What do we still need? Aka The never ending story

[HTG]

See Bayern close to signing Bryan Zaragoza. We'll see how he turns out, but given their track record with wingers I wouldn't be surprised if he's another low cost gem, will be 23 when he joins them I think? And a proper winger type. Which is what we need on both sides. Left wing we have Garnacho coming in, but we need proper winger types on both wings, creative players who like running at defenders with the ball and it doesn't matter all that much which flank they are on, the job is mostly the same. Vary it up going wide or cutting in, but hold width and carry the ball with pace.

Seems to be a done deal. No idea what he’s like as a player. But the price is right and the risk very low.

 

[golden_blunder]

Most summers get ridiculed for sayin gwe need 8-10 signings and 15+ out as it isnt fm or possible in a window. Seems tide is trning and people quoting Ragnicks comments a lot at the moment, fed p of these players thorwing managers under the bus, even though many turning on the manager.

Read something on twitter of what the top players are earning at United....top 7/8 were about £125m in wages over a year. That is madness and I think most fans wold only actally want one or two of those players to remain.

May be hard to sell players but we save over £100m next season even managing to sell these players for nothing. Yes we have to pay new players salaries but our top wages are ludicrous. With new ownership and a transfer kitty, a genine cull of thes bluffers we really shold be able to raise a huge amount for a net spend of wages/transfers + transfer kitty....and we dont succeed for me unless we do.

Bayindir
Lindelof
Maguire
Varane
Dalot
Williams
Mount
Fernandes
Eriksen
CAsemiro
VDB
McTominay
Martial
Rashford
Antony
Sancho
Greenwood

We shold be looking to move on the makproty of these players, several of which have been here 4/5years+ and are on big wages. Some are good players bt there is inconistency and attitudes amongst them.

We should be building the team arond a few players and what we really need to buy:

GK - A young top talent. Vicario, look at his price and what he has done so far at Spurs, Verbruggen also at Brighton. We should be lookig at a signing like this to push Onana who for me was always an average keeper with great feet, poor buy bt too early to sell

Possible: Yahon Diouff

RB: I have always been a fan of Bissaka thogh he isnt perfect and has had bad spells....he ist awfl going forward....but we need a second option, a attacking rb, was always advocating Livaramento and Gusto, both have moved. TBH not really seen Frimpong but I quite like Anderson....an attacking RB as a different option is what we need, DAlot isnt the right one to compete with Bissaka and personal opinion I dont rate him either.

Possible: Anderson

CB: I wold like us to sign two, one def rcb the other maybe the same or able to play both there and lcb. I think Shaw is a very good cb which is why I wold sign a LB too

Possible; Diomonde / Tapsoba

LB: A youngster to compete with Malacia is Alvaro Fernandez isnt the answer

Possible: Valentin Barco

DM: We have seen what a quality DM adds to or side with Casemiro last season....bt he was expensive and 30 was always going declien in a season or two....alarmin git seems to already be happening

Possible: Actually no idea

CM : A proper box o box midfielder

Possible: Khephren Thuram

AM: Ferandes has been good the last few games and is obviosly a big talent, but beying those first 6months he hasnt personally convince me as a star player with his inconsistencies within a game and though he works so hard, his rolling around and moaning....isnt good leadership for me

Possible: Wirtz

LW/RW - Garnacho looks a big talent but he hasnt proved yet he is the talent ready to sart week in week out.....none of the other players have convinced for me.

Possible: Again not really and concrete names to put forward

CF: I like and really rate Hojlund even though it isnt qite happening yet, he needs back up and rahter than an experienced player I wold like another yong one:

Possible: Marcus Leonardo / Gift Oban

Onana / Diouff
Anderson / Bissaka
Diomonde / Tapsoba
MArtinez / Shaw
Barco / Malacia
DM SIgning / Gore
Mainoo / Hannibal
Wirtz / Isak Hansen
Garnacho / LW SIgning
RW Signing / Amad / Pellestri
Holnd / Leonardo

Probably looking at arond £400m which is a lot of money but the sales, a kitty and the difference in salaries with these new players....its isnt as far fetched as looks, bt either way a huge rebuild is needed, it has been for years yet several are still here and other are already adding to potential deadwood that hav ecome qite recently

No way are we gonna sell or release that number of players, not in a million years.

