Those are typically wingers, who may need to be convinced to play wing-back.
Wing-back prospects
- Thread starter The White Pele
- Start date
Those are typically wingers, who may need to be convinced to play wing-back.
Luis Henrique from Marsielle would be a great shout:
His stats vs Fullbacks on Fbref, his 5th comparison is Frimpong.
Also plays as a winger so isn't just a system player.
His stats vs Fullbacks on Fbref, his 5th comparison is Frimpong.
Also plays as a winger so isn't just a system player.
| Statistic | Per 90 | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Penalty Goals | 0.22 | 99 |
| npxG: Non-Penalty xG | 0.15 | 96 |
| Shots Total | 1.08 | 84 |
| Assists | 0.16 | 80 |
| xAG: Exp. Assisted Goals | 0.13 | 71 |
| npxG + xAG | 0.28 | 92 |
| Shot-Creating Actions | 3.69 | 96 |
| Passes Attempted | 48.15 | 39 |
| Pass Completion % | 80.4% | 62 |
| Progressive Passes | 4.84 | 80 |
| Progressive Carries | 2.93 | 88 |
| Successful Take-Ons | 1.62 | 96 |
| Touches (Att Pen) | 2.83 | 93 |
| Progressive Passes Rec | 9.23 | 98 |
| Tackles | 0.70 | 1 |
| Interceptions | 0.51 | 8 |
| Blocks | 0.57 | 2 |
| Clearances | 0.99 | 2 |
| Aerials Won | 0.00 | 1 |
The player we've been most heavily linked to this summer, Matheus Cunha, isn't really a player suited to a conventional 433.
Good player, but could struggle if we change system and/or manager again.
Alt Nouri and Frimpong are two obvious solutions for wingback positions, I don't know what are we waiting for there(probably the money issue...).
Both of them will probably have better offers.
We've just signed Dorgu to play on the left too. Alt Nouri would be perfect for us though. I'd happily sell Dorgu to finance it.
I just hope we dont spend a lot of money on a new wingback, only to sack Amorim early next season. And left with 2 players who wont work in the new system of the manager.
We have obvious holes in the squad, better to fill them up before buying a wingback. Dalot is decent and may be use Amad/Antony against smaller teams.
We have obvious holes in the squad, better to fill them up before buying a wingback. Dalot is decent and may be use Amad/Antony against smaller teams.
I'm hoping the interest in Semenyo is with the idea of him playing wingback.
Truly excellent points. But even if we have to sack Amorim in October, if we've brought in a wingback it may be possible to reprogram that player into either a winger or a fullback. Not easily done, but doable. The underlying point is that the board need to support the manager with the players he demands, but if that's not going to happen the board might as well sack him in the summer.
Wildcards, If we look at the free market. Mitchell at Palace and Walker-Peters at Southampton would do well in this system IMO. Not the best we could get but thinking of the budget, it could warrant some consideration.
I have nothing against the man but no Premier League level team will ever be concerned about having to face a team with Dalot in attacking role.
Dalot is not decent, agree Amad should play, but not just against smaller sides. We need one more player for the wing back position if we can do it
Don't think so, he's played in 4atb formations all his life. Can play as a F9, inside forward from the left or even takeover the CAM role from Bruno eventually.
Martim Fernandes - young player doing well at Porto. Impressive carrier, great dribbling and passing stats as well. He's almost a mini-Trent Alexander Arnold in a way. The nice thing about him is he can play as a wing back or in a back four.
Mitchell is too defensive for the role I think (Munoz on the other side gives them the attacking threat)
I’d be looking at
Munoz
Ait Nouri
Kerkez (though I think he’s probably unattainable)
Robinson
I’ve mentioned him a few times. Inter are linked with him apparently and they know what they’re doing with wingbacks generally!
For me he would add genuine pace to our RW as he has been clocked at 36.98 km/h - 22.98 mph.
Hopefully he is in our budget, meaning Amad can stay at the R10.
I think he was subject to criticism from Marseille fans recently, along with Greenwood, for not applying himself enough.
Dumfries is a proper wingback, he's not even necessarily faster or more technical than Dalot but has much much higher game iq and tenacity than Dalot.
Also a beast for the Netherlands.
Also a beast for the Netherlands.
