What do we still need? Aka The never ending story

[Canagel]

My order of priorities changed after watching last night s performance. We need to sort out the fullbacks asap. I had CB and RW as my first priorities but it looks like we're even worse than I thought at the FB area. The thought of entering next season with Young again is quite sad.

 

[Adnan]

David McDonnell of the Mirror is reporting that we will sign four players in the summer. LB, RB, CB, RW..

He reports that we're looking at Koulibaly and Lucas Hernandez as the first choice targets at CB and Milenkovic as the cheaper option.

 

[Fosu-Mens]

We need a CB and a RB as a matter of urgency we'll be fighting for top four again without serious reinforcements in those two areas. After that I think we need a more modern and dynamic CDM and a upgrade at RW.

Are you talking about next season or the seasons after that? Only way we are able to compete with Liverpool/City next year are if we either spend £300m+ efficiently and are able to integrate these new players into the squad and/or Liverpool and City suddenly are unable to perform. Since both of their squads seems to be easier to motivate than Chelsea they will continue to perform on a similar level. And it will be us to improve and close the gap, not them decreasing in performance.

We should aim for a safe top 4 next season together with City, Pool and Spurs, buy and play younger players and build/develope/improve the players in the squad to be able to compete every season from the 2021 season and onwards.

We will not be able to close the gap in one season/during a single transferwindow.

 

[Canagel]

David McDonnell of the Mirror is reporting that we will sign four players in the summer. LB, RB, CB, RW..

He reports that we're looking at Koulibaly and Lucas Hernandez as the first choice targets at CB and Milenkovic as the cheaper option.

Isn't hernandez a LB?
Or did he mean between him, Koulibaly and Milenkovic for CB?

 

[Suedesi]

What do we still need, depends on what the objectives are.

If the objective is a Top 4 finish and making it past the group stages of the CL, I'd say we need a CB and a RW.

If the objective is to fight for the title/CL, we need 2 CB's, a RW, a quality Center Midfielder and a Right Back.

 

[Adnan]

Isn't hernandez a LB?
Or did he mean between him, Koulibaly and Milenkovic for CB?

I thought Lucas Hernandez was a CB that can play at LB.

 

[Suedesi]

My order of priorities changed after watching last night s performance. We need to sort out the fullbacks asap. I had CB and RW as my first priorities but it looks like we're even worse than I thought at the FB area. The thought of entering next season with Young again is quite sad.

We're sadly very unbalanced as a squad.

 

[Fosu-Mens]

David McDonnell of the Mirror is reporting that we will sign four players in the summer. LB, RB, CB, RW..

He reports that we're looking at Koulibaly and Lucas Hernandez as the first choice targets at CB and Milenkovic as the cheaper option.

And how reliable is McDonnell? Good luck getting through a season with only Matic, Herrera and Pogba in midfield.
Additionally; we have not appointed the "promised" DoF/sporting director yet...
If we do not improve/add to our current midfield options we will continue to struggle, unless we are buying players that are able to play in the positions mentioned and as a midfielder.

 

[Adnan]

@abdo99

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/man-utds-4-main-summer-13995997

 

[Adnan]

And how reliable is McDonnell? Good luck getting through a season with only Matic, Herrera and Pogba in midfield.
Additionally; we have not appointed the "promised" DoF/sporting director yet...
If we do not improve/add to our current midfield options we will continue to struggle, unless we are buying players that are able to play in the positions mentioned and as a midfielder.

McDonnell is decent, he's part of the Manchester press pack along with Ogden, Ducker, Custis etc

 

[Canagel]

I thought Lucas Hernandez was a CB that can play at LB.

I remember in the world cup he was at LB. But he didn't get forward like a usual FB so you're right

 

[Fosu-Mens]

McDonnell is decent, he's part of the Manchester press pack along with Ogden, Ducker, Custis etc

If this turns out to be the case, and we are not adding options in the midfield then we will continue with the clueless recruitement.
We can surely expect us to pay stupid money for D. Costa(overrated and dependent on space to function) and £100m for Koulibaly.
We have already extended Young for one year for him to be a backup. We have given Shaw £150k a week (for some reason), bought Dalot for the future, got some promising players in the youth setup... And then buy two new fullbacks? I'm not disagreeing in that we need improvement at RB/LB, but there are some other issues in the squad that needs some attention.

 

[Adnan]

If this turns out to be the case, and we are not adding options in the midfield then we will continue with the clueless recruitement.
We can surely expect us to pay stupid money for D. Costa(overrated and dependent on space to function) and £100m for Koulibaly.
We have already extended Young for one year for him to be a backup. We have given Shaw £150k a week (for some reason), bought Dalot for the future, got some promising players in the youth setup... And then buy two new fullbacks? I'm not disagreeing in that we need improvement at RB/LB, but there are some other issues in the squad that needs some attention.

