Which CB to partner Maguire?

[jamesjimmybyrondean]

This isn't a thread about what position we should proritise so hopefully there are no posts about us needing RW or AM more. I'm sure most will agree though that we definitely need a CB..... even after 80m on Maguire.

I've said it before, Lindelof is a decent defender but when it's time to out muscle or out jump or out run an opponent he will be exposed. He has too many weaknesses that can be exploited by an opponent in any game.

Maguire on the other hand has one major weakness which is pace and that can be covered with a pacy RCB partner. We don't just need a strong pacy CB but one that is consistent and reliable and doesn't have a mistake in them waiting to happen. Who can we get? Though you can disagree and say Maguire is also a problem in defense I'm sure the last thing on the club's mind is replacing our 80m captain

 

[red4ever 79]

Would rephrase it and say which CB to replace Maguire. He is not good either.

 

[romufc]

Would rephrase it and say which CB to replace Maguire. He is not good either.

This is laziness.

The last sentence of the post was for a comment like this

There is no way the club will replace Maguire having spent £80m on him and giving him the captaincy.

We need a CB to compliment Maguire, Lindelof is a good CB but hes just okay.

Arsenal, Chelsea, City and Spurs will be in for a CB this summer. We have to get the best value CB. If we are to spend money on one, it has to be a CB that is better than Lindelof.

 

[red4ever 79]

The last sentence of the post was for a comment like this

Hard to say who we should bring in. I like Upamenco but think he might too young. Been disappointed with Tuanzebe's development this season. CB position needs surgery whichever way you look at it. Rojo and Smalling on loan. Jones either injured or just error prone. Bailly erratic and Tuanzebe injured.

 

[Cassidy]

Maguire will end up being replaced or phased out in a few years.
The only reason why he may not is due to his price tag and the potential loss we would incur

 

[Lash]

@Adnan and the stats point towards Konate. He's everything we're missing.

 

[Mr Smith]

I still feel we should invest the time to improve the CB's we have rather than shell crazy money out on new ones. I'm not convinced there are players available on the market that much better, but even if there were; can we afford them? After spending 80mil on Maguire, the likes of Koulibaly would cost at least as much, if not more. I think Leipzig would fleece us for Kanote or Upemencano as well, and they're both 21 years old (ie will probably need time to adapt as well).

We've bought 3 CB's in the last 4 transfer windows for a combined outlay of over 150mil. Maybe its time to work on improving them rather than dipping into the market over and over again.

 

[golden_blunder]

I still feel we should invest the time to improve the CB's we have rather than shell crazy money out on new ones. I'm not convinced there are players available on the market that much better, but even if there were; can we afford them? After spending 80mil on Maguire, the likes of Koulibaly would cost at least as much, if not more. I think Leipzig would fleece us for Kanote or Upemencano as well, and they're both 21 years old (ie will probably need time to adapt as well).

We've bought 3 CB's in the last 4 transfer windows for a combined outlay of over 150mil. Maybe its time to work on improving them rather than dipping into the market over and over again.

Sometimes you just need to recognise that they are bad investments by previous managers. You can’t polish a turd.

i find Rueben Dias very interesting right now, but I’m not sure how fast he is

 

[DWelbz19]

I still feel we should invest the time to improve the CB's we have rather than shell crazy money out on new ones. I'm not convinced there are players available on the market that much better, but even if there were; can we afford them? After spending 80mil on Maguire, the likes of Koulibaly would cost at least as much, if not more. I think Leipzig would fleece us for Kanote or Upemencano as well, and they're both 21 years old (ie will probably need time to adapt as well).

We've bought 3 CB's in the last 4 transfer windows for a combined outlay of over 150mil. Maybe its time to work on improving them rather than dipping into the market over and over again.

We’ve got 7 (8?) senior CBs on our books. We need to bin about 3 of those at the very least and bring in one of the necessary skill set.

 

[Infra-red]

A quick CB with strong aerial ability could partner either Maguire or Lindelof, as needed.

In my view, the prime contenders are Konate, Upamecano and Torunarigha.

I don't much care who we clear out to make space - none of Jones, Rojo, Smalling or Bailly have done enough to warrant their continued presence at the club.

 

[Mr Smith]

Sometimes you just need to recognise that they are bad investments by previous managers. You can’t polish a turd.

i find Rueben Dias very interesting right now, but I’m not sure how fast he is

Another young player (23) who will probably need time to adapt to a new league. We bought both Lindelof and Bailly at the same age. Defenders are very rarely the finished article at that age, especially when moving from Portugal to England.

