Can you tell me why you came to the conclusion he'd be a good replacement for Matic?
Potential Matic Replacements
- Thread starter FootyGirl88
- Start date
The Lazio fans would agree
Ander Herrera or Andreas Perreira.
He watched him play for 20 minutes on Monday night.
A progressive coach would likely look to develop Pereira in that role. 22 years old and extremely talented. Michael Carrick already at the club to help with this transition in a coaching capacity.
Predictably, Pereira has barely seen the light of day in spite of looking very good there all throughout pre season.
Or should I be one of those types? You know, the lads on here who cry about our failure to sign Jorginho from Napoli in spite of having never heard of the nacker until he was 25 year old. It would be nice if we could develop our own for a change. Because Pereira certainly has the brain for it.
Predictably, Pereira has barely seen the light of day in spite of looking very good there all throughout pre season.
Or should I be one of those types? You know, the lads on here who cry about our failure to sign Jorginho from Napoli in spite of having never heard of the nacker until he was 25 year old. It would be nice if we could develop our own for a change. Because Pereira certainly has the brain for it.
Maybe. Maybe he's seen more of him than that.
But still personally I'm trying to work out why people like him. So far he looks likes Spurs Tom Cleverley to me.
Pogba is our best outfield player. He never needed anyone to unlock him. Every chance we create goes through him. No other midfielder can drive forward with the ball the way he does. Buying a Matic replacement who can pass would mean he doesn't have to do his own job and cover for Matic as well.
How many players have we signed for marketing reasons?
I'd be alternating Matic, Herrera and Pereira in that role until the summer. Then spend big on a replacement if the latter two have failed to show enough.
Can you tell me please what is the "risk free age of a player"? And what is "healthy mix".
These are the transfers made in the past 3 years with Mourinho together with their respective age at the time of transfer.
1. Pogba - 23
2. Mkhitaryan - 27
3. Bailly - 22
4. Zlatan - 34
5. Lukaku - 24
6. Matic - 29
7. Lindelof - 23
8. Sanchez - 30
9. Dalot - 19
10. Fred - 25
11. Grant - 35
Most names mentioned lately are pipe dreams. Remember who our manager is, and what his football philosophy it. If it’s Mourinho who does the replacing, expect a similar type. Imo, as @Kag said, under a manager who is interested in cotrolling games through possession and actually playing football (instead of defensive zones), Pereira could really become that player. Anybody with good passing range and frequency is preferable to Matic really at this point. It was infuriating to see Mata coming off for Herrera last game, when every man and his dog saw it should’ve been Matic. We completely lost control of the game.
It would be sad if anyone only watched united play football.
Let me put it this way, Guardiola wouldn’t ever have gone out of his way to praise cleverly like he did winks. He’s 22 and glides around midfield like a Barcelona player. He seems to have the same skill set as perreira but a lot more refined and driven.
He has had a few off games but he has more than shown a few glimpses of geniuine quality.
You could argue we don’t need him if we develop perreira further but my initial comment was tongue in cheek tbh
I’m very much in the dark about Winks tbh. I don’t see him as a top tier talent. Looked good when he came on the other night, but still am to be convinced.
Going a bit rogue, but Barella at Cagliari could be an option or Tonali. Tonali is more one to watch though, I doubt we would go for him. Both young and energetic, with good defensive contributions. I believe we were linked with barella last year though.
Going a bit rogue, but Barella at Cagliari could be an option or Tonali. Tonali is more one to watch though, I doubt we would go for him. Both young and energetic, with good defensive contributions. I believe we were linked with barella last year though.
I like the look of Dahoud, still raw but only 22yo. Quick feet, decent technically, good movement, decent vision and passing range.
I am surprised some are mentioning the names of pereira and mcTominay as possible replacements.To me they should be loaned out.
Nicollo Barella, Doucure or Ndidi. Any one of those would be great, Matic is on a bad patch and needs rest.
We have Matic, Pogba, Fred, Fellaini, Pereira, Herrera who can play in cm. Unless we sell first or let Herrera leave for free, there isn't room for more.
A CB, RB (if Dalot isn't ready), forward (centre or right) should be the priorities first for the next summer.
A CB, RB (if Dalot isn't ready), forward (centre or right) should be the priorities first for the next summer.
Last edited by a moderator:
When was this? After the 23 mins he played against City this season or? He can run with the ball a little. But its a little.
