Solskjaer target 5 signings; 6 players could leave [BBC, Telegraph, Guardian]

Greck

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Think its legit.Typically when it's the telegraph, Guardian, BBC all at once it's from the club. Think they're trying to assure fans Ole will he backed. Probably raises the fee on the players but damned if they do damned if they don't
 

Kostov

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Yeah, clearing deadwood is very important. We have too many players earning big wages and are not even playing. Shame Herrera might leave too but in any case we should be ruthless for once and clear players like Valencia, Darmian, Young, Rojo, Mata and few other players. Vanelcia, Rojo, Darmian combined makes maybe around 300K and they don't even play.
It's pathetic how supposedly smart businessmen let this happen. Absolutely pathetic state of affairs.
 

The Boy

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Thing is, last season I remember very similar story leading up to the summer 8 was being talked about strongly with players named to leave and something like 6 in with a big war chest of £200-250m being mentioned, what happened Fred, Dalot, Lee Grant, nobody left until Fellaini in January, our worst transfer season in decades probably, especially as personally I got sold on the stories as obviously needed, as it is again this summer.
Personally I almost hope some of these outgoing rumours are true so that we are forced to bring in 5/6 even if it means it isnt all of the right players leaving.
Surely better than the 2013 summer transfer window, an overpriced Fellaini, Varela (what happened to him?) and Saidy Janko (Who the feck is he?)
 

SER19

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Huge window. As disappointing as recent return to dreadful form has been this summer needs optimism and full backing of ole. Give him what he wants plus 3 months with his staff to really execute the style they want and only then can we judge him. Younger players with an upward trajectory and the potential and appetite to be the very best is the profile we need.
 

Shark

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Jones, Smalling and Young will be starting games again next season. I’ve zero faith that Ed will do the work that’s necessary unless there’s a DOF brought in.
 

DomesticTadpole

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Huge window. As disappointing as recent return to dreadful form has been this summer needs optimism and full backing of ole. Give him what he wants plus 3 months with his staff to really execute the style they want and only then can we judge him. Younger players with an upward trajectory and the potential and appetite to be the very best is the profile we need.
Ole is good with young players, however we need to get the balance right. We could go too young and to be honest I wouldn't trust the experienced players we might have left as far as I could thrown them. CO92 came into the side with the likes of Irwin, Pallister, Keane, Cantona, not the rabble we have.
 

Bestie07

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I'm a little underwhelmed by the list of targets mentioned to be honest. Don't think we'll be much better then what we are currently if we sign them - at least in the short term.

Sancho - He is putting up good numbers in the Bundesliga but can't expect such a young player to transform our non-functional attack. Ideally we need someone right in their prime to invigorate our attack, what Sanchez was meant to be. Maybe Griezmann?

Rice - I am not sure how good he really is. Is he better than Dier for example?

AWB - Not that good going forward, we will continue to face issues due to our blunt right side.

Koulibaly/Varane - Either of these will be good as long as we are in the VVD fee range.
 

Werder Herzog

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Think its legit.Typically when it's the telegraph, Guardian, BBC all at once it's from the club. Think they're trying to assure fans Ole will he backed. Probably raises the fee on the players but damned if they do damned if they don't
How about Woodward keeps his mouth shut and just gets on with it and goes about our business in the background without leaking to the press who we want, i am sure as fans we are not so insecure that we need a briefing from Eddie boy , and even if we are i don't see how it comforts us , the reality is we may get 2 of the above mentioned whilst dicking around signing Indonesian tractor partners going off his past record.
 

Red00012

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The famous big plans in April and come July a lot of head scratching over failed bids.
 

fellaini's barber

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Jones, Smalling and Young will be starting games again next season. I’ve zero faith that Ed will do the work that’s necessary unless there’s a DOF brought in.
Exactly, and most likely still retain most of the deadwood. I can't even be bothered
 

ship50

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Outgoings are okay but to sign some of the potential targets, the club will have to make an exceptional sales pitch. Things will be clearer after our final league position is confirmed. Not too convinced with Rice and AWB but to be fair, I haven't seen too many games involving them so they could become good signings.
 

Bojan11

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Yawn every year. When it happens then let me know.

Every year we talk big and do nothing. Last year we were supposed to do big signings and did nothing.