I'm just very against spending for the sake of it. Our defence may not be absolute top quality, but there aren't that many top defenders out there. If we can get a truly top class defender, then I say go for it, and spend whatever it takes. For instance, if we ever got a sniff Giminez at Atletico was available, we should go all out. But continuing to take punts on early twenties defenders from poorer leagues who might not develop? Lets not repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

 

[Mr. Christian]

Lewis Dunk ain’t a bad option.

 

[Eleven-Eighteen]

Maguire also needs to buck up or be replaced

 

[Green_Red]

Historically we've always paired an all action defender with a ball playing defender. Bruce & Pallister , Stam & Johnsen/Berg , Ferdinand & Vidic , Mike Smalling & Jones . So an all action defender please, someone who gets stuck in with tackles and puts themselves on the line. New defender goes and meets the ball with agression, Maguire clears up and starts us off again with some passing or moving into midfield. Simples.

 

[sun_tzu]

We need a CB to compliment Maguire, Lindelof is a good CB but hes just okay.

so is he good or ok... because ok is just ok whilst good is you know... good

Arsenal, Chelsea, City and Spurs will be in for a CB this summer. We have to get the best value CB. If we are to spend money on one, it has to be a CB that is better than Lindelof.

Arsenal have saliba joining and they already have Luiz, Sokratis, Holding, Mustafi, Chambers, mari, kolasnic, Mavraponas who can play in the back three ... Im not sure I see them buying a 10th centre back give the financial state of football and likley no CL football for them - can see them selling / loaning a few out but dont see them bringing in another this season - perhaps next when saliba has settled

Spurs - Sanchez, Alderweirald, Tanganga, Foyth plus dier has been playing games at the back and vertongen may even sign an extension yet - basically i dont see levy finding money for a centrback no matter how many toys jose throws from the pram

Chelsea - Rudiger, Fimori, Zouma perhaps they could sell Christensen but they still have Azpilicueta who can play CB plus Chalobah, Clarke-Salter and Ampadu to return

Ill be surprised given what chelsea have spent and the probability of no cl football for spurs and arsenal if any of them invest a lot in a CB - same goes for us as I think lindeloff will partner maguire with bailly, jones, tzanube as cover

 

[M Utd]

Smalling would actually be a good partner for him. Strong, good pace, good aerial ability, knows the league and he's a decent defender. Going forward with the ball isn't his game but before he was paired with Jones who tends to be heavily error prone and I think this made Smalling edgy and less willing to attack the ball further up the field.
I'm not saying we don't need a new CB but I certainly wouldn't be worried if we brought back Smalling and let players like Rojo and Jones go.
I'd really like to see a pairing of a fast aggressive defending with a ball playing CB.

 

[BlahRules]

We have an issue with zonal defending. Maybe change it to man marking? I never favoured zonal defending and it only works when we have a lot of players who are strong aerially which we don't and should change our approach.

 

[gajender]

I think rather than going for another defender United should look for a keeper who can command the box better maybe then we would see less goals conceded on setpieces and add another mobile dm which would solidify defence further.

 

[romufc]

Ill be surprised given what chelsea have spent and the probability of no cl football for spurs and arsenal if any of them invest a lot in a CB - same goes for us as I think lindeloff will partner maguire with bailly, jones, tzanube as cover

Lindelof is good.

City and Chelsea will definitely be in for a CB. the problem is there is CB around that we can say, yes he is ready.

People keep going on about Koulibaly. Yes, great CB yet all I hear is Smalling has been the best CB in Italy.

 

[Cassidy]

Lindelof is good.

City and Chelsea will definitely be in for a CB. the problem is there is CB around that we can say, yes he is ready.

People keep going on about Koulibaly. Yes, great CB yet all I hear is Smalling has been the best CB in Italy.

He hasn't though

 

[Fussmeister]

I think rather than going for another defender United should look for a keeper who can command the box better maybe then we would see less goals conceded on setpieces and add another mobile dm which would solidify defence further.

This,

GK should be the main priority. defence is a unit and atm DDG is the weak link.

and why should we partner someone with Maguire and not the other way around? its not like he is playing lights out..

