We need quality midfield re-inforcement if we move on McFred and DVB

[Zlatattack]

By the looks of it we've got buyers lined up for DVB, McTomminay and Fred and honestly i'd be glad to see all three go.

I do think though we're pretty light for bodies if they go. Our first three are great, Fernandes, Casimero, Mount - but beyond that we'd have 1 senior midfielder, Eriksen.

Mainoo could be great, he could be not up to the task, he's a young lad, he needs time to build it. I don't think ETH fancies Mejbri.

We've been linked with Amrabat, who from the WC looks a decent defensive mid, but i think a midfield of Mainoo, Amrabat and Eriksen seems a bit light. I know we wouldn't play the second string midfield together, but if we have an injury and a suspension, at some point we could have 2 out of 3 in our midfield.

Does anyone else think this is a concern? Will we address it this summer, or next? How would you address it if you thought it was a concern?

I don't think it's too bad, but in my opinion we need 4 first choice central midfielders to battle for 3 spots.

 

[Woodzy]

Amrabat alone will be fine IMO. We are essentially swapping McFred and DVB/Sabitzer from last season for Mount, Amrabat and Mainoo. We can always play Sancho or Amad at 10 with a 2 man midfield with we end up light (which i'm not saying is going to work out, but sometimes you have to make adjustments like that in a crisis)

The conern will be if we don't raise enough funds for Amrabat before he joins another club.

 

[Roboc7]

I expect Mctominay to stay as we’ve o we estimated what he is worth and no one will pay the money. He’ll go next season for more realistic fee.

Mount has replaced DVB, Fred will be replaced with someone I’m sure and Mctominay could be replaced by Hannibal or Mainoo.

Mctominay hardly started once Casemiro was up and running, he’s basically a cup player and someone who comes from the bench. Swapping Mcfred and DVB for Mount, one new signing and a youngster would make us better off.

 

[Devil You Know]

McTominay is staying. He's fine as a Casmeiro sub.

Getting rid of Fred will be a big help. He was a much bigger liability.

There's a reason McTominay was targetted by the likes of Newcastle (richest club in the world that finished in the CL places only 1 position behind us) and West Ham (ECL winners), whereas Fred available for a bargain bucket price with only 1 season left on his contract was only being targetted by Saudi/Turkish clubs and Fulham.

If anything, Scott will be helped by playing in a 3 alongside 2 AMs where the emphasis on his passing will be lower. He's only 6th choice and the 5 ahead of him are more than good enough on their own (Mount, Bruno, Casemiro, Eriksen and Mainoo). City won the title with an inferior 6th choice (Kalvin Phillips).

The only question mark is over Mainoo, who could possibly benefit from a loan if Amrabat comes. But I'd be fine with it if he stays.

 

[pacifictheme]

Mctominay really really isn't fine as a casemiro sub. The drop off in quality is way too big. He is incapable. And casemiro is likely to miss games, so we really do need someone else.

I really hope mctominay goes.

 

[El Jefe]

The problem with our midfield is the strength of it severely drops with Bruno or Casemiro missing so we need a really strong addition there.

Everyone is all in on Amrabat but I think we should even look for a better player of possible, though I'd be happy with his addition.

In my opinion we currently have zero competition for places in midfield. You could say Eriksen is competition for Mount but the physical decline of Eriksen makes me think Mount wins that battle very easily.

 

[Devil You Know]

Mctominay really really isn't fine as a casemiro sub. The drop off in quality is way too big. He is incapable. And casemiro is likely to miss games, so we really do need someone else.

I really hope mctominay goes.

West Ham bid £30m for McTominay while Fiorentina are asking only £22m for Amrabat. If McTominay wasn't good enough, he'd already be gone.

EtH evidently rates McT. Much like Jose, Ole and Rangnick before him. He's a footballer's footballer. Not as eye-catching as someone like Fred, but that was always the point.

 

[Kag]

McTominay is staying. He's fine as a Casmeiro sub.