 

[FerociousCorgis]

still as depressing as ever. Just have to hope Onana comes good at gk. If not maybe kovar can be bought back for cheap if he looks the real deal. On the backline the only players id want back next season starting consistently would be martinez and shaw. Rest are just proven not good enough or cant be counted on. Midfield of those who have featured this season would just want mainoo back. Hopefully casemiro and mctominay are sold. Perhaps mount turns it around at some point who knows. Gotta pray some of the youngsters come thru in gore or hannibal for our midfield. Attack wise lets hope garnacho steps it up so we can move on from sulkford. Hojlund i think will come good. Maybe antony turns it on but RW hopes might come down to amad finally getting healthy. Bruno i have no idea, think we need to phase him out to truly play commanding footy as with him we will never control the game.

So yeah. Super depressing considering our structure. I just really hope the more british core crap was nonsense. Last thing we need is to overpay for more over rated players.

 

[Adnan]

What we need is physicality. Players who are strong, aggressive, powerful, fast and dynamic.

There are many hundreds, if not thousands of players who meet the criteria, we're just great at skilfully avoiding ever signing any of them

Agreed. If we can raise the physical, athletic and technical ability of the team by signing midfielders like Amadou Onana and Lucas Gourna-Douath along with CBs who have a similar profile. Then the team dynamic will change a lot because currently we struggle to control/contain transitions in larger spaces, and signing such players has the potential to have a big positive impact on the team as a collective.

 

[jesperjaap]

No way are we gonna sell or release that number of players, not in a million years.

Not in abot 13years more like.....which along with our poor recruitment actually expandig the problem is why we are in the position we have been

 

[golden_blunder]

Not in abot 13years more like.....which along with our poor recruitment actually expandig the problem is why we are in the position we have been

Don’t get me wrong I don’t disagree with the players as such but it’s unrealistic for any team, never mind United, to dump so many players in one go

 

[PoTMS]

The Villa-City match shows just how important a Rodri/Luiz is to a team. City looked like a midtable team without him and that's even with the robot up front. Our central midfielder is the most important position we need to nail down.

 

[Leftback99]

The Villa-City match shows just how important a Rodri/Luiz is to a team. City looked like a midtable team without him and that's even with the robot up front. Our central midfielder is the most important position we need to nail down.

Villa also showing it's not as difficult as we make it look to recruit a midfield. Tielemans and Kamara were free easy transfers to make.

 

[The-Mezzala]

Martín Zubimendi and Todibo in Jan would be dream scenario with Casimero and Varane , going to Saudi for a decent fee. Potentially Sancho out would free up some fund but most likely a loan is what will happen. In the Summer new right back, left sided centre back, striker and box to box midfielder. Depending on Onnana form a new GK. potentially a new right winger the never ending problem position for this club.

 

[The-Mezzala]

Villa also showing it's not as difficult as we make it look to recruit a midfield. Tielemans and Kamara were free easy transfers to make.

Kamara was a shrewd bit of business.

 

[UpWithRivers]

Villa also showing it's not as difficult as we make it look to recruit a midfield. Tielemans and Kamara were free easy transfers to make.

Oh but it is in the system we play. They need to hold the midfield by themselves, be able to take off the CB's and progress the ball, drop in and become a second/third CB when needed, be able to play with back to defender, be able to break the press, be able to pass and keep possession, be able to recover quickly with pace when our press is broken. We should have got Rice. Not sure who fits that now and I mean really top class players. I'd go for Zubimendi but he's a risk and probably end up at Barca

 

[Leftback99]

Oh but it is in the system we play. They need to hold the midfield by themselves, be able to take off the CB's and progress the ball, drop in and become a second/third CB when needed, be able to play with back to defender, be able to break the press, be able to pass and keep possession, be able to recover quickly with pace when our press is broken. We should have got Rice. Not sure who fits that now and I mean really top class players. I'd go for Zubimendi but he's a risk and probably end up at Barca

Then it's a daft system if the player to fit it is so rare. I was saying get Rice for years. I quite like Onana at Everton from the little I've seen but he'd be expensive now.

 

[jesperjaap]

Yes but loo

Don’t get me wrong I don’t disagree with the players as such but it’s unrealistic for any team, never mind United, to dump so many players in one go

Well it is what we need, not what we will do as the thread title.

