What do we still need? Post Summer 2017 edition

[Sterling Archer]

After today's performance I think we should try for Ozil and Mahrez in January. Give us some much needed creativity up front.

I absolutely loved Mahrez in the championship winning season. Since then I have been really disappointed to see him shy away in matches. What will his response be at United? That's my only concern. We need character and as much as we do pure talent.

Summer Ins

Sandro(LB)
Savic(CM)
Ozil(No.10)
Mahrez(RW)

Summer Out
Carrick
Blind
Darmian
Fellaini
Mikhtaryan


Probable 25 man squad with 3-5-2 formation

4-2-3-1

How do you rate this app you're using? The visuals are very pleasing. Might check it out myself

 

[Hawks2008]

2 new fullbacks who can contribute to the attack (Sandro & Meunier), a Right winger (Mahrez), a new no.10 (Ozil on free) and another CM for depth and to allow us to play a 3 when required (Goretzka on free, Jorginho, SMS ) .

 

[Stubble]

We need a new No.10 and a decent right winger apart from that its quality in depth that is missing - our back ups in a number of positions are just not good enough. Our annual festive injury crisis is in full swing (its as traditional as xmas !) and its showing in the recent results. One more defensive injury (and Jones is due one!) and we are left with a centre back pairing of Rojo and Lindelof .. The loss of Carrick and Fellaini and having no creative Pogba backup is putting too much pressure on Matic and Pogba if we lose one of them at this point top 4 will be a real struggle. Herrara,Blind,Darmian etc just dont step up to the plate when called upon and Jose obviously doesn't trust them so time to get rid. Also, TFM and Pereira need to be given a chance they can't be worse than our current backup squad options can they ?

 

[Devil may care]

It's hard to be definite as Jose hasn't settled on a formation, we are still mixing it up and that can make it difficult to get the top players as theywant to play in their main position and not have to keep changing, especially in the big games.

Jose seems to be resistant in moving away from the 4-2-3-1 to a wingback system or better yet a 4-3-3 which would be best for Pogba and our defensive balance, I think the amount of work required from Matic to play in a 2 with Pogba is already taking it's toll, especially since we rarely have the option of resting him.

 

[AndOr Hererra]

In my opinion, the manager needs to address the fullbacks. Valencia cant cross but is pretty good at everything else so i dont really see a problem as long as we get someone who CAN cross down the right side. Darmian is laughably bad.

Young is a good crosser of the ball but constantly needs to cut back onto his right foot which slows play down slightly, add to this the fact hes not even a full back and isnt a good long term fix i think we should get a replacement for him. I do think we should give Shaw a chance as hes only just properly been given a chance so maybe until the Summer?

The Midfield two of Matic and Pogba is good..but when one of them is unavailable you see the problem. I love Hererra and wont forget his performances last season but now he looks a shadow of that player. Fellaini is Fellaini and all thats left is McTominay.

The right wing conundrum.. we have NO right wingers in our team at all and when you think about it the player probably most suited to play in that position for us currently plays at LB. Mata isnt a good fit for this position.. for the majority of games hes ghosting and ineffective. God knows what happened to Mkhitaryan, last season he was great this season hes a different player.

Lastly we have CAM who we currently play.. Lingard? Mata? Erm..Zlatan? Lingard i think is better than most people think he is and is currently on form so should perhaps be given a chance here for the moment. Mata is probably most suited however i just cant help but feel theres better players out there than him. The less said about Zlatan at 10 the better.

In conclusion i think we should get a LB ideally Alex Sandro or someone who's proven that theyre good AND ready.. but i cant say id be upset at a player like Ryan Sessegnon or Gaya.

Midfield..it depends because if we get another midfielder im sure we'd end up reverting to 3 in the middle which is fine but means we wont really need a CAM assuming its a 433. Goretzka. Milinkovic-Savic. Fabinho . Rabiot. Pjanic? or someone more obscure like Aouar, Ascacibar or Lucas Torreira

Right wing.. Pulisic, Malcom, Leon Bailey, David Neres, Zaha, Mahrez surely all of those players are an upgrade to what we currently have? Im sure theres alot more that i just didnt think of.. Wingers arent scarce.

CAM the obvious option is Özil but another player we should look at is Nabil Fekir. Dybala and Griezmann also.

