When I heard he was linked to Bayern, I thought the story had finished before it had started, but if we could somehow sell Lukaku and bring in Werner for around the same price, that would be fantastic business.
Transfer Tweets - 2018/19 | Remember if posting foreign language tweets to post in English too
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
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Yes pleaseWe want this to happen?
I do. He would be the perfect squad option for Pogba. Similar kind of #8/#10 hybrid and we need another source of creativity especially if Pogba isn’t available. For the price, age, and quality I don’t think there’s a better option out there for exactly this kind of role.
Sounds good. I don't know anything about him.
Please be true!
In the article they write about clause of 100mio. That is way too much for him.
What is this price you are referring, there is this clause of 100m but nothing concrete?
Of course I don’t want him for that much. They’ll sell for less though, quite a lot less if our resident Sporting supporters are to be believed.
I’m not sure which Sporting fan said it but one of @SCP and @SportingCP96 said they would probably sell for €40m max.
In all honesty, 40m might not be as much in today's market, it's not peanuts as well. And I'm not sure how good the guy is since I've never seen him play. Wouldn't someone like Rabiot on a free be a better option?
Rabiot would demand huge wages and sign on fee, his agent will also want an immense fee. I think it wouldn't be far off that 40m in the end.
As @onemanarmy said above. He’s also extremely overrated, doesn’t play the same role as Bruno and brings a lot of baggage. No thanks.
£40M for a bench option to rotate with Pogba is crazy IMO when this team needs investment in starters and we could try Gomes or another season of Pereira in Pogba's rest/rotation role.
Huge wages he will demand, but we can offer him what we deem is enough, not like his other options will give him more. Bruno's agent will also demand a fee and he will have a wage as well. Of course we speculate and we don't actually know the figures needed and I understand your point of view. Then comes the factor of how good the player actually is, Rabiot I rate high but now very little about this Bruno guy.
I don't know about that, since I feel he is a very good midfielder and plays two positions we are quite short in. Bruno is an attacking midfielder with different qualities bu the looks of it. The baggage Rabiot will bring will have to be evaluated in case of bringing him in.
Yes, that is a very good point. This guy strikes me as a Fred type of transfer. Overpay for a fairly unproven player when we can either give our own kids a chance or we bring a younger player with higher potential.
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I think he could cover both Pogba and Herrera and add much needed depth if we don't feel we have enough in Fred and Pereira. Basically it boils down to if we trust Fred or not.
Don’t remember if I mentioned but if it is Bruno Fernandes he has one of those high release clauses who are normal this days here in Portugal but honestly would be very surprised if someone pays more than 35 or 40. Don’t take those release clauses literally because they are only there to protect the clubs only that.
Not really feeling it with this Bruno Fernandes player.
Checked YouTube. All I see are goals and goals, not clip of his technique, touch, skill etc.
He'll be 25 when the season starts and he's only just now become good enough to warrant a big move? I know it's not old before people jump on that but it leaves a question mark, and for the prices touted and what I've seen of him I'd rather stick with our two own youth products and invest elsewhere.
There's nothing I've seen that indicates he can bring the steel, grit and defensive shithousery that Ander brings, I think if we tried playing him with Pogba we'd see Paul ending up where he has been the last few games, sitting deeper to help the holder out.
There was one video posted that showed a bit more but most of them are just lots of shots and goals, it seems to be his biggest asset.
There's a TIFO football video on youtube of him as well, if you're interested.
Ya Sporting are in a bit of a financial situation and also the president is as dumb as they come so he will be sold for relatively cheap in todays market.
Yes please to Fernandes. I see a fair bit of Portuguese football and I think he’s brilliant. He’s one of those players that can reliably do lots of things to a good level - pass, shoot, cross, free kicks, control the ball etc. He’s a dead ball and long range specialist too and that’s something we don’t really have (yes we have people who CAN do those things but no outright “the man”).
He’s a good sub for Pogba, Herrera or playing 8 or 10 in that diamond formation Ole has tried. Think for £40m he’d be a steal.
He’s a good sub for Pogba, Herrera or playing 8 or 10 in that diamond formation Ole has tried. Think for £40m he’d be a steal.
Won't complain at this if it's a decent fee. Just look at our midfield tonight. It's an issue and this could be a smart buy.
It would be more like £30m if the Portuguese posters are to be believed (€35m). I agree there are way more pressing needs, but I really don’t think that amount of money is going to make enough of a dent that we can’t go for the others. You also have to look at his quality as well for a moment. How often does a squad option as good as he is come up? And how often is it that you get a squad option available where he’s extremely similar to the player he’s backing up? There really aren’t that many players that do the same things Pogba does in the way he does them and in the role and position he plays (I’m not talking about quality, I’m talking about suitability).
