Summer 2019 Midfield Rebuild

golden_blunder

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I have a horrible feeling that we will sign 1 midfielder unless Pogba leaves. That’s a lot of faith in Fred, McT and AndreasP :nervous:
 

Bastian

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I have a horrible feeling that we will sign 1 midfielder unless Pogba leaves. That’s a lot of faith in Fred, McT and AndreasP :nervous:
It's going to be a major rebuild. But if we actually do that, this will be a blessing going forward. Imagine having a midfield of competent passers who actually give 100%. :drool:
 

UNITED ACADEMY

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Diamond:

Tielemans (£40m) - Partey (£43m) - Rabiot (free)
————————Bruno (£70m)——————-
————————-ST—-ST——————-———

433:

Bruno - Partey - Tielemans
- RF ——— CF ———- LF -

It really is major rebuild.
 

Ballache

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We have options, we just need to be more clinical. Even if Pogba leaves, it allows us to build a new more balanced midfield but we need to be aggressive and just pay what it takes.
Neves, Madison, Rabiot, Bruno, Ndombele...the talent is out there, we need three cms and we need to act fast.
 

The Nani

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Bruno, Van de Beek and Rice.

Get shot of Matic and Fred.

Rice can rotate with McTominay while covering CB when the next inevitable injury crisis hits. Could also play all four in a diamond. Pereira, Gomes and Garner for depth.

Really want VdB and Rice. We need some arsey feckers in midfield.
 

Jibbs

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If we actually sell Pogba... I'd want united to go for Bruno Fernandes, Rabiot and either one of Tielemans or Van de Beek.

Alternatively, Go big and sign Rodri, Bruno Fernandes and Neves.
 

reddevilz007

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Fred might go on loan
Pogba might be sold
Matic is not part of Ole’s plans
Herrera is gone
We’re wasting effort on trying to extend Mata

At this point, we better get 3 new midfielders because otherwise, we have Pereira and McTominay... that’s scary
 

Lookatu

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Fred might go on loan
Pogba might be sold
Matic is not part of Ole’s plans
Herrera is gone
We’re wasting effort on trying to extend Mata

At this point, we better get 3 new midfielders because otherwise, we have Pereira and McTominay... that’s scary
Brilliant . . . You could be on Trump's propaganda team with this stuff.
I also heard McTominay is gonna get an injury around September so that leaves one!
 

Nickosaur

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If Pogba does go, I think we need to get 3 midfielders.

Tielemans, Fernandes and Longstaff/Rice would be my picks.

But Ndombele and van de Beek sound like they're available too. So there should be no excuse in not spending that Pogba money on some excellent midfield signings.
 

AJ10

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Brilliant . . . You could be on Trump's propaganda team with this stuff.
I also heard McTominay is gonna get an injury around September so that leaves one!
:lol: Seen similar posts on several threads.
 

ricky-romeo

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selling Pogba could be a blessing in disguise.

we could actually rebuilt our midfield altogether. if Pogba stayed we might still have him and Matic in our midfield plus just a new midfielder, not much of an improvement from last season to be honest.

now is the time the board needs to be aggressive and ambitious. sell Pogba for 120-150m, and get us 3 replacements straight away.

Bruno Fernandes for 70m is a must, as he would be the automatic replacement for Pogba. Fernandes might be the less glamorous version of Pogba yet could be the one with more end product. Plus he is the captain of Sporting Lisbon (extra leadership qualities that we desperately need in the team) , an excellent penalty (hazard esque) and freekick taker, time his runs well into the penalty box and is a fantastic finisher from midfield (something we lacked since the days of Scholes and Beckham).

the second and third should be the 2 midfielders that can balanced out Bruno Fernandes in our team. Rabiot is free, but maybe he is also wanted by top clubs in Europe which will make it difficult. Thomas Partey got a release clause of 43million, surely we should take a look at that. Ndombele and Van De Beek could be other options. then you got Tielemans or Ruben Neves, who are Premier League proven players already.

