Who’s this maguire lad for England? That guy looks like a beast - some pundit called him best CB in the tournament. Is he related to our Maguire - similar look about them. But England’s one has an aura of confidence. Could be an upgrade if we can get him.
Potential Centre-Back Signings
- Thread starter sullydnl
- Start date
Yes, I’m sure ten Hag’s first concern when identifying players is set pieces.
Anyone else fancying that Souttar guy?
If Cardiff City can afford his salary, and a transfer fee of £40m, he's yours.
He's not been completely useless in the world cup. Pretty much guarantees him a long career at United...being completely useless 100% of the time.
He’ll be sold because ETH wants agility and pace at CB as well as other things
It's not his first concern, but it would be incredibly naive to ignore it in the premier league.
Too slow for me, reminds me of Maguire.
Yesterday when I briefly thought Martinez could be out for a good chunk of next season, my first thought was less how badly it would hurt us defensively and more how fecked we would be in possession. We are very dependent on his passing game out of defence.
If we do sign a CB this summer, they really need to at least be better on the ball than our other CBs bar Martinez.
And with Varane again picking up an injury and Maguire presumably not wanting to stay and spend another season on the bench, we probably do need to sign that other CB.
If we do sign a CB this summer, they really need to at least be better on the ball than our other CBs bar Martinez.
And with Varane again picking up an injury and Maguire presumably not wanting to stay and spend another season on the bench, we probably do need to sign that other CB.
Jürrien Timber.
Thoughts on Levi Colwill at Brighton? I note both Liverpool and City linked with him today.
Yes, I think so, too.
Haven't seen us linked recently but it wouldn't be a surprise given we were obviously interested last summer.
I would go all in for Kim from Napoli and wasn’t it because of the potential sale process I would wish we already tried to send an offer now
Tomori
How some defenders we've been linked with compare to Martinez and Varane.
Defensive Stats
Passing Stats
Defensive Stats
Passing Stats
Nice one, thanks for sharing. Some pretty good options. Defenders get no love in their ratings it seems.
Not a bad shout. Chelsea will surely be under financial pressure to offload some of their fifty thousand players - although hard to imagine us getting a bargain either which is probably what we need for a guy who will be just a stand-in until Martinez returns.
Maybe the Feyenoord defender David Hancko if we could get him cheaply.
Ndicka on a free as Martinez backup, Kim for his reasonable release clause of €40ish million to rotate with Varane.
sell Maguire and Lindelof.
sell Maguire and Lindelof.
Haha, that's very true.
I did forget to add their aerial stats, though.
Varane
Wins 1.7 Per game
Total: 48 Won: 36 Lost :12
Martinez
Wins 1.2 Per game
Total: 63 Won: 32 Lost: 31
Timber
Wins 1.4 Per Game
Total: Total: 84 Won: 40 Lost:44
Kim Min-Jae
Wins 3 Per game
Total: 122 Won: 83 Lost:39
Silva
Wins 1.7 Per Game
Total: 62 Won: 40 Lost: 22
Diassi
Wins 2.7 Per Game
Total: 115 Won: 81 Lost: 34
Guehi
Wins 1.1. Per Game
Total: 65 Won: 32 Lost: 33
dont really know much about the players specifically, but this is the type of strategy id want to see the club use. Bring in 2 players that fit the system and arent stupid overpriced english players, and get rid of the 2 CBs who prob have some value but dont seem to fit well with what EtH wants. Selling maguire and lindelof would easily get 50 plus million.
Has the ball playing ability of Licha, is press resistant and faster than Licha. But not as good defending aerially. Think we would love the guy. A baller.
Really like him, plus he is left-footed. So would fit the bill.
All of these are right-footed, so if anything competition for Varane.
Whoscored is pretty much useless when it comes to rating CBs, GKs and deep-lying playmakers. For instance, their ratings don't take into account how good of a passer the player is, unless they are a creative player that constantly produces key passses. They also don't factor in enough data into their goalkeeper ratings. Centre backs should be judged on their efficiency in terms of defending, not the amount of tackles they make for example, which their rating system also fails to do.
That, I do know, and I believe ten Hag wants a right footed centre back to eventually replace a Varane, who is becoming a bit more fragile these days.
In terms of left footed centre backs, I'm now convinced ten Hag will use Martinez, Shaw and Lindelof there.
If we sign Timber, he can take the RCB and
Dalot/AWB - Varane/Timber - Martinez/Lindelof - Shaw/Malacia
Not sure we'll need 8 players for four positions. Its a bit of an overkill if you ask me. Maybe replace Maguire and Wan-Bissaka with Timber, who can also play right back.
