What single position with a ballon d’Or level player in would enhance us the most?

P-Nut said:
It's against the grain purely to play devil's advocate but, what would a balon D'or level full back look like and just how good would they have to be?

For instance Hakimi is probably the best full back in the world at the moment and he's nowhere near the conversation, so to get in the conversation they'd probably need to lock down an entire flank and be scoring and assisting as regularly as a forward.

Yes, I know that's unrealistic and there isn't a player that exists, but if we're talking Balon D'or hypotheticals I'd take that please.

20 goals a season from a left back, that stops every right winger in their tracks would enhance us more than a jump from Cunha to Vini or Casemiro to Rodri (of a few years ago)
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I agree that Hakimi (and Mendes) are perhaps the two best in the world at the moment (Davies could/should have been there but for injuries). But there have been some like that:

LB Bale, Maicon, Dani Alves, Roberto Carlos amongst others.

Also Dimarco at Inter is playing a blinder. Not 20 goals but he has ≈ 20 assist in the league this season, I think he might have broke or is close to breaking the league record in assists (same as Bruno but one is CAM and one is LWB!)
 
I'd take Olise over Vini tbh.

I'd love a striker, but no one really comes to mind. Kane and Lewandowski are too old now. Maybe Haaland.
 
P-Nut said:
It's against the grain purely to play devil's advocate but, what would a balon D'or level full back look like and just how good would they have to be?

For instance Hakimi is probably the best full back in the world at the moment and he's nowhere near the conversation, so to get in the conversation they'd probably need to lock down an entire flank and be scoring and assisting as regularly as a forward.

Yes, I know that's unrealistic and there isn't a player that exists, but if we're talking Balon D'or hypotheticals I'd take that please.

20 goals a season from a left back, that stops every right winger in their tracks would enhance us more than a jump from Cunha to Vini or Casemiro to Rodri (of a few years ago)
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Winner! Can I take two, one for each flank?
 
P-Nut said:
It's against the grain purely to play devil's advocate but, what would a balon D'or level full back look like and just how good would they have to be?

For instance Hakimi is probably the best full back in the world at the moment and he's nowhere near the conversation, so to get in the conversation they'd probably need to lock down an entire flank and be scoring and assisting as regularly as a forward.

Yes, I know that's unrealistic and there isn't a player that exists, but if we're talking Balon D'or hypotheticals I'd take that please.

20 goals a season from a left back, that stops every right winger in their tracks would enhance us more than a jump from Cunha to Vini or Casemiro to Rodri (of a few years ago)
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Funny, Hakimi jumped into my head too. But I cannot argue with many other posts on here with Striker and DM.
 
Red Pumpkin said:
I agree that Hakimi (and Mendes) are perhaps the two best in the world at the moment (Davies could/should have been there but for injuries). But there have been some like that:

LB Bale, Maicon, Dani Alves, Roberto Carlos amongst others.

Also Dimarco at Inter is playing a blinder. Not 20 goals but he has ≈ 20 assist in the league this season, I think he might have broke or is close to breaking the league record in assists (same as Bruno but one is CAM and one is LWB!)
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Yeah and that's sort of my point. Di Marco is on around 20 assists and is nowhere near the Balon D'or rankings. All the other players you've mentioned whilst all time greats again haven't got anywhere near the Balon D'or. You'd have to hit insane numbers in order to win the Balon D'or as a full back nowadays and that's why I'd take that over anything else. The issue is the player doesn't exist :lol:
 
KK. PSG displayed some City-level corruption to sign him and Neves for the prices they did and their ownership = an equal if not worse plague on European football than MC, starting with their influence within UEFA and 'regional-partner' backed immunity from any consequence, but setting that aside, he's a hell of a player and coupled with 'standard' top-class CM signings, would make United contenders just by joining. Sadly, even the currently slim prospect of Enrique 'embracing a new professional challenge' and joining Utd is more statistically probable than us extricating KK from Paris.
 