We might need to spend around 170m to get 3 players in , but majority of that money has already been generated by the Pogba sale. i just hope Ole can see the sense in this and will get the backing from the board and Ed Woodward.

to think that our midfield next season could be :- Matic, Fred, Andreas, McTominay, Sean Longstaff :nervous:
 

Ranchero

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A midfield rebuild! Ha ha ha. I and others have been talking about that since Fergie left.
 

Bastian

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I agree that selling Pogba for decent money is a blessing, no disguise really. He is extremely tactically limited, needing the whole setup to suit him with a 433 and partners in midfield who can cover his ass. A great talent that doesn't fit and doesn't have the mentality to do what's required.

I also think getting him out of the dressing room will raise the professional attitude of the players and prevent our young players from being corrupted by his Peter Pan self image.

There are plenty of midfield options in the market. None with the specific abilities of Pogba, but we can certainly build an effective midfield.

The only question that remains is how competent and ambitious our club actually is. Given that our two most tactically demanding players are wanted elsewhere and happy to leave (Pogba and Lukaku) we really have a great chance of building a well functioning team that works hard all over the pitch. This could also go terribly wrong :wenger:
 

Cassidy

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@ricky-romeo
I agree that selling Pogba for decent money is a blessing, no disguise really. He is extremely tactically limited, needing the whole setup to suit him with a 433 and partners in midfield who can cover his ass. A great talent that doesn't fit and doesn't have the mentality to do what's required.

I also think getting him out of the dressing room will raise the professional attitude of the players and prevent our young players from being corrupted by his Peter Pan self image.

There are plenty of midfield options in the market. None with the specific abilities of Pogba, but we can certainly build an effective midfield.

The only question that remains is how competent and ambitious our club actually is. Given that our two most tactically demanding players are wanted elsewhere and happy to leave (Pogba and Lukaku) we really have a great chance of building a well functioning team that works hard all over the pitch. This could also go terribly wrong :wenger:
This is my worry, haven't seen a lot to be optimistic about too either
 

croadyman

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selling Pogba could be a blessing in disguise.

we could actually rebuilt our midfield altogether. if Pogba stayed we might still have him and Matic in our midfield plus just a new midfielder, not much of an improvement from last season to be honest.

now is the time the board needs to be aggressive and ambitious. sell Pogba for 120-150m, and get us 3 replacements straight away.

Bruno Fernandes for 70m is a must, as he would be the automatic replacement for Pogba. Fernandes might be the less glamorous version of Pogba yet could be the one with more end product. Plus he is the captain of Sporting Lisbon (extra leadership qualities that we desperately need in the team) , an excellent penalty (hazard esque) and freekick taker, time his runs well into the penalty box and is a fantastic finisher from midfield (something we lacked since the days of Scholes and Beckham).

the second and third should be the 2 midfielders that can balanced out Bruno Fernandes in our team. Rabiot is free, but maybe he is also wanted by top clubs in Europe which will make it difficult. Thomas Partey got a release clause of 43million, surely we should take a look at that. Ndombele and Van De Beek could be other options. then you got Tielemans or Ruben Neves, who are Premier League proven players already.

We might need to spend around 170m to get 3 players in , but majority of that money has already been generated by the Pogba sale. i just hope Ole can see the sense in this and will get the backing from the board and Ed Woodward.

to think that our midfield next season could be :- Matic, Fred, Andreas, McTominay, Sean Longstaff :nervous:
Yeah I am trying my absolute hardest not to contemplate something so utterly grim right now
 

sp_107

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We are linked to Couthino and Rakatic for 120mil as Barca has to sell before they buy to balance the books.

What you guys think about this coup instead of trying other targets like Barella, Rabiot, Aouar, Ndombele, Maddison and Bruno?
 

Sandikan

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Herrera gone
Pogba clearly now going
Fred massively underwhelmed
Matic packing in
McTom way too early to be a regular if at all.
Perreira surely will only ever be a squaddie

My word, what a rebuild needed!
 

Sea-Cow

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We are linked to Couthino and Rakatic for 120mil as Barca has to sell before they buy to balance the books.

What you guys think about this coup instead of trying other targets like Barella, Rabiot, Aouar, Ndombele, Maddison and Bruno?
Pretty depressing thought really. If Rakatic was three or four years younger then I would be ok with it. But he's not, so I could see it being another Matic situation.

