Sometimes the big signings become available without it fitting your specific plan.
If Kane is gettable, you get him first. Simple as that really.
If Kane is gettable, you get him first. Simple as that really.
Priority Signing: CB vs DM vs RW vs Striker
- Thread starter Devil may care
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
Will take easily over £100m to get him this summer and knowing what Levy is like probably nearer £150m
This is what makes it very difficult indeed. As you can't for a moment imagine Kane pulling enough of a mardy to force it through.
Unless there's some sort of "gentleman's agreement", but then you can't imagine Levy in that sort of boat either!
I don't think it'd be a disaster for Tottenham if they could get a sea of cash, Martial and maybe Lingard in there too.
That'd set them up fairly decently if it's beyond convincing Kane that they're still the place to be (not that I think they ever were).
can we not just get all 4 positions 
To be honest an argument can be made for why each of those positions is more important than the other. Some of it depends on availability of replacements as well. Like if Haaland somehow was available this season then he is the most important signing. Think I read Dortmund have said he is going nowhere this season.
If Sancho is on the move I don’t think we can let him pass. You would think add him to what we have and there is enough goals out of Cavani, Martial, Rashford, Greenwood,Sancho,Pogba and Bruno to be competitive. So you could say he is a can’t miss again if he is on the move.
CM, bit more complicated, I like Fred and what he brings to the team in energy but if we could get someone less prone to errors I’d be all for it but I see this person replacing McT most likely. Who this person should be I don’t know. I see a lot of people wanting us to go 433 but I don’t think Pogba and Bruno can do it.
CB- Again I’m all for this but I think Ole will stick with what he has but getting someone in who could either lead Harry as he needs it or someone with ability, common sense and the athleticism to cover him would be great moving the Lof to 3rd choice and probably Tuan as 4th.
I think maybe a good CM is more important now looking at it.
To be honest an argument can be made for why each of those positions is more important than the other. Some of it depends on availability of replacements as well. Like if Haaland somehow was available this season then he is the most important signing. Think I read Dortmund have said he is going nowhere this season.
If Sancho is on the move I don’t think we can let him pass. You would think add him to what we have and there is enough goals out of Cavani, Martial, Rashford, Greenwood,Sancho,Pogba and Bruno to be competitive. So you could say he is a can’t miss again if he is on the move.
CM, bit more complicated, I like Fred and what he brings to the team in energy but if we could get someone less prone to errors I’d be all for it but I see this person replacing McT most likely. Who this person should be I don’t know. I see a lot of people wanting us to go 433 but I don’t think Pogba and Bruno can do it.
CB- Again I’m all for this but I think Ole will stick with what he has but getting someone in who could either lead Harry as he needs it or someone with ability, common sense and the athleticism to cover him would be great moving the Lof to 3rd choice and probably Tuan as 4th.
I think maybe a good CM is more important now looking at it.
Although I do agree with the sentiment, I think Kane is the wrong player to do that for. No doubt he’d probably come in and be excellent but I would think we’d probably be better getting Sancho then trying for Haaland the year after.
Agree with this but generally speaking, every single team has issues. We've had issues when we won the CL in 07 / 08 (Brown at RB, even Carrick had question marks when put under pressure, Scholes was getting old / no legs, Got Berbatov in '09 because we didn't have height at CF etc), Pool have had issues (Brexit midfield, tried to fix with Thiago / Keita) during their title / CL win and City have had issues (no actual good CF for a while, had shit LB / CBs for several years now).can we not just get all 4 positions
To be honest an argument can be made for why each of those positions is more important than the other. Some of it depends on availability of replacements as well. Like if Haaland somehow was available this season then he is the most important signing. Think I read Dortmund have said he is going nowhere this season.
If Sancho is on the move I don’t think we can let him pass. You would think add him to what we have and there is enough goals out of Cavani, Martial, Rashford, Greenwood,Sancho,Pogba and Bruno to be competitive. So you could say he is a can’t miss again if he is on the move.
CM, bit more complicated, I like Fred and what he brings to the team in energy but if we could get someone less prone to errors I’d be all for it but I see this person replacing McT most likely. Who this person should be I don’t know. I see a lot of people wanting us to go 433 but I don’t think Pogba and Bruno can do it.