Im sure many of you will disagree but these are just my opinions any opposing opinions welcome

 

[AshRK]

Major work is still required. Jose has to be ruthless. At the end of this season we will be losing Zlatan /Carrick for sure. We need to sell darmian, blind (I like hin and feel he can be used more), one of mata/mkhi or maybe both, one of Herrera / fellaini. So apart from replacing them we also need to sign a RW , RB and a midfielder surely. Will be a very crucial window. I hope Jose utilise the January market.

 

[IrishRedDevil]

We need to be wise and compliment expensive signings with picking up players for free.

Dybala will cost £120m but will be fantastic cutting in from the RW.

This large outlay can be offset by getting Ozil for free.

Dybala would replace Mkhitaryan and I think we would get £25/30m for his sale.

I honestly think these 2 players could transform the attack. Also Dybala and Pogba are best friends and Ozil and Pogba are big adidas mates, which helps with all the team bonding.

We are fairly solid in defence but we need to improve at fullback. Alex Sandro would be a good addition for LB and would probably cost £50m. I hold hope for Shaw, so I want to keep him for another year. Let's hope Valencia can be a machine for another season at RB. Darmian needs sold, so let's say that's £10/£15m back.

Fellaini doesn't seem like he will sign a new Contract, so he can be sold for say £20m and we should target Leon Gorteska from Schalke who would be free.
We would possibly need another DM to cover the departing Carrick, or perhaps Jose has full faith in McTominay?

I would give Mata a Contract extension as he can cover CAM and RW. He is a good professional to keep at the club.

Pereira and Fosu-Mensah to be recalled from loan to cover CM and RB.

Maybe we need another attacker to cover the departing Ibrahimovic? This team would cost £125m after these above sales, so surely there would still be some budget leftover.

-- Martial -- Lukaku -- Dybala
--------------- Ozil
---------Pogba --- Matic
Sandro - Jones - Bailly - Valencia
------------- de Gea

 

[Saad138]

We need to be wise and compliment expensive signings with picking up players for free.

Dybala will cost £120m but will be fantastic cutting in from the RW.

This large outlay can be offset by getting Ozil for free.

Dybala would replace Mkhitaryan and I think we would get £25/30m for his sale.

I honestly think these 2 players could transform the attack. Also Dybala and Pogba are best friends and Ozil and Pogba are big adidas mates, which helps with all the team bonding.

We are fairly solid in defence but we need to improve at fullback. Alex Sandro would be a good addition for LB and would probably cost £50m. I hold hope for Shaw, so I want to keep him for another year. Let's hope Valencia can be a machine for another season at RB. Darmian needs sold, so let's say that's £10/£15m back.

Fellaini doesn't seem like he will sign a new Contract, so he can be sold for say £20m and we should target Leon Gorteska from Schalke who would be free.
We would possibly need another DM to cover the departing Carrick, or perhaps Jose has full faith in McTominay?

I would give Mata a Contract extension as he can cover CAM and RW. He is a good professional to keep at the club.

Pereira and Fosu-Mensah to be recalled from loan to cover CM and RB.

Maybe we need another attacker to cover the departing Ibrahimovic? This team would cost £125m after these above sales, so surely there would still be some budget leftover.

-- Martial -- Lukaku -- Dybala
--------------- Ozil
---------Pogba --- Matic
Sandro - Jones - Bailly - Valencia
------------- de Gea

I second this team. This is most definitely a title winning dream team. Only needs a good replacement for Valencia at RB.

 

[Rauður Djöfull]

I second this team. This is most definitely a title winning dream team. Only needs a good replacement for Valencia at RB.

Thomas Meunier should be that in my opinion.

Getting some of these in january if possible would be a good move since the window is shorter in the summer than before and because of the World Cup. It is a bit frightening how many we probably need to sign. If we consider Fellaini possably leaving, Carrick retiring and Young/Valencia getting to be bit old. Zlatan probably leaving as well. Perhaps Mikhi and probably one or both of Blind/Darmian

Getting Goretzka and Ozil (although he is not my dream signing) on a free would be great buisness and leave budget for players like Dybala/Sandro and more

 

[Devil may care]

We've been linked to Malcom, Justin Kluivert and now David Neres, all young wide attackers that can play off the right, with Mourinho seemingly unwilling to abandon 4-2-3-1 altogether I guess they'd make sense as you can easily drop them when we play big games and he has to go 4-3-3.



