The search for a left back...

Rozay

Master of Hindsight
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Offensively, we get nothing from our full backs at all, and on this journey to becoming an all conquering team again, this is a weakness we would do well to improve sharpish. We have already rolled our dice at RB on Wan Bissaka, and given our financial outlay, he will likely be our RB for a while yet (although I suspect Laird will overtake him at some point) - so LB is the obvious area we should be targeting in the shorter term.

What viable left-back targets could we have? Can’t say I’m an expert on too many options at the moment. All the best young full backs seem to be right backs.
 
Has Brandon Williams not been really exciting going forwards? Is he not worth the development. And when fit, Shaw has been really good. No real end product, but he motors down that left flank all game.

I really don’t see left back as being a huge problem, but I can see the argument for upgrading Shaw. If we were buying one, I’d want the finished article. Not a young one needing development. We have Williams for that.
 
simonhch said:
Has Brandon Williams not been really exciting going forwards? Is he not worth the development. And when fit, Shaw has been really good. No real end product, but he motors down that left flank all game.

I really don’t see left back as being a huge problem, but I can see the argument for upgrading Shaw. If we were buying one, I’d want the finished article. Not a young one needing development. We have Williams for that.
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Why does williams play left back and not right back, being right footed and all?

Not sure how viable his long term prospects at lb are, think he should be swapped to the other side.

Who was the last wrong footed fullback? Irwin is the only one i can think of
 
simonhch said:
Has Brandon Williams not been really exciting going forwards? Is he not worth the development. And when fit, Shaw has been really good. No real end product, but he motors down that left flank all game.

I really don’t see left back as being a huge problem, but I can see the argument for upgrading Shaw. If we were buying one, I’d want the finished article. Not a young one needing development. We have Williams for that.
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Williams is a good player, but short term he's not the solution. He's still got a lot of areas that need ironing so even with substantial game time I think he's a few years away, he's one of the few players I think might benefit from a loan for a couple of seasons. We can get a new LB and develop Williams still, I'd want someone around 24-27, either about to enter their best years or already currently at their best.

While I don't think Shaw's necessarily bad I do think he's one of the more easily upgradable players in the squad and his injury record makes him completely unreliable, I saw an article saying we'd shelved January plans to sign a LB which I hope isn't true.
 
For me, this is yet another key area to be reinforced.

Our options are: - Young, Shaw, Williams.

Young - is about 400 years old and quite rubbish.

Williams - is interesting but is extremely raw and needs time to grow/mature - I would personally loan him out next season.

Shaw - is quite good, not great but adequate. Are we settling for adequate at Man United FC, compared to the previous LB's we've had? If so, fine, he's our number 3. But he's very easily upgraded upon and he's only fit for 50% of a season which means we eventually default to either Young or Williams as our first choice. Which for me, isnt good enough.
 
I don't think it should be a priority. Hopefully Dalot and Williams can improve our fullback positions. We need strikers and midfielders as first priority.
 
simonhch said:
Has Brandon Williams not been really exciting going forwards? Is he not worth the development. And when fit, Shaw has been really good. No real end product, but he motors down that left flank all game.

I really don’t see left back as being a huge problem, but I can see the argument for upgrading Shaw. If we were buying one, I’d want the finished article. Not a young one needing development. We have Williams for that.
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Not really exciting, no. He’s just exciting because he’s a brave young player. I haven’t seen him carrying the ball forward on the dribble much, and I haven’t seen quality delivery going in with any regularity. I just think people have more time for him because they don’t have time for the other two. But at present, none of them are up to it for me. Williams is young, so retains the question mark that he could be one day, but he’s not currently a good enough left back for us, and isn’t as good as Shaw, who is only about 23 himself.
 
Rozay said:
Offensively, we get nothing from our full backs at all, and on this journey to becoming an all conquering team again, this is a weakness we would do well to improve sharpish. We have already rolled our dice at RB on Wan Bissaka, and given our financial outlay, he will likely be our RB for a while yet (although I suspect Laird will overtake him at some point) - so LB is the obvious area we should be targeting in the shorter term.

What viable left-back targets could we have? Can’t say I’m an expert on too many options at the moment. All the best young full backs seem to be right backs.
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I agree that we need a new left back. Brandon Williams looks like a great prospect, but he is way too raw to be relied upon. He should get a loan soon.

Chilwell could be a great player for the next ten years. Still only 22 but close to a perfect full back. Fast, great engine, good in the air, good passer and very good going forward.
 
arnie_ni said:
Why does williams play left back and not right back, being right footed and all?

Not sure how viable his long term prospects at lb are, think he should be swapped to the other side.

