watched the guy in the europa league and he looked very good.
Potential Centre-Back Signings
- Thread starter sullydnl
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All valid points and I can’t pretend to be an expert on KMJ as I haven’t watched much of him outside of UCL matches and mostly Serie A highlights but my vaguely informed opinion actually thought he was decent as a RV replacement in terms of style, pace and carrying the ball out of defence under pressure.
Wasn’t too concerned about him in that regard until you brought some take-ons stats to the fore, above. Maybe those who watch him more regularly can elaborate more. I’d have thought he’d be quite far from a “maguire” in that regard/concern but I do agree with the jist of your post.
May be wrong, but isnt he yet another left sided centre back?
That seems to be the problem Inacio, Kotchap, Lukeba etc etc, majority of the really good young centre back sin Europe, and there are quite a few of them, all seem to be playing left side, the positive is not many of them seem to be left footed
Lindelof is a perfectly acceptable back up to Varane so it’s a left sided centre back as back up to Martinez we need so Shaw can play in his best position, the Rashford/Shaw partnership is probably our best link up outside of Fernandes/Eriksen.
I reckon Colwill will be available from Chelsea this summer seeing as Chelsea need to sell a lot to balance the books as best they can with no European football next season, he’s still young so ETH can mould him and learning from Varane and Martinez would be great for him.
I reckon Colwill will be available from Chelsea this summer seeing as Chelsea need to sell a lot to balance the books as best they can with no European football next season, he’s still young so ETH can mould him and learning from Varane and Martinez would be great for him.
Colwill would be a great pick up but I presume he is going to want first team football for his next move and he'd obviously not be guaranteed that with Martinez ahead of him.
With us playing (hopefully) CL games next season as well as the PL, FA Cup and League Cup he’d get plenty of games as Martinez would need resting just as Lindelof would get plenty of games so Varane can be rested.
What did Tomori go to Milan for ? Was it £25 million ? If we could get Colwill for around that whilst moving Maguire, Jones, Bailly and Tuanzebe all on then giving Mengi, Kambwala and Bennett minutes if needed we’d have a great group.
He is but competition for places a good thing
I have a feeling we won’t be buying anymore “established” CBs. The ones who would demand first XI majority of the time. That may interrupt the chemistry of the squad IMO. At least at this moment in time.
I have that feeling, too. We're pretty much stacked as it is anyway, so it wouldn't be a massive surprise.
Lindelof has showed that he can be back up to Varane, and Shaw can also come in and deputise for Martinez.
Seven players competing for four positions is enough.
Wan-Bissaka
Dalot
Varane
Lindelof
Martinez
Shaw
Malacia
Plus a younger player.
All the reports from Chelsea are that Colwill will not be sold.
N'dicka or Bella-Kotchap maybe
Wonder who would be the greater success here out of Kim min-jae or Timber? I haven't seen enough of either but both are exciting players. Interested to hear different opinions on them both.
As i said in another thread, I love the idea that we might be being careful with the way we look after Varane in the future who is obviously a superb defender but has only barely made over 20 league appearances in each of the two seasons he's been here. Having someone as good as him as a squad option would be brilliant.
As i said in another thread, I love the idea that we might be being careful with the way we look after Varane in the future who is obviously a superb defender but has only barely made over 20 league appearances in each of the two seasons he's been here. Having someone as good as him as a squad option would be brilliant.
Not even a competition. Timber is younger and better at passing but in everything else (defending, physique, speed, experience, tactics, leadership) I'd argue KMJ is better.
Yeah it's definitely Min-Jae for me,feel like his passing could maybe improve with coaching too
I was thinking a player from the academy, i.e. Laird or Fernandez, meaning if Shaw has to go centre back at any point, then Fernandez can be back up to Malacia, or Dalot can go left back, and Laird can be back up to Wan-Bissaka.
Having 8 players competing for four spots is overkill, in my opinion. I think we saw that with City and Cancelo this season.
Can I recommend you take a look at Eric Dier, a young up and coming England international. Spurs would probably accept 49p for him.
We have one left CB in the squad?
Two with Shaw, who, as we've seen, is perfectly capable of deputising for Martinez.
I haven't seen enough of him but i was under the impression he was very decent on the ball and playing out from the back?
While Shaw can play CB, he is much better as LB.
shaw needs to be starting LB, and should only be seen as the backup to the backup for martinez. Would be a huge error to go into next season thinking of shaw as next up for martinez spot.
And he is absolutely top quality. Of course we also have Shaw.
Maguire until very rcently has been left sided until very very recently....and before you say it, yes I agree and that IS the problem with most of our right sided centre backs too...they need to go.
We have One good right sided centre back who has a lot of niggling injuries or gets rested to avoid injuries. Maguire now, Jones, Bailly, Tuanzabe all need to go and personally if it wasnt the number we need to get rid of at the back I wouldnt be dissapointed to see the back of Lindelof who is suddenly more than good enough for many after a handful of good recent appearances but regardless of opinion he is going to stay unless he isnt happy to be second choice.