Couthino might be quality for us, but I would hate rooting for him. He's at least a drastic improvement on Mata / Lingard / Martial, so it wouldn't be all bad. I just don't like him.
 

Dante

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Serious question, I'm not trying to stir shit:

I've seen Tielemans, Maddison and Ndidi all touted as decent buys for United's push into the top 4. If those three are so good, why did Leicester not finish higher in the league?
 

SteveW

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I have a horrible feeling that we will sign 1 midfielder unless Pogba leaves. That’s a lot of faith in Fred, McT and AndreasP :nervous:
Nah, I don't think they are that stupid. My guess is they're waiting on Rabiot to make a decision. I think they will sign two CMs tbh
 

bosnian_red

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Serious question, I'm not trying to stir shit:

I've seen Tielemans, Maddison and Ndidi all touted as decent buys for United's push into the top 4. If those three are so good, why did Leicester not finish higher in the league?
Because Leicesters attack isn't the greatest, because they have a young and inconsistent team and lack the proper star quality anywhere to get them up there... Pogba, despite all the annoying shit, provides some world class quality. Rashford and Martial and Lukaku have their haters, but they walk into leicesters front 3 without the slightest bit of hesitation.

Maddison is a decent talent but for the creative midfielder position, I always maintained that you need to really be one of the best players in the team for that for the level you aspire to be. So theres a few things like that. Leicester have/had Tielemans in midfield who I think can definitely become a top class player for a big club, chilwell who could start at any of the big 6 after Liverpool, and same with Ricardo Pereira. They have a better balanced rest of team, but lack those top effective players to really get you points. For truly top teams, I think those 3 players are the main ones who no team in the league would say no to for whatever capacity (and Tielemans was only a loan).

Then you have Maguire who is better than our CBs but ultimately probably not quite good enough. Likewise Ndidi. In general though, replace Maddison with Pogba, their front 3 with Martial/Lukaku/Rashford and De Gea for Schmeichel and you have a team who should finish 3rd at worst every season, and push for more.
 

NoPace

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Serious question, I'm not trying to stir shit:

I've seen Tielemans, Maddison and Ndidi all touted as decent buys for United's push into the top 4. If those three are so good, why did Leicester not finish higher in the league?
Tielemans only started 13 games, Ndidi can't pass well enough for the slower style with less pressing Puel wanted to be more than a water-carrier (which is why I'm not in favour of spending big on him) and Maddison was good but unlucky not to pick up more assists and so push them up a bit higher, a big chunk of that was because...

Their wingplay was real bad. Albrighton and Barnes combined to give them one bang average Prem winger (Albrighton smart but limited athletically, Barnes the exact opposite) but the other side (Gray and Ghezzal) was Champo average at best. Real dogshit production there. Too lazy to go through it, but not sure anyone but Huddersfield or Cardiff had worse production from those 2 wide spots since Fulham's wingers were alright in the end, McNeil did well for Burnley and Rafa cleverly went to 3 at the back.
 

NoPace

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Pellegrini looked like a guy about to have 10 solid years of midfield play against Spain in that U-21 game. Seems like a steal for the rumoured 30M price.

If Pogba is leaving, he and Van De Beek in front of a new #6 seems like a hardworking and mobile midfield going forward, though they'd probably struggle against defences sitting deep.
 

bond19821982

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People want to spend 70m on Bruno and play him as a CM - pretty laughable. He is at his best when played closer to goal and his CM skills aren't that great. It would be a disaster of buy for 70m. There is a reason why portugese press are making up stories about Spurs,Liverpool, City bidding for him. What I think is, no one except us are really linked to him. Or no one except us are ready to spend stupid money on him.

Now rebuilding - plenty of options available.

Ndombele,Le Colso, Rabiot, Tielemans,Partey, Gueye ,Pellegrini - all are available at decent price.

If you want to go for player swap - Rakitic, Cabellos are decent options.
 

bosnian_red

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People want to spend 70m on Bruno and play him as a CM - pretty laughable. He is at his best when played closer to goal and his CM skills aren't that great. It would be a disaster of buy for 70m. There is a reason why portugese press are making up stories about Spurs,Liverpool, City bidding for him. What I think is, no one except us are really linked to him. Or no one except us are ready to spend stupid money on him.