We aren’t a one-man team but we do depend on Pogba more than any other player. This means that his prolonged absence would theoretically affect us more than any other player’s absence. I just think it makes sense to address the riskiest scenario in your squad as well as plug in the gaps. Sometimes that can be as important depending on the player involved (Pogba). If Pogba is out for a few months are we going to just sit here and make excuses to opposition fans that “anyone would be affected if they lost their best player” or are we going to act like one of the biggest and richest clubs in the world and have an able replacement for him? Gomes has never played that role in the first-team and as you say, I’d love to try him there but it’s way too much to ask of someone that young at once. Pereira is simply not up to standard when he plays deeper than #10.
I think your main thing is it just comes down to money. £30m in today’s market to back-up your best player really isn’t much at all. Honestly if that amount of money affects our spending in any other position then our owners are frauds.
Well our owners are frauds IMO, they splash when we miss top 4 or when the player is marketable, if we spend £30M on this guy that will be £30M we wont have for a RB, which will mean more of Young on the regular, or £30M off the CB buy which might mean someone like Manolas instead of Koulibaly or de Ligt. Gomes is untested right now I agree but we can test him, and Pereira is as well but I don't see an issue with just switching to a 4-2-3-1 when Pogba is out and play Andreas in the #10, we only play the lopsided midfield 3 as it suits Pogba specifically.
I'm just not convinced Bruno Fernandes is anything special, he's done nothing outside of the Portuguese league and is nearly 25. Now I know I'm an advocate of signing Joao Felix which you can say is hypocritical, but to the eye test that kid is special IMO, Fernandes would be such a huge drop off in Pogba's abscence I think we'll be making excuses anyway.
To me we need to look at restructuring the midfield so we don't have just one creative player in there, and also adding in a creative player to the front 3, that way we wouldn't be relying so much on Pogba to begin with, nor would we be spending a chunk of our budget on an unproven, middle of the road looking IMO, rotation player.
I agree. And I think that is why we want Bruno Fernandes. Have you seen much of him?
I’m not sure how many games you have seen from him, but the best player in Portugal can’t be that bad. His numbers in Portugal this year is sensational, and he has also been good in EL/CL the past two years. After hearing Ole talk about how our scouts work I trust them a bit.
People keep bringing up his age, using it against him. What had Frank Lampard done or proven at the same age?
The point about not having to stick to a 4-3-3 if Pogba is out is a fair one but I don’t think Ole feels the same. It’s his preferred formation regardless of which players are available apart from if we are decimated by injuries or if we’re away to a top 6 side so if that’s the case then a Bruno Fernandes there is more suitable in Pogba’s place than a Gomes/Andreas.
Felix is something special. But Bruno would fit our 4-3-3 more if we assume that we’ll keep using that formation (pretty safe assumption) and the fact that Joao will cost at least double Bruno.
We do need creativity apart away from Pogba’s position, you are correct. Which is why I think we need to sign Sancho and Neves.
But can you name me a better Pogba alternative considering price/quality/age? I would rather not have to resort to changing the way the whole team play just because one player is unavailable.
Frank Lampard wasn't a creator though, he basically had his role changed to a SS at Chelsea when it was discovered he was a very good finisher, different type of player. I've watched a few videos of Bruno Fernandes and I know videos don't dictate the whole story but the idea of them (Highlights vids and individual match vids) is they are designed to show you the very best of the player, and nothing I've seen has impressed me much, and his numbers in a 3rd tier league don't matter much either IMO, he just reeks of Fred to me, a mid level type of player to pad out the squad who has some nice CL stats and "Bossed City" but who in reality wont elevate this team. We have some core missing pieces in the starting 11, Bruno Fernandes doesn't fill any of them, at best he's cover for Pogba, now if we pissed money like PSG and Barca then sure, buy him as the 6th signing of the summer to increase the depth, but that's not how we work, buying him will mean we don't buy somewhere we truly need to invest the money IMO.
He's not suited to the front 3 and I really don't see him fitting into the midfield 3 with Pogba, he'd just be cover.
I'm not sure we can say what Ole prefers, I mean this isn't his squad and we've been using the diamond more and more for starters as Ole recognizes that we have no RW and that Rashford, Martial and Lukaku all do better in the split striker system than with one of them trying to lead the line as none of them has great hold up play. Bruno Fernandes hasn't done anything outside of 2 seasons in Portugal, he's an unknown quantity at the top level, much like Gomes and Pereira who have yet to have a sustained chance in the squad to see what they can offer.
I don't think it's a safe assumption thouugh, to me we've looked better when using the 4-4-2 diamond with a false 9, than when we've used 4-3-3, and Joao Felix fits right into the false 9 slot, where Bruno fits on the bench in either formation.
I'm a fan of Neves and Sancho but with Neves there are legitimate concerns over whether he can play the holding role in the system we use, and whether he's dynamic enough. Sancho is a player we should be looking at but probably the summer after IMO.
I don't think being flexible is a bad thing when your intent remains the same, we've switched formations during games recently without missing a beat. As for an alternative, like I say I'd use the 2 Academy players rather than spend any of our budget on him, but if you want a name I'd say Pellegrini from Roma, he's got a £22M buyout clause and is more versatile.