No I dont expect all opf them to go. However look at the transfer dealings of Mourinho and Guardiola in there early days at CIty and CHelsea, loads of players were off loaded.

I am not a fan of Guardiolas personally, not jsut because of CIty. One of the things I do really like about him though is his ruthlessness in the transfer market regarding offloading players, if they dotn fit what he wants, he has no problem axing them Ronaldhino, Hart....doesnt matter if big names or even star players. That is something we need here for sure in the transfer market and we really should be looking to move on a significant number of the players I mentioned...especially a lot of the big names on high salaries I feel

 

[bosskeano]

there's no question or doubt that if you don't have at least ONE guy in the CM that's willing to get stuck in and do the donkey work....you can not win in the premier league

Casemiro was like the first part of his time here last season....we need Amrabat to step up now that he's had time to adjust to the league PLUS get healthy to bring that physical presence to the midfield alongside Scott or Mainoo

 

[AdNani]

We need a 2 CM’s, a RW, a RB and a CB, as well as a Striker to help Hoijlund.

 

[Mercurial]

We need a goalkeeper that can keep the goal, and a CDM with engine and grit. That would go a long way, ideally a striker and a classy RW also.

 

[croadyman]

Then it's a daft system if the player to fit it is so rare. I was saying get Rice for years. I quite like Onana at Everton from the little I've seen but he'd be expensive now.

Yeah definitely should have got Rice,trouble was Erik couldn't see past signing Onana and Mount. He also probably didn't expect Casemiro to fall off

 

[United888]

GK: Onana (Last Chance)
RB: Pedro Porro / RB
LB: Shaw / Malacia
RCB: Todibo / Maguire
LCB: Martinez / LCB
DM: Mainoo / Casemiro
CM: Mount / Eriksen
CM: Bruno / Hannibal
RW: Amad / RW
LW: Mitoma / Garnacho
ST: Toney / Hojlund

 

[berbasloth4]

Get tobido

then give palace and Brighton money take Anderson olise eze, mitoma and Ferguson

also I think chiesa be a good shout but why would he come here atm

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Silva Martinez
Mainoo Neves
Wirtz
Höjlund
​

Probably a £300M outlay, but would put us in a good position for the next 10 years.

Bit light weight?

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

If we're signing Dutch players, we should at least try to go all out to sign the good ones:

RB: Frimpong/Mazraoui
DM: Weiffer
RW: Xavi Simons

Hopefully let go of Dalot, Amrabat, Van de Beek and Sancho.

​

 

[RedUnited86]

Start with rebuilding the midfield, it's an embarrassing collection of misfits.

I still think the midfield 3 of Matic, Herrera and Pogba has been the best combination of technical ability, intelligence and work ethic (I do use that term loosely with Pogba in the same sentence) we've had in midfield since Fergie retired.

 

[Lee565]

Ten hag mistake was not deciding to build from the back from the get go, all the money wasted on mount, Antony and hojlund would have served better building the best back line possible and obviously not signing a hapless keeper like onana, then we should have focused on midfield, then attack, there is no point signing a shiny new striker if he starved of supply because the fullbacks/midfield are low quality

 

[ayushreddevil9]

Start with rebuilding the midfield, it's an embarrassing collection of misfits.

I still think the midfield 3 of Matic, Herrera and Pogba has been the best combination of technical ability, intelligence and work ethic (I do use that term loosely with Pogba in the same sentence) we've had in midfield since Fergie retired.

Rebuild? The concept of a midfield is alien to the people at Carrington. We should start with teaching them what a midfield is first.

 

[TheRedHearted]

Garnacho Hojland
Bruno

Mjebri maino
Amrabat​

more balance in midfield and our wingers don’t do crap besides rashford, so let’s play narrow up front with garnacho making the width on the left, Shaw inverting in and Dalot putting in those crosses from the right (he’s been the most competent).

just saw a random video of Take Kubo, he’s scoring goals on the right (5) but only one assist, only 22 but i imagine he’ll cost us a fortune.