Getting rid of Fred will be a big help. He was a much bigger liability.

There's a reason McTominay was targetted by the likes of Newcastle (richest club in the world that finished in the CL places only 1 position behind us) and West Ham (ECL winners), whereas Fred available for a bargain bucket price with only 1 season left on his contract was only being targetted by Saudi/Turkish clubs and Fulham.

If anything, Scott will be helped by playing in a 3 alongside 2 AMs where the emphasis on his passing will be lower. He's only 6th choice and the 5 ahead of him are more than good enough on their own (Mount, Bruno, Casemiro, Eriksen and Mainoo). City won the title with an inferior 6th choice (Kalvin Phillips).

The only question mark is over Mainoo, who could possibly benefit from a loan if Amrabat comes. But I'd be fine with it if he stays.

He isn’t, though. He’s terrible at the things Casemiro is good at, and any long term-injury that means McTominay plays ahead of Casemiro effectively ends our season.

We desperately need a player in there.

 

[Kag]

West Ham bid £30m for McTominay while Fiorentina are asking only £22m for Amrabat. If McTominay wasn't good enough, he'd already be gone.

EtH evidently rates McT. Much like Jose, Ole and Rangnick before him. He's a footballer's footballer. Not as eye-catching as someone like Fred, but that was always the point.

And this is complete cobblers.

 

[McGrathsipan]

DVB never played so why is he even in the conversation?

 

[Desert Eagle]

We need it even if those players stay because they're not good enough for where we want to be. We need a couple additions. One this summer and one in jan or next summer.

 

[King7Eric]

If McTominay stays then we'll get Amrabat, Hannibal will likely leave and with Mainoo's injury till late September, he will probably get a few minutes until January where the club will assess his situation.

If McTominay leaves, I think we might go for a more expensive CM option and perhaps Hannibal could stay until January, such time as Mainoo is recovering. And then one of the two will likely leave ( unless they both impress and we might just ship out Eriksen in January rather than the summer).

 

[Rightnr]

Amrabat alone will be fine IMO. We are essentially swapping McFred and DVB/Sabitzer from last season for Mount, Amrabat and Mainoo. We can always play Sancho or Amad at 10 with a 2 man midfield with we end up light (which i'm not saying is going to work out, but sometimes you have to make adjustments like that in a crisis)

The conern will be if we don't raise enough funds for Amrabat before he joins another club.

We can also play Bruno in the middle. It's not ideal but even last season with the crazy frequency of games, we barely had to do it.

 

[Roboc7]

West Ham bid £30m for McTominay while Fiorentina are asking only £22m for Amrabat. If McTominay wasn't good enough, he'd already be gone.

EtH evidently rates McT. Much like Jose, Ole and Rangnick before him. He's a footballer's footballer. Not as eye-catching as someone like Fred, but that was always the point.

He clearly doesn’t rate him as he’s up for sale just like Maguire and numerous others he doesn’t rate, ETH isn’t setting price to sell him for just that he can be sold.

Given the ridiculous fees midfielders are going for if Mctominay was indeed highly rated then numerous teams would be queuing up to get him. But it’s only West Ham and even they have chosen Ward-Prowse instead.

He’s 5th choice temporarily until we replace Fred and then it’s back to 6th choice, if we get rid we won’t miss him in the slightest.

 

[el3mel]

I'm surprised at the Fred sale. Would have kept him and sold Scott. Fred has been a very useful squad option for us and I think we're going to miss his energy coming from the bench.

 

[spiriticon]

By the looks of it we've got buyers lined up for DVB, McTomminay and Fred and honestly i'd be glad to see all three go.

I do think though we're pretty light for bodies if they go. Our first three are great, Fernandes, Casimero, Mount - but beyond that we'd have 1 senior midfielder, Eriksen.

Mainoo could be great, he could be not up to the task, he's a young lad, he needs time to build it. I don't think ETH fancies Mejbri.