Who was the last wrong footed fullback? Irwin is the only one i can think of
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Azpilicueta
 
andersj said:
I agree that we need a new left back. Brandon Williams looks like a great prospect, but he is way too raw to be relied upon. He should get a loan soon.

Chilwell could be a great player for the next ten years. Still only 22 but close to a perfect full back. Fast, great engine, good in the air, good passer and very good going forward.
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I’m not even sure how ‘great’ a prospect Williams is. Once the initial excitement wears off, I’m not sure if we’re necessarily looking at a ‘great’ prospect as opposed to a ‘good’ one. Like, a clear level above what the likes of Bardsley and Danny Simpson were when they were with us. Think it’s too early to say.

Chilwell is the obvious name, but there much be someone worth less than £70m out there who could do the job?
 
Mentioned it in the ’3 realistic signings’-thread but both Grimaldo and Alex Telles are entering their last years of their respective contracts in the summer.
 
I don't think our current system needs particularly attacking full backs. We're set up to counter.
 
JohnnyLaw said:
Mentioned it in the ’3 realistic signings’-thread but both Grimaldo and Alex Telles are entering their last years of their respective contracts in the summer.
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Grimaldo looks a brilliant talent when I’ve seen him. Suspect he’d interest Pep (if he himself is still interested at that point!). I remember when he played against us in the CL, and he was so comfortable on the ball. In fact, he and Douglas at RB were like auxiliary number 10s in possession, drifting infield and causing havoc with the ball.

You do want some physical qualities though in that role now, either extreme speed or very good strength. A lot of the talented young ones abroad seem to be built like teenagers, and may struggle with wingers here. Telles is good in that respect, as is a bit more robust.
 
JohnnyLaw said:
Mentioned it in the ’3 realistic signings’-thread but both Grimaldo and Alex Telles are entering their last years of their respective contracts in the summer.
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What kind of players are they? I'm a bit old fashioned but I do like a quite well-rounded full back, I'm convinced that full backs can still be good at attacking and defending.
 
Its an interesting one and I'm about to contradict myself because you look at the scousers, and TAA and Robertson are such an attacking force and are often the difference between winning and not, but for now, I think the investment is needed in other areas.

We badly need depth and quality in key areas. We were shot when McT was injured and who knows what is going to happen with Pogba and even if he does stay, we need more quality at no 10 so that's a minimum of 2 x CM's.

We also need more in the final 3rd, although I'd like to see Greenwood given a chance at no 9, we need someone to challenge James/Rashford out wide.
 
Sied said:
I don't think our current system needs particularly attacking full backs. We're set up to counter.
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Counters wont win us the league. You need to carve teams up that park the bus.
 
Rozay said:
Offensively, we get nothing from our full backs at all, and on this journey to becoming an all conquering team again, this is a weakness we would do well to improve sharpish. We have already rolled our dice at RB on Wan Bissaka, and given our financial outlay, he will likely be our RB for a while yet (although I suspect Laird will overtake him at some point) - so LB is the obvious area we should be targeting in the shorter term.

What viable left-back targets could we have? Can’t say I’m an expert on too many options at the moment. All the best young full backs seem to be right backs.
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Calvin Verdonk, at Twente? Age: 22. He's on loan from Feyenoord.

Gastón Silva, at Independiente. Age: 25, Uruguayan with Italian passport

PS: I really should withdraw my suggestions because I selected them using a search on stats. I just noticed Cameron Borthwick-Jackson also passes! All 3 can defend with tackles, intercepts, clearances, are dribbled past less than once per game, and can dribble and cross too.
 
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Rozay said:
I’m not even sure how ‘great’ a prospect Williams is. Once the initial excitement wears off, I’m not sure if we’re necessarily looking at a ‘great’ prospect as opposed to a ‘good’ one. Like, a clear level above what the likes of Bardsley and Danny Simpson were when they were with us. Think it’s too early to say.

Chilwell is the obvious name, but there much be someone worth less than £70m out there who could do the job?
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I like Grimaldo too.

But that being said, I think we should afford players like Chilwell. Young and proven in the PL. A player for the next 10 years. A bit like Rio, Keane, Rooney etc
 
andersj said:
I like Grimaldo too.

But that being said, I think we should afford players like Chilwell. Young and proven in the PL. A player for the next 10 years. A bit like Rio, Keane, Rooney etc
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True, but they can’t all cost £70m+ each.
 
