Potential Centre-Back Signings

Mario Hermoso is going on a free, would be a decent option for LCB/LB cover.
 
Wezzaldo said:
AFCON has been moved to the summer now, so a non issue.
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Still an issue since a tournament (especially for African and Asian players who have long travel distance and tight tournament schedules on top) can bring the risk of injuries and overplaying. But then again, it's no different to the Euros or world cup. Specifically with Afcon, I am worried it's happening every two years.
 
aeh1991 said:
Still an issue since a tournament (especially for African and Asian players who have long travel distance and tight tournament schedules on top) can bring the risk of injuries and overplaying. But then again, it's no different to the Euros or world cup. Specifically with Afcon, I am worried it's happening every two years.
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Not a longer journey than our South American players. There’s a World Cup, Euros or Copa America every two years anyway. I don’t think it’s any more an issue now than for our other players. (That’s if FIFA don’t screw everyone over with a winter World Cup again to line their grubby pockets)
 
Looking at all the options, I do think most are either very raw or unproven, but this is how I view it.

Best in Class (gettable but unlikely)
Kim Min-Jae
Ronald Araujo

Established (clear ceiling but good enough)
JC Todibo
Gleison Bremer

World Class talents (expensive but worth it)
Leny Yoro
Antonio Silva
Ousmane Diomande
Giorgio Scalvini
Jarrad Branthwaite

Big Talents (expensive but more attainable)
Goncalo Inacio
Castello Lubeka
Willian Pacho
Aaron Anselmino

Intriguing Squad Options
Jhon Lucumi
Max Killman
Piero Hincapie

My dark horse
Mika Marmol


I think the most important aspect regarding our signings are that we sign players that compliment each other and the system. We know that Martinez is locked in for the left centre-back role, health permitting, and we know that he excels next to a partner who is a sweeper and has excellent movement. His partnership with Varane was very effective for this reason.

We also need to find the very best backup to Martinez that we can, because we can't see a fall off like we have when he isn't in the team. I have listed Marmol as my dark horse for this reason. He plays at Las Palmas but was an ex Barca youth. He is basically a Martinez regen, he is excellent on the ball and is a pit bull in defence.

If we can snag Kim Min-Jae off Bayern after a bad season, then I believe he would be the perfect partner for Martinez. Araujo would also be great in that role and only attainable because Barcelona will probably look to make a big sale to help with their financial situation.

One of Yoro, Silva or Diomande would be the most exciting, they are the three premier defensive talents at the moment. And if we could pair them with one of Pacho, Marmol or Lucumi who would be the best Martinez back-ups, then we could have a very strong defense next season.
 
I think realistically, we can't spend at every position, so the logical breakdown at CB is a cheap backup LCB (Palace just bought Betis' LCB for 12M, you have to think there are some decent young LCBs around for 10-15M as backups who can compete with Maguire for a year or two even for the backup role while they get used to the Prem/team/manager) and then spend big on the best young RCB we can find.

Lisandro-LCB
RCB-Maguire

as the main 4, and then Shaw is around at LB, since we probably need to sign an LB, and then Evans and Kambwalla probably stick around as depth, and they obviously have different strengths and weaknesses. Kambwalla the 3rd string RB too.
 
Redivy said:
Looking at all the options, I do think most are either very raw or unproven, but this is how I view it.

Best in Class (gettable but unlikely)
Kim Min-Jae
Ronald Araujo

Established (clear ceiling but good enough)
JC Todibo
Gleison Bremer

World Class talents (expensive but worth it)
Leny Yoro
Antonio Silva
Ousmane Diomande
Giorgio Scalvini
Jarrad Branthwaite

Big Talents (expensive but more attainable)
Goncalo Inacio
Castello Lubeka
Willian Pacho
Aaron Anselmino

Intriguing Squad Options
Jhon Lucumi
Max Killman
Piero Hincapie

My dark horse
Mika Marmol


I think the most important aspect regarding our signings are that we sign players that compliment each other and the system. We know that Martinez is locked in for the left centre-back role, health permitting, and we know that he excels next to a partner who is a sweeper and has excellent movement. His partnership with Varane was very effective for this reason.