Do you think this Yamal fella could cover one of the wingbacks?
I've posted multiple times about Ait Nouri but with the Dorgu signing I doubt it ever happens although Amorim could move Dorgu to right wing back.
Overall I hope we don't use Amad at right wing back because I feel it's much easier in the current market to sign a very high level right wing back than it is to get an elite level right winger/right 10 for Amorim system which Amad has shown he can play.
For right wing back I'd look at Vanderson/Wesley/Tobias. Have previously mentioned Luis Henrique but he's been heavily linked to Inter Milan.
Of the above players I watch Wesley on a weekly basis and have been incredibly impressed with him. But Tobias and Vanderson are both beasts too.
Overall I hope we don't use Amad at right wing back because I feel it's much easier in the current market to sign a very high level right wing back than it is to get an elite level right winger/right 10 for Amorim system which Amad has shown he can play.
For right wing back I'd look at Vanderson/Wesley/Tobias. Have previously mentioned Luis Henrique but he's been heavily linked to Inter Milan.
Of the above players I watch Wesley on a weekly basis and have been incredibly impressed with him. But Tobias and Vanderson are both beasts too.
We have zero width most of the time as it is without going back to inverted wing backs playing on their weaker foot to make things worse, the only reason Amad works there is because he has brilliant driving dribbling ability and can go inside or outside but Dorgu has none of Amad’s qualities other than also being left footed so if we must persist with this system that it has to have wing backs on their favoured side providing as much width as possible.
My own personal preference would be that we sign a right footed right wing back but given Amorim has already played Dorgu there and with our reported interest in Quenda it seems very possible we could go for Ait Nouri and move Dorgu.
Ideally we have wingbacks that, like Amad, are comfortable going either inside or out.
Amorim seems to prefer his attacking wingbacks playing on their 'off' foot. Amad and Antony only played on the right for us, Garnacho had his one brief wingback appearance on the left, he played Quenda on the right at Sporting (no idea if the LWB was similar or not). Or maybe it's just that he prefers having one of his wingbacks doing that while the other is on their stronger foot?
Problem with that is how many wingers are out there with the work rate and pressing of Amad and who accepts defensive responsibilities whilst being very much a team player that will play anywhere whilst giving the same 100% effort in each role ? In all of that Amad is a complete anomaly.
This is why it’s such a horrible system that whilst working in Portugal won’t ever work in the PL and if Amorim wants to be successful then he’ll have to adapt and tweak his system, even Sir Alex and Pep who are regarded as the two best of the PL era had to adapt and tweak things system wise so Amorim will have to do the same.
Having high energy wing backs who are on their natural side bombing up and down the flank is the only way this system works in the PL unless Amorim tweaks the system to change the two 10’s to two wide forwards, the inverted wing backs can then come inside to support the midfield and the midfield can also support the forwards knowing the wing backs have inverted to cover them but either way genuine width is badly needed.
Any wing back we sign needs to actually be a winger. It’ll give us more attacking threat but also we need the ability for the squad to flex back into a 433 if Amorim fails. We can’t be overloaded with full backs and have no wingers, Whitwell touched on this and it’s why signings like Frimpong etc seem unlikely.
Problem with that is how many genuine wingers want to,
1. Be further away from goal
2. Have the defensive discipline
3. The stamina to get up and down all game
4. The positional sense
5. Be within our budget
6. Happy to not be an inverted winger
I imagine it’s why a lot of people on here wanted Antony to be tried as a left wing back as outside of genuine pace and wanting to be inverted further forward he has all of that, for a winger to genuinely work you’d need a complete regen of Antonio Valencia.
Obviously I don’t know Amorim's thoughts but I guess that’s why he hasn’t tried Garnacho as a right wing back as outside of Dani Alves, Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia and Victor Moses I can’t think of many wingers who transitioned brilliantly into wing backs or attacking full backs and because of the defensive requirements and positional requirements for a whole game it seems that full backs are used as wing backs the majority of the time.
Yeh I don’t think there’s a tonne of options, but it’s why Quenda was perfect. Fernandes at Braga is apparently a similar profile, but I won’t pretend to know much about him.
A left footed right winger who can play either wing back position comfortable is ideal, I’m sure there’s a few out there!
I came across him recently, and was very impressed. A beautiful passer and crosser of the ball, decent pace, workrate. He'd be a brilliant signing.