Barca signing Arthur shows you the talent is out there - we clearly need a playmaker in there - someone intelligent to complement the players we have and link defence and attack in quick transitions
our next few signings need to be players with superb technical ability in my view
it's actually frustrating that we don't do more Scouting in South America - other teams have had great success but our current strategy sees us spending a fortune on established experienced players rather than on trying to unearth the next great players
our next few signings need to be players with superb technical ability in my view
it's actually frustrating that we don't do more Scouting in South America - other teams have had great success but our current strategy sees us spending a fortune on established experienced players rather than on trying to unearth the next great players
Whoever is a prime Makelele, find them. Fast, compact and wants to duel. That would complement a Pogba + Herrera/Fred midfield perfectly imo.
I really like Winks as well. Think he’s at a similar level to Andreas though.
He does a little bit more than Lingard does defensively. And less than Pereira has done in his few appearances.
I can't see why going from Matic who doesnt do a good job as DM to a CM who doesnt do a good job as DM is something to consider.
I mean I can’t see why he’d be a replacement for Matic but from what I’ve previously seen of Winks he has looked pretty good but I would never think of him as like a DM or anything like that. We certainly do need someone and I can’t decide if we’d be better with someone like Neves, or get someone who will just be like a wrecking ball in there.
I don't think he's finished at all. He's been making a few mistakes recently but I would say he's been in terrible form.
Ideally we'd do this.
But realistically we have next to no chance of getting de Jong so I'd go for one of the 3 #6's below.
1. Ruben Neves
2. Leandro Paredes
3. Adrien Rabiot
Then we could use the Juve/Sarri's Napoli midfield template below with Herrera perhaps being upgraded the summer after.
But realistically we have next to no chance of getting de Jong so I'd go for one of the 3 #6's below.
1. Ruben Neves
2. Leandro Paredes
3. Adrien Rabiot
Then we could use the Juve/Sarri's Napoli midfield template below with Herrera perhaps being upgraded the summer after.
I would even consider getting Tanguy Ndombele. We need more energy, pace and urgency. Even when Bournemouth were on the break today, Matic was jogging back when you're supposed to be sprinting back being a DM. The guy is a joke. Jose seriously needs to drop him. None of Jose's signings apart from Pogba are performing at the moment. Lindelof was average today.Ideally we'd do this.
But realistically we have next to no chance of getting de Jong so I'd go for one of the 3 #6's below.
1. Ruben Neves
2. Leandro Paredes
3. Adrien Rabiot
Then we could use the Juve/Sarri's Napoli midfield template below with Herrera perhaps being upgraded the summer after.
He's Serbian.
Finied is also not a nation that exist.
Pelegrini.
Brozovic. Having excellent season in Inter. Modern holding midfield.
1. Neves
2. Neves
3. Neves
2. Neves
3. Neves
Rodri from A. Madrid would be the likely candidate for the deep lying role, he would slot in quite nicely with our current midfielders. We'd better snatch him up fast, he's only 22 or 23 yrs old and putting on great performances.
Last edited:
If we wanted him, we should have gone for him when he was still at Villareal last season and had a cheap release clause. I can't see Atletico selling 6 months/1 year after signing him. At least not for any reasonable fee.
Kante - Sarri is playing him out of position. I’m convinced he’s as gettable now as he’s ever gonna be
That's it. Chelsea and Sarri don't mind if they get decent offers for Kante so they can buy attacking midfielder like James Rodriguez, Isco, etc, it's a win for us and Chelsea.
would Chelsea sell him to us? That's the problem.
It’s hard to shop that market due to visa restrictions as you have to prove that they are an exceptional young talent. United have had visas turned down before hence why we tried feeder clubs in Belgium etc. I suspect it will get harder too post brexit as focus is on immigration
Don’t think they care
Pogba has always looked the best under Mourinho in a deeper position. He needs to have a lot of players in front of him to excel. And of course have the ball as much as possible.
He has all the attributes for succeeding even as a lone #6 and it would be interesting to see what he would do with that responsibility. He is not at all such a bad player position-wise and defensively as people make him out to be.
He has all the attributes for succeeding even as a lone #6 and it would be interesting to see what he would do with that responsibility. He is not at all such a bad player position-wise and defensively as people make him out to be.
Nah we need someone to keep things ticking over. Someone with a 90% pass completion rate or something like that. Pogba has a good passing range but he'll also play with a risk and lose the ball. That needs to be further forward and not somewhere that will cost the team. He cannot dictate the tempo alone. We need either a proper DM like Kante or a passer like Carrick because Matic is not winning any tackles or passing forward. Always sideways. He's neither Kante or Carrick.