I like the British core idea as long as they good. But I’m not sure about Rice. I think we need somebody who can control matches and the tempo of games, so our defence is under less pressure.
 

AgentP

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This is exactly what is needed but I don't think we will actually be able to achieve it. This also seems like something the United hierarchy leaked to the press to pacify the fans. I hope we can get atleast 2-3 of those targets.
 

Nickosaur

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I don't understand these 'press briefings' (IF this is what has happened - i really don't know). What do the club stand to gain by saying they are looking at x amount of signings, and naming these players?

Is it to appease the fans?

Because if you wanted the best chance to bring in these players, surely announcing it to the world isn't the best tactic.
 

UnitedFan93

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I wouldn't get your hopes up. It's just a typical Ed Woodward tactic. Whenever he finds himself in a tricky situation he goes out and briefs the press. Season after season. The fans buy in to it and rush to buy season tickets for the following season. Once season tickets sell out he'll stop promising and we end up starting every new season with the same dross that we ended the previous season with.
 

SER19

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Ole is good with young players, however we need to get the balance right. We could go too young and to be honest I wouldn't trust the experienced players we might have left as far as I could thrown them. CO92 came into the side with the likes of Irwin, Pallister, Keane, Cantona, not the rabble we have.
True. We are crying out for a leader too.
 

Big Andy

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What we need to do is buy a few players who will walk straight into the side and stay there...

None of this "He needs to settle" bollocks, none of this "he's for the future" shite. Pick a proven quality player that fits the profile of the club and what Ole wants from the team, and do everything to get him.

How many players have we signed in the last few years that have walked straight in and made themselves a first team player? I can't think of many.

We have too many like Fred, Bailly, Darmian, Sanchez, who have come in on big money or big wages and done nothing. Then we have the likes of Smalling, Jones, Young, Valencia who are all now way below the required standard to win a title.

We're a full team in transition, we need a new defence, a new midfield and a prolific striker who scores more regularly as even the likes of Martial, Rashford, Lukaku are hit and miss, and they're not as prolific as they should be, certainly Not when compared with the likes of Sterling/Sane/Aguero at City, and Mane/Firmino/Salah at Liverpool.

We need big signings, but more importantly, the right signings.
 

AgentP

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But I’m not sure about Rice. I think we need somebody who can control matches and the tempo of games, so our defence is under less pressure.
Agreed. The only way this signing would work is if we get another midfielder like Kroos or Veratti.
 

Canagel

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The clear-out is very necessary. We can afford 5/6 signings summer if we freed up all these wages. Bit the new signings must walk into the team straight away. No extra settling in. We need ready players to take to the next level.
 
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Kostur

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Glad our DOF that Woody appointed to make sure that we have a recruitment strategy in place is working so hard to select those transfer targets.
 

11101

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Forget transfers in for a second, I'll be just as happy if we clear the deadwood and show that we actually know what direction we need to go in. Young, Darmian, Jones, Rojo, Sanchez, Valencia and a few others all need to go. Until we recognise that and start clearing them out I have no faith we'll do anything else right either.

Easy to agree with the target list but none of them are surprises. RB and CB are obviously two of our biggest requirements but that's been true for more than just this season. A versatile forward is also necessary as Lukaku hasn't turned out as hoped, and beyond Rashford and Martial our attack looks very one dimensional. In midfield i'd prefer us to spend big on one great player instead of the '1 or 2' that sounds like we'll end up with another half arsed job.
 

Jacob

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LvG was great at clearing out, maybe too great.

The wages that could potentially be freed up can finance a signing
 

spaceboyRSA

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The problem with the big turnover (ie six first team or squad players out, and a similar number in) is no matter who you get it, will take a while to bed in players. This could mean a rough start to next season.

Hopefully I am just being conservative though, as there definitely needs new blood in the team (and dead branches need to be trimmed).
 

Cee90

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Really hope this is true, I’d love for those transfers to happen.

Also if he really is prioritising an English core, that’s great news as I feel this crop of youngsters are something special.
 

ThomasEmil

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Do people ever learn from history?
We dont do overhauls like this.
Fulham just bought a new 11-player startup line and relegated. It's not, and never has been, United way of doing business just replacing 3 players in same window.