Here’s the main question though: based on what you’ve seen and what we know of Ole from Molde, don’t you think he’s more likely to use a 4-3-3 going forward than a diamond?
If that is the case, Joao Felix wouldn’t have his position in the “more likely” formation and so you’ve spent about €70m on a player who wouldn’t even start. In comparison it’s wiser to spend €30m on a player who may be back-up but will still have a place in the line-up if the main guy isn’t available.
We can both agree that we’ve looked fantastic with the 2 up top, false 9 diamond system but regardless of what we both think, based on Ole’s history throughout most of his managerial career I don’t think it’s likely he’ll prefer anything other than a 4-3-3 as the main system. And if that’s the case I think you’ll agree with me on the rest. It basically comes down to €70m Joao Felix on the bench or €30 Bruno Fernandes on the bench.
No, because I think it's dependent on what he has as options, none of Martial, Rashford or Lukaku are great as the central striker in a front 3, so the split striker system with a creator behind them makes more sense if he wants to get the most from his 2 expensive forwards and the local golden boy.
He would, Joao Felix would operate in the false 9 role just like Lingard has, or if we need him to drop a bit deeper he'd play like Mata did against Chelsea and Liverpool.
If you're right and Ole is hellbent on 4-3-3 than I wouldn't buy either of them, Joao Felix could probably only operate as the LWF forward in that system and we have Martial there, but my mentioning of Joao Felix was only in relation to my comments regarding the Portuguese league, they aren't competing for the same position.
Oh, if we play the diamond as our main formation I would definitely go for Joao. We basically only disagree on what Ole is going to pick as his main system going forward and about how idiotic our owners are going to be in the summer.No, because I think it's dependent on what he has as options, none of Martial, Rashford or Lukaku are great as the central striker in a front 3, so the split striker system with a creator behind them makes more sense if he wants to get the most from his 2 expensive forwards and the local golden boy.
He would, Joao Felix would operate in the false 9 role just like Lingard has, or if we need him to drop a bit deeper he'd play like Mata did against Chelsea and Liverpool.
If you're right and Ole is hellbent on 4-3-3 than I wouldn't buy either of them, Joao Felix could probably only operate as the LWF forward in that system and we have Martial there, but my mentioning of Joao Felix was only in relation to my comments regarding the Portuguese league, they aren't competing for the same position.
Isn't that formation way too narrow?
Rash, Martial, Pogba and Joao will all be occupying the same space. There's loads of creativity there but I feel it lacks width, we might need better FBs, especially a better LB who can cross well
Rash, Martial, Pogba and Joao will all be occupying the same space. There's loads of creativity there but I feel it lacks width, we might need better FBs, especially a better LB who can cross well
To a SS? That is inaccurate. He was the most attacking in a midfield three at the best part of his carrier. And not a creator?! For a player with 170 assists for Chelsea and West Ham and regularly among the players with most key passes from open play in the PL that is a bold statement..
Agreed, and tonight Ole used the diamond again, I might be wrong but he talked before the game about how the diamond has been key to us getting things going and I truly believe it comes back to the strikers we have, none of them have the hold up play to be the central hub in a front 3, look at tonight, neither Rashford or Lukaku were great in holding the ball up, but when you play in a partnership it counters those weaknesses to a degree and unless Ole is looking at a full revamp of the attacking unit I think the diamond makes the most sense to build on.
With Pogba, Martial and Felix all capable of drifting wide on the left along with the fact Shaw might up his attacking game, I don't think it will be an issue, and then at times we can use Dalot as RCM in the system and get width on that side from there as well.
I'd call Lampard a SS to a large degree, much like Gerrard was for Liverpool under Benitez. Those assist stats are great but it's not the same as being creative, Iniesta and Zidane are two of the most creative players ever but they often played the killer ball before someone else played the 3 yard pass that counts as an assist. We need to add a CM like Modric or Verratti, those are the type of players we are missing, actual midfielders that have a great range of creative passing and vision, that can thread the ball through to one of the forwards to get the short pass assist. .
Enough of this Fernandes talk. What we really need is Ruben Neves. He can play DM but also RCM. It would make us less reliant on Pogba for creativity as Neves can play some great passes and hopefully we sign a proper RW to contribute as well. Neves can also be that 'positional' midfielder who can pick the passes, dictate play and find Pogba in space. He also has energy and enough pace to cover out wide. He is a threat on freekicks and has a great shot on him from outside the box. For me he is the perfect compliment to Pogba. If we cant sign him it should be Pellegrini who can also do that role. Pogba-Matic-Neves is a solid balance, bring in Declan Rice for the next season and we have a top midfield.
Neves has been average for Wolves and isn't very mobile. The Wolves fans on their forums have been very critical of him and he was dreadful against Huddersfield. The only thing he's proven in the EPL thus far, is that he's overrated. On the evidence of what he's shown in the EPL, i'd much rather give James Garner time to take over from Matic, rather than waste more funds on a player who isn't even doing particularly well for Wolves.
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