We've been linked with Amrabat, who from the WC looks a decent defensive mid, but i think a midfield of Mainoo, Amrabat and Eriksen seems a bit light. I know we wouldn't play the second string midfield together, but if we have an injury and a suspension, at some point we could have 2 out of 3 in our midfield.

Does anyone else think this is a concern? Will we address it this summer, or next? How would you address it if you thought it was a concern?

I don't think it's too bad, but in my opinion we need 4 first choice central midfielders to battle for 3 spots.

Fernandes, Casimero, Mount, Eriksen are 4 first-choice mids. Anthony and Sancho could do a job as AMF in a big emergency i'm sure.

Mainoo and Mejbri are fine as backups. We don't want expensive highly rated players on large contracts to sit on the bench for the whole time like Maguire. It's just pointless.

 

[Ole's screen]

He clearly doesn’t rate him as he’s up for sale just like Maguire and numerous others he doesn’t rate, ETH isn’t setting price to sell him for just that he can be sold.

Given the ridiculous fees midfielders are going for if Mctominay was indeed highly rated then numerous teams would be queuing up to get him. But it’s only West Ham and even they have chosen Ward-Prowse instead.

He’s 5th choice temporarily until we replace Fred and then it’s back to 6th choice, if we get rid we won’t miss him in the slightest.

If we value him higher than what anyone else is willing to pay for him, that says we think he's better than others do - including our fans. Some of that is a negotiating position and I believe we would sell him for close to a 40MP package, but ETH clearly likes him for a squad role or we would be just accepting the highest offer we got instead of putting a firm value and sticking to it like we seem to be doing.

 

[Judas]

Can’t believe anyone thinks McTominay is an acceptable backup for Casemiro, simply isn’t the case. Another midfielder must be brought in or we will simply regret it.

 

[Roboc7]

If we value him higher than what anyone else is willing to pay for him, that says we think he's better than others do - including our fans. Some of that is a negotiating position and I believe we would sell him for close to a 40MP package, but ETH clearly likes him for a squad role or we would be just accepting the highest offer we got instead of putting a firm value and sticking to it like we seem to be doing.

But ETH doesn’t assign the valuation, he didn’t want Maguire but we still turned down offers from West Ham. It’s the job of others to find balance between what is a good price/what isn’t etc.

If he was a valuable player he wouldn’t be for sale full stop. ETH won’t give a toss whether we sell for 30 or 35m, what add ons there are, how instalments are paid etc.

I agree that 45m is a negotiating tactic, anything over 35 and he’s gone.

 

[Ole's screen]

But ETH doesn’t assign the valuation, he didn’t want Maguire but we still turned down offers from West Ham. It’s the job of others to find balance between what is a good price/what isn’t etc.

If he was a valuable player he wouldn’t be for sale full stop. ETH won’t give a toss whether we sell for 30 or 35m, what add ons there are, how instalments are paid etc.

I agree that 45m is a negotiating tactic, anything over 35 and he’s gone.

Maybe.. I really don't think we're actively trying to sell him. It's not everyday someone potentially comes in with a 35+ MP for one of your squad players. His situation reminds me of P. Neville/Butt situation. We'd them go if they wanted and a good offer came in, but we're not actively trying to shift them.

 

[MDFC Manager]

Can’t believe anyone thinks McTominay is an acceptable backup for Casemiro, simply isn’t the case. Another midfielder must be brought in or we will simply regret it.

Agreed, and I'll still maintain that we need someone in addition to Amrabat.

 

[Gambit]

Hannibal will now be integrated into the first team

 

[Carl]

Casemiro, Mainoo, Amrabat, Eriksen, Mount, Bruno.

Think we're ok.