That's the only site I use. However, I'd love you to do a comparison using a different site of your knowledge, so the Caf can get a more accurate representation of the passing and defensive stats of the centre backs mentioned.
Ndicka was asking for €12M gross per year and a signing bonus of €10-15M.
A significant amount. If the signing goes wrong, it is difficult to sell him.
I hope we don't. If anything this season has shown that we need two players in every position. The amount of injuries we've had is no coincidence. I also don't think that Lindelöf will be happy with being the 3rd choice CB in either spot, LCB or RCB.
As much as I like Timber and don't think that dominating aerial duels is as important, I don't think we can get away with two short CBs in the EPL, especially with Timber being as weak as he is in that area. As a right-back I wouldn't mind him.
Sofascore and fbref are worth checking out. Maybe I will give a shot, but it would take time that I currently don't have. Generally, if you only use whoscored stats, I think the most important ones for CBs were dribbled past, dispossessed and unsuccessful touches (at least that's what I think UnsTch means). These need to be as low as possible with a solid amount of games, which is usually a good indication that a CB is doing something right defending-wise, like Kim for example. And since you added aerial duels in another post, usually anything above 66% means a CB is decent in the air. Players above 70% trend towards elite in that area. Timber for instance has a success rate of 48%, which is pretty abysmal, considering he is doing that in the Eredivisie, while Kim wins 68% of his aerial duels. Both sites mentioned have that percentage, so you don't have to calculate it yourself with the whoscored stats.
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If there is any chance that he will leave Napoli due to his clause and not signing a new contract removing such a thing, for me Kim Min Jae is a no-brainer at that price. One of the best in Europe this season, with the complete package.
Also, in terms of style and what Lisandro offers us in possession probably the best available and reasonably priced fit would be Facundo Medina from Lens. Left-footed, nailed in the best defense in Ligue 1, he is an excellent player to have in the build-up play. So calm and composed on the ball, he can play decisive passes into the opponent's half, and being left-footed also helps to open that direct passing lane to LW once our LB goes narrow - the part of the reason why we saw Shaw at LCB rather than Maguire this season.
Apart from passing, Medina is a great carrier too, able to take on players when they put him under pressure. Although Lens play 3-4-3 for a while now, their shape in possession is very similar to ours ( 3-2-2-3 or WM shape ) - wider base to circulate the ball in the first phase ( 3 CBs vs ours with 2 CBs + RB ), double pivot in front of them ( IWB + DM - our shape from last game where Malacia went narrow to form a double pivot with Casemiro), two players in each half-space ( Lens have some sort of inverted wingers when we have free #8 like Eriksen, Bruno, Sabitzer, etc. ), two players responsible for wide areas ( Lens play with wing backs and we have winger stretching the pitch ) and, of course, #9 upfront.
The biggest issue I have with Medina is that although he is fairly aggressive in his defending, similar to Licha, he is still way less effective in doing it, even though he is part of the best defensive record in the league. I'm eager to watch him tonight against PSG and how he will cope with the best attack in the league.
Also, in terms of style and what Lisandro offers us in possession probably the best available and reasonably priced fit would be Facundo Medina from Lens. Left-footed, nailed in the best defense in Ligue 1, he is an excellent player to have in the build-up play. So calm and composed on the ball, he can play decisive passes into the opponent's half, and being left-footed also helps to open that direct passing lane to LW once our LB goes narrow - the part of the reason why we saw Shaw at LCB rather than Maguire this season.
Apart from passing, Medina is a great carrier too, able to take on players when they put him under pressure. Although Lens play 3-4-3 for a while now, their shape in possession is very similar to ours ( 3-2-2-3 or WM shape ) - wider base to circulate the ball in the first phase ( 3 CBs vs ours with 2 CBs + RB ), double pivot in front of them ( IWB + DM - our shape from last game where Malacia went narrow to form a double pivot with Casemiro), two players in each half-space ( Lens have some sort of inverted wingers when we have free #8 like Eriksen, Bruno, Sabitzer, etc. ), two players responsible for wide areas ( Lens play with wing backs and we have winger stretching the pitch ) and, of course, #9 upfront.
The biggest issue I have with Medina is that although he is fairly aggressive in his defending, similar to Licha, he is still way less effective in doing it, even though he is part of the best defensive record in the league. I'm eager to watch him tonight against PSG and how he will cope with the best attack in the league.
For Kim Min Jae I'd even spend more than his release clause. We will see how big the impact of losing Licha and Varane will be. I am very sceptical and really think that a quality third CB with starting ambitions is needed as much as a CM and RB. Only CF is a bigger priority imo.