P-Nut said:
Yeah and that's sort of my point. Di Marco is on around 20 assists and is nowhere near the Balon D'or rankings. All the other players you've mentioned whilst all time greats again haven't got anywhere near the Balon D'or. You'd have to hit insane numbers in order to win the Balon D'or as a full back nowadays and that's why I'd take that over anything else. The issue is the player doesn't exist :lol:
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I think Carlos actually came second in 2002, behind Ronaldo who scored 8 in the World Cup including 2 in the final. But you are likely right that no full back has ever won. Carlos being the closest being prime Carlos + UCL + WC.

Others who likely placed decently are of course Marcelo, Brehme, Breitner, Lahm, Cafu, Thuram, Maldini and many more that I forget.

Some positions are just almost impossible to win a Ballon d'Or at. Apart from Rodri no other CDM has won I think (was Sammer playing libero when he won?). Cannavaro at CB is the same. In my view it doesn't detract from what prime Maldini, Ramos or van Dijk did. Anyone of them would have been a deserving winner of the Ballon d'Or. Goalkeeper the same. Apart from Yashin no one has won it despite for example Neuer in 2014 being a deserving candidate.

I wouldn't take winning the Ballon d'Or as a criteria. Had Morocco won the Afcon on top of PSG potentially winning back to back UCL Hakimi could well have placed 3rd on achievements. But as everybody who has ever played knows, nobody has ever placed the teams best player at full back. It's usually a slot for those not fully making it as winger/cb or even CDM.
 
Olise would be a magnificent acquisition. We’ve got a problem at RW and although I wouldn’t want to sell Mbeumo or Amad, they’re coming up too short of requirements for my liking.

But bringing in Olise is as realistic as bringing in Haaland.
 
This has been one of my favourite thought experiments lately and I think getting a transformative player would be the key to unlocking our next step.

So, come on in Lamine Yamal, I'll do my bit to fund it, nobody's unbuyable!
 
We need a Dunga, a Vitinha, a Pedri - player in this mould and of this calibre
 
Bruno has 19 assists in the league this season, he gets 30 with a Kane or Haaland upfront.

Necessity wise we need a mobile ball playing DM and a pact attacking left winger (no more defensive wingers please)
 
Goals win games and it's also exciting to watch a great goal scorer in action.
So a striker like Harry Kane, for me.
 
Ceteris said:
Bruno has 19 assists in the league this season, he gets 30 with a Kane or Haaland upfront.

Necessity wise we need a mobile ball playing DM and a pact attacking left winger (no more defensive wingers please)
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Agreed on the first point, but even if we leak a few extra goals, we can outscore the opposition by having a best-in-class striker.
 
sunama said:
Agreed on the first point, but even if we leak a few extra goals, we can outscore the opposition by having a best-in-class striker.
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A truly prolific goalscorer would transform us.

Because of my age, I'd also love to have some Dennis Irwin style defender; superb dead ball player, goals from free-kicks and a nerveless penalty taker.
 
Kellyiom said:
A truly prolific goalscorer would transform us.
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IrishRedDevil said:
30 goal a season focal striker.
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As much as I don't think Sesko is world class by any means, he's on 0.61 non-penalty goals per 90 minutes. It's the 2nd best in the league (behind Haaland on 0.72 per 90).

Truthfully we're going to struggle to find a striker to better his non-penalty goal ratio. The 30+ goal a season striker that some of our fans think we're lacking need to remember 30+ is generally achieved in all competitions, most seasons don't have anyone hit 30 premier league goals. They play near enough every game for the full 90, and take penalties. Penalties being a big one.
 
Not exactly answering the question posed in the OP but Endrick could genuinely be that guy for us on the right wing. Not sure where he fits in at Madrid unless they can sell one of Mbappe/Vinicius which seems unlikely and think his ceiling is higher than both.
 
Dominos said:
As much as I don't think Sesko is world class by any means, he's on 0.61 non-penalty goals per 90 minutes. It's the 2nd best in the league (behind Haaland on 0.72 per 90).