I put Dybala in but it could well be Ozil or maybe it will still end up being Griezmann, the advantage of Dybala or Griezmann is that when we play 4-3-3 agaisnt good teams then both are much better playing a wide forward role than Ozil is.



The big problem is that we are going to struggle to get a quality CM to come in as basically a bench player who gets the standard last 20 shut up shop minutes and the big games, players like Goretzka, Saul, Kvoavcic, Milinkovic-Savic would be off the list.

 

[ovoxo]

Judging by recent rumours etc, it appears we can see what it is that Mourinho wants.

LB: Shaw obviously hasn’t worked out, I know many want him to still work out but that LB spot needs some top quality in it. We’ve been linked with Alex Sandro recently, whilst I’m not convinced we’ll obtain him, simply for the fact I feel he’s going to Chelsea after their failed summer pursuit.

We’ve also been linked with Rose. However at the quoted price, you’d just rather try for Sandro.

I’m also sure the Telegraph posted about Sessegnon. Perhaps we feel we need to move for Sessegnon now rather than later due to others coming into the mix? Wouldn’t be a bad investment for the future of the LB spot. He can understudy until he comes into his own. By that time Sandro would be say 30/31, or Rose would be around 31/32.

CM: I think the main names I’ve seen here is Goretzka and Savic. I’ve not seen a lot of Savic, but he comes across as an AM more than a B2B, or a furthest forward in a midfield 3. I feel if we sign Goretzka, he would be ideal cover for Pogba and enable us to go 4-3-3 in those big games with more confidence. Herrera seems to have lost his ability to play similiarly to the Monstars stealing the abilities of the NBA players in Space Jam. He’s utterly useless this season. Fellaini holding out for £170k is sickening, the fact we put in a £150k offer is bemusing to me also, but I think we need to move past the Fellaini era and let him go. My other concern is we don’t have real cover for Matic, but maybe we can address that next summer. Maybe Mctominay and Herrera could do for now.

#10: I like many felt Griezmann was coming last summer, and until the past month or so, felt he was coming this summer. Now though, I don’t think he will. He’s a top player, but I honestly wouldn’t mind an Ozil here. For free he has that real creative spark which could help us create more.

Other players here are Dybala, but I feel he’s nothing more than a dream.

RW: We’ve been heavily linked with Malcom, to which I haven’t seen much of, but we do need a RW. Like many here I felt we needed something to offer from the RW other than Valencia’s crossing (which isn’t even that great), if Malcom can offer something different, then that’s fantastic. I also like the fact we’re targeting younger talent here. Memphis left a sour taste in our mouths because we wanted him to be that next big star. Other than that Brugge game, he was crap. Other names here are Neres and Kulivert.

Even if we manage to get all these areas addressed by this summer. We still have a few issues, we still need cover for Matic, or someone young to understudy, I know we had links to Julian Weigl, but someone needs to come in potentially in 2019. We also need to address a Valencia replacement. I think we could use Young, TFM, and even Lindelof for next season as cover if we need. However, I’d love a Meunier to come in and take over Valencia.

It’s increasingly obvious this squad needed a lot of work. Adding to the squad with players who weren’t going to make a big difference left us going nowhere, people like Herrera, Fellaini, Miki and Blind have offered us something at times but haven’t helped us return to our days of champions.

I still trust Mourinho and feel he can have the tools he needs to help us compete again if he gets his players over the next two windows.

 

[haram]

LB -
CM - Milinkovic-Savic
AM - Ozil
RW -

RW will probably a young talent that doesn't have to play every week.

 

[Devil may care]

If Jose is being accurate with just 3 in then I hope to feck we avoid a luxury #10. He made it clear that one would be a CM and that he expected to pay huge money for another addition who is likely a marquee attacker. That leaves the 3rd spot for hopefully a LB.

We'll have to keep Herrera for another year as cover and we should sign Mata to an extension as well. If we add a RWF as a 4th buy then I think it will be a cheaper young option, like one the Ajax lads.

 

[Thelyonking1]

I think we need to have a really big window in the summer before we can even be considered as title contenders. There are 5 massive holes in the squad for me and I would love to see the following players brought in and some of the deadwood cleared out. 3 signings is just not enough to keep pace with city I read yesterday they signed 16 players since Pep started compared to our 7 signings, a bigger overhaul is needed to bring in more quality to the starting 11.

1.CAM - I think a real game changer is needed here, a big heavyweight name who is a ready made star and can hit the ground running , can’t take a risk on this position with a young promising talent. Would be the link we need between pogba and lukaku and strengthen the spine of the team indefinitely.