 

[Cassidy]

We need another forward, thats mroe pressing

 

[FerociousCorgis]

mctominay is a horrible dm, so not sure why people think he can stay as a sub for Case. Mcfred has proven time and time again to not be up to quality, so still amazes me that some are hesitant to move on from them. It would be better to have a more unknown youth product out there that is actually capable of playing the roles/way that eth wants, vs continually putting the usual suspects out there and then wondering why we cant control the midfield/retain possession/put away lesser teams consistently

 

[caid]

Mctominay really really isn't fine as a casemiro sub. The drop off in quality is way too big. He is incapable. And casemiro is likely to miss games, so we really do need someone else.

I really hope mctominay goes.

I think you need to make serious adjustments to the team but he can fill some of casemiro's qualities. Playing two am ahead is out of the question in my opinion but you drop a midfielder like Eriksen next to him and it starts making more sense. Same with Mount if he's an important part of the set up - he can fill some of his roles (probably to a higher level than casemior's in my opinion but whatever).
I think sometimes people want every midfielder in the team to be Pirlo and are overly negative towards the less aesthetically pleasing players. I find it hard to judge how much of the criticism is coming from not particularly enjoying watching a player vs how effective they are.
McTominay is a better player than an awful lot of alternatives

 

[Cassidy]

I think you need to make serious adjustments to the team but he can fill some of casemiro's qualities. Playing two am ahead is out of the question in my opinion but you drop a midfielder like Eriksen next to him and it starts making more sense. Same with Mount if he's an important part of the set up - he can fill some of his roles (probably to a higher level than casemior's in my opinion but whatever).
I think sometimes people want every midfielder in the team to be Pirlo and are overly negative towards the less aesthetically pleasing players. I find it hard to judge how much of the criticism is coming from not particularly enjoying watching a player vs how effective they are.
McTominay is a better player than an awful lot of alternatives

No he doesn't

 

[ForeverRed1]

We need another forward, thats mroe pressing

I agree, goals goals goals.

 

[Trequarista10]

I like the idea of having a smaller squad with more quality, which I think is done best by having quality players who can cover a couple of positions.

For example, I think we have quite a few 8s but Casemiro is the only player capable of playing a holding role (McTominay can NOT do this role). We're also possibly a CB short in terms of numbers. Rather than signing both a DM and a CB, I like the idea of signing a quality player who can cover both DM and CB.

 

[The Corinthian]

Mount
Casemiro
Bruno
Eriksen
Mainoo
Amad
Amrabat (tbc)

is fine for 3 positions.

 

[caid]

I like the idea of having a smaller squad with more quality, which I think is done best by having quality players who can cover a couple of positions.

For example, I think we have quite a few 8s but Casemiro is the only player capable of playing a holding role (McTominay can NOT do this role). We're also possibly a CB short in terms of numbers. Rather than signing both a DM and a CB, I like the idea of signing a quality player who can cover both DM and CB.

I'd say Casemiro could do both and it might be easier to find a dedicated DM, particularly at the kind of age you'd want.

 

[Roboc7]

Maybe.. I really don't think we're actively trying to sell him. It's not everyday someone potentially comes in with a 35+ MP for one of your squad players. His situation reminds me of P. Neville/Butt situation. We'd them go if they wanted and a good offer came in, but we're not actively trying to shift them.

He was a guaranteed starter before ETH arrived now finds himself not being trusted to start even Europa games. Has plummeted down the pecking order, seen 2 midfielders brought in ahead of him last summer, 1 so far this summer and probably 1 more to come. He’s also now for sale and will be sold if West Ham improve their offer I’m sure.

But apparently ETH rates and values him just like our previous 3 managers (who were all disasters) because we didn’t accept first offer (which wouldn’t even be up the manager).

 

[mikeyt]

I'm shocked people still think McT is an okay option, he isn't. He's nowhere near the ability required as we've seen season after season. Given the market I can see why we want more than £30million butI think we've valued him as we have not just because of his contract and Scotland form but also as he contributes towards our British contingent.

DVB will be a loan so he may end up back here next season and shifting Fred is positive. There is absolutely no way I want McT here if he's getting minutes over Hannibal and Mainoo, they may just have the potential to be something very good for us and McT if he stays should be behind them in the pecking order.

