
 
RedSky said:
Id sign him and start him. He might not play every week but he'd get plenty of game time here given how injury plagued our senior CBs are.
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Wouldn't mind that either to be honest. Depends on whether MdL and Licha have a less injury prone season next year, but if we have CL football, I could see us needing an additional CB.
 
spenzo said:
As in it won’t happen or it shouldn’t? Given the injury record of some of our defenders I would go for him on a free regardless of Maguire staying or not.
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Both. If Maguire was going, signing a physically imposing, veteran centre half wouldn’t be the worst move. Don’t think we need two. Martinez, de Ligt, Maguire, Yoro, Heaven and if needed, Shaw, is enough cover for 2 positions. Id rather sign a full back.
 
IrwinwasbetterthanCarlos said:
Both. If Maguire was going, signing a physically imposing, veteran centre half wouldn’t be the worst move. Don’t think we need two. Martinez, de Ligt, Maguire, Yoro, Heaven and if needed, Shaw, is enough cover for 2 positions. Id rather sign a full back.
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It's a bit of an awkward position because there's always a good chance De Ligt and Martinez will be out.

That leaves us with Maguire, Yoro and Heaven which doesn't fill you with confidence. Tricky situation really.
 
IrwinwasbetterthanCarlos said:
Both. If Maguire was going, signing a physically imposing, veteran centre half wouldn’t be the worst move. Don’t think we need two. Martinez, de Ligt, Maguire, Yoro, Heaven and if needed, Shaw, is enough cover for 2 positions. Id rather sign a full back.
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Shaw as cover if we sign a top left back is fine and I’d choose a full back over a centre back too, but as the other poster replied, two of them are fairly unreliable fitness wise. Would also be nice to add a more athletic CB to the squad too. Not a priority but I wouldn’t turn my nose up at it.
 
OverratedOpinion said:
It's a bit of an awkward position because there's always a good chance De Ligt and Martinez will be out.

That leaves us with Maguire, Yoro and Heaven which doesn't fill you with confidence. Tricky situation really.
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If we want to do well in the CL I think we need to add some more experience to that back line. I wouldn’t go into a new season expecting DeLigt, Martinez and Shaw to stay fit for a full season. Maguire too is starting to pick up knocks

And presumably we won’t have Casemiro to fill in at CB either
 
golden_blunder said:
If we want to do well in the CL I think we need to add some more experience to that back line. I wouldn’t go into a new season expecting DeLigt, Martinez and Shaw to stay fit for a full season. Maguire too is starting to pick up knocks

And presumably we won’t have Casemiro to fill in at CB either
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In an ideal world I'd be looking for someone who can play both left back and centre back to a high level and is good in the air. A bit like a left sided Timber.

God knows who that would be though.
 
OverratedOpinion said:
In an ideal world I'd be looking for someone who can play both left back and centre back to a high level and is good in the air. A bit like a left sided Timber.
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I wonder if Schlotterbeck or Bastoni could be good cover at LB, in addition to already being class left-footed CBs. Both are very good at carrying the ball out of defence and also have good cross-field passing ability.

Van De Ven is another one, though I'm not sure he can really cross the ball.
 
goldenboy said:
I wonder if Schlotterbeck or Bastoni could be good cover at LB, in addition to already being class left-footed CBs. Both are very good at carrying the ball out of defence and also have good cross-field passing ability.

Van De Ven is another one, though I'm not sure he can really cross the ball.
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Can't say I've really watched much of them. I know Schlotterbeck is meant to be very good on the ball.

There was a lad at Feyenoord a couple of years ago who someone mentioned on here who looked brilliant in the clips they showed. I think he was a natural at both positions. Name was Hancko, but he signed for Atletico in the summer. Not sure how he's done.

I imagine it was @KirkDuyt who suggested him

VDV fits the profile perfectly and is also tall but I doubt we will spend that much on a centre back this summer and he is a little overrated. All the raw attributes though of course.
 
spenzo said:
Shaw as cover if we sign a top left back is fine and I’d choose a full back over a centre back too, but as the other poster replied, two of them are fairly unreliable fitness wise. Would also be nice to add a more athletic CB to the squad too. Not a priority but I wouldn’t turn my nose up at it.
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We need to improve at centre half, but it’s about choices. To be where we want, I think we need 10 players. Half starters, half for the bench. Just not realistic to do in a single summer. I’d look to address it properly next summer, when we can allocate it more budget and do it properly. The big bucks go on midfield this time.
 
OverratedOpinion said:
Can't say I've really watched much of them. I know Schlotterbeck is meant to be very good on the ball.

There was a lad at Feyenoord a couple of years ago who someone mentioned on here who looked brilliant in the clips they showed. I think he was a natural at both positions. Name was Hancko, but he signed for Atletico in the summer. Not sure how he's done.

I imagine it was @KirkDuyt who suggested him

VDV fits the profile perfectly and is also tall but I doubt we will spend that much on a centre back this summer and he is a little overrated. All the raw attributes though of course.
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Yeah was probably me, Hancko was amazing. Think he's done quite well at Atletico too (don't follow them really) as he plays everything. Equally good in the centre as on the left. Scored some absolute bangers for us.

This goal especially (sorry about the weird French music). Haven't seen many centre backs do this.

 
Allegedly Schlotterbeck is extending at Dortmund (for €14m per year) but with a €60m release clause.
 
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