I don't think it's as rare as you are making out. Without actively targeting these players, you've listed three of our own players in the last 15 years who would have been suitable (Valencia, Young and now Amad). I'd also include Park. Skillful and attacking wingbacks like Evra probably would also have fit it well. I basically don't watch non-Utd games these days so can't pick any current players we should be targeting, but the likes of Peresic and Willian quickly come to mind of players from the previous generation who would have been a good fit.
The inverted winger type who are primary focused on goals (Ronaldo, Salah, Rashford, etc) obviously aren't suited, but it's not like hard working wingers who have defensive discipline are completely gone from the game. Indeed, those players might well end up being cheaper and easier to buy as their pure attacking output isn't enough for most top teams to want them, so we'll have less competition.
I will say I'm mostly talking about 'good' options who can fit the system and get us back up around the CL spots. I'm not as confident in finding players who are standouts if we truly compete for the PL and CL, but then not every player needs to be world class.
You’re talking over a 15 year period but I’m talking about right now in current day when everyone wants to be an inverted winger playing on their opposite foot and cutting inside, when playing with two 10’s as Amorim stubbornly always does it needs wing backs on their natural side or there’s zero width and you end up with the inverted wing backs and the 10’s along with the two midfielders all in a small congested area and as regularly seen with us we’re so easy to play through.
Give it Maguire until the end of his contract.
Build a statue outside the stadium afterwards if we manage to win the EL.
And wouldn't blow our budget either. Really hope we are considering him
I see that Aina at Forest is also on the list
Aina and Mitchell would both be decent business. Just the sort of signings we should be looking at.
Valencia would have been so good in this system. Him during his best years is exactly what we need at WB, and under another manager could always transition back to being a normal winger
Unless we sell our undesirables out on loan for good prices, I don't see how we get ourselves into a position to sign a couple of Wingbacks. Maybe if we persist with a variation of Dorgu, Shaw and Amass then look to sign a more offensive variation to Dalot? We just need too many players along the spine and they are going to cost a lot.
Cunha, a midfielder and a striker will easily blow a £150m hole in our budget and that is if that striker is Delap. We can't afford to avoid making these signings, either. After getting these in we will probably afford someone around £30m, I doubt PSR allows us to even get to that level without significant sales.
Cunha, a midfielder and a striker will easily blow a £150m hole in our budget and that is if that striker is Delap. We can't afford to avoid making these signings, either. After getting these in we will probably afford someone around £30m, I doubt PSR allows us to even get to that level without significant sales.
Is Dorgu really that much of an upgrade on Alvaro Fernandez considering the prices? I’d love to hear from CAF members that’s follow the Portuguese league and have now seen Dorgu up close.
Personally I think we should have gone for Alvaro as he’s brilliant on the ball, strong, great engine, great passing range, great crosser of the ball and positionally sound plus there’s the first team experience of playing regular league football and also a season and a half of CL football.
The only criticism I’ve ever seen people throw at him is his pace but then I think being positionally sound and anticipation makes up for that and he’s not exactly slow, at the prices paid and how poor Dorgu has looked recently no one can convince me that Alvaro wasn’t the right option.
Also Alvaro is quite physical and I think over 6ft so fits in with the physicality needed within the squad and also a homegrown player as far as PSR goes so if he ever was sold on, Barca and Real have been linked all season, that would be a pure profit transfer for us down the line too which helps massively with PSR.
I have yet to see Amorim’s football at United dominate the game consistently. It’s clear that he already said he wants to play possession and dominate football. Wingbacks are not the key to dominate or play possession. To dominate, the key is the central area. IMO, we shouldn’t waste the money on wingback first but spend the money on midfielders and CB before wingbacks.
Dalot is still with our squad and won’t be sold. We just spent the money on Dorgu. Amad can also play as wingback especially against the lesser teams. Shaw has good delivery. Amass is looking promising so far and it seems he might ready to play for first team next season. I think we can survive another season without new wingbacks.
Dalot is still with our squad and won’t be sold. We just spent the money on Dorgu. Amad can also play as wingback especially against the lesser teams. Shaw has good delivery. Amass is looking promising so far and it seems he might ready to play for first team next season. I think we can survive another season without new wingbacks.