But sure, let fans dream... it's a waste of time tbf
 

RobinLFC

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"Possible transfer targets include: all young English players having a good season who will be overpriced in the summer, alongside two of the best CBs in the world."

Seriously, how hard is it to be a scout for a Premier League team? I could've suggested those players just by watching football and playing FIFA.
 

Canagel

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The problem with the big turnover (ie six first team or squad players out, and a similar number in) is no matter who you get it, will take a while to bed in players. This could mean a rough start to next season.

Hopefully I am just being conservative though, as there definitely needs new blood in the team (and dead branches need to be trimmed).
it's not a problem if you the get right players. Chelsea bought 7 or 8 players in 2004 and won the PL. We've needed a full scale clear out of deadwood for a while now. Infact some of these players should've been shipped away much sooner- like what's Rojo done this season?
 

roonster09

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"Possible transfer targets include: all young English players having a good season who will be overpriced in the summer, alongside two of the best CBs in the world."

Seriously, how hard is it to be a scout for a Premier League team? I could've suggested those players just by watching football and playing FIFA.
If scouting reports include only these players then it's not hard, but that would be assuming they don't have reports and data on world wide players.
 

Bobcat

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I dont think, doing a mass change of squad will be fruitful, neither is it viable. United surely can sell upto 6 but signing 5-7 will create imbalance. Even with all the money at Man city. It took pep 2 years to get the players he needed and ine more year to get the team he needed. Ofcourse man utd has the resources and money but you guys will need to move lot of dead wood. Man Utd i believe was paying the most wages while having one of the worst squads among top six.
True that bedding in so many new players at once may create problems, but any new player changing clubs needs time to adjust so doing a wholesale kind of squad renewal might create problems right away, it does bear fruit down the road when those players have adjusted. Also, that bolded is relevant. Is it better to ship the deadwood out en masse or spread it out over 2-3 transfer windows?

Personally i would prefer the former, a cataclysmic summer where most, if not all the sub par wage thieves are shipped off and we bring in a lot of fresh faces.
 

RobinLFC

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If scouting reports include only these players then it's not hard, but that would be assuming they don't have reports and data on world wide players.
Yeah sure, but still, it baffles me a bit. If it's your full-time job scouting players and watching games, you should aim to find the next Sancho or Rice yourself from whatever (lower) league in the world, not buy the emerging young players elsewhere from £50m upwards imo.

I know that for every Kante there are five other flops, and maybe a club like United can't afford to gamble like that, but such players cost next to nothing.
 

Massive Spanner

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I don't understand these 'press briefings' (IF this is what has happened - i really don't know). What do the club stand to gain by saying they are looking at x amount of signings, and naming these players?

Is it to appease the fans?

Because if you wanted the best chance to bring in these players, surely announcing it to the world isn't the best tactic.
Fans, shareholders, sponsors.

It's the same tactic every year.

First, say you want to spend loads of money, do and overhaul and get the team on track. Name some players that everyone wants.

Then probably don't spend that money and don't get those players.

Then brief the press when it's over that the "right players" weren't available. You only wanted the best (i.e. Varane last summer) and they were impossible to get.
 

Gordon S

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Thing is, last season I remember very similar story leading up to the summer 8 was being talked about strongly with players named to leave and something like 6 in with a big war chest of £200-250m being mentioned, what happened Fred, Dalot, Lee Grant, nobody left until Fellaini in January, our worst transfer season in decades probably, especially as personally I got sold on the stories as obviously needed, as it is again this summer.
Personally I almost hope some of these outgoing rumours are true so that we are forced to bring in 5/6 even if it means it isnt all of the right players leaving.
We've had a few bad ones tbh.

2008 Berbatov, Tosic and de Laet.
2009 Valencia, Diouf, Obertan, Owen.
2010 Bebe, Smalling, Chicarito
2013 Mata, Fellaini
2018 Grant, Dalot, Fred
 

Massive Spanner

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We've had a few bad ones tbh.

2008 Berbatov, Tosic and de Laet.
2009 Valencia, Diouf, Obertan, Owen.
2010 Bebe, Smalling, Chicarito
2013 Mata, Fellaini
2018 Grant, Dalot, Fred
2009 was pretty awful considering we had just sold Ronaldo for £80m. Don't think it's been beaten since.