So realistically if you add Shaw we have four possible centrer backs, we all know who is likely to make more appearances in a first eleven and it isnt Varane, thats why I would personally much favour a right sided centre back, ideally of course one that could play either position would be ideal as a lot of the left sided ones are right footed still
Think Bella Kotchap is useless in posession so don't think he'll be what ETH will want.
Spanish and danish media reports that United are preparing negotiations with Barcelonas Andreas Christensen, who is playing a really good season in Spain. The dane is essential to Xavis plans, but Barcas piggy bank is empty and needs to be filled.
No fecking way. We played that game all of last summer, leave them to their fate.
Maybe, but he's also a very good centre back, and I think ten Hag would be happy to use him there, with Dalot or Malacia playing left back if Martinez is out.
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Which leaves us short at LB. We have a lot of RCBs and very few LCBs.
We also need to shift a few CBs. Its probably necessary to sign 2 CBs. However if we choose to keep Lindelof then the gap is on the left side (or more accurately a left footed CB) which is important for ETH.
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N'Dicka could be a no brainer on a free for LCB cover
Yeah that's the ideal free agent
He would be, agree
It doesn't leave us short at left back, as I previously mentioned that we could use Malacia and Dalot there, if needed.
If you look at Man City's defensive options, they have 8 players for four positions, one of which is a academy graduate.
Ake/Gomez - Laporte/Ake - Diaz/Stones - Akanji/Walker
+ Rico Lewis
We could do something similar by having the following:
Shaw/Malacia - Martinez/Shaw - Varane/Lindelof - Wan-Bissaka/Dalot
+ Fernandez or Laird
Ignore the fact City had Cancelo and will likely replace him in the summer
Ignore the fact that they sent him on loan because he wasn't happy with his game time.
Pep Guardiola decided João Cancelo had to be loaned to Bayern Munich after being disappointed by the full-back's attitude when given decreased game time for Manchester City. Cancelo lost his first-team berth and did not feature in the past three matches.
This isn't fifa. You have to think about the game time you will be giving players, and I personally believe having 8 established players competing for 4 spots is too many.
Yes which meant he was a squad option, which provided fullback options at both RB and LB, they sent him on loan because he was being disruptive and will likely replace himIgnore the fact that they sent him on loan because he wasn't happy with his game time.
Pep Guardiola decided João Cancelo had to be loaned to Bayern Munich after being disappointed by the full-back's attitude when given decreased game time for Manchester City. Cancelo lost his first-team berth and did not feature in the past three matches.
This isn't fifa. You have to think about the game time you will be giving players, and I personally believe having 8 established players competing for 4 spots is too many.
Point being they didn't start the season with the options you mentioned and they won't start next season with them either
Gvardiol or Timber for me. Like the look of Bella Kotchap but seems to be a bit Davinson Sanchez like in possession.
All fun and games playing happy families until you have a few injuries and everyone starts complaining about lack of depth in the squad resulting in dropped points.Ignore the fact that they sent him on loan because he wasn't happy with his game time.
Pep Guardiola decided João Cancelo had to be loaned to Bayern Munich after being disappointed by the full-back's attitude when given decreased game time for Manchester City. Cancelo lost his first-team berth and did not feature in the past three matches.
This isn't fifa. You have to think about the game time you will be giving players, and I personally believe having 8 established players competing for 4 spots is too many.
Man City are dominant for a reason. Their recruitment and squad management has been near perfect the past few years. If we want to get back to being the best team in the country and Europe and consistently winning titles, we need two established players for each position.
Not having that leaves you in Arsenals position as soon as you get a bad break with injuries and their season falls apart. With so many games in a calendar year, that’s the difference between challenging and winning at the top level.
It also creates competition in the squad and most players thrive on that. If they don’t, and they throw a strop like Cancelo probably did, then they should rightly be shown the door.
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Question. Do City have two established players at the back for each position? If so, please let me know.
We have the same amount of defensive options as City. If not, more.
Question. Do City have two established players at the back for each position? If so, please let me know.
We have the same amount of defensive options as City. If not, more.
Question. Do City have two established players at the back for each position? If so, please let me know.
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They did at the start of the season. They don’t now they gave Cancelo the boot.
Jean Claire Todibo, Alex Dissasi, Jurien Timber, Goncalo Ignacio, Paul Torres and Kim Min Jae and Xavier Mbuyamba. That is a pool in which we can find a gem.
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We have the same amount of defensive options as City. If not, more.
Question. Do City have two established players at the back for each position? If so, please let me know.
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I never said us or Man City did or didn’t have two established players per position. As someone else has pointed out, Man City did have 2 per position at the back going into the season.
Cancelo kicked up a stink and luckily they had Rico Lewis in the ranks who Peo trusted to step up. If Pep didn’t rate Lewis, he would have replaced Cancelo in Jan 100%.
Anyway, I was simply arguing that we need to strive to have two established players per position. I never said us or Man City did or didn’t have two established players per position.
We may have the numbers but our issue is the level of quality we are missing in certain areas of the pitch. Before we challenge City properly over the course of a season, we still need:
GK: better starting keeper
RB: better starting RB
RCB: fine
LCB: fine
LB: fine
DM: better back-up DM
CM: better starting CM
AM: fine
RW: better back-up (Amad will fill this)
LW: fine
ST: better starting ST