Eric Bailly is a good shout for this one. Still think he will go on to become a WC Cb for us, if he can stay fit.
Was Chicharito the last “gem” to be unearthed by our scouts?
- Thread starter Nikelesh Reddy
- Start date
Scouts don't unearth gems. They scout the player and provide reports, they can't do anything if club don't sign them. We need someone who thinks about the future too and signs few players. All we did in last 4-5 years is sign for first team and completely ignored taking punts on young players who don't cost much.
Not to be a dick, but Chica isn't THAT good is he? And on topic, I hope Chong is a gem 
How about when we unearthed Ander Herrera, followed him for 2 years and then "didn't" send 3 lawyers to collect him 
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp....anchester-united-ander-herrera-transfer-farce
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp....anchester-united-ander-herrera-transfer-farce
A bit strong word that. The fact that i picked a player who will maybe one day be good , shows how our scouting team is bad, nothing else.Bit early to say him isn't it? I was going to say him, but only as a joke because I know he's worshipped on here
And stop disagreeing with me about everything.
Ah you mean we got his brother, the keeper.
Seems like that in hindsight, but i had definitely never heard of him, and remember the Caf losing their shit over the price tag attached to a completely unknown player at the time.
To be honest, I don't think Chicharito was that much of a gem. He was a good goal-getter and a useful impact sub but probably belonged on a shelf just below United.
Not sure how much of the Blind signing was down to the scouts or if it was Van Gaal but that was good signing. He provided 3 quality seasons in different positions, started and won the FA cup, UEFA cup. Sold again for no loss.
Nothing into it. He was a main player in Netherlands team that finished 3rd in World Cup this year. Well known, hardly a surprising gem here tbh.
There seems to be a little bit of a false identity around us finding gems tbh. We're not that club really, we usually sign early to mid 20s players who are starting to make a name for themselves for big money with a few top established players thrown in.
Same as the youth being a myth, beyond the class of 92 we've been shite in that regard. It's funny how much shit our fans give out on that considering how bad we've been for decades.
Same as the youth being a myth, beyond the class of 92 we've been shite in that regard. It's funny how much shit our fans give out on that considering how bad we've been for decades.
Was unaware of that until now. Thanks.
His career has been disappointing for sure. He looked like such a classic poacher early on. But then they decided to make him bigger and work on the other aspects of his game, which he did improve marginally. On the other hand, he never looked like the same pacy lethal finisher. His early record for Mexico was amazing, one of the best from 2010-2013 or so. But since then he's scored maybe 10 goals.Not to be a dick, but Chica isn't THAT good is he? And on topic, I hope Chong is a gem
He had one good season at Leverkussen and that's about it.
Hopefully Mensah can still turn it around but Dalot looks almost a finished article at times.
Aliou Traore is a decent scoop from PSG. Looking forward how he'll build his football workshop further.
Aliou Traore is a decent scoop from PSG. Looking forward how he'll build his football workshop further.
Hard to do so In Europe with modern media. Talents are identified early, the days of a guy like Solskjaer being plucked from Molde to starring in the PL and CL a few months later are probably gone. Ronnie Johnsen another one maybe, from Lillestrom to Besiktas to Utd.
Bailly looked like a smart pick up not too long ago. Not being overhyped, but still, playing a full season for Villareal is hardly from obscurity.
Bailly looked like a smart pick up not too long ago. Not being overhyped, but still, playing a full season for Villareal is hardly from obscurity.
Azpilicueta was a great spot from our scouts.
Ferguson era had lots but few worked out which is why I guess its been discontinued. Manucho, Diouf, Henriquez, De Laet, Bebe, Tosic, Foster, Possibon, Dong. Most of them had better careers because of been at United but never good enough for the team. Your Solskjaer, Hernandez types are lottery wins really
Solskjaer
Blind cost peanuts and was the best CB at the club while he was here. Not sure if he would qualify as a gem.
A "gem" is hard to define, but Bailly probably qualifies as one. Before he was hobbled with injury last season we'd certainly have described Bailly as a gem now in the United fold. But with his long of run of poor form since his return from injury, his future at OT is uncertain. The same could be said of Martial as well.
Those wankers up the road.
Gomez
Matip
Robinson
Wynaldam
Salah
Mane
Frimino
Milner
Oh wait....maybe it's the manager who makes an average player into a gem!
Gomez
Matip
Robinson
Wynaldam
Salah
Mane
Frimino
Milner
Oh wait....maybe it's the manager who makes an average player into a gem!
You see something I don't about this geezer.