He has got quite a few things wrong too. He did report that Mourinho would be sacked after the home game against Newcastle. He also reported that Smalling and Jones would sold in the summer of 2018.

 

[Canagel]

We're sadly very unbalanced as a squad.

It's real concern tbh. There are gaps all over the place and it's almost guaranteed we won't fill of all of them by next season. Very important summer ahead .

 

[Fracture90]

I don't usually do stuff like this but there's first time for everything!

RB - Thomas Meunier, contract expires in 2020 and he once admitted his a lifelong UTD fan. Experienced RB entering his physical prime will allow Dalot and possibly TFM time to develop.

CB - Manolas, cheap clause (€36 million) for darn good CB, good on the ball, can pass it and is really good in the air.

Alternatively De Ligt already looks years ahead of his peers, ticks all the boxes and his age will allow him to grow into EPL.

DM/CMF Lemina and Rabiot - one is EPL proven, highly mobile DM/CMF that can pass the ball really well, tackle, make interceptions, run with the ball etc. Think him playing alongside talent that we have would raise his game as well. The other is also a quality MF who can play in multiple positions in the MF. Great passing range, great on the ball, can run with the ball and the usual stuff. Downside is that he's got an attitude and his mum's the wicked witch from the west apparently.

RW - ANYONE THAT ISN'T GARETH FKIN BALE.

 

[deadrevelz]

I hope the club, aside from being tight fisted cnuts, don't fall into the trap of believing that 'too much turnover is damaging'. I've been reading this a lot recently on here and it's a myth. Maybe it's true when you have a successful squad but when you have been underperforming for 6 years the idea that keeping lots of mediocre squad players is going to be more beneficial than replacing them with a mixture of top class and potential is just idiotic. "Better the devils you know" doesn't apply here.

 

[sam147]

What we really need is to get rid of dross. Jones, Smalling, Rojo, Valencia, Mata and Sanchez should be nowhere near the team. The 3 CBs could easily be replaced by one solid CB because not one of them can stay fit and the one who does stay fit is average. What we need is a left footed LB because people seem to overlook the fact we only have Luke Shaw. A right back at his peak. A DM so Matic can catch a damn breather once in a while. A CM who can carry the ball because without Pogba we are nowhere near good enough. One injury and our season is done. A RW. Anyone will do. We have literally no one who plays there. It could be Costa, Pepe, Under or Sancho. Anyone. That would leave us with:
GK: De gea, Romero, Grant
RB: Hysaj, Dalot, Young
CB: Lindelof, Bailly, Koulibaly, Tuanzebe
LB: Shaw, Alex Telles/Tierney
DM: Matic, Neves
CM: Pogba, Pellegrini, Herrera, Fred
LW/RW: Sancho, Martial, Lingard, Rashford
ST: Rashford, Lukaku

 

[Mcking]

What we really need is to get rid of dross. Jones, Smalling, Rojo, Valencia, Mata and Sanchez should be nowhere near the team. The 3 CBs could easily be replaced by one solid CB because not one of them can stay fit and the one who does stay fit is average. What we need is a left footed LB because people seem to overlook the fact we only have Luke Shaw. A right back at his peak. A DM so Matic can catch a damn breather once in a while. A CM who can carry the ball because without Pogba we are nowhere near good enough. One injury and our season is done. A RW. Anyone will do. We have literally no one who plays there. It could be Costa, Pepe, Under or Sancho. Anyone. That would leave us with:
GK: De gea, Romero, Grant
RB: Hysaj, Dalot, Young
CB: Lindelof, Bailly, Koulibaly, Tuanzebe
LB: Shaw, Alex Telles/Tierney
DM: Matic, Neves
CM: Pogba, Pellegrini, Herrera, Fred
LW/RW: Sancho, Martial, Lingard, Rashford
ST: Rashford, Lukaku

I like the look of that especially the midfield and attack which seems pretty realistic.

 

[Fosu-Mens]

I like the look of that especially the midfield and attack which seems pretty realistic.

£300m +++. Not happening.

 

[Mcking]

£300m +++. Not happening.

By realistic, I mean Sancho, Pellegrini and Neves. Personally, I don't have CB that high on the priority list like some do.

 

[Fosu-Mens]

By realistic, I mean Sancho, Pellegrini and Neves. Personally, I don't have CB that high on the priority list like some do.

Fair enough.
Pellegrini we know have a clause at £23m. He should be bought for that price. Either as a starter/future starter/rotation for Herrera/Matic.
Neves will cost around £60m i reckon.
Sancho will cost around the same as Dembele did. So £120m minimum.
Thats roughly £200m on 3 players, and we have a number of other weakpoints to take into consideration.

