Sort our defence out with two realistic transfers

The Boy

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You could do a lot worse than Dunk and Lamptey
 

Hughes35

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Rice and Timber for me.

I don't know much about timber but if he's the CB the manager wants then he's the best choice.

I don't understand why we didn't buy Bissouma tbh.
 

Crashoutcassius

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ETH and then if he needs someone better on the ball than AWB, sign any auld RB. Dalot is not good enough for a flat back 4.

This back line will be fine after some coaching. People said ole and team were terrible coaches, and Ralf was observably a worse coach, so we should improve dramatically. A high line shouldn't be a barrier, Hummel's player in a high line for years and is incredibly slow. Only barrier is if dalot has to play, he really is that bad.
 

mjstokes85

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James Tarkowski
Lewis Dunk
or
Kieran Trippier (less realistic but would be absolutely fantastic)
 

Andersons Dietician

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I think you’d transform our defence just by getting people ahead of them that will give passing options. It’s all well and good people talking about sideways passing and so on but if that is the only options you have then that is what you gonna do.
 

croadyman

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I think you’d transform our defence just by getting people ahead of them that will give passing options. It’s all well and good people talking about sideways passing and so on but if that is the only options you have then that is what you gonna do.
Yeah the CB issue because less of one with some decent midfielders ahead of them, however cannot understand not buying a RB.
 

Mwooyo

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We cant sort out our defence without fixing our defensive midfield so for me its actually simple

Cdm - Edson Alvarez /Teun koopmeiners/ Florian Grillisch

CB - Gvardiol/Martinez/Pau Torres
 

Chaky_Best

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A CB partnership of Varane and Pau Torres would be a disaster. None are aggressive enough, and none can lead the defense.

Would say even if he s 31, Kalidou Koulibaly and another CM like Ndidi
 

honirelandboy

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I don't think our defense it that bad, the midfield is shocking and the work rate of our wingers. De Jong/New DM and Ten Hag utilizing Sancho and Anthony to press and track back is half the battle. I'd be comfortable enough with Shaw/AWB/Maguire/Varane and if we can sign Torres even better.

Fred and Scott are not a premier league quality midfield and even worse is our lazy wingers but they do have talent.
 

Andersons Dietician

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Yeah the CB issue because less of one with some decent midfielders ahead of them, however cannot understand not buying a RB.
Ideally I’d still probably get a CB in and we will need one if Bailly, Jones and Tuanzebe leave But yeah fully believe we have many players that are better than they have shown but get some midfielders in that won’t hide from the ball or get the ones we do have to show up for it and keep moving and we’d vastly improve in all areas.
 

Reapersoul20

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Pity the club didn't have the foresight to invest in bitcoin a few years ago and we could have a completely new backline realistically :(.

Ideally I would like 2 new full backs and one CB, with a DM....but most pressing is a DM and an RB I think. I feel like Maguire, although he was absolutely awful last year, got into trouble because he didn't have an easy out for the ball a few times. Same with most of our backline, to be fair. A good DM who can make themselves available to receive a pass in space would alleviate a lot of those issues. I just don't rate Dalot at all either.
 

Tallis

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From what I saw last season, we could do with an entirely new backline but in the interest of positivity, I would give the clean chit to Varane as starter and Lindelof as a backup CB. A fit Shaw is decent enough and Telles or Dalot can be backups.

So my priority would be a partner for Varane. I think Pau Torres would be a good partner although it worries me that Madrid haven’t scooped for him yet and Barca seem to favour Kounde.

For right back - Timber ? Cant think of anyone else is available (not that Timber is)
 

OleGunnar20

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Ndicka & Gvardiol.

If Gvardiol is unrealistic then sub in Tapsoba or Lenglet.
 
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Ikon

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I think midfield and attack is priority. Would not want to spend big on a defender.
Funny how we view things differently.
Personally, I'd prefer to spend the entire Summer budget on resolving Midfield & Defence.
That's 2 top class Central MFs and an attacking RB, because I don't see the club spending on a first XI CB, only a young squad player.
After spending £80m on Maguire, there's no way that the club will effectively write him off.
 

flappyjay

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A CM and a DM.
I share the same thoughts. A dm who can shield the defense and a cm who can help us keep the ball would be more useful to us than prime vidic in my opinion.

Currently our defence are no different to a striker who scores a low amount because of poor service. In that situation you improve the guys playing behind the striker. Our defenders are not the best but I bet they would look much better with a proper midfield ahead of them.
 

croadyman

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Ideally I’d still probably get a CB in and we will need one if Bailly, Jones and Tuanzebe leave But yeah fully believe we have many players that are better than they have shown but get some midfielders in that won’t hide from the ball or get the ones we do have to show up for it and keep moving and we’d vastly improve in all areas.
Convinced we have to SELL not LOAN at least one of them to get a CB, same applies to AWB in regards to signing a RB.
 

croadyman

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Pity the club didn't have the foresight to invest in bitcoin a few years ago and we could have a completely new backline realistically :(.

Ideally I would like 2 new full backs and one CB, with a DM....but most pressing is a DM and an RB I think. I feel like Maguire, although he was absolutely awful last year, got into trouble because he didn't have an easy out for the ball a few times. Same with most of our backline, to be fair. A good DM who can make themselves available to receive a pass in space would alleviate a lot of those issues. I just don't rate Dalot at all either.
Yeah those are our biggest issues for me
 

Kag

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DM and RB
Pretty much.

A left sided centre half wouldn’t go a miss, but even Rio and Vidic would struggle with shite like McTominay infront of them.