His positional play is useless, he jumps in 2 footed to save himself from being outdone. He's wreckless has very very poor acumen at cb and isn't good on the ball.
A very average footballer but quite possibly a decent athlete. In a nutshell another bad buy.
Clubs like United don’t penny pinch and come across “gems”... we buy the finished article. It’s called being rich.
You might want to get your head out of yellow teeth's ****hole because your vision is blurred.
Most of that list is not gems. Many of those players were well known and went for good fees. Milner being on that list is ludicrous since he was an important part of two title winning city teams.
The only one that is a gem is Robinson who went for a small fee. Gomez is an academy product and Matip is not a gem he's bang average and can barely get any minutes.
Gomez is not an academy product
whether he was or not, LVG ruined him
how did LvG ruin him exactly?When you pay £37m plus very generous add ons for a teenager I don’t think that’s unearthing a gem.
In that case, I don't think Chicarito qualifies either £6.75m in 2010 was a big fee for a young player. My point earlier was what does the OP mean - as in literally a player plucked from obscurity like Bebe or someone like a Jesus, who probably wasn't on most fan's radars but still cost an eye watering amount?
He was largely unknown. Moreover, it was a very late deal in the transfer window which bumped up the price.
In this day and age there simply is not any great players in some far flung country waiting to be discovered who can go straight into a team like United. Even Hernandez was a Mexican international, who was just about to go to a World Cup, which is why we pushed the transfer through beforehand - as he would have been in the shop window at the World Cup.
I'd literally never heard of him though, and he's a much more talented player than Chicharito signed at a time when transfer price inflation was getting very silly.
De Gea was also signed after Chicharito...again more well known but big call to sign a young goalkeeper who was still not the finished article, as an immediate first team choice for one of the biggest clubs in the world.
Fosu Mensah and chong were scouted right? Gomez came young but was scouted young? Scouting is not only limited to 20 year olds. United generally have a great system hence why so many of our players make it as players at reasonably high levels. So many ways to judge this post but it's not as black and white as Hernandez.
I know that slightly falls off topic but some of the comments are unbelievable.
I know that slightly falls off topic but some of the comments are unbelievable.
Maybe we should just tailor our pre-season in such a fashion that we only play teams with great youth academies so we may have no other choice but witness what's available, as happened one night in Portugal..
The reason Matip is not getting into the team is because they have two outstanding defenders already. Would Utd take Matip ?
Did you know much about Frimino before Liverpool signed him ? I didn't.
Mane was doing okay at Southampton. When LVG reportedly bid 13m for him a few months before Liverpool signed him, there was a melt down on here.
Gomez was signed from Charlton for 300k. (Potentially one of the biggest hidden gems of all)
Salah was a Chelsea reject, that no other team were interested in.
Milner was a free transfer who's so called best days were numbered. Last summer he might have won England the World Cup.
So yes they are hidden gems in my book.
Is that why I recognize his name. Kept thinking we had a keeper called something similar
Whilst ive been disappointed by our scouts - we can't blame them.
Within 4 years we have 2 different managers who want completely different type of players. When Lukaku wouldn't get in to LVG's side or when Martial is not the type of player for Jose - how are our scouts going to be any good at what they do when having a basis of type of player that the manager wants being changed all the time?
Within 4 years we have 2 different managers who want completely different type of players. When Lukaku wouldn't get in to LVG's side or when Martial is not the type of player for Jose - how are our scouts going to be any good at what they do when having a basis of type of player that the manager wants being changed all the time?
I'm sure the scouts are still hard at work and have uncovered same gems only to have their recommendations fall on deaf ears. The current squad needs stability first.
You seem to have missed the fact Liverpool signed him from Roma for £34m and it was only that low as Roma had financial issues and needed to sell him. He scored 30 goals in 2 seasons. He’s been fantastic and exceeded everyone’s expectations, but he wasn’t a hidden gem, much like KDB wasn’t a hidden gem when City bought him.
Mane - signed for £34m, the most expensive African player in history (at the time) and who had scored the fastest hat-trick in PL history for a very good Southampton team. Fantastic player, but again, Liverpool certainly didn’t unearth him!
Milner! Don’t get me started. Good solid player who has won league titles. Claiming he could have won England the World Cup is pure insanity.
True. The managerial churn has made it almost impossible for us to get “gems” established in our first team. Zaha and Depay could both have ended up in this category but never got a real chance thanks to managers not wanting to take over previous managers projects. Theoretically a decent DoF will sort this out but we’re not going to see the benefits for another few years, even if we sign a DoF this season. All of which is just more depressing shite to add to the long list of depressing shite we go through as United fans these days.
by not using him