Play compact and quick on the break with Fernandes feeding those two and enough legs in the midfield with those 3,

If we play this version of 4-3-3 we are better off. We should sign another young promising striker, hope to god Mount can actually cover for Bruno and sign another imposing creative CM.

wish we signed trippier when it was linked, but a RB with that creativity and a starting CB.

i would prioritize there

 

[Mylock]

First we need a competent keeper as Onana is a disaster and lacks basic gk skills. Then we need a starting RB and a backup RB, a RCH and LCH. The LCB can be a young prospect where's the RCB should be a starter. We need a LB to cover for Shaw, this is the least of the requirements as we gave Malacia.
I'd keep Casamiro as he's vital to act as a mentor to Mainoo, they would be amazing together. I believe we should be integrating in Gore and buying another midfielder to play the 6/8 position. We need to buy Evan Ferguson to complement Hojlund and act as an alternative option. We need to buy a RW with a Right foot who can go down the line, not an inverted winger, give Amad a chance.


Squad replacements over the next few transfer windows.

New starting Gk
LCH & RCH - (possibly 2 RCB, depending on sales).
2 RB.
LB, not urgent.
2 Midfielders if Gore is given his chance we only 1 midfielder, if not we need 2.
1 CF - Ferguson
1 RW.

Get rid.
Onana
Dalot and wan Bissaka
Lindelof
Varane
Van de Beek
Evans - join as a coach
send back Regullion, Ambarat
Eriksen
Pellistri
Hannibal
Antony
Martial
Rashford
Sancho

 

[Hugh Jass]

We need an elite manager. It doesn't matter what players you buy if the manager isn't up to it.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

We need an elite manager. It doesn't matter what players you buy if the manager isn't up to it.

Doesn’t matter what manager you bring in if the players aren’t up to it.

 

[Bojan Djordjic]

Doesn’t matter what manager you bring in if the players aren’t up to it.

Brighton, Villa and Newcastle had objectively worse players than us and their managers have turned them into dominant teams. Everton have pretty much the same team as they had under Lampard and they're miles better under Dyche.

 

[lex talionis]

What we "need" right now 20 December 2023 -- are the following:

• Injured players to return to full fitness ASAP
• Players who are deemed physically fit but are suffering from a psychological malady, such as Rashford, to deal with their shit and return to duty like men ASAP
• Our keeper to get over it and start playing like a seasoned professional and not a pale shadow of a 19 year David De Gea
• And our manager to be tactically more astute against every upcoming opponent

Yes of course we need to bring in a striker and all that, but realistically we're not bringing in a truckload of new players until the summer, and even then we're probably looking at only 2-3 new players tops.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

Brighton, Villa and Newcastle had objectively worse players than us and their managers have turned them into dominant teams. Everton have pretty much the same team as they had under Lampard and they're miles better under Dyche.

Yeah but even for their previous coach they did the basic of actually running about and dropping in to offer passing options. Something our players just don’t do because they are lazy and think they are better than they actually are. You might fix that with a new coach for a while but we keep seeing the same old pattern time and time again and that isn’t down to coaching choices.

Rather bin half the squad or more before we bring in a new manager. But if we have to bin the manager could we do it at the same time as binning at least 75% of the squad.

 

[Andycoleno9]

Gk, creative central midfielder, right winger, striker.
Basically same shit which we needed before we spent 400 mil under ETH.

 

[Desert Eagle]

Gk, creative central midfielder, right winger, striker.
Basically same shit which we needed before we spent 400 mil under ETH.

and a new manager and GM and owner

 

[bosnian_red]

A manager

 

[Bojan Djordjic]

Think it's obvious that EtH is a lame duck until new owners are ensconced so I'll start with Thiago Motta who's doing fantastic things with a pretty middling team on paper. Think Zhirkzee for €40mn wouldn't be terrible business. Nice to see a number 9 that's also a footballer.

 

[PezzDogg95]

We are out of Europe and the Carabao Cup, so only have the PL and FA Cup to service, and by the end of the January window it may just be the PL, who knows...

Priority number #1 should be trimming down the squad considerably, to cut the deadwood, free up wages and provide a pathway for youth players into the first team.

In our history a strong academy typically results in a strong first team. Let's give the kids opportunity.

By only playing one match per week, we can look to find some consistency on the pitch with our first choice players spending more time in training together and lining up with similar XIs game on game, instead of heavy rotations, which will build chemistry.

Team for the remainder of 23/24 season:

SENIOR / BENCH / YOUTH

GK: Onana - Bayindir/Heaton - Vitek

RB: AWB - Dalot - Nolan
RCB: Maguire - Evans - Kambwala
LCB: Martinez - Shaw - Bennett
LB: Reguilon - Malacia - ???