CB- Again I’m all for this but I think Ole will stick with what he has but getting someone in who could either lead Harry as he needs it or someone with ability, common sense and the athleticism to cover him would be great moving the Lof to 3rd choice and probably Tuan as 4th.
I think maybe a good CM is more important now looking at it.
Most people want some sort of ideal perfect team and it's never going to happen. IMO if you have a functioning attack that's banging in the goals, incremental improvements on the rest don't matter that much. Maybe CM is the only place where we can have a real step change in quality but even that isn't super important for 90+% of the games we play. Sure we might lose in the CL QF / Semi finals and against City / Pool once or twice a season as a result but we'll probably dominate the rest of the league.
Get a prime Matic to do the heavy-lifting while not being hopeless on the ball and I could see us fielding this and just pummelling rivals.
CB would be next in line, unless the chance to sign Kane is this Summer.
CB would be next in line, unless the chance to sign Kane is this Summer.
CDM is absolutely the priority. See the difference Fabinho has made to Liverpool when he was moved back into midfield.
If we had Ndidi for example, he would solve so much of our problems imo.
If we had Ndidi for example, he would solve so much of our problems imo.
Right winger has been missing for years.
Cm/dm is the next key spot we need better players.
Striker next year if Greenwood does not own it by then.
Cm/dm is the next key spot we need better players.
Striker next year if Greenwood does not own it by then.
It depends on the player more than it does the position. RW may be more important than striker to some, but then Kane or Haaland would be more important than Raphinha.
Assuming every potential signing was as good as each other, then absolutely a DM/CM whatever you want to call it. Someone to play in the middle two. Far and away the most important for me, and far and away the least quality in our XI. Said before but I’m sure we could bully Barcelona for Frenkie this summer. If we showed them the money I don’t think they’d have much choice now. Won’t happen of course, but if he were available he’d be my #1 target above all.
Assuming every potential signing was as good as each other, then absolutely a DM/CM whatever you want to call it. Someone to play in the middle two. Far and away the most important for me, and far and away the least quality in our XI. Said before but I’m sure we could bully Barcelona for Frenkie this summer. If we showed them the money I don’t think they’d have much choice now. Won’t happen of course, but if he were available he’d be my #1 target above all.
Yes I'd agree.
Imagine if these were the 'realistic' possibilites:
Kane/Haaland
Sancho
Fabinho equivalent
Varane
I'd go for striker, centre back, right winger and then defensive midfielder in order of priority, although the margin between the last two is very fine.
If we can just get two, then a Kane/Haaland and Varane with our existing team is stronger than any of the other potential choices/combinations for me i.e Fred and Greenwood in that line up is more than serviceable.
CB & CM are the two crucial positions to my mind. RW & CF less so.
Though I wouldn't be at all surprised if RB is one of the signings we actually make this summer, even if most here wouldn't have it as a priority. Cover/competition for AWB is probably something the club is looking at from a squad makeup POV. I'm not the biggest fan of Telles, but his signing did make sense in that sense. A similar sort of buy at RB may well too.
Though I wouldn't be at all surprised if RB is one of the signings we actually make this summer, even if most here wouldn't have it as a priority. Cover/competition for AWB is probably something the club is looking at from a squad makeup POV. I'm not the biggest fan of Telles, but his signing did make sense in that sense. A similar sort of buy at RB may well too.
Think there is a strong possibility of getting Trippier for backup RB
Fred replacement is Job #1.
Depends on a couple of things , first of all who we are getting and second is who we are selling.
Maybe im in the minority here, but i am not as convinced by Rice as many others here. If getting Rice means blowing the entire summer budget on him which then means not getting Sancho, then the latter all day for me.
As much shit as Fred is getting, his key stats (passes, tackles, blocks, interceptions) are all on par or better than Rice's. Rice completely blows Fred out of the water when it comes to headed clearances and aerial battles won. Is it worth paying 60+ million for a DM thats better in the air?