That’ll bring me memories of Fellaini. Paying more than what we could have had him for. Just pay the release clause which in todays market is an absolute bargain. No need to pay more than what his release clause fee is. Will be stupid.
It was a hypothetical sentence, meaning that I'd sign him even if he didn't have a release clause or if he extends with an increased release clause. He's a player who fits the profile like no other imo.
Realistically it needs to be somebody who is content with being backup to Varane in the meantime while Varane is still world class. So somebody younger.
Scalvini, Bella Kotchap, Ahmedhodzic or Antonio Silva for me all have huge potential.
Scalvini, Bella Kotchap, Ahmedhodzic or Antonio Silva for me all have huge potential.
Kim Min Jae - let's get it sorted right now before the end of season. Don't waste anymore time. It is a no brainer for his price and ability. I can't see him performing worse than our next 2 backups.
His prices and suitors will only go up in the next few months.
We need to start learning from other clubs like city and chelsea who have the tendency to seal their targets before the transfer window even opened.
His prices and suitors will only go up in the next few months.
We need to start learning from other clubs like city and chelsea who have the tendency to seal their targets before the transfer window even opened.
Im in agreement that in an ideal world a CB who can play RB and CB would be great.
I presume whoever we sign will have recovery pace so ETH can play a high defensive block when required.
I'm not convinced we will see too many leaving this summer, obviously ETH would like to see Bailly, and Jones will go, Tuanzebe also looks likely to be on his way that leaves us with just 4 centre backs, Victor Lindelof agent has been making play me or else noise's, which leaves Varane, Martinez and Maguire, no way we can go a whole season with just 3 or even 4 CB's.
I like that list but I personally wouldn't like Bella Kotchap. Has the same big weakness as Varane in that he's not very good on the ball.
What do you think about Kevin Danso (another Austrian player) , playing at Lens, who are currently second in France. If I read the stats correctly he played all minutes in the league so far. 24 years old.
He has background in England, as educated in MK Dons and played in Southampton. Currently CB in Austrian national team with Alaba. He will move to a better team this summer, rumors say Inter Milano.
Though I have to say, top priority for you is a center forward.
He has background in England, as educated in MK Dons and played in Southampton. Currently CB in Austrian national team with Alaba. He will move to a better team this summer, rumors say Inter Milano.
Though I have to say, top priority for you is a center forward.
So, how did he cope?
My choice
Lucas Martinez "Quarta" from Fiorentina, ex- River Plate. Had half an eye on him since then, but he's having a great all-action CB season in Serie A.
Reasons he's my pick :
- Communication with Lisandro Martinez, both Argentine
- 6 feet tall so taller than Martinez and wins the ball a lot in the air. Thats a strength of his, which would help Lisandro
- Although South American/Argentine he's already adapted to and doing very well in Serie A in the past year
Not as good on the ball as Lisandro, but wants to win the ball just as much and stronger in the air. An upgrade on Varane, Lindelof and Maguire imo whilst being a great partner for Lisandro, whilst also having the bravery and defensive appetite to enjoy doing plenety of it, which we miss when like right now Lisandro isnt starting. So works with and without him.
Lucas Martinez "Quarta" from Fiorentina, ex- River Plate. Had half an eye on him since then, but he's having a great all-action CB season in Serie A.
Reasons he's my pick :
- Communication with Lisandro Martinez, both Argentine
- 6 feet tall so taller than Martinez and wins the ball a lot in the air. Thats a strength of his, which would help Lisandro
- Although South American/Argentine he's already adapted to and doing very well in Serie A in the past year
Not as good on the ball as Lisandro, but wants to win the ball just as much and stronger in the air. An upgrade on Varane, Lindelof and Maguire imo whilst being a great partner for Lisandro, whilst also having the bravery and defensive appetite to enjoy doing plenety of it, which we miss when like right now Lisandro isnt starting. So works with and without him.
It's hard to judge overall given that Lens's early red card killed that game, but he did ok IMO. He was solid on the ball and strong in duels. Maybe he could close the ball earlier for the first goal but it was an excellent first-time finish from Mbappe which left him with little time to react.
Also, even with the man down, Lens conceded only one big chance on his side of defense, when he was caught out of position, but their left also did badly, he should clear the ball rather than allowed Hakimi to get in front of him.
Hard to judge, not saying that Lens would shock PSG otherwise, but an early red card change what should be the best attack vs the best defense in the league. Sure I will keep an eye on him for the remainder of the season, as I said, in possession, he would be a great fit for our style.