You have a £80mil Summer Transfer Budget...

[USREDEVIL]

All these crazy sell prices. Look we will get screwed coming and going as they say. Pogba? Who can afford him? And who will actually throw enough to make it worthwhile (i.e. over 50M) I reckon nobody.

The likes of Lingard, Mata, will go for chump change as the market is dead on them.

VDB? Doubt we'll get over 20M at this point. Why? Because the teams with real money won't be enticed to get him at anything reasonable.

 

[Champagne Football]

Carney Chukwuemeka 15 million
Max Aarons 20 million
Sergio Ramos or David Alaba - Free
Ben Yedder or Raul Jiminez for 30 million

 

[redrobed]

Any upgrade on DDG - 5m
Grealish - 60m
Auba - 30m

we can easily add 15m through player sales

 

[SparkedIntoLife]

Youcef Atal, 15m, RB - attacking challenger to AWB, stock has fallen and iffy defensively but still a dynamic talent
Loïc Badé, 20m, CD - looks to have insane potential. Koundé is preferable, of course, but I have concerns about the price and he isn't the tallest.
Teun Koopmeiners, 20m, DM - Matic's replacement. Has flop potential, for sure, but I'm intrigued by his goalscoring output in a weaker league (ala Bruno) and his captain like mentality (ala... you guessed it, Bruno again)
Gabriel Veron, 25m, RW - by all accounts, he's a can't miss prospect and would be a far cheaper alternative to Sancho

 

[jem]

Any upgrade on DDG - 5m
Grealish - 60m
Auba - 30m

we can easily add 15m through player sales

What makes you think we could secure an upgrade on de Gea for 5m? Surely that keeper would be inferior to Henderson, let alone de Gea.

 

[jem]

Sell
Pogba for 25 million
Jesse 20
Martial 20
Van e Beek 40

Buy
Fofana 80
Grealish 80
Ings 20

I know Fofana has been good, but 80m?

 

[Lanesy]

Centre back is priority for me, maybe Tyrone Mings? English, very confident man and clearly is the main communicator of a defence, something Maguire struggles with IMO. 40 mil would be the most I’d pay for him though.
I feel like I’d enjoy finding a bargain or two though. If Leicester can get Mahrez for 425k, what other hidden gems are out there?

 

[eltigreFalcao]

On a fixed budget and regardless of departures (meaning no matter if they have a part to play or not)

RB - Atal, 24 yo, contracted until 2023, market value 16m* - we could get him for, say, 20m
CDM - Zakaria, 24 yo, contracted until 2022, market value 40m - We could have him for less, say 30m
CB - David Carmo, 21 yo, contracted until 2025, market value 8.5 - probably 20m taking into account his contract
CB - Sergio Ramos, 34 yo, contract expires next summer, market value 14m - will get him for free

I'll leave the departures to another thread

*all market values taken from transfermarkt.de

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

It's gotta be DM and CB. I know everyone wants Haaland 80m isn't getting it done and our spine is our biggest issue currently. I'd go Kounde and Soumare or Zakaria. Konate as a backup if Kounde doesn't get done.

We get a DM that's mobile and can distribute and that solves a lot of our constantly rotating midfield problems. And obviously both of our CB's are shocking on current form and only Bailly has the proper athleticism and aggressiveness that we need when playing a high line, but he's made of paper.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Doesn't Haaland have a release clause fee of 75 million euros? What I was saying is 80 million pound should cover his release clause fee in addition to his wages and Ramos's wages.

It's not active until 2022.

 

[ReallyUSA]

Centerback. Sell Pogba. Buy a CDM.

 

[lawliet354]

Proper DM a la Veratti, we'll forever be dependent on counter attacking football and continue to struggle with low block without one. Ndidi would be perfect, but might be too expensive

 

[POF]

Frenkie De Jong. United have issues at centre back, right back and right sided attacker but the biggest gap in this team is a central midfield who can dominate and control games.

Pogba's not here for the long haul, Matic is a bit part player now and Fred/McTominay aren't the level needed for a top class team.

The lack of control and creativity from midfield is also one of the main reasons United struggle to break teams down.

If Barca's money problems are as bad as have been reported, this may be a possibility.

 

[red_de_pologne]

Frenkie De Jong. United have issues at centre back, right back and right sided attacker but the biggest gap in this team is a central midfield who can dominate and control games.

Pogba's not here for the long haul, Matic is a bit part player now and Fred/McTominay aren't the level needed for a top class team.

The lack of control and creativity from midfield is also one of the main reasons United struggle to break teams down.

If Barca's money problems are as bad as have been reported, this may be a possibility.