We dont need another workhorse in CM, what we need is a tactically and technically astute DM with good passing range who can help us with our build up. Matic 5 years ago would have been perfect
Maybe im in the minority here, but i am not as convinced by Rice as many others here. If getting Rice means blowing the entire summer budget on him which then means not getting Sancho, then the latter all day for me.
As much shit as Fred is getting, his key stats (passes, tackles, blocks, interceptions) are all on par or better than Rice's. Rice completely blows Fred out of the water when it comes to headed clearances and aerial battles won. Is it worth paying 60+ million for a DM thats better in the air?
We dont need another workhorse in CM, what we need is a tactically and technically astute DM with good passing range who can help us with our build up. Matic 5 years ago would have been perfect
We have 2 positions that are an urgency. CDM and RW is where we need to improve badly. CB is mediocre but still okish, whilst our striker position is also fine with Cavani staying another year and Greenwood/Rashford jumping in too
All talk about Fred while McT is way worse
If Harry Kane is available then it's a no brainer. Martial can be sold to fund a part of the move or added as an exchange.
Next of course a proper midfielder. A Modric/Veratti/Kroos. Rice is not the answer.
Sancho if Dortmund stop quoting fairy tale figures and accept the reality.
CB if we can offload liabilities such as Lindelof, Jones, Smalling etc.
Next of course a proper midfielder. A Modric/Veratti/Kroos. Rice is not the answer.
Sancho if Dortmund stop quoting fairy tale figures and accept the reality.
CB if we can offload liabilities such as Lindelof, Jones, Smalling etc.
Denis Zakaria has 1 year left on deal, mobile, can pick a pass and is a bit of a unit. i think he’d do very well in the EPL.
We actually have some good players that we can sell this summer to fund our incoming transfers. Ideally, we should sell Martial, Pogba (if he doesn’t want to sign a new contract), De Gea, Lingard, Matic and James. Jones and Mata should be released.
With the available funds, we should go all out and get Sancho, a new CDM (top choice would be Rice) and a CB (Varane could be a dream signing). Getting Kane or Haaland seems impossible so I’m not even going to mention that. Another player that I would really love us to buy is Grealish. But even this could prove too costly so I’ll be happy with the first three choices.
This would leave us with a balanced team with good players distributed all around.
Cavani/Greenwood
Rashford — Bruno/VDB — Sancho/Amad
Rice — McT
Shaw — Maguire — Varane — AWB
Henderson
With the available funds, we should go all out and get Sancho, a new CDM (top choice would be Rice) and a CB (Varane could be a dream signing). Getting Kane or Haaland seems impossible so I’m not even going to mention that. Another player that I would really love us to buy is Grealish. But even this could prove too costly so I’ll be happy with the first three choices.
This would leave us with a balanced team with good players distributed all around.
Cavani/Greenwood
Rashford — Bruno/VDB — Sancho/Amad
Rice — McT
Shaw — Maguire — Varane — AWB
Henderson
Want sancho but think that cdm is our biggest issue. Would say in order of priority it's cdm > cb > rw > cf
I still believe the most important signing we can make is a CM who can pass the ball. Sure they need to be defensively solid but more important we need press resistance and an ability to dictate the game when needed. I would contribute a massive part of our lack of control over McFreds inability to play under pressure and retain possession. The obvious weak link in the starting 11 now is McTominay so getting a Carrick style player is absolutely vital. Outside of that I’d throw whatever money is left at a RW/ST depending on how Ole sees the future of Greenwood.
We need to look for a DM first but if a centre forward like Haaland really is available, we should sacrifice all other transfers to get him. We've already seen what an ageing, increasingly injury prone striker with patchy form can do for the team. Imagine us with a 21 year old version of that. We don't need a striker the way we do other positions but a top quality forward can completely transform a team in a way no other position can.
For once we have players in the squad like Martial and Lingard that would could get half decent money for and we should be selling them and improving the squad. CM, CB, RW, CF - 3 out of 4 of those.
I think it a new DCM would improve the team the most, followed by a CB.
I think it a new DCM would improve the team the most, followed by a CB.
agree with you we need one no matter what happens with Pogba. With just McFred, Matic & Pogba we'll be in dire straits if there's a couple of injuries. Let alone the drop in quality when Pogba is out.