We also need to find the very best backup to Martinez that we can, because we can't see a fall off like we have when he isn't in the team. I have listed Marmol as my dark horse for this reason. He plays at Las Palmas but was an ex Barca youth. He is basically a Martinez regen, he is excellent on the ball and is a pit bull in defence.

If we can snag Kim Min-Jae off Bayern after a bad season, then I believe he would be the perfect partner for Martinez. Araujo would also be great in that role and only attainable because Barcelona will probably look to make a big sale to help with their financial situation.

One of Yoro, Silva or Diomande would be the most exciting, they are the three premier defensive talents at the moment. And if we could pair them with one of Pacho, Marmol or Lucumi who would be the best Martinez back-ups, then we could have a very strong defense next season.
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No Guehi? Seems most cut and dry option.
 
AkaAkuma said:
No Guehi? Seems most cut and dry option.
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Guehi is a nice player, but I made my list with the idea that our right sided centre back signing should having the following traits:

1. Good aerial ability
2. Able to play a highline
3. Sweeper style to compliment Martinez stepping up.

Unfortunately, Guehi is very underwhelming aerially and also wouldn't compliment Martinez' movement as well as some other potential signings. When factoring in the cost that it would take to sign him from Palace, I decided there were better alternatives in my estimation.

If we are going to sign a player from the PL, I'd rather we sign Max Killman. However, neither players should be in our top 4-5 targets.
 
What's crucial is that we bring in cover/competition for Martinez and a replacement for Varane. With the limited funds available we should bring in the Giorgio Scalvini for the RCH role and who can be a option as a CDM where he played in the EUropa league Final, I would also like Tosin Adarabioyo as a good backup. For the left CH role there's no outstanding option, ideally we could bring in someone that also play left back, my choice would be Edmond Tapsoba.
 
Mylock said:
What's crucial is that we bring in cover/competition for Martinez and a replacement for Varane. With the limited funds available we should bring in the Giorgio Scalvini for the RCH role and who can be a option as a CDM where he played in the EUropa league Final, I would also like Tosin Adarabioyo as a good backup. For the left CH role there's no outstanding option, ideally we could bring in someone that also play left back, my choice would be Edmond Tapsoba.
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Noting the limited funds, what do you think Scalvini would cost?
 
Mylock said:
I believe he can be got for around 40m if the negotiations team do there job, young, very talented player, huge potential, Italian international player.
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I think it’s unlikely considering the Hojlund fee and also players such as Koopmeiners and Edersen even Lookman would be higher on their list of transferable players.
Atalanta can hold on to him for a few seasons before really needing to sell.
 
Branthwaite if the fee is right and Everton need to sell cheap to balance the books and Todibo. Both these signings would be fantastic to get in for the season ahead, keep Evan’s as well as a backup option.
 
AkaAkuma said:
I think it’s unlikely considering the Hojlund fee and also players such as Koopmeiners and Edersen even Lookman would be higher on their list of transferable players.
Atalanta can hold on to him for a few seasons before really needing to sell.
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Time will tell if Scalvini will be sold, if he is I believe he'd be a good option at a decent price. Hojlund was different as we were more desperate as there were so few strikers available at the time, currently lots of CH options out there.
 
Redivy said:
Looking at all the options, I do think most are either very raw or unproven, but this is how I view it.

Best in Class (gettable but unlikely)
Kim Min-Jae
Ronald Araujo

Established (clear ceiling but good enough)
JC Todibo
Gleison Bremer

World Class talents (expensive but worth it)
Leny Yoro
Antonio Silva
Ousmane Diomande
Giorgio Scalvini
Jarrad Branthwaite

Big Talents (expensive but more attainable)
Goncalo Inacio
Castello Lubeka
Willian Pacho
Aaron Anselmino

Intriguing Squad Options
Jhon Lucumi
Max Killman
Piero Hincapie

My dark horse
Mika Marmol


I think the most important aspect regarding our signings are that we sign players that compliment each other and the system. We know that Martinez is locked in for the left centre-back role, health permitting, and we know that he excels next to a partner who is a sweeper and has excellent movement. His partnership with Varane was very effective for this reason.