 

[Peyroteo]

Sometimes you just need to recognise that they are bad investments by previous managers. You can’t polish a turd.

i find Rueben Dias very interesting right now, but I’m not sure how fast he is

One of the Benfica players I actually rate but gets none of the press propaganda Sanches, Felix, Gedson, Ferro or Florentino had.

Benfica's defense has been a mess but that's mainly because Dias is partnered by a traffic cone in Ferro. Dias is good, he's better than Lindelof imo but he might not be enough of an upgrade. He's not a bad shout and should make the jump to a bigger team sooner or later, don't think there's any way they sell him this summer for anything other than a stupid amount of money though given Benfica have elections in October.

 

[romufc]

He hasn't though

That's why I said, I keep hearing from the Maguire, Lindelof out crowd. Can we honestly say that £70m for Koulibaly will be a good investment?

 

[swedishgloryhunter]

Badashile seems like a good choice. This is my amateur opinion based that he becomes insanely good in fm.

 

[Cassidy]

That's why I said, I keep hearing from the Maguire, Lindelof out crowd. Can we honestly say that £70m for Koulibaly will be a good investment?

All I can say is that he is better than both our CBs. In my opinion considerably better but he hasn't had the best of seasons this year. I'm not sure if he is the right signing but I wouldn't complain if we got him.
There are others out there also, not sure if we could convince someone like Romagnoli, also there is Konate at Leipzeg who would probably be cheaper than Koulibaly. There are probably other options too.

 

[romufc]

All I can say is that he is better than both our CBs. In my opinion considerably better but he hasn't had the best of seasons this year. I'm not sure if he is the right signing but I wouldn't complain if we got him.
There are others out there also, not sure if we could convince someone like Romagnoli, also there is Konate at Leipzeg who would probably be cheaper than Koulibaly. There are probably other options too.

Okay let me put it this way to you.

Will you be happy to miss out on Sancho so we can get Koulibaly?

I agree with the other CB's, they could be an option but I honestly think our budget is £40m for a CB if we want Sancho. Now, which CB will improve us for that price? Upamecano maybe but the rest will be expensive, not because they are so good but because there is a genuine lack of high quality CB's across Europe.

 

[Cassidy]

Okay let me put it this way to you.

Will you be happy to miss out on Sancho so we can get Koulibaly?

I agree with the other CB's, they could be an option but I honestly think our budget is £40m for a CB if we want Sancho. Now, which CB will improve us for that price? Upamecano maybe but the rest will be expensive, not because they are so good but because there is a genuine lack of high quality CB's across Europe.

No I would rather we signed Sancho.

This is pure conjecture as we don't know what the budget is and we could raise funds by selling some deadwood e.g (Smalling, Jones, Lingard, Pereira Mata, Sanchez) that's also a massive wage saving of around 800k a week. Saying that I have no idea of what the budget is and a RW signing is a higher priority than CB.

Saying all of that again I'm sure there are other CBs out there we could target.
I would probably also say a DM like Partey would be more important than signing a CB.

If we got Sancho Partey and someone like Konate in this summer I would be very happy with that.

 

[romufc]

No I would rather we signed Sancho.

This is pure conjecture as we don't know what the budget is and we could raise funds by selling some deadwood e.g (Smalling, Jones, Lingard, Pereira Mata, Sanchez) that's also a massive wage saving of around 800k a week. Saying that I have no idea of what the budget is and a RW signing is a higher priority than CB.

Saying all of that again I'm sure there are other CBs out there we could target.
I would probably also say a DM like Partey would be more important than signing a CB.

If we got Sancho Partey and someone like Konate in this summer I would be very happy with that.

Now you see the problem Manutd have?

Yes, we can raise funds, will we sell all those players in the first 3 weeks of the window? no. I say we can sell Smalling and Lingard at best this summer. If we can raise £40m from player sales we can top up a bit and get a player.

So lets say we spend £80m on Sancho, lets be realistic we wont have £150m odd to spend.

I would prefer a DM like Rice, he is more of a playmaker from the back and shield the defence.

Then again, we also have to look at AM, if Bruno and Pogba get injured we need someone who can pass the ball.

It is going to be a key summer for us, it will show us the ambition of the club.

 

[Conor]

It needs to be a Van Dijk level signing, absolute top drawer whatever the price CB. We don't need any other type of player as much as we need this one. I really think if we signed a better CB than Maguire(to play alongside him), who is quick and properly commanding, we could possibly challenge next year.