Choices:

-Griezmann(hopefully doesn’t end up at Barca)
-Dybala(would he like to come to us? Not so sure after his comments last year)
-Erikson(might not be as big a name as the two above but an extremely intelligent player, good age, premier league proven, would do a similar job with knitting everything together like De Bruyne’s role at city, realistic target IMO)
-Ozil(would take him on a free and would Defo be an improvement on what we have, but as he is 29 and slightly inconsistent would prefer to try for the above 3 first)

2. RW - we desperately need an out and out winger as we have no recognised rw at the club bar lingard who now seems to operate as more of a no.10.(how I wish we spotted salah or mane’s talents before they ended up at Liverpool )

Choices:

- Bale(very injury prone and in his late 20’s now so would be a big risk, but I just feel he would fit right into our team as he fits the physical profile mourinho likes and is also a game changer/ ballondor contention player which I feel is what we are missing in the final 3rd, he seems to adore the city of Madrid tho so doubt we will ever get him unless Perez buys someone else for the RW position at real)
- Malcolm( have not seen much of this kid bar some YouTube videos, but looks to be a promising talent with a decent physique and some great stats, not sure if he is United quality tho)
- Leon Bailey (same as above, haven’t seen too much, but looks really promising)
- Lemar (would cost a fortune, but could possibly nail down the position for 10 years)

3. CM - we need someone with some vision for the middle of the park to cover pogba as he is our only creative CM and when he’s out it’s an absolute disaster. All of the best teams in the world have players that can move the ball in CM and when pogba is not playing we look so blunt in midfield it’s ridiculous.

Choices:

- Isco (he could play in a midfield 3 with pogba and matic, no way he would come to us to sit on the bench)
- Thiago Alacantra(quality player with great vision, keeps the ball moving and always looks for a forward pass, doubt Bayern would let him go)
- Rabiot or Pastore( realistic targets as PSG will prob look to offload another one or two next season to comply with FFP if they want to acquire any more signings.
- Goretzka (would love to get him on a free, hope he doesn’t end up at Liverpool, him and Keita would be a smashing partnership in the midfield)

4.LB - we need to nail this position down as Ashley Young is not a viable long term option even though he is putting in a super shift at the minute. I really rate Shaw and think he should be given more game time, but if Mourinho doesn’t rate him I don’t want to see this situation drag out any longer. If we do make a signing at LB I at least hope we keep shaw for cover.

Choices:

- Alex Sandro( world class, would be like a left sided Valencia and is very physically imposing which Mourinho loves, looks to be Chelsea bound though)
- Rose( wasn’t mad about signing him when the links first arose(no pun intended) but let’s be honest he is one of the best left backs around and would nail this position down as his own for the next few years should be arrive) I think we will go for Rose, just hope he doesn’t cost 50 mill like walker.
- Sessegnon, Tierney( haven’t seen much of these two bar YouTube clips but they look decent, however I would prefer someone more senior to shaw who he could learn from and then try to overtake rather than having another baby in that position)

5.CB - I know we are fairly stocked in this position but I think we are missing a world class CB. People don’t seem to realise Phil jones is at United since 2011!!! That’s 6.5 years. And what has he done? Nothing in my opinion, he’s spent about 4 years of that time injured, him and Rojo have improved slightly under Mourinho similar to how Smalling stepped up under LVG but IMO they are still no where near good enough for the starting 11 if our ambition is to win the PL and CL, think about it, you build from the back, we need a proper partner for Bailly. None of our CB’s can be considered world class apart from maybe Bailly(can you even be certified as world class after one good season in the spotlight) I do love Bailly, but CB is a position that need some seniority IMO so we need a proper partner for him.

Choices:

- Alderweirald (this is my dream signing, I know there are other positions more in need of urgent attention but he is definitely attainable, his agent said recently spurs need to pay him what he’s worth or let him go to a top club, we should be all over this. Imagine this

De gea

Valencia, Bailly, Alderweirald, Sandro

Pogba, Matic

Bale/Malcolm, Griezmann, Martial

Lukaku

People can disagree with this if they like no problem, I just think we need to get real assuming we can win a title or CL with Phil jones at the back. This is the calibre of player we need to be chasing. Would love to hear people’s opinions on Alderweirald and why we haven’t gone for him, and if you guys think we need him?