 

[Mcking]

Fair enough.
Pellegrini we know have a clause at £23m. He should be bought for that price. Either as a starter/future starter/rotation for Herrera/Matic.
Neves will cost around £60m i reckon.
Sancho will cost around the same as Dembele did. So £120m minimum.
Thats roughly £200m on 3 players, and we have a number of other weakpoints to take into consideration.

Ousmane Dembele went for an initial £96m, and I wouldn't pay far above above that for Sancho as I consider Dembele the better player.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/41075084
We can surely get a FB for decent price or alternatively, be smarter with our transfers. It is frustrating that we always have to spend top dollar in an aim to improve the team which backfires more often than not. I am convinced there is a good forward we can get for a good price out there, so the money can be spread evenly.

 

[bond19821982]

Pellegrini and Rabiot will give enough options in midfield for under 30m. Get Toby for 25m and
Meunier for 40m. We still got some money for a good right winger.

Clear out Rojo ,Jones and Darmian.

Wage bill will sky rocket unless we get a buyer for Sanchez.

 

[Fracture90]

Pellegrini and Rabiot will give enough options in midfield for under 30m. Get Toby for 25m and
Meunier for 40m. We still got some money for a good right winger.

Clear out Rojo ,Jones and Darmian.

Wage bill will sky rocket unless we get a buyer for Sanchez.

Meunier's contract is up in 2020 I think, he would probably cost us less than 40 million.

 

[sam147]

I like the look of that especially the midfield and attack which seems pretty realistic.

We need one summer with 5-6 signings all at the right quality and age. It would make a huge long term impact because after that we can finally gain some focus and make that real 1 or 2 signings we need in the coming transfer windows. At this moment in time the team is so lopsided with average players, overpaid players and no depth it would be impossible for any manager to do well.

I like the look of that especially the midfield and attack which seems pretty realistic.

We have to think realistically when you realise we spend 50m in the summer and minus figures in January. I think a lot of people do not see how reliant we are on Pogba. He does everything and the PSG game proved without him we aren't that great. We need someone like Pellegrini. Seen Ndomele being thrown about but he doesn't seem very disciplined to play the role next to Pogba and cover when Pogba is out.

 

[Fosu-Mens]

Ousmane Dembele went for an initial £96m, and I wouldn't pay far above above that for Sancho as I consider Dembele the better player.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/41075084
We can surely get a FB for decent price or alternatively, be smarter with our transfers. It is frustrating that we always have to spend top dollar in an aim to improve the team which backfires more often than not. I am convinced there is a good forward we can get for a good price out there, so the money can be spread evenly.

That was two years ago. BVB have already sold Pulisic, does not need to sell, Sancho is unlikely to behave like a spoiled kid and force the transfer... Unlikely we will get Sancho for less than £100m.
The reason we are always spending top dollar is because we have incompetent people with little knowledge about football (Woodward, Matt Judge, Glazers) that are a part of the decisionprocess. Not saying that you must know alot about football to make a good transfer or be able to evaluate if a player will perform, but it certainly helps.

 

[MikeUpNorth]

Can't see us making more then four signings in a window. In order of importance:

Right back
Right wing
Centre midfield
Centre back

 

[Devil may care]

2 FBs, commanding CB, 2 CMs (1 dynamic, 1 matic replacement) and a RW.

Yep but if we can get 4 from that lot it would still be a very good window.

David McDonnell of the Mirror is reporting that we will sign four players in the summer. LB, RB, CB, RW..

He reports that we're looking at Koulibaly and Lucas Hernandez as the first choice targets at CB and Milenkovic as the cheaper option.

To paraphrase Meatloaf, 4 out of 6 ain't bad but there's no way we should be ignoring CM and it's disappointing to think one of Lukaku and Sanchez will still be here. Lucas Hernandez is an interesting name on that list, I know he started as a CB but he's played primarily as a LB for Atleti and France, I wonder if we might view him as a twofer and can give us breathing room on any LB upgrading so we can get a CM.

 

[Van Piorsing]

Can't see us making more then four signings in a window. In order of importance:

Right back
Right wing
Centre midfield
Centre back

Above four could be possible but probably only in face of a massive quality check and clearout... but then again Gomes, Mensah, Axel, Chong, Greenwood, all waiting to step up.

Four players of truly above squad player quality seems right.

 

[DSG]

Sancho will cost more than 100m. I think 130m or more. Dortmund are unlikely to sell unless blown away. If he stays at Dortmund for another season and repeats/improves his performance, he is likely to go for 200m in the summer of 2020. All the big clubs will come calling. If he returns to EPL, the English club will pay a premium because commercially he’ll be more valuable. He’s 18 and has 8 goals and 11 assists this season already. Different game than Dembele. I watch a lot of Dortmund, and the deference / respect shown by the veteran Dortmund players to Sancho is palpable. If they win the league , they will be more likely to hold on to him.

