We dont need more than 6 midfielders. Pereira was barely used this season anyway. The 6th midfielder could be someone from the youth setup in the occasional Carling Cup/Fa Cup game or someone like Mata or Jesse playing as a 10 before 2 midfielders. As if McTominay or Pereira are some top players that need to be replaced. They are squad options barely good enough if at all.
Would have loved him before he went to Zenit and I’d still have him. Read that he’s got 10 goals and 15 assists in 61 games for them, that sure is alot for a DM. Seems a bit rash though, picks up a lot of cards.. The toughest part though is that he’s got at least 2 and a half years left on his contract and Zenit are wealthy aren’t they?
I think he would be the perfect Matic replacement, totally silly but he could have Rojo's no5 shirt as well !
You're right. He's probably not going to come cheap. But he's well worth it imo. Not too many out there with his range of passing. Gets plenty of goals & assists too as you say. Surely, he'd jump at the chance to swap the Russian league for the EPL.
I think we should not be over dependent on pogba for creativity, injuries can happen any time and being overdependent on one star is bad planning. We need other options for creativity as well who would plug in the absence of pogba. Also Fred needs to step up and step up real quick to make the right side relevant in attack. Someone like Erikson or fekir playmaker who could also slot in RW would be a decent signing I think as Fred hasn't shown anything as of now that he could be the real deal in absence of our top stars.
The issue with creativity is a fair point, ideally we'd have a balance like City or Real with 2 creative #8's ahead of a great DM, but right now that seems pretty hard to achieve given the make-up of the best parts of the squad we currently have.
With the state of the squad at RM and no permanent manager, dunno if big players will be interested in joining them.
You could just as easily be talking about United here!
I know, reality is a bit harsh these days isn't it?
The core of their squad has gotten old all at the same time and they don't seem to have the financial power they once had due to the Spanish banks tightening up, but the path back to the the top in La Liga is much easier than here, I mean we are staring down the barrell of no CL qualification for the 3rd time in 6 seasons, where as in Spain there are only 2 clubs max to get past to get to the title, nevermind top 4. The Levy factor is also a huge stumbling block as well IMO.
We should have bought this guy ages ago
Oh dear. Clearly the club needs to take Jose back for your sake.
You have made some brilliant points here.
Totally agree. Give me a passer over a tackler there.
Got a feeling that even if we paid the release clause (rumoured to be around €35~40m), he will choose to stay. Think both he & the club have plans for him to be the next Mr Roma ala Totti & De Rossi.
Or Herrera. We don’t need a holding midfielder, other areas require attention.
I think Fred is more suited to the Pogba role , I don’t think he d be bad backup seems quick moving the ball forward
Herrera is not really a holding midfielder.
Fred is still a big unknown, but will probably be the worst signing in the EPL this season. From the little we have seen from him, i doubt he has the abilities to perform in the position and the duties Pogba has.
Just play with a more defensive 3 man midfield and hope someone steps up or switch to 4231 and play an AM in the middle, like Lingard or Mata/Alexis.
Totally disagree, I think the little we have seen from him has been promising, really has an eye for a pass, especially passes into space and the channels I think Rashford, Martial etc would thrive on the quickness he d play the ball forward for them. I’m quite baffled as to why you think he doesn’t have the quality’s to play as an attacking midfielder bit of an odd statement given the guys not been given the chance in the ulTra negative Mourinho era, and under Solskjaer he’s just been unlucky in the sense the team are performing very well so is now having to bide his time as well as having Pogba as a competitor for a place in the team. I think you’ve written him off far too quickly, pretty Mourinhoesque in your criticism
Difference between having an eye for a pass and playing high risk passes. Based on what little we have seen from him i would say he is a "messy" player: Seems to lack awareness over his surroundings when he is on the ball. Dives into 50/50 tackles when the team is not in balance, when he should contain the player on the ball. His touch on the ball can sometimes be really good, and othertimes heavy. His passing is sometimes a meter off or a little hard. Overall he seems inconsistent, but if he can remove some of his bad habits then he got elements of his games that are excellent. Hopefully he will not become the new Anderson.
He is though. He wasn’t when he arrived at the club but he has developed as such, with his best season coming in the role and having lost a fair bit in attack compared to when he arrived.
Interestingly could you remind us how many united appearances Fred has made?
