Which midfielder do you prefer?

As impossible as it sounds [to buy him], but the ideal candidate would be Frenkie.
United badly need someone who will dictate the tempo of the game from deep. We need brains in that position.
 
lenny_1248 said:
As impossible as it sounds [to buy him], but the ideal candidate would be Frenkie.
United badly need someone who will dictate the tempo of the game from deep. We need brains in that position.
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Agreed, he would be the ideal. I hope we go for someone whose attributes are similar.
 
DutchSerb said:
May be a little biased here but I think the perfect man for United's midfield is Frenkie de Jong. Not afraid to dribble, calm on the ball and he's creative. Also a decent defender with huge upside and still very young. Barcelona uses him in so many ways that are not in his best interest and I've seen reports today about huge criticism from the Barca camp towards him that he doesn't bring enough in the stats department. He shouldnt be a stat machine. He's supposed to be a number 6. IMO he should leave Barca, it would be better for both sides. If we could land him, he would be an enormous boost to our midfield, and besides that, an actual football player.
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Pretty sure everyone on this forum would welcome FDJ with open arms, don’t think we have any chance of getting him though.
 
croadyman said:
Well Kessie is able to talk to clubs from January so personally would like to see us show some proactive thinking and agree a deal for him for the summer but still look to go in for a Tchouameni/Rice/Philips as well then would have a bit of DM depth
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If you are worried about Fred and Scott, you will have the same complaint about Kessie too.

We need a player who can pass , who isn't afraid of pressing to stay as deep playmaker. Basically an younger version of Matic. The one signed by Chelsea.
 
DutchSerb said:
May be a little biased here but I think the perfect man for United's midfield is Frenkie de Jong. Not afraid to dribble, calm on the ball and he's creative. Also a decent defender with huge upside and still very young. Barcelona uses him in so many ways that are not in his best interest and I've seen reports today about huge criticism from the Barca camp towards him that he doesn't bring enough in the stats department. He shouldnt be a stat machine. He's supposed to be a number 6. IMO he should leave Barca, it would be better for both sides. If we could land him, he would be an enormous boost to our midfield, and besides that, an actual football player.
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lenny_1248 said:
As impossible as it sounds [to buy him], but the ideal candidate would be Frenkie.
United badly need someone who will dictate the tempo of the game from deep. We need brains in that position.
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Frenkie's absolutely phenomenal on the ball and would be an incredible option to improve our possession. However, I'm not as convinced about the defensive side of his game. The reason we play Fred is because the rest of our midfielders are so poor defensively and we rely on him to press and win possession back for us. I don't feel like that has ever really been de Jong's best asset. Would you disagree with that?

Honestly, I think I'd prefer Frenkie as a potential Pogba replacement assuming he doesn't renew his contract.
 
Dazzmondo said:
Frenkie's absolutely phenomenal on the ball and would be an incredible option to improve our possession. However, I'm not as convinced about the defensive side of his game. The reason we play Fred is because the rest of our midfielders are so poor defensively and we rely on him to press and win possession back for us. I don't feel like that has ever really been de Jong's best asset. Would you disagree with that?

Honestly, I think I'd prefer Frenkie as a potential Pogba replacement assuming he doesn't renew his contract.
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Yeah I would have to disagree with that. He's at his best in a more defensive role, where he can bring the ball up from the back and if I had to make a comparison, the role that best suits him is the role that Michael Carrick fulfilled. We haven't had a player like him since he left, but Frenkie would be exactly that. Replacing Pogba is not something he could do. Frenkie seems to struggle in that same role often for the Dutch national team and Barcelona. He is more of a deep lying playmaker, might even be more of a 5th CB sorta player, totally different from what Pogba does for us. He might not be the prototypical Premier League CDM, or CDM in general. But what he lacks in physical presence, he makes up for in technical ability. He made opponents look silly in an Ajax shirt. Obviously, Eredivisie is a totally different level of football, but THAT Frenkie was why we rate him so highly, and both Barca and Louis don't use him like they should because they lack quality at other positions. And because theres Busquets still..

Edit: Have to say though. There aren't many players like Carrick with passing ability like he had. That's where Frenkie needs to be more bold. He tends to look for the easy passes more than a perfectly placed long ball for instance (even though he has the ability to do so, maybe its the Barca style of play that rubbed off), but what he does bring is calmness and great footballing ability. Able to hold the ball very well and he's ALWAYS open, he moves around a lot. That's exactly what we are missing right now, a player that can hold the ball well and a cdm that looks and plays confident. And I'm sure our back 4 would play a lot better too knowing theres no player in front of them that can make a mistake at any second. Like Fred, he might not be the best ball winning midfielder, although I still rate Frenkie higher. And in all other areas, he definitely outshines him and especially in the attacking department he would bring a lot to this team.
 
