Hel be a snip when compared to the fees touted for say Giminez. I think even in January hel be getable for 35 million, which is still around half of what's been touted for other centre back targets in La Liga and Serie A
Virgil Van Dijk
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Not a chance, especially not in January. You'll probably be able to get him for that much in the summer, maybe. Depends how hard Liverpool and/or any of the other bigger sides want him too.
No chance for £35m. He signed a 6 year contract in May this year. Southampton didn't tie him down to a deal like that in hope of getting £35m for who looks to be their best player. £35m in today's market isn't really all that much.
For those that don't want him, is it just him you don't want or is it you don't want a CB in general?
It's his hair. He looks like a 40 year old woman with a beard.
The dutch Varane
Bailey plays for Genk in Belgium mate.
It would be the same league as Mane to Liverpool, Sane to Man City generally young attackers go for more than young defenders. it would have him (I think) as third most expensive defender of all time (after Luiz and Stones), think its a fair ball park for a central defender.
Well I can't say I don't want him but I don't think he is as good as some people make him out to be. I think he is on Smalling's level which is fair enough anyway but I don't think at this moment he is better than Smalling.
judging our luck with centre halves the last decade safety in numbers and he is a good player.
As purely a defender I agree, but van Dijk is miles better on the ball and has a real air of leadership about him, while Smalling is very passive IMO. I think we need a CB that compliments Bailly which Smalling doesn't, where as I think van Dijk does.
I want a CB. I don't really want him.
His ball plahing abilities and overall comfort level on the ball compared to Smalling mean he's a level above Smalling.
we don't need one and certainly not Van Dijk, some people will do everything they can to discredit some players like Smalling or Rojo, give them a chance for once, there's Axel as well we also have Bailly and Blind one looked like a top talent in the making, he will be back in a month or so, no need for a stop gap, the second was only second best to Smalling last year and own his place and my praise rightfully. If you want to ditch one, than ditch Jones, he's injury prone, then You will still have 4 good enough center backs to start games, one could say it's little bit risky but I don't care and if we need to get one, it has to be Varane or Laporte, - two world class talents already capble of great performances or anyone, don't think Van Dijk is the one
So if you could choose between Rojo and Van Dijk to have in your team, which one would it be?
Don't understand why Van Dijk is so highly rated on here, most times I watch him he makes a mistake(got away with a clear pen and red card on Sat), his positioning is suspect at times as well. Don't think he's anywhere near as good on the ball as people suggest, said the same about Stones.
That's a bit of the problem, I concede. In an ideal world we can manage to entice a defender at his peak who has been tested at the highest level: Godin, Bonucci etc. but that's highly unlikely, so the likes of Manolas, Gimenez, Laporte et al. are just as big of a risk as van Dijk. We'll just have to trust Mourinho/and the scouts to find someone good enough like they seemed to have done with Bailly. If that means van Dijk, so be it.
In all, it's no so much that I think he's absolutely shite in the way I saw Stones despite all the hyperbole on here, I just don't think he's that good. I personally would place him around the same level as Smalling, when what we need is a clear-cut superior CB.
You mean would in your opinion? There's no way of knowing this for certain unless you say him and Bailly play together
Strange how highly rated this average defender is
you definitely would know better than Pep
Rojo but I can't deny that he only convinced me lately but he has a potential if he plays centrally not as a LB, Nice aggressive CB who will give everything, not bad on the ball either, Van Dijk is good in their setup next to Fonte, Lovren I remember was also great the season before he left liverpool
I was talking from the perspective of their skill sets, Bailly needs a composed CB who is good on the ball to balance his agressive, front foot stopper style.
Statistics suggest that he's one of the best CBs in Europe. They did last season as well. Having watched a lot his games, I'm not sure I'd go that far, but he's better than anyone we have for that position (barring Bailly).
He'd be an upgrade on Smalling for sure. Would love him here.
Almost every fan in the country says this about Smalling.
Yeah Pep's CB signings have all been amazing, eh?
Henrique, Caceres, Chygrynski, Benatia, Tasci and Stones has struggled so far. In-fact the only CB signing that has been a success was Pique!
You mean the defender who was vilified so much under LVG because of the City game? There's not a single player on this United squad who gets so much flack after one fecked up game even after a sustained period of good/solid performances (and yes he finally got recognition and praise last season and it was deserved). People just wait for him to feck up so they label him as the worst defender in the league. Now Jones and Rojo are our best defenders after a few games back without even being really tested.
I'd have him at Chelsea without hesitation. He could take Cahill's place in the starting XI and would give us huge depth at the back for when JT leaves next summer.
He'd be a fantastic signing for any of the top 4-5 clubs and I think he'd slot right in at any of them straight away.
He'd be a fantastic signing for any of the top 4-5 clubs and I think he'd slot right in at any of them straight away.
So Van Dijk is not better or more comfortable on the ball than Smalling?
Never said anything about the City game, he's always been bang average and I've yet to hear opposition fans think anything else. Never said anything about Jones or Rojo being better either you're entire post is a strawman argument.
Who gives a feck what opposition fans think? Is that the barometer of whether a United player is good? There's Liverpool fans who think Henderson is better than Pogba and Arsenal fans who think Ramsey is better than Pogba. Who cares what non-United fans think of Smalling?
I don't give a flying fvck what opposition fans think about United players. Smalling was United's best CB last season
They'd probably say the same about van Dijk if he joined, because all his errors would be hugely exemplified. Part and parcel of playing for the biggest team.
That's completely fair as well. I'm not entirely convinced that he's the ideal partner for Bailly, but I really like him. Laporte is IMO not worth what he would cost due to all his contract extensions. I think I'm going to trust Mourinho, his CB signings have mostly been very good, if I'm not mistaken.
He's definitly not average.
Just wait for Rojo to make a mistake in one of our next few games and he´ll be back to being "one of the worst United players ever".
It´s always the same with some players. They can play consistenstly well for quite some time and one bad game completely turns the overall view on them and all of a sudden Smalling (for example) becomes an error prone defender.
If that was Herrera having a similar game we´d see all kinds of excuses made because of his toe injury and so on. And that actually happened in Van Gaals 1st season, when he had one of the worst halfs of football imaginable against West Brom after coming back from an injury (only to be subbed at half-time)
It´s always the same with some players. They can play consistenstly well for quite some time and one bad game completely turns the overall view on them and all of a sudden Smalling (for example) becomes an error prone defender.
If that was Herrera having a similar game we´d see all kinds of excuses made because of his toe injury and so on. And that actually happened in Van Gaals 1st season, when he had one of the worst halfs of football imaginable against West Brom after coming back from an injury (only to be subbed at half-time)
I actually think it's strange he's underrated in general. I think the thread is unanimous on the fact we need a new CB so who could we realistically get? For me, Van Dijk represents the best of the available crop of players I genuinely think we could buy.
Our CB issues - enter Daley Blind at CB - come from any combination of Smalling, Bailly, Jones, Rojo being one dimensional in possession. However the trade off is Blind is limited aerially and physically no matter how admirably he has applied himself. Van Dijk, IMO solves this trade off as he is both good on the ball and a beast of a man. He is also only 25 so has runway to improve.
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