I expect us to spend at least 200m this summer with a net spend of 150m. 1 RB, 1 CB, a mid to replace Matic (too slow to play a high press) and an attacker/winger/striker/10.

This Joao Felix kid at Benfica could potentially be electric.

 

[SportingCP96]

Fantastic Video from a good YouTube on Felix.

 

[DSG]

Fantastic Video from a good YouTube on Felix.

They are calling this kid the next Ronaldo, but his game is nothing like CR7. Looks to be more of a 10, doesn’t rely on speed or strength but technique and vision.

I think Sancho is a bit better overall, and maybe a better fit for the style we want to play, but this Felix kid looks to be the real deal.

 

[SportingCP96]

They are calling this kid the next Ronaldo, but his game is nothing like CR7. Looks to be more of a 10, doesn’t rely on speed or strength but technique and vision.

I think Sancho is a bit better overall, and maybe a better fit for the style we want to play, but this Felix kid looks to be the real deal.

He is nothing like Ronaldo not even close I hope it was not the English media who said that because that is just lazy. The only thing him and Ronaldo have in common Is they ate Portuguese. I too think Sancho is more of a necessity.

 

[Devil may care]

This squad could use Sancho and Felix, you need different kinds options as long as you don't sacrifice technique and energy, you need to be able to tweak the set-up of the attack in different games and during games, I mean look at City, they have Mahrez, Sane and Jesus to come off the bench and rotate in for various games, quality options in attack are important, we found that out to our cost against PSG.

 

[Hugh Jass]

I doubt we will spend more than 65 million on a defender. Not worth it anyhow. I think with Jones signing a contract, we may not sign a CB.

Definitely need a MF and a RW. Possibly a RB depending on how good Dalot is. Maybe even two MFs because Andreas will probably be sold.

 

[finneh]

We need something very similar to Liverpool last season. A wide goalscorer (Salah), a top drawer CB (VVD) and a full back (Robertson)... A versatile midfielder on top (AOC) would be the cherry on the cake.

 

[EireRed_GS]

RB: valencia is done, Dalot great for back up
CB: this goes without saying
RW / RWF: again, goes without saying, no presence on the right side at all
FW: need some competition for Rom (if he stays much longer) & Rashford

CM? - not sure, but it looks like we could lose Periera at end of season and im not sure McTominay ready, so backup here could help

 

[broccoli]

Get a proper DOF first of all. I don't buy that bs that he needs to "know" United. A good appointment and anyone intelligent will understand the club's values and establish a suitable recruitment strategy with whoever becomes the head coach.

 

[ErranMorad]

We legitimately need to get 5 or 6 players if we are looking to make progress and challenge for major honors next season. No dilly-dallying & getting only 2 or 3 players in. We need to make a statement & get what is needed to upgrade the squad.

Nothing much has changed in my opinion with regards to the positions that we need to strengthen:

(1) RB/CB hybrid - Don't know how much progress that guy from Porto has made, but he could be an option. If not him, then someone who can come in and slot as a starter.
(2) LB - Would be happy with either Chilwell or Tierney
(3) CB - Koulibaly or de Lijt or someone who is dominant both on the ground & in the air
(4) CDM - Neves
(5) CM/CAM - Eriksen would be a dream signing. Only has one year left & could be bought for relatively cheap
(6) RW - ??

In addition, if we are getting rid of Lukaku than I would love to replace him with Timo Werner on a free.

I know these sound like too many signings in one window. However, we need to get these positions filled in the next two windows if not the next one.

Mata, Sanchez, Lukaku, Rojo, Darmian, Valencia & Jones can all leave.

 

[Hugh Jass]

We legitimately need to get 5 or 6 players if we are looking to make progress and challenge for major honors next season. No dilly-dallying & getting only 2 or 3 players in. We need to make a statement & get what is needed to upgrade the squad.

Nothing much has changed in my opinion with regards to the positions that we need to strengthen:

(1) RB/CB hybrid - Don't know how much progress that guy from Porto has made, but he could be an option. If not him, then someone who can come in and slot as a starter.
(2) LB - Would be happy with either Chilwell or Tierney
(3) CB - Koulibaly or de Lijt or someone who is dominant both on the ground & in the air
(4) CDM - Neves
(5) CM/CAM - Eriksen would be a dream signing. Only has one year left & could be bought for relatively cheap
(6) RW - ??

In addition, if we are getting rid of Lukaku than I would love to replace him with Timo Werner on a free.

I know these sound like too many signings in one window. However, we need to get these positions filled in the next two windows if not the next one.

Mata, Sanchez, Lukaku, Rojo, Darmian, Valencia & Jones can all leave.

No way do we need five or six players. We cannot keep replacing players if they have a bad performance. We will never have a settled team if we do that.

Three or four players max.