 

[King Andow]

To bench Maguire*

 

[jamesjimmybyrondean]

Is Alaba a good option?(we probably aren't in for him)

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Maguire criticism will spiral up a lot when De Gea is out of the picture first.

 

[Cassidy]

Now you see the problem Manutd have?

Yes, we can raise funds, will we sell all those players in the first 3 weeks of the window? no. I say we can sell Smalling and Lingard at best this summer. If we can raise £40m from player sales we can top up a bit and get a player.

So lets say we spend £80m on Sancho, lets be realistic we wont have £150m odd to spend.

I would prefer a DM like Rice, he is more of a playmaker from the back and shield the defence.

Then again, we also have to look at AM, if Bruno and Pogba get injured we need someone who can pass the ball.

It is going to be a key summer for us, it will show us the ambition of the club.

I don't see it as a problem more what the priority is.
Being realistic and saying we won't have 150m to spend, again I have no idea on what the budget will be so cannot comment on that
Rice will be another expensive mistake like Maguire in my opinion, not that he doesn't have some talents, but his price tag will far out weigh those talents. He also isn't really a playmaker and is not half as good on the ball as someone like Partey who excels at a much higher level and would cost considerably less.

 

[devilish]

Maguire-Lindelof-Matic are probably the slowest central defence group in current football. I'd say lets buy Konate and Salisu and then sell Lindelof, Jones and Rojo. We need CBs who are strong and are rapid.

 

[Cassidy]

Maguire-Lindelof-Matic are probably the slowest central defence group in current football. I'd say lets buy Konate and Salisu and then sell Lindelof, Jones and Rojo. We need CBs who are strong and are rapid.

And keep slow Matic? Why not buy Konate and Partey? Whilst developing Mengi and Tuanzebe further

 

[Blood Mage]

Lindelof has been better than Maguire, so maybe we should think about who should partner him and admit we made an expensive mistake last summer.

 

[devilish]

And keep slow Matic? Why not buy Konate and Partey? Whilst developing Mengi and Tuanzebe further

Matic had just signed a new 3 year contract so he's going nowhere. Mengi is still a kid with near zero first team experience. He's also 6ft tall which unfortunately makes him a bit on the short side regarding EPL CBs. Regarding Tuanzebe, I think he's taking the Fabio Silva/Phil Jones route to greatness ie the more time he spends in the treatment room the more hyped he becomes. Unfortunately we need players on the pitch not out of it.

 

[Cassidy]

Matic had just signed a new 3 year contract so he's going nowhere. Mengi is still a kid with near zero first team experience. He's also 6ft tall which unfortunately makes him a bit on the short side regarding EPL CBs. Regarding Tuanzebe, I think he's taking the Fabio Silva/Phil Jones route to greatness ie the more time he spends in the treatment room the more hyped he becomes. Unfortunately we need players on the pitch not out of it.

No one said sell him. If we get UCL we will be playing a fair amount of games next season he can still be useful.
Notice I said develop Mengi/Tuanzebe not start.

Unless you believe that one of Fred/McTominay is a good enough replacement for Matic when out rather than Matic being a good enough rotational option for Partey then fair enough

 

[AFC NimbleThumb]

That’s the spirit spend £80mil on a CB & when he’s found wanting blame everyone else so we can spend another £50mil to make him look competent.

 

[devilish]

No one said sell him. If we get UCL we will be playing a fair amount of games next season he can still be useful.
Notice I said develop Mengi/Tuanzebe not start.

Unless you believe that one of Fred/McTominay is a good enough replacement for Matic when out rather than Matic being a good enough rotational option for Partey then fair enough

We need 4 CBs. Love him or hate him Maguire is here to stay. Characteristic wise He's a rock ie he's strong, he's big and he's slow. So we need players who can compliment him. Id say Konate would be a great first team partner for him. He's physically strong, he's rapid and he's quite experienced for his age. Salisu would be a great backup. He's not as comfortable with the ball as Maguire/Konate is but he's fast, he's strong, he's great in air as well and his minimum fee clause is around 12m. Tuanzebe and Mengi can cover the 4th CB slot. Hopefully Tuanzebe won't break in pieces as he usually does. I would have preferred if we kept Smalling as well but that ain't going to happen.

Once CB is sorted then we can analyse CM. Ideally we should bring a young specialised DM. However money is tight. Thus I think the club will give Fred and McT a chance to make that spot theirs. It's the only first team spot they can take