DM: Amrabat - Mainoo - Oyedele
CM: Mount - Hannibal - Gore
AM: Fernandes - Shoretire - Hansen

RW: Antony - Amad - Forson
LW: Garnacho - Pellistri - Mejia
ST: Hojlund - Rashford - Hugill


For Sale/Out of Squad:

D: Varane, Lindelof
M: Van de Beek, McTominay, Casemiro, Eriksen
F: Martial, Sancho


The reality is we probably won't be able to shift out 8 players in January, but the more we can clear out, the better.

The new CEO has a reputation for streamlining the squad, and Ratcliffe has noted he wants to focus on the academy, which is what we need tbh.

Trim the fat, get the core playing together for 6 months and bolster that in the summer.

 

[daba]

We are out of Europe and the Carabao Cup, so only have the PL and FA Cup to service, and by the end of the January window it may just be the PL, who knows...

Priority number #1 should be trimming down the squad considerably, to cut the deadwood, free up wages and provide a pathway for youth players into the first team.

In our history a strong academy typically results in a strong first team. Let's give the kids opportunity.

By only playing one match per week, we can look to find some consistency on the pitch with our first choice players spending more time in training together and lining up with similar XIs game on game, instead of heavy rotations, which will build chemistry.

Team for the remainder of 23/24 season:

SENIOR / BENCH / YOUTH

GK: Onana - Bayindir/Heaton - Vitek

RB: AWB - Dalot - Nolan
RCB: Maguire - Evans - Kambwala
LCB: Martinez - Shaw - Bennett
LB: Reguilon - Malacia - ???

DM: Amrabat - Mainoo - Oyedele
CM: Mount - Hannibal - Gore
AM: Fernandes - Shoretire - Hansen

RW: Antony - Amad - Forson
LW: Garnacho - Pellistri - Mejia
ST: Hojlund - Rashford - Hugill


For Sale/Out of Squad:

D: Varane, Lindelof
M: Van de Beek, McTominay, Casemiro, Eriksen
F: Martial, Sancho


The reality is we probably won't be able to shift out 8 players in January, but the more we can clear out, the better.

The new CEO has a reputation for streamlining the squad, and Ratcliffe has noted he wants to focus on the academy, which is what we need tbh.

Trim the fat, get the core playing together for 6 months and bolster that in the summer.

Completely agree with the ‘Trim the fat’ sentiment and how that should be a bigger priority for the rebuild. I don’t think those 8 departures can all or should all happen in Jan, but over Jan and the summer quite possibly.

Whether we bring in new faces in Jan I guess will depend on who we are able to shift, who is available out of our targets, and whether we even have money to spend…

Assuming we can shift at least one player on for decent money to give us room to make additions, I’d like to see something like below done in Jan:

Outs:
Sancho >> Loan (or Saudi)
Van de Beek >> Loan
Martial >> Sold £0
McTominay >> Sold £30m

In:
Andre Trindade £30-35m
Guirassy? Zirkzee? M.Leonardo? £15-25m

 

[Red_Orchestra]

Start with rebuilding the midfield, it's an embarrassing collection of misfits.

I still think the midfield 3 of Matic, Herrera and Pogba has been the best combination of technical ability, intelligence and work ethic (I do use that term loosely with Pogba in the same sentence) we've had in midfield since Fergie retired.

Agreed, a midfield rebuild is needed. I think its time to move on with Bruno, Mount, Eriksen, Casemiro, Mctom, VDB.

Replacing them with Zubimendi (as a Rodri role) - Thuram (B2B) and Wirtz (CAM) would be a great start. Its really not that damn hard to fix.

 

[UTAretro]

Agreed, a midfield rebuild is needed. I think its time to move on with Bruno, Mount, Eriksen, Casemiro, Mctom, VDB.

Replacing them with Zubimendi (as a Rodri role) - Thuram (B2B) and Wirtz (CAM) would be a great start. Its really not that damn hard to fix.

Well, again, it sort of is. Would you like me to explain why?

 

[gajender]

Well, again, it sort of is. Would you like me to explain why?

Please do then I'll tell you why it's actually possible in this case if management is realistic about the fees or possible pay off in some cases .
Only issue would be moving Mount but I don't think we need to sell him just yet and Buying Wirtz .