Now rebuilding - plenty of options available.

Ndombele,Le Colso, Rabiot, Tielemans,Partey, Gueye ,Pellegrini - all are available at decent price.

If you want to go for player swap - Rakitic, Cabellos are decent options.
The only thing that makes sense for Bruno Fernandes is if we sign him to be the most attacking of our midfield 3. Maybe our initial plans were to use Pogba as an 8 (IMO doesnt work), but I wouldn't mind him to replace Pogba and be the advanced mid, while getting Tielemans as the 8 and then a holding midfielder.
 

bond19821982

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The only thing that makes sense for Bruno Fernandes is if we sign him to be the most attacking of our midfield 3. Maybe our initial plans were to use Pogba as an 8 (IMO doesnt work), but I wouldn't mind him to replace Pogba and be the advanced mid, while getting Tielemans as the 8 and then a holding midfielder.
Call me a pessimist but I am not sold on attacking players from Portugese league making any sort of impact worth 70m.

He could score some wonder goals here and there but will eventually get sold to Italy( if we sign him).
 

Suvvernmanc

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All I know is that Fred isn't good enough, neither is Matic, Herrera has gone, Pogba might go, Andreas isn't good enough yet and im not sure if he ever will be, Scott Mctominay is our one of our best midfielders which shows how shit our midfield is.

I think the midfield needs a complete overhaul. Maybe 3 new players to come in.

Keeping Pogba would be great as he is our best player on his day. But bringing in a replacement for Matic, Fred and Herrera is a must!!
 

Ikon

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I have a horrible feeling that we will sign 1 midfielder unless Pogba leaves. That’s a lot of faith in Fred, McT and AndreasP :nervous:
I've got the same horrible feeling.
We just seem to be dragging our feet on getting business done, and I'm wondering if that's because the club don't intend to do as much as we'd hoped, so they don't see the urgency.

When I think about our MF options, and I'm trying to look at this from the clubs point of view.....
Is it their plan to start with Matic, Pogba & McTominay, with back-ups of Mata, Fred & Perreira, with Gomes & Garner set to be given some game time?

If we do sign Wan-Bissaka, it wouldn't surprise me to see Dalot shoehorned into MF either.
So considering this, if Pogba stays, I think we'll only be getting one new MF at most.
 

dasty

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Why aren't we going for players likes Llorente? The fact that the only deep lying midfielder that we are linked to is Longstaff is pretty concerning. Don't think there's anyone in the transfer team that has a clue about football.
 

Fer

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Why aren't we going for players likes Llorente? The fact that the only deep lying midfielder that we are linked to is Longstaff is pretty concerning. Don't think there's anyone in the transfer team that has a clue about football.
I think Llorente will go to Atletico to replace Rodri (sadly, he could sign for City).

Besides Llorente, there are a lot of quality midfielder we could buy, but as you said, it seems that Longstaff and Tielemans (as Pogba replacement) are our current targets.
 

Ballist1x

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If Mata has signed a new contract that is depressingly bad.

I would have preferred Hererra to stay and Mata to go.

Our contract and transfer policy is beyond a childish joke proving that we are being run by true amateurs.

Letting decent players worth millions run down their contracts and giving new contracts to players who nobody would want and who dont deserve to be in our squad let alone first team.

It's actually embarrassing to watch this all unfold.
 

Infra-red

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Why aren't we going for players likes Llorente? The fact that the only deep lying midfielder that we are linked to is Longstaff is pretty concerning. Don't think there's anyone in the transfer team that has a clue about football.
The strategy appears to be to prioritise young British players - hence the links to Maguire, Longstaff, Wan Bissaka and the signing of James. It's not a strategy I agree with, but at least they have a plan (unlike every other summer since 2013).
 

Sir Scott McToMinay

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The strategy appears to be to prioritise young British players - hence the links to Maguire, Longstaff, Wan Bissaka and the signing of James. It's not a strategy I agree with, but at least they have a plan (unlike every other summer since 2013).
I’m not sure if you can call that a plan, sounds more like a concept.