We also need to find the very best backup to Martinez that we can, because we can't see a fall off like we have when he isn't in the team. I have listed Marmol as my dark horse for this reason. He plays at Las Palmas but was an ex Barca youth. He is basically a Martinez regen, he is excellent on the ball and is a pit bull in defence.

If we can snag Kim Min-Jae off Bayern after a bad season, then I believe he would be the perfect partner for Martinez. Araujo would also be great in that role and only attainable because Barcelona will probably look to make a big sale to help with their financial situation.

One of Yoro, Silva or Diomande would be the most exciting, they are the three premier defensive talents at the moment. And if we could pair them with one of Pacho, Marmol or Lucumi who would be the best Martinez back-ups, then we could have a very strong defense next season.
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There's so many good players in the position for once. And we'll end up with Branthwaite for 60m and he'll be an average player in the Premier League.
 
I think that Fulham defender who’s going out of contract would be a decent signing.
 
Mylock said:
I believe he can be got for around 40m if the negotiations team do there job, young, very talented player, huge potential, Italian international player.
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Scalvini is going to be one of those centre back that everyone looks back on in 10 years and comments on how impactful he was for his teams. I think in pure talent, he is probably only behind Yoro.

I know in times past it has been difficult to take Italian players out of the Italian league, but if he is open to the move, then he should be a player we pursue.
 
I fancy a low-ball bid for Trevoh Chalobah. Very talented defender, can head the ball and can cover across the back four and even in midfield.
 
Bojan Djordjic said:
I fancy a low-ball bid for Trevoh Chalobah. Very talented defender, can head the ball and can cover across the back four and even in midfield.
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I like the idea of Chalobah on a low fee but I struggle to see Chelsea selling him for 20-25m. Would be a great squad player.
 
Overhaul FC said:
There's so many good players in the position for once. And we'll end up with Branthwaite for 60m and he'll be an average player in the Premier League.
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The thing is that, there was a report recently that our entire footballing department (presume thats scouts, data analysis, etc etc) are in complete agreement on Branthwaite's ability and potential. Therefore he is a priority signing for us this summer alledgely.

They obviously see something in him and its their job to assess and make recommendations. The lad must be towards the top of the list. After all, no smoke, no fire and we have been linked by many outlets with him.
 
I like Murillo as an option , but he's a lefty like martines , brantjwaite also favours the left though but he's a righty

I love martines , I' worry about him staying fit. With that in mind , left and right options would probably be wise . .

If we' are on a budget I think Anderson is anther option . I don't know his stats , but the times I've watched him , he looks like he's decent
 
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Chalobah -> £25m. I think this is a very good value for PL centre back.
Todibo -> £35m-£40m

For £60m - £65m, you can get two CB. Add Gutierrez as left back for £30m. Only going to cost £90m or under £100m for 3 signings in defense.
 
I get the feeling that we will purchase 1 CB to replace Varane and that’s it unless Maguire or Lindelof leaves
 
golden_blunder said:
I get the feeling that we will purchase 1 CB to replace Varane and that’s it unless Maguire or Lindelof leaves
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I think one CB and a LB is probably what we're looking for from a defensive standpoint.

Shaw reminds me a little like David Alaba during his latter years at Bayern, I believe he was very injury prone and lost a lot of that athleticism in his game. Like Alaba, moving Shaw to CB could revitalise his career and give him longevity into his early to mid 30's, because I don't think his body can physically run up and down the flank anymore.

I think if we signed a right sided CB, and then you have Martinez and Shaw at LCB, keep one of Maguire and Lindelof for the backup RCB and Kwambala as third choice RCB, it doesn't look too bad.

Replacing Varane and buying a holding midfielder are the absolute priorities this summer. Varane was the perfect foil for Martinez, with his excellent reading of the game and sweeping behind Licha, not to mention his dominance in the air. This will be difficult because nobody springs to mind. Maybe Yoro, but he's only 18 and looks to be off to Madrid to join the next generation of superstars.
 
eire-red said:
I think one CB and a LB is probably what we're looking for from a defensive standpoint.