Yup sale of those players you mentioned plus hopefully Mata not recontracting would free up the wage bill too
Like you won't be surprised if we get a backup RB and GK as we really need cover for both positions.
Defence is our biggest issue, we’ve conceded far too many sloppy goals and looked all over the place too many times. To be considered really back I expect our defence to be solid, so games teams just run through us. For this I’d say a CDM is needed to protect the back 4 better than McFred do, with that I think the back 4 would perform better overall. Tough one though cause put VvD in and that sorts it as well!
So... the goal Fulham scored today was a classic breakdown in communication and naïveté by inexperienced defenders.
Tuanzebe fails to cover for Shaw who is too late to close down the cross into the box.
Poor positioning by Lindelof.
AWB fails to recognize that there is an attacker at his back and is caught in no man’s land.
The need for a top class CB is the difference between us making a legitimate title challenge and fighting for CL spots next season.
Tuanzebe fails to cover for Shaw who is too late to close down the cross into the box.
Poor positioning by Lindelof.
AWB fails to recognize that there is an attacker at his back and is caught in no man’s land.
The need for a top class CB is the difference between us making a legitimate title challenge and fighting for CL spots next season.
Splashed almost 100m on Bissaka and Donny alone. This can't happen this summer. Players fully ready and with impact only this summer.
A realistic summa:
- £45m Allan St Maximin
- Bissouma £45m
- Attacking RB like Trippier £20m
Maybe a backup striker to Martial like Andre Silva. Or a pickup from the Championship like Ollie Watkins. Around £35m. Or a CB similarly if Ole prefers, even though we have about 50 CBs. Could find a good Fofana like lad from Ligue 1.
Sell
- Lingard - £25m
- Van De Beek - £20m Ajax 50% refund policy
- Brandon Williams - £5m somewhere like West Brom. Or £15m if we call Sheffield or Bournemouth and say hes from Liverpool.
Total - £110m / £145m with a striker or cb
Sales: £55m
Net - £60m / £95m
Next year position - 3rd
- £45m Allan St Maximin
- Bissouma £45m
- Attacking RB like Trippier £20m
Maybe a backup striker to Martial like Andre Silva. Or a pickup from the Championship like Ollie Watkins. Around £35m. Or a CB similarly if Ole prefers, even though we have about 50 CBs. Could find a good Fofana like lad from Ligue 1.
Sell
- Lingard - £25m
- Van De Beek - £20m Ajax 50% refund policy
- Brandon Williams - £5m somewhere like West Brom. Or £15m if we call Sheffield or Bournemouth and say hes from Liverpool.
Total - £110m / £145m with a striker or cb
Sales: £55m
Net - £60m / £95m
Next year position - 3rd
We have to sought everything out. No more halfarsed windows. We've sorted St with Cavani. For the remaining three positions it's DM > CB > RW. I see we want Sancho and we will likely get him. I'm all for it but if we are planning on spending 78m on him only to ignore upgrading on DM or CB or both that will be pure ignorance. Because we need an upgrade on Lindelof and Fred more than we do on Greenwood.
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Whichever position we can get a player that walks into our starting XI. Preferably RW/CB/CM.
McTominay is a better player and hasn't hit his peak yet. We got our pants pulled down on the Fred deal. We've seen Fred's best and it isn't good enough.
Fred absolutely needs replacing. A nothing player.
Really we aren't putting up a serious title challenge without the right signing in all 3 positions. Which is doable, we just have to actually spend.
Nobody mentions De Jong from Barcelona, perfect midfielder we need stylewise
Barca are in debt and need players.
Throw them Martial and £20m
Barca are in debt and need players.
Throw them Martial and £20m
Since there is no chance we will solve all of our problems and probably won't be challenging for the title, I have to say DCM
Post #251
Probably expecting far too much from this club but still hoping we can get both Varane & DM along with Sancho, yes I worry about whether this Arambarri (new name on me) would be good enough but if we could get those two at least it would be a significant upgrade in two areas
I am still going to stick with CDM as the most important position because we need better than McFred in there but can also understand the votes for CB after looking at some of the goals conceded this season particularly from set pieces or like tonight just a general cross into the box due to poor marking.