A goalkeeper who isn’t a raging fanny would also help.
 

Bojan Djordjic

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Pity the club didn't have the foresight to invest in bitcoin a few years ago and we could have a completely new backline realistically :(.

Ideally I would like 2 new full backs and one CB, with a DM....but most pressing is a DM and an RB I think. I feel like Maguire, although he was absolutely awful last year, got into trouble because he didn't have an easy out for the ball a few times. Same with most of our backline, to be fair. A good DM who can make themselves available to receive a pass in space would alleviate a lot of those issues. I just don't rate Dalot at all either.
Bitcoin is the only thing that has suffered a more dramatic collapse than the performance of our defence in the last couple of years.
 

RU Devil

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I don't think our defense it that bad, the midfield is shocking and the work rate of our wingers. De Jong/New DM and Ten Hag utilizing Sancho and Anthony to press and track back is half the battle. I'd be comfortable enough with Shaw/AWB/Maguire/Varane and if we can sign Torres even better.

Fred and Scott are not a premier league quality midfield and even worse is our lazy wingers but they do have talent.
Tend to agree. FdG & a new DM would do wonders for the defense by controlling the ball more & proper shielding. ETH might have to make do with his current options for DM, though. He will need to be very inventive, maybe getting more Total Football out players like Jones or relying on youth like Garner.

Gonna be an interesting season.
 

GazTheLegend

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I think defence is more important than attack given the current state of our squad.

Rules: You can only sign two players and they have to be realistic targets (no VVD).

Which two signings help us the most and give us the biggest boost?
John McGinn and Christian Norgaard. Actually protecting the backline and not giving the ball away 100times per game would make us elite again. Neither will happen. Bissouma would have been great too, but it wouldn't look good on the club (esp after the Greenwood stuff, we shall stay far far away I hope)
 

Avero

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Malacia for Telles, Martinez for Bailly and not sure on RB, would enquire about Cash and Lamptey. Wan-Bissaka out.

Shaw - Varane - Maguire - Cash
Backup: Malacia, Martinez, Lindelof, Dalot and Williams
 

Rampant Red Rodriguez

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I share the same thoughts. A dm who can shield the defense and a cm who can help us keep the ball would be more useful to us than prime vidic in my opinion.

**Currently our defence are no different to a striker who scores a low amount because of poor service.** In that situation you improve the guys playing behind the striker. Our defenders are not the best but I bet they would look much better with a proper midfield ahead of them.
Excellent analogy my friend, and is very true. I think l we have The worst midfield in the whole league and certainly the worst I've seen in 20 years of following the club.
 

croadyman

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Tend to agree. FdG & a new DM would do wonders for the defense by controlling the ball more & proper shielding. ETH might have to make do with his current options for DM, though. He will need to be very inventive, maybe getting more Total Football out players like Jones or relying on youth like Garner.

Gonna be an interesting season.
Yeah I know this won't go down well but might have to wait until next year for DM, maybe even Jan when Erik realises our current options in this area aren't good enough.
 

Infra-red

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Assuming we're talking the back four, I would prioritise a left-footed CB and a RB. Both need to be good on the ball to assist in the buildup and the RB needs to be able to contribute to attacks. Mazraoui would have been the perfect signing at RB, but with him gone, we might need to take a bit of a punt in a market that doesn't have much to offer and hope that ten Hag can work his magic.

CB: Gvardiol, Pau Torres, Ndicka

RB: Baku, Gusto, Atal
 

AgentSmith

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The only way I feel signing two defenders, and two defenders alone, would actually improve the team would be if we switched to a 3 at the back system and hoped the extra protection afforded by it helped Maguire regain some form. It would also relieve some of the pressure on the midfield given we'd have to make do with the very limited options we have.

Torres - Excellent ball-playing CB who could function as an auxiliary midfielder when we're in possession. Definitely seems available, potentially at a reduced price to what was initially reported.

Lamptey - Seems a tad injury prone and his height would be more of a worry in a traditional back 4, but as a RWB I think he'd be excellent and able to provide a constant threat on the outside. A more expensive option given Premier League and English tax but we're only making two signings in this scenario anyways.

De Gea
Varane - Maguire - Torres
Lamptey - VdB - Fred - Shaw
Sancho - Ronaldo - Bruno
Not ideal but I'd be interested to see what it would look like and definitely realistic. Central midfield still sticks out like a sore thumb though.
 

Bojan Djordjic

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Assuming we're talking the back four, I would prioritise a left-footed CB and a RB. Both need to be good on the ball to assist in the buildup and the RB needs to be able to contribute to attacks. Mazraoui would have been the perfect signing at RB, but with him gone, we might need to take a bit of a punt in a market that doesn't have much to offer and hope that ten Hag can work his magic.

CB: Gvardiol, Pau Torres, Ndicka

RB: Baku, Gusto, Atal
Atal was looking like he had the world at his feet a few years ago but he's barely cleared 1000 minutes in each of the last three seasons. Shame. Gusto is going to be great. Already putting up grown man numbers and he only turned 19.
 

SamoyedSam

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I don't think our defense it that bad, the midfield is shocking and the work rate of our wingers. De Jong/New DM and Ten Hag utilizing Sancho and Anthony to press and track back is half the battle. I'd be comfortable enough with Shaw/AWB/Maguire/Varane and if we can sign Torres even better.

Fred and Scott are not a premier league quality midfield and even worse is our lazy wingers but they do have talent.
They are certainly Premier League quality. They aren't good enough to where United should be however.