 

[kbbear]

Realistically in January I would expect Ryan Sessegnon with a probable loan back, Malcom from Bordeaux and may be Milinkovic Savic. Fans would initially be excited then the realisation that Sessegnon and Malcom aren't ready yet will cause the usual meltdown. Juventus are joint top of Serie A so no chance of Sandro let alone Dybala also Napoli wouldn't sell Jorginho now either.

 

[Robbyb03]

I’d love to see us sign De Vrij at CB for free (rumor is he is now leaving Lazio), sign Ozil at CAM for free, break the bank for a LB (Alex Sandro or Danny Rose), and break the bank for a winger (Lemar/Draxler/Mahrez).
GK- De Gea
RB- Valencia/Young
CBs- De Vrij and Bailly
LB- Sandro or Rose
CDM- Matic
CAMs- Pogba and Ozil
LW/RW- Rashford/Martial and Lemar/Draxler/Mahrez
ST- Lukaku

 

[Adnan]

LB-Sandro
RW-Mahrez and Kluivert
CM-Milinkovic Savic
AM-Ozil/Fekir/Dybala

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

.

If Jose is being accurate with just 3 in then I hope to feck we avoid a luxury #10. He made it clear that one would be a CM and that he expected to pay huge money for another addition who is likely a marquee attacker. That leaves the 3rd spot for hopefully a LB.

We'll have to keep Herrera for another year as cover and we should sign Mata to an extension as well. If we add a RWF as a 4th buy then I think it will be a cheaper young option, like one the Ajax lads.

I love this, so much we can do with it as well. However, going to be impossible to get both Sandro and Dybala from Juventus. We might have to just go for Özil instead.

De Gea
Valencia Bailly Jones Sandro
Matić
Kovačić Pogba
Özil Lukaku Martial

De Gea
Lindelöf Bailly Jones
Valencia Matić Pogba Sandro
Özil
Lukaku Martial

De Gea
Valencia Bailly Jones Sandro
Matić
Kovačić Pogba
Özil
Lukaku Martial


​

 

[Cheekiey]

Grimaldo anyone? Looked great when we played Benfica, just can't see Sandro happening. I read somewhere he has a €45m release clause. I've only seen around 4/5 Benfica games since we played them, specifically to watch Grimaldo to see if it was a 1 off fluke, but he put in the same shift and attacking threat as he did when he played against us. If any Portuguese league watchers can give some more input, it would be nice.

 

[Devil may care]

.

I love this, so much we can do with it as well. However, going to be impossible to get both Sandro and Dybala from Juventus. We might have to just go for Özil instead.

De Gea
Valencia Bailly Jones Sandro
Matić
Kovačić Pogba
Özil Lukaku Martial

De Gea
Lindelöf Bailly Jones
Valencia Matić Pogba Sandro
Özil
Lukaku Martial

De Gea
Valencia Bailly Jones Sandro
Matić
Kovačić Pogba
Özil
Lukaku Martial


​

I'd rather we left Sandro and got Dybala, or if we went the other way then get Pulisic for that RWF position, or maybe Fekir, I don't think Ozil is dynamic enough to play off that side, it would be very similar to how we are now with Mata, not enough explosiveness and not enough protection of the ball against the press, that latter part is important given Lukaku doesn't hold the ball up well.

 

[Devil may care]

Sorry for back to back posts, looking at today you have to hope Jose sees 4-3-3 as the way forward and puts an end to this #10 in a 4-2-3-1 with Pogba in a 2 man midfield. That below squad with 3 additions is fairly strong, granted the front 3 options are probably one more piece of top proven quality short, and we could do with another FB as well, but all in all I think if we strengthen the midfield fully the platform for the attack is there. I'm not saying I'd be against adding two more players like I mentioned, but I'm just going off what Mourinho said about only 3 in, in the summer.


CB
Bailly
Jones
Rojo
smalling
Lindelof

RB
Valencia
Young

LB
Shaw
Young

#6/DM
Matic
Weigl

#8
Kovacic
Herrera

#8 AM
Pogba

Front 3
Martial
Mata
Lingard
Lukaku
Rashford
Dybala

 

[Crashoutcassius]

Looks to me like a midfield play maker will be made a priority. Mourinho seemed to be hinting at this (replacing carrick and another midfielder) even before how well pogba played today (and before scholes comments)

Personally think we will also add some sort of attacker or second striker. Not sure about the fantasy teams with a right winger and a new striker, more likely one attacker will be added given the cost of doing so these days.