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Baneofthegame said:
Pretty sure everyone on this forum would welcome FDJ with open arms, don’t think we have any chance of getting him though.
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Well the only reason I named him is because theres constant reports about people in the Barca camp being critical of him and not being convinced he is what Barca needs right now. Sucks for him they still hold Busquets so dear to their heart. Not saying that's all 100% truth by the way, it's still rumors, but its something to keep a close eye on. If the dumpster fire that is Barca starts to escalate any further and they keep playing Frenkie out of position, there is a big possibility he wants out. And we should definitely jump on it.
 
DutchSerb said:
Well the only reason I named him is because theres constant reports about people in the Barca camp being critical of him and not being convinced he is what Barca needs right now. Sucks for him they still hold Busquets so dear to their heart. Not saying that's all 100% truth by the way, it's still rumors, but its something to keep a close eye on. If the dumpster fire that is Barca starts to escalate any further and they keep playing Frenkie out of position, there is a big possibility he wants out. And we should definitely jump on it.
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If there is any chance to get him we should. He is such an intelligent player. Really reminds me of Carrick.
 
Frenkie de Jong is an amazing footballer. Barca would be crazy if they were to let him leave, and I find it hard see him wanting to go as well.

I’m all in for Kalvin Phillips. It would take a lot for us to get him out of Leeds, but we’ve manage to do that before so I’m still hopeful. Although, sadly, I think Liverpool would be a more likely destination for him.
 
Nobody feeling Ruiz of Napoli, looks absolute class in that carrick type mould
 
We need two midfielders. A De Jong/Verratti type and also a physically dominant defensive midfielder in the mould of Ndidi/Kante. Although most of all we probably need a better tactician in charge to make the most of the talent we have available. The only way that Ole takes the next step here is if he brings someone in from the outside. His very own Carlos Queiroz.

In addition, I'd like to see the squad streamlined in order to allow the likes of Elanga, Shoretire, Hannibal, Amad, Laird, Fernandez and the next wave of youngsters in the coming years to have a feasible opportunity to become squad players and more.
 
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As it stands, both Franck Kessie and Marcelo Brozovic have their contracts ending in 2022. Both are much better central midfielders than what we seem to have right now.
 
I'd go all out for Frenkie De Jong, as Barca are looking bad for the next couple of years.

Plus a DM. Rice or someone else, but someone that really is a DM and has a good allround game.
 
I remember a similar conversation about CB's cause Lindelof wasn't good enough. That defence looks worse to me but now that's because we need new midfielders?
 
DWelbz19 said:
As it stands, both Franck Kessie and Marcelo Brozovic have their contracts ending in 2022. Both are much better central midfielders than what we seem to have right now.
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Yes, I agree, but which one, because there will only be one if any coming in January.
 
DWelbz19 said:
As it stands, both Franck Kessie and Marcelo Brozovic have their contracts ending in 2022. Both are much better central midfielders than what we seem to have right now.
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I love Kessie, but Brozovic would be more ideal. That said, with Matic and potentially Pogba going, both would be great.
 
Tielemans is the guy. For the premier league, week in week out, all-around midfield game, he’s an upgrade on whoever he replaces in the midfield two.
 
Remember the geese said:
We need two midfielders. A De Jong/Verratti type and also a physically dominant defensive midfielder in the mould of Ndidi/Kante. Although most of all we probably need a better tactician in charge to make the most of the talent we have available. The only way that Ole takes the next step here is if he brings someone in from the outside. His very own Carlos Queiroz.

In addition, I'd like to see the squad streamlined in order to allow the likes of Elanga, Shoretire, Hannibal, Amad, Laird, Fernandez and the next wave of youngsters in the coming years to have a feasible opportunity to become squad players and more.
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Agree entirely with your thoughts, we really need someone to organise our defence both on and off the pitch.
 
Litch said:
I remember a similar conversation about CB's cause Lindelof wasn't good enough. That defence looks worse to me but now that's because we need new midfielders?
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Also, Maguire and Shaw being horribly out of form.
 
Seen a few things for Kessie to United. Don't watch him regularly but the few times I have, it looks like it'd be ideal? Plus contract out in the summer. Anyone who watches, how good is he actually?
 
Bissouma and Bellingham. How dynamic would that be? Love the way they both play the game.
 
Dazzmondo said:
Frenkie's absolutely phenomenal on the ball and would be an incredible option to improve our possession. However, I'm not as convinced about the defensive side of his game. The reason we play Fred is because the rest of our midfielders are so poor defensively and we rely on him to press and win possession back for us. I don't feel like that has ever really been de Jong's best asset. Would you disagree with that?

Honestly, I think I'd prefer Frenkie as a potential Pogba replacement assuming he doesn't renew his contract.
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Swap Frenkie for Pogba, done.
 
MadMike said:
We have an urgent need for a DM now. Not in 2-3 years time.

An 18yo from Ajax is very unlikely to be able to come in and become a starter in CDM immediately. He's young and inexperienced, playing in a weaker league too. We need someone more ready, not someone that'll need a lot of time and patience.
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He's more than ready right now. He's much better than any midfielder we have. He's basically another Bellingham.
 
The list is decent.

Tielemans, Veratti, FDJ, Bellingham, Bissouma,Tchouameni, Rice, Kessie
 
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