 

[Oranges038]

Amrabat alone will be fine IMO. We are essentially swapping McFred and DVB/Sabitzer from last season for Mount, Amrabat and Mainoo. We can always play Sancho or Amad at 10 with a 2 man midfield with we end up light (which i'm not saying is going to work out, but sometimes you have to make adjustments like that in a crisis)

The conern will be if we don't raise enough funds for Amrabat before he joins another club.

That in itself should be seen as a positive.

Getting rid of 3/4 mediocre players, who barely featured and replacing them with better quality, plus bringing up a young player with potential should be seen as an improvement. That is as long as there is at least one more addition to the group.

Can't understand how people think we're going to miss either Fred or McT.

 

[Trequarista10]

I'd say Casemiro could do both and it might be easier to find a dedicated DM, particularly at the kind of age you'd want.

Yes, Casemiro and Martinez as well probably can do both. And Shaw LB+CB, Dalot RB+LB. My concern would be that Casemiro, Martinez and Shaw are currently first choice at DM, CB and LB respectively, so we'd be moving our first choice players around to accommodate a backup specialist, which is counter productive. It'd be preferable to have a backup who can play in two positions, and then the emphasis is on the backup player to prove they can be first choice in one of the positions when they get opportunities.

On a similiar note its the one concern I have at the moment with Garnacho, in that he seems he is only really suited to LW, where Rashford is first choice and on paper has several years left in or around his peak. Sure for the next season or two it's fine for Garnacho to start the odd game when Rashford is out or rested, but in a year or two if Garnacho reaches the level we hope then he'll be wanting 35, 40, 45 starts a season including the big games. If Garnacho could also be a viable option in another position or two (RW, CF, AM for example) then it'd be easier for him to get that game time, and force himself into our starting XI alongside Rashford, instead of having to be a deputy until we are forced to make a decision between them. Obviously last season with Rashford deputising upfront occasionally it opened opportunities for Garnacho, but with the addition of Hojlund we won't see that as much.

 

[Appletonred]

Caceido or even Goretzka would have been great additions but hopefully Amrabat comes in and is a terrific player for us.

How on earth did this club manage to have players like Mctominay, Fred, Van De Beek, is nothing short of incredible, years of absolute mediocrity, please let it end.

 

[golden_blunder]

I expect Mctominay to stay as we’ve o we estimated what he is worth and no one will pay the money. He’ll go next season for more realistic fee.

Mount has replaced DVB, Fred will be replaced with someone I’m sure and Mctominay could be replaced by Hannibal or Mainoo.

Mctominay hardly started once Casemiro was up and running, he’s basically a cup player and someone who comes from the bench. Swapping Mcfred and DVB for Mount, one new signing and a youngster would make us better off.

I think Mount has replaced Eriksen

 

[Skills]

Not really. Eriksen should get Fred's minutes from last season, and Mount should get Eriksens'.

McTominay got 1600 minutes last season and 500 of those came before Casemiro established himself as a starter. That's not too many minutes at all to replace in the team. Especially with the fact unless we make a deep CL run (or god forbid another EL run) and deep FA Cup/League Cup final runs again, there will be less minutes to go around as it is.

Plus on top of that, Mainoo needs some minutes from next season.

 

[Rozay]

Let Hannibal play. Mount is also an improvement on both, and Eriksen, although I don’t see him as a player from the top bracket (regardless of whether he was voted Chelsea’s POTY before).

I suspect we’ll be fine for now at least if Amrabat comes, and we could potentially have good succession planning in place dependent upon the development of Mainoo and Mejbri.

 

[Mas Risky]

Does anyone remember who was Case's deputy at Real Madrid? Or Pirlo's? Or Busquet's?

You don't need to have a backup player with the exact profile and quality as your first team player. It is unrealistic in many cases. Amrabat, Erikssen, McTominay, and Mainoo, are more than enough.