Finally I do think that if Jose decides against keeping shaw then we need a permanent attacking option at left back.

 

[Scholsey2004]

We need cover for lukaku, a mkhitaryan replacement - conceivably they could be the same player if it was a dybala or griezmann type player although an assist machine like ozil might also be the way to go; a right winger/attacking midfielder since our attack is almost completely left sided - moura or mahrez would be great; a midfielder to replace carrick (assuming the manager reckons mctominay has already replaced fellaini in the squad). Perhaps Ethan Hamilton is ready to make the step up and cover for matic, or maybe the manager wants to bring an established player in. Over the next year or so both full back positions will need overhauling. Both young and Valencia are 32 and may well go over the hill at the same time and even if Luke shaw has convinced the manager now, Matteo darmian still needs replacing.

 

[Scholsey2004]

Looks to me like a midfield play maker will be made a priority. Mourinho seemed to be hinting at this (replacing carrick and another midfielder) even before how well pogba played today (and before scholes comments)

Personally think we will also add some sort of attacker or second striker. Not sure about the fantasy teams with a right winger and a new striker, more likely one attacker will be added given the cost of doing so these days.

Finally I do think that if Jose decides against keeping shaw then we need a permanent attacking option at left back.

Dybala or griezmann would probably be adequate to that task.

 

[Igor Drefljak]

Definitely think we need to take advantage of some of the free players this summer.
Sanchez, Ozil, Goretzka, Can, De Vrij, Ghoulam.
We get some of these in, it increases our potential budget for one or two star signings.
As much as I want Sanchez, I don't see it happening though. Same with Goretzka and Can, but Ozil, Ghoulam and De Vrij are possible signings.

In: Ozil, Ghoulam, De Vrij - Replacing Mkhi, Darmian, Rojo - Instant improvements and we'd make money out of it
Make two big signings - Savic and a RW
TFM coming back and potentially Andreas P also.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Mateo Kovačić, mentioned him in another thread but he's a huge talent rotting at Madrid. He's the player you want in the big games; effortlessly glides past the press, great dribbler, he loves getting stuck in, positionally very strong, great passing range and has the ability to make those penetrating forward passes which we are lacking. He's the complete midfielder, he's like Ander Herrera on steroids. This is the signing which will keep our midfield strong for a very long time. I really pray that another club doesn't get him as he can seriously be one of the worlds best CM's. It's simple, we sign him and we have a team that can battle it out with any midfield. The only reason he isn't playing is that Modric, Isco and Kroos are in front of him.

 

[NoPace]

Mateo Kovačić, mentioned him in another thread but he's a huge talent rotting at Madrid. He's the player you want in the big games; effortlessly glides past the press, great dribbler, he loves getting stuck in, positionally very strong, great passing range and has the ability to make those penetrating forward passes which we are lacking. He's the complete midfielder, he's like Ander Herrera on steroids. This is the signing which will keep our midfield strong for a very long time. I really pray that another club doesn't get him as he can seriously be one of the worlds best CM's. It's simple, we sign him and we have a team that can battle it out with any midfield. The only reason he isn't playing is that Modric, Isco and Kroos are in front of him.

He'd be a terror offensively next to Pogba in a 433, I think, beating people via the dribble. Would be a great signing but Modric is aging so I doubt they let him go.

 

[Adnan]

Is there any reports linking Kovacic to us?

 

[bucky]

He'd be a terror offensively next to Pogba in a 433, I think, beating people via the dribble. Would be a great signing but Modric is aging so I doubt they let him go.

They have Marcos Llorente and Dani Ceballos though. They might want to give their Spanish talent more time at the expense of Kovacic. Isco and Asensio can play a bit deeper as well, depending on what formation they are going to use. I've said this before, but he has turned his attitude off the ball completely around and Mourinho might appreciate that.

 

[DannyCAFC]

They have Marcos Llorente and Dani Ceballos though. They might want to give their Spanish talent more time at the expense of Kovacic. Isco and Asensio can play a bit deeper as well, depending on what formation they are going to use. I've said this before, but he has turned his attitude off the ball completely around and Mourinho might appreciate that.

Apparently Madrid turned down £65m or so from Juventus in the summer, don't know how true that was though. It seems they rate him highly despite not playing him all that much, although he's been injured most of this season.