Rozay said:
....against Manchester City in the Etihad.
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It's more obvious against the clubs that box us in, but we clearly play with 3 or 4 pacey forwards to hit teams on the counter.
VP89 said:
Counters wont win us the league. You need to carve teams up that park the bus.
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Fair point and I agree. I'm just saying I don't think Ole's trying to create a Liverpool or City-esque system with attacking full backs. Why sign AWB if he is?

I think he'll focus on strengthening other positions to achieve that. For example a right forward and more attacking options in the centre of the park.
 
Rozay said:
Offensively, we get nothing from our full backs at all, and on this journey to becoming an all conquering team again, this is a weakness we would do well to improve sharpish. We have already rolled our dice at RB on Wan Bissaka, and given our financial outlay, he will likely be our RB for a while yet (although I suspect Laird will overtake him at some point) - so LB is the obvious area we should be targeting in the shorter term.

What viable left-back targets could we have? Can’t say I’m an expert on too many options at the moment. All the best young full backs seem to be right backs.
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Nico Tagliafico is 27 and has been performing at the very top level for Ajax, should be an obvious candidate.

Marcel Halstenberg is 28 and plays for Leipzig in Gemany and is defensively very good and excellent in attack. Also very strong in the air and would be a very astute signing.
 
Adnan said:
Nico Tagliafico is 27 and has been performing at the very top level for Ajax, should be an obvious candidate.

Marcel Halstenberg is 28 and plays for Leipzig in Gemany and is defensively very good and excellent in attack. Also very strong in the air and would be a very astute signing.
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Haven’t paid much attention to Halstenberg but you are right about Tagliafico, he’s been at a high level for a while now.

So far, my heart says Grimaldo, he’s brilliant, so good technically that I reckon he could honestly come here and play 10 for us ahead of what we have there now. My head says Telles though, as I don’t get the vibe that Grimaldo is what Ole would consider a ‘United player’ for some reason, whereas Telles has a bit more of that about him.
 
Rozay said:
Haven’t paid much attention to Halstenberg but you are right about Tagliafico, he’s been at a high level for a while now.

So far, my heart says Grimaldo, he’s brilliant, so good technically that I reckon he could honestly come here and play 10 for us ahead of what we have there now. My head says Telles though, as I don’t get the vibe that Grimaldo is what Ole would consider a ‘United player’ for some reason, whereas Telles has a bit more of that about him.
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Halstenberg excells at everything as a fullback and his passing ability for a fullback is fantastic.

Grimaldo does look excellent and falls into the modern attacking fullback category that IMO should be targeted by the very big clubs. But I fear we will target Chilwell and get fleeced by Leicester for a ridiculous sum.

I'd personally try and sign Tagliafico who at 27 ticks all the boxes and is a performer at UCL level which would give us a great boost in experience and ability at LB. Grimaldo would also be a exciting signing due to his potential at 24.
 
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For now I think shaw/williams will do the job. I’d rather reinforce midfield and attack first.

if Williams/shaw don’t impress by next year then get another.
 
I like Chilwell but we can’t keep handing league rivals £60m+ for players that aren’t really worth that. It’s the exact same reason why I’m hesitant to for us to sign Maddison.
 
RyRy11 said:
I like Chilwell but we can’t keep handing league rivals £60m+ for players that aren’t really worth that. It’s the exact same reason why I’m hesitant to for us to sign Maddison.
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Why can’t we?
 
RyRy11 said:
I like Chilwell but we can’t keep handing league rivals £60m+ for players that aren’t really worth that. It’s the exact same reason why I’m hesitant to for us to sign Maddison.
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If we sign players that are like Wan-Bissaka level I’m all for it rather than gambling on players that could be the right level.
 
Rozay said:
Once Pogba returns it is literally the weakest position in our starting XI.
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I would think it likely that no.10 and centre half would be weaker positions than left back once Pogba returns.
 
Alex Telles. Amazing crosser, and can break the lines with his passing. Could also be one to take corners
 
RyRy11 said:
Giving a direct league rival a huge cash injection doesn’t seem smart to me, especially when that player is a LB. Chilwell isn’t going to win us the league.
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I'd be very happy if we could get Chilwell for £60m. I can see Leicester wanting more than that.
 
sherrinford said:
I would think it likely that no.10 and centre half would be weaker positions than left back once Pogba returns.
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When Pogba returns, he is a far better attacking midfielder than those pretenders we have are left backs. And Lindelöf is better than them too.
 
Wan-Bissaka may not be in the same league as Trent or Robertson going forward but he still isn't as bad at attacking as people make out? On the counter attack he's actually very good.
 
Happy with the current setup of Williams and Shaw with Young coming in when both are unavailable. Hoping that Williams is first choice LB by the end of the season though.
 
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