Shaw reminds me a little like David Alaba during his latter years at Bayern, I believe he was very injury prone and lost a lot of that athleticism in his game. Like Alaba, moving Shaw to CB could revitalise his career and give him longevity into his early to mid 30's, because I don't think his body can physically run up and down the flank anymore.

I think if we signed a right sided CB, and then you have Martinez and Shaw at LCB, keep one of Maguire and Lindelof for the backup RCB and Kwambala as third choice RCB, it doesn't look too bad.

Replacing Varane and buying a holding midfielder are the absolute priorities this summer. Varane was the perfect foil for Martinez, with his excellent reading of the game and sweeping behind Licha, not to mention his dominance in the air. This will be difficult because nobody springs to mind. Maybe Yoro, but he's only 18 and looks to be off to Madrid to join the next generation of superstars.
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Agee on all your points. Physically I think we won’t get full seasons out of Shaw anymore but like you I think he’s got the tools and the build to move into CB.
Gonna be an interesting summer
 
eire-red said:
I think one CB and a LB is probably what we're looking for from a defensive standpoint.

Shaw reminds me a little like David Alaba during his latter years at Bayern, I believe he was very injury prone and lost a lot of that athleticism in his game. Like Alaba, moving Shaw to CB could revitalise his career and give him longevity into his early to mid 30's, because I don't think his body can physically run up and down the flank anymore.

I think if we signed a right sided CB, and then you have Martinez and Shaw at LCB, keep one of Maguire and Lindelof for the backup RCB and Kwambala as third choice RCB, it doesn't look too bad.

Replacing Varane and buying a holding midfielder are the absolute priorities this summer. Varane was the perfect foil for Martinez, with his excellent reading of the game and sweeping behind Licha, not to mention his dominance in the air. This will be difficult because nobody springs to mind. Maybe Yoro, but he's only 18 and looks to be off to Madrid to join the next generation of superstars.
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Agree fully, I’d rather bring in Diomande or Yoro as our only centre back signing then use Shaw as back up to Martinez and a new left back so that Shaw has his game time managed much better.

I think if we bought Gutierrez from Girona then promoted Amass we’d have a strong group of left backs if you include Shaw and Malacia then at centre back you could have Diomande or Yoro, Martinez, Maguire, Shaw, Evans if he stays and Kambwala.
 
Redivy said:
Looking at all the options, I do think most are either very raw or unproven, but this is how I view it.

Best in Class (gettable but unlikely)
Kim Min-Jae
Ronald Araujo

Established (clear ceiling but good enough)
JC Todibo
Gleison Bremer

World Class talents (expensive but worth it)
Leny Yoro
Antonio Silva
Ousmane Diomande
Giorgio Scalvini
Jarrad Branthwaite

Big Talents (expensive but more attainable)
Goncalo Inacio
Castello Lubeka
Willian Pacho
Aaron Anselmino

Intriguing Squad Options
Jhon Lucumi
Max Killman
Piero Hincapie

My dark horse
Mika Marmol


I think the most important aspect regarding our signings are that we sign players that compliment each other and the system. We know that Martinez is locked in for the left centre-back role, health permitting, and we know that he excels next to a partner who is a sweeper and has excellent movement. His partnership with Varane was very effective for this reason.

We also need to find the very best backup to Martinez that we can, because we can't see a fall off like we have when he isn't in the team. I have listed Marmol as my dark horse for this reason. He plays at Las Palmas but was an ex Barca youth. He is basically a Martinez regen, he is excellent on the ball and is a pit bull in defence.

If we can snag Kim Min-Jae off Bayern after a bad season, then I believe he would be the perfect partner for Martinez. Araujo would also be great in that role and only attainable because Barcelona will probably look to make a big sale to help with their financial situation.

One of Yoro, Silva or Diomande would be the most exciting, they are the three premier defensive talents at the moment. And if we could pair them with one of Pacho, Marmol or Lucumi who would be the best Martinez back-ups, then we could have a very strong defense next season.
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Who are the best LCB and RCB options off that list for what kind of defence we want to implement
 
croadyman said:
Who are the best LCB and RCB options off that list for what kind of defence we want to implement
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Probably Araujo for RCB and Lukeba for LCB, but they are probably the two least likely signings on that list also.