I think the only way this would happen is if he doesn't get many minutes from now 'til the end of the season and wants out, and/or United reps are able to sound him and his agent out and offer him a key role at United and persuade him to leave, otherwise he's probably Real's heir apparent to Modric.

 

[bucky]

Apparently Madrid turned down £65m or so from Juventus in the summer, don't know how true that was though. It seems they rate him highly despite not playing him all that much, although he's been injured most of this season.

I think the only way this would happen is if he doesn't get many minutes from now 'til the end of the season and wants out, and/or United reps are able to sound him and his agent out and offer him a key role at United and persuade him to leave, otherwise he's probably Real's heir apparent to Modric.

I agree, I don't think it's likely, but I also think that Ceballos is going to be Modric's successor.

 

[Devil may care]

Mateo Kovačić, mentioned him in another thread but he's a huge talent rotting at Madrid. He's the player you want in the big games; effortlessly glides past the press, great dribbler, he loves getting stuck in, positionally very strong, great passing range and has the ability to make those penetrating forward passes which we are lacking. He's the complete midfielder, he's like Ander Herrera on steroids. This is the signing which will keep our midfield strong for a very long time. I really pray that another club doesn't get him as he can seriously be one of the worlds best CM's. It's simple, we sign him and we have a team that can battle it out with any midfield. The only reason he isn't playing is that Modric, Isco and Kroos are in front of him.

He'd be ideal for the RCM role in our 4-3-3, him, Pogba and Matic would be very strong in all departments, and we could look to add Weigl and that midfield trio could have a good 6 or 7 years together. The balance in there would be so good and the fact both him and Pogba have acceleration and ball carrying ability as well as strong passing games means we'd have the best of both worlds, with the ability to control games and be explosive on the counter.

They have Marcos Llorente and Dani Ceballos though. They might want to give their Spanish talent more time at the expense of Kovacic. Isco and Asensio can play a bit deeper as well, depending on what formation they are going to use. I've said this before, but he has turned his attitude off the ball completely around and Mourinho might appreciate that.

That's our best chance of getting him I think, Prerez has been keen to have more Spanish players at the core so those 4 along with Kroos and Casemiro give them a lot of options without Kovacic, and that's not even counting Modric who probably still has another couple of seasons left in him at Real.

 

[Bestietom]

2 full backs, a midfield/playmaker and a goalscoring winger for the right hand side.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Is there any reports linking Kovacic to us?

Nothing credible, just Don Balon saying we want him a few days ago.

 

[Cheekiey]

Kovacic would be the ideal missing piece if we were to play 433 or a 442 diamond (which I hope we will), Pogba freed up and gives Matic less running to do. Chances of us signing him? and chances of us getting him in on loan this window?

 

[deafepl]

If we get Ozil, Eriksen, Jean Seri and two fullback option with high accuracy crosses. I think 4-3-1-2 can fit all best player in their natural position with fullback providing width and crosses, that's formation is close to 4-4-2

4-3-1-2 (4-4-2/4-3-3)

De Gea
RB option Bailly Jones LB option
Eriksen Matic Pogba​

Ozil​

Lukaku Martial

or

4-3-3

De Gea
RB option Bailly Jones LB option
Eriksen Matic Pogba
Ozil Lukaku Martial

​

I think we should get Eriksen, he has the ability to mark like Herrera, interception and can play playmakers, his best position is in right midfield like Pogba is in left midfield. if there's available CM on the market better than Eriksen, I'm all for it.

Eriksen is versatile players, deep playmakers and played his best form is in right midfield like Pogba is in left midfield with Matic behind protecting at back and Eriksen has a lot of attributes that are similar to Herrea's ability to man-mark, the aggressive and the interception but better playmakers, bit less defensive compared to Herrea and have a good passing, he is superior to Ozil in 3 midfield and is one of the hardest, strongest runners, the power. Pogba and Eriksen can take it in turns with free license to attack and express themselves, one of them have to cover a missing huge space left for opponents to exploit but Matic can't do all alone. We can't depend on Pogba for his creativity only because if opponents knew that he is probably most threatening to goal with his creativity, they would mark him to shut down all of his creativity. Having enough creative player in the team would cause trouble for opponents and impossible to mark all of them. Ozil can operate as a wing in 4-3-3 with Pogba, Matic and Eriksen together in 3 man midfield or as ACM/Roam behind two strikers (Martial/Rashford and Lukaku) with Pogba, Matic, and Eriksen to control the midfield in 4-3-1-2 with fullback providing attacking width and crosses. With Ozil, Pogba, Eriksen can dramatically improve our attacking and turn it into free-flowing and increase the amount of chance created by huge. Ozil would be upgraded on Mata and upgrading Herrera to Eriksen level would be best for United, if one of three injured, two can cover creativity. It would be hard to find a replacement for Pogba if their quality is similar and doubt they would want to come to join our bench.