Truthfully we're going to struggle to find a striker to better his non-penalty goal ratio. The 30+ goal a season striker that some of our fans think we're lacking need to remember 30+ is generally achieved in all competitions, most seasons don't have anyone hit 30 premier league goals. They play near enough every game for the full 90, and take penalties. Penalties being a big one.
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Also, for comparison's sake, Ruud van Nistelrooy's highest ever non-penalty goal tally in Premier League football was 19. And this was the foremost marksman in the modern era for Manchester United. If Šeško can score 11 non-penalty goals in the Premier League in a somewhat stop-start season, he could feasibly score 15 non-penalty goals in a season where he and the team are more settled — and, quite possibly, 25+ goals in all competitions if he is allowed to take penalties, like the lead center forwards of lots of other clubs.

Anyhow, back to the primary discussion, I'd select Lamine Yamal, no doubt about that. We have some options for the right flank, but they are not exactly Best, Cristiano or Beckham. Lamine Yamal would provide highly meaningful short term enhancement, given that he is an exceptional playmaker and dribbler and boasts 42 goals + assists this term (an outrageous figure on is own!) — as well as long-term security due to his youth (same age as Wayne Rooney when we signed him). A player like this could be transformational and the gateway to a dynasty, if the accompanying recruitment and coaching processes are up to scratch.
 
Yamal is probably the correct answer, but other than him a world class CM of pretty much any sort. You could add any of prime Kante, Kroos, Rodri, Scholes, Alonso, Mascherano, Viera, anyone who has played CM for Barca in the last 20 years, Modric, whatever and it'd make a bigger difference than any other area on the pitch.
 
Striker. ( forwards count, wingers dont ).

Applies to every team, everywhere, in all levels of play.

I dont think the best ever midfielder or defender can win us, or Liverpool, more points than RVP and Suarez did.

Its a design flaw because defending is always reactive, whilst attacking is proactive. A ballon d or level midfielder, even with worldclass tackling/stamina/whatever else, can be avoided/bypassed by the other team. Best ever defender can again be bypassed by targeting the other side. Hence why a defender/midfielder cannot win you game "individually".
 
Definitely a world class wide man.

Think about our best ever seasons. In 67/68 Best was our best player; winning the Ballon d'Or. Beckham was our best player in 98/99; coming runner up in the Ballon d'Or. Ronaldo was our best player in 07/08; winning the Ballon d'Or.

In midfield, we could get by with two good players behind Bruno. Sesko could probably do up front as he will score goals. What would be a game changer would be a Ronaldo/Best who can dribble, create and score.
 
Yagami said:
Definitely a world class wide man.

Think about our best ever seasons. In 67/68 Best was our best player; winning the Ballon d'Or. Beckham was our best player in 98/99; coming runner up in the Ballon d'Or. Ronaldo was our best player in 07/08; winning the Ballon d'Or.

In midfield, we could get by with two good players behind Bruno. Sesko could probably do up front as he will score goals. What would be a game changer would be a Ronaldo/Best who can dribble, create and score.
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Great paragraph!
 
Fortitude said:
Great paragraph!
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Ha, thanks

We all know these three didn't single-handedly drag said United teams to domestic and European Cup glory. They were complimented by a fantastic squad containing other world class players. We couldn't have won what we did without everyone in the squad doing their part. Having that constant threat out wide, though, is just something opposition teams will always struggle with. Those three coming into the form of their lives elevated good teams into great ones. Having one now wouldn't solely elevate us into great tier because the 11 as a whole has too many deficiencies, but said winger could elevate us into a very good team on the cusp.

It was treated as blasphemy when I said it in his performance thread but it's why I'd cash in on Mbeumo now. If we had a good 11 he'd be a fine squad option, but we don't, and we don't have unlimited funds. He's never going to be a great player because he's too poor from a technical POV, and he'd still bring in a decent fee because "PL proven" and all that, so getting the money he'd bring in to help bring in a winger alongside the midfielders, defenders and CF would be HUGE for us in terms of progressing to the next level.
 
Kvara or Kane for this season. Watching those two this season has been a delight, but also gutting we have no one anywhere near their level.
 
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