More likely to end up with Bremer and Kilman than those two, which would be two horrible signings IMO.

Realistic duo for me would be Todibo and Anselmino, albeit neither are a natural LCB.
 
croadyman said:
Who are the best LCB and RCB options off that list for what kind of defence we want to implement
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I would say Yoro as RCB and Lucumi or Hincapie as LCB would be the best combo in regards to price/quality/availability.
 
The only real benefit Tosin to United would be if we were to sell Lindelof and we’d have some extra money to throw about.

As others have said, he wouldn’t / shouldn’t be a starter for us, so the only appeal was being on a free.

So many talented CBs right now, and we need two I’d say

One to partner Martinez and one to be a very good rotational player, along with Lindelof, Kambwala and Evans

Remove Maguire from the team
 
Whoever we sign must be ready to step into the team immediately. Honestly, none of the mentioned players inspire confidence in me.
Ideally, we should have signed a young player earlier and eased him into the team while Varane was still here. Unfortunately, that's just one of the mistakes we've made over the last several transfer windows.
 
Chicharo said:
Whoever we sign must be ready to step into the team immediately. Honestly, none of the mentioned players inspire confidence in me.
Ideally, we should have signed a young player earlier and eased him into the team while Varane was still here. Unfortunately, that's just one of the mistakes we've made over the last several transfer windows.
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Think saying none of them is a bit harsh
 
croadyman said:
Who are the best LCB and RCB options off that list for what kind of defence we want to implement
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There are a few pairings of centre backs we could sign that are United quality, and would allow us to implement our preferred style.

Unrealistic signings:
Kim Min-Jae + Castello Lukeba

This pairing would probably cost us 125 million but these two are ideal for our system. There are more than enough games to go around next season for Martinez, KMJ and Lukeba. Martinez and KMJ would be your starting pairing but I believe Lukeba is talented enough to win a starting spot within 12 months at the club.

Whilst it would be fantastic to sign even one of these two, I will refrain from mentioning them again in my post.

Realistic signings:
Ousmane Diomande + Jhon Lucumi

I believe we could realistically bring Diomande and Lucumi in and trust them to maintain the level of performances we have seen from Martinez and Varane over the past 24 months. In this case Lucumi would be Martinez backup and Diomande would get first shot at the RCB role.

I do worry about Diomande being slightly inexperienced, but I think he has all the physical tools, and the raw technical ability to become a beast in our defense.
 
Igor Drefljak said:
The only real benefit Tosin to United would be if we were to sell Lindelof and we’d have some extra money to throw about.

As others have said, he wouldn’t / shouldn’t be a starter for us, so the only appeal was being on a free.

So many talented CBs right now, and we need two I’d say

One to partner Martinez and one to be a very good rotational player, along with Lindelof, Kambwala and Evans

Remove Maguire from the team
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I was against the Tosin signing because I believe at Manchester United all our signed players should be good enough to earn a starting spot. Even when we are signing a backup to Martinez this window, it should be a player with the ability to one day beat him for the starting spot. It wont always work out and some players will naturally end up as squad options. But signing Tosin would have just meant we have another player who wouldve sat on the bench for the next 3 seasons.
 
golden_blunder said:
I get the feeling that we will purchase 1 CB to replace Varane and that’s it unless Maguire or Lindelof leaves
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Tbh neither are good enough to play a high line. Club should be actively looking to sell them, give their minutes to big Willy as both will be a 4th or 5th choice. Varanes replacement shouldn't be as injury prone.
 
croadyman said:
Think saying none of them is a bit harsh
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Maybe, but most of these players are young and still need to adapt to English football (except for Branthwaite). CB is a delicate position, even Vidic needed time to make that transition successfully, and we need someone who can start alongside Lisandro from the day 1.
 
Chicharo said:
Maybe, but most of these players are young and still need to adapt to English football (except for Branthwaite). CB is a delicate position, even Vidic needed time to make that transition successfully, and we need someone who can start alongside Lisandro from the day 1.
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Yeah the adaptation is an important part because English football is very different to other leagues
 
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