Jean Seri's attacking stats are very similar to Pogba's stats but better offensively than Herrera, not far from Eriksen's creativity, he created the insane amount of chances per match are much higher while playing as DCM, he would be perfect replacement for Eriksen, Matic and Pogba if one of three CMs get injured, he'd be a lot cheaper for 25m-35m Nice asking for it. Having Ozil, Pogba, Eriksen and Jean Seri in the squad will ensure United have enough creativity.

Herrera can give United much more protection in defensives after up goals instead of risking to gift them a goal. Herrera would be perfect sub for Ozil or Eriksen, let's say, if come in for Ozil, Herrera would take Eriksen's position as CM in 3 midfield then Eriksen can cover Ozil's position and if come in for Eriksen, Ozil will stay in this position but if Herrera comes in so that means Pogba won't need to take it in turn so can attack with free license and protected by Herrera and Matic

Not to mention that our attacker is more crucial in converting chance into a goal (22%) out of 229 chances compared to Liverpool - 17% out of 297, Arsenal - 14% out of 277, Chelsea - 15% out of 266, Spurs 15.3% out of 255, only City is better at converting chance into goal than us 22.2% out of 276 chances but with Ozil, Eriksen and Pogba together in the team could increase the amount of chance created and a key pass, that will give attacker better service compared to Mata, Mhki and Herrera and could score more goal than they are now.



Herrera vs Eriksen vs Mata vs Ozil

Successful Passes: 31.94 / 44.80 / 34.59 / 58.41 pass per match

Chances Created: 9 / 47 / 31 / 59

Key Passes: 8 / 42 / 28 / 54

Interception: 25 / 11 / 9 / 10

Total forward pass: 383 / 598 / 328 / 689

Tackle won: 21 / 14 9 / 12

Clearance: 13 / 14 / 7 / 6

Ariel dual won rate: 36.36% / 37.50% /33% / 11%


With Ozil and Eriksen in the team could have doubled their contribution to United's attacking than Herrera and Mata.

In
Ozil - Free
Eriksen -90m
Jean Seri - 40m
Sandos/Rose - 50m
Menuier - 40m

Out

Darmain - 15m
Mkhi - 35m
Blind 20m
Sam Johnstone - 5m
Carrick - Free
Zlatan - Free
Fellaini - Free

Total net

in £220m - £75m = £145m net spending.

 

[NoPace]

They have Marcos Llorente and Dani Ceballos though. They might want to give their Spanish talent more time at the expense of Kovacic. Isco and Asensio can play a bit deeper as well, depending on what formation they are going to use. I've said this before, but he has turned his attitude off the ball completely around and Mourinho might appreciate that.

I just don't see them letting him go. Llorente is a proper DM who can compete with Casemiro and Isco and Asensio are final 3rd players. They bought Kovacic and he's been very good lately, so no reason for them to have soured on him as Modric's replacement going forward next to Kroos in a 3 man midfield when they are playing that formation.

 

[Toad]

Are there actually any good sources to say We have actually bid on Dybala or are people just jumping at any small report?

 

[leontas]

We need to switch to a 4-3-3 so we can maximise Pogba’s utility. I think we played well against Everton under this system. Given this system, I feel like we need to target the following areas in order of priority:

1. Right winger to give us some width in our attacking line
2. Right back to take over from Valencia
3. Left back to compete with Shaw
4. Right-sided midfielder to fill the Matic-Pogba midfield trio
5. Backup for Matic

Then we need to sell all the deadwood that has been plaguing our squad for the past few seasons.

 

[Silas]

I just don't see them letting him go. Llorente is a proper DM who can compete with Casemiro and Isco and Asensio are final 3rd players. They bought Kovacic and he's been very good lately, so no reason for them to have soured on him as Modric's replacement going forward next to Kroos in a 3 man midfield when they are playing that formation.

Where do you think Isco's future position will be? I always thought he was a better fit in central midfield than on the wings.