Potential Centre Back signing?

With the Maguire extension, I’m pretty sure we’re not signing a cb. It’s a shame because I would have loved for us to get Van Hecke. He’s got one year left so this would have been a good time to get him
 
I don’t think we should be looking at the Maguire extension to decide if we sign a new CB or not. We should be looking at how injury prone Martinez and De Ligt are. If we have the budget we should get a centre back in. Martinez and De Ligt cannot be trusted to stay fit.
 
I don’t think we should be looking at the Maguire extension to decide if we sign a new CB or not. We should be looking at how injury prone Martinez and De Ligt are. If we have the budget we should get a centre back in. Martinez and De Ligt cannot be trusted to stay fit.
It all depends if de ligt back injury will keep him out all of next season. They need to get to the bottom of it. Him and Lichs when fit are our best CB pairing.

 
All I saw in the media the last few days was that Maguire re-signing was a shrewd move because of his experience.... Now 3 days later and people realise this now means we're not able to sign another centreback.

I think it's a shame we didn't let Maguire finally leave on a free and sign a durable centreback around 24 years old with solid first team experience.

De Ligt, Martinez, Yoro and Heaven have all had injuries this season. This was lazy planning by the club.

Doesn’t mean we won’t sign a CB at all. It does mean we don’t have to pay to replace Maguire.

It’s being pragmatic. We can’t buy everyone we need in one summer.
 
Doesn’t mean we won’t sign a CB at all. It does mean we don’t have to pay to replace Maguire.

It’s being pragmatic. We can’t buy everyone we need in one summer.
Exactly. It’s about choices. Once you’ve made certain decisions, others are off the table.

Same at right back. I don’t know a single United fan that wants to see Dalot starting next season, but there’s greater needs. If we get this summer right, right back and centre back will be higher on the list next summer.

Can’t fix our omnishambles overnight.
 
Apparently his other half plays for Bournemouth women's team, so that might help Chelsea & Spurs here, as he might want to stay in the South.

I'd imagine he'll end up at Chelsea.
If Spurs stay up, I think that's probably the best place for him. He'd fit very well in what De Zerbi wants from his CBs and not have to compete with 10 different CBs at Chelsea.
 
If Spurs stay up, I think that's probably the best place for him. He'd fit very well in what De Zerbi wants from his CBs and not have to compete with 10 different CBs at Chelsea.
Will he want CL Football is the wildcard, if not then fully expect him to join either Spurs or Chelsea
 
Apparently his other half plays for Bournemouth women's team, so that might help Chelsea & Spurs here, as he might want to stay in the South.

I'd imagine he'll end up at Chelsea.

If Madrid came calling, would it matter his misses plays for the Bournemouth women’s team?

I imagine it makes close to zero difference.
 
Well yes, yes it would, if he values his partners career.

He can still value her career - they don’t need to be in the same town.

Imagine Barcelona came in for her? It’s a short career, very few at the top level move/ don’t move based on location.
 
Anyone who think we aren't desperate for a new CB needs a reality check. Martinez and Yoro a total abomination here vs Leeds, can't defend against any direct attacks.

Not a single defender we have would start for Arsenal or City.
 
Anyone who think we aren't desperate for a new CB needs a reality check. Martinez and Yoro a total abomination here vs Leeds, can't defend against any direct attacks.

Not a single defender we have would start for Arsenal or City.
That's why we need to get Senesi deal in place
 
None of our defenders are comfortable playing a high line, not even Yoro. I think only Heaven has the potential to become one.

We can't expect the team to play modern football when our CBs are scared to push over the halfway line, just look at how high City's or Arsenal's CB push when they have possession, it's the key to winning the ball back quick, reducing the monstrous gaps in midfield that we see so often. In De Ligt and Maguire we have two box defenders; Lisandro is a ball playing CB who is also not comfortable pushing high whilst also being weak defensively.

If we are to dominate the ball next season buying two 1st choice midfielders alone won't be enough, fast, strong, ball playing CBs would be an absolute must, someone of the quality of Guehi. Buying Senesi for a free might be a good bet, even though his defensive stats aren't great, I think he'd be a upgrade over Martinez.
 
We need to be all over Vuskovic, future world class CB and talents like that don't come around often. Defense wins you titles.
 
We need to be all over Vuskovic, future world class CB and talents like that don't come around often. Defense wins you titles.
Yes it does, and clearly he’s got a lot of talent

I don’t know if the money is there but I’d be happy with Rudiger on a free too. Dominant player
 
The unfortunate thing here is we have bigger issues. But yeah similarly to the midfield, this needs a tear up.

De ligt is very good and good enough to be a main stay, but is broken. So can we even count him?
Martinez is ok but has clear weaknesses and is always injured which is the biggest issue.
Maguire is very good as a 3rd choice.
Yoro and Heaven are good as 4th and 5th choice/long term developers.

When your 1st and 2nd choice are always broken, you need to change that.
 
Rudiger is 33. It probably goes against Ineos' transfer policy.

I’d take him every day of the week. Would be our best defender. And make us much more of a nasty team.
 
Well yes, yes it would, if he values his partners career.

The thing is... and I dont want to be harsh but, living in Bournemouth now, the womens team are semi professional and play in the 3rd tier of womens football. Its not like shes playing in the WSL. I'm sure she could change teams without a lot of fuss
 
I’d take him every day of the week. Would be our best defender. And make us much more of a nasty team.
Yeah it's a no brainer but we all know it won't happen because of INEOS criteria on age and no resale value. They conveniently ignore how badly Chelsea are doing with a lack of experience at CB just to save money
 
Didn't think it was this back problem though, now if it was then yeah that's very poor background checks on the injury
Not sure to be honest. But two out of four seasons of significant time missed due to injury since leaving Ajax including missing half the season before we signed him should’ve surely set alarm bells ringing.
 
What dissapointing is that we pretty much have Ajax as our defence. That Ajax thar lost against Spurs.

Get Senesi to replace Martinez. Let Martinez run out his contract but we can't rely on him as a main player anymore.

He is available like at max a quarter of the season.

I know nothing about Senesi but if he is one of the best ball playing defenders then atleast I know he has better physicality than Martinez.

We need someone thats strong as De ligt and Maguire that's left footed.
 
Not sure to be honest. But two out of four seasons of significant time missed due to injury since leaving Ajax including missing half the season before we signed him should’ve surely set alarm bells ringing.
Yeah we should have gone for Rudiger instead, appreciate he's older but certainly better injury history than De Ligt
 
Going into next season without a reliable and competitive CB/Cm pairing is the foundation for a very mediocre year. We can't keep putting out a defensive unit that's persistently out paced, out jumped and out thought and fought. We rank 11th for goals conceded.

We will struggle with next seasons fixture load and higher intensity games (Ucl).
  • Maguire is old and not suited to a higher line
  • De ligt will be blunt (already looks a little heavy, I can't imagine he comes back sharp after a year on the injury table)
  • Licha is flawed (injuries, discipline, not ideal for the league).

As poor as Yoro has been at times, I think he gets significantly better if we pair him with a reliable and high quality CB. A defensive leader that can hold his own in the air and on the ground. Someon he can play/learn off (not cover for because they are too small or too slow).

lest we forget, we will also need an injection of pace and quality in our fullbacks. We have too many defensive passengers and misfits.