I'm sure Donny will put in a good word about us

 

[POF]

I'm sure Donny will put in a good word about us

He might be able to get some more out of Donny too.

 

[AneRu]

I can't name a specific player, as I frankly don't know enough about the likes of Zacharia and Kanate, but I will say that I'd rather take a risk on Diallo being the answer at RW (with the comfort of knowing that Greenwood can also do a job there) than take a risk on having having another year of Maguire and Lindelof together at the back. Thus, a top CB is the priority, in my opinion.

This, Konate and Zakaria then make Cavani and Greenwood my main strikers (starter and back up).

 

[Olecurls99]

Jack Grealish. He'll fix so much. He'll become the best player in the world if he comes to us. We'll win the league and possibly the Champions league too.

 

[TheNewEra]

Jack Grealish. He'll fix so much. He'll become the best player in the world if he comes to us. We'll win the league and possibly the Champions league too.

Unlikely but he's potential world-class already.

 

[BaillyBaillyBailly]

Kounde - £60m - He is the perfect foil as far as I can tell for Maguire. Quick, strong and aggressive. Also very impressive bringing the ball out. Only issue would be his height.

Bissouma - £20m - Worth a punt to play as our DM instead of using Fred/McTominay double pivot. He is a similar player to Ndidi and I believe he would allow us to go into the big games playing Pogba & Fernandes (p) together in midfield

 

[BaillyBaillyBailly]

Proper DM a la Veratti, we'll forever be dependent on counter attacking football and continue to struggle with low block without one. Ndidi would be perfect, but might be too expensive

Veratti isn't a DM

 

[meamth]

80 million can only buy you peanuts talents these days, unless you spend all that for one player..

50-60 million for Upomecano, 40-30 million for a new striker.

 

[BaillyBaillyBailly]

80 million can only buy you peanuts talents these days, unless you spend all that for one player..

50-60 million for Upomecano, 40-30 million for a new striker.

Upamecano has signed for Bayern. They announced it 2 days ago.

 

[smi11ie]

Utd have enough CBs. They might not be great but they are decent and will improve next year. I think Utd need a bossy defensive midfielder, someone with a big gob and who is a bit scary. Greenwood and Diallo will probably be enough on the right. They really need a centre forward who goes for headers and can anticipate knockdowns. A young Cavani type. So for me, and considering it will be a fairly limited budget, a DCM and a young CF. Also give Cavani another year.

 

[Champagne Football]

I know Fofana has been good, but 80m?

Maguire

 

[Bilbo]

Such a difficult question to answer because of the unpredictability in the market. I was expecting a lot of bargains in last summers window as clubs were feeling the pinch but it didn't really materialise. Surely this time around it will be more chaotic, and I think every club will struggle to plan well before the event, especially with all of the misinformation that will already be being fed to them by agents.

From a United perspective I suspect we will be as much reactive as proactive this summer, by which I mean we could find ourselves being offered top players that we hadn't previously considered 'gettable' once clubs drop the brave faces and realise that they need income. £80m could be an enormous budget in this window. We might be able to solve 3 or 4 problems with that, but I think the club would prefer to make perhaps 2 signings if we can get long term targets. Grealish for me is a non-starter. I don't believe that we wants to leave Villa.

For me, a CB and a right sided attacker are the obvious moves and will undoubtedly improve the team significantly if we get it right.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

Saul 80 mil.

 

[Neil_Buchanan]

This idea of only having 80 million is silly, we will sell players and reinvest, that’s how it works.
We can potentially raise around 30 million by selling Lingard, Pereira, Dalot and Baily to increase the budget to 110m.
I would then buy Kounde from Sevilla which would use around half of our budget. Centre back should be our top priority and he should be top of the list.
The next step depends entirely on the Pogba situation. If he will not sign a new contract then he must be sold this summer, I would not let him leave on a free. I believe that he would fetch a minimum of 40 million. Which should leave us enough money for Grealish.
If Pogba stays then I would use the rest of the budget on a back up right back (eg Trippier would cost around 10m) and take a punt on either a reasonably priced striker or a defensive midfielder.

 

[Who's Kissing Cameras?]

Konate or Kounde.

 

[Redlyn]

Teun Koopmeiners, 20m, DM - Matic's replacement. Has flop potential, for sure, but I'm intrigued by his goalscoring output in a weaker league (ala Bruno) and his captain like mentality (ala... you guessed it, Bruno again)

What we need is the best DM money can buy for his defending. We wouldnt care if he scored 1 every 3 seasons if he is actually a top DM. If its his scoring that stands out then best to stay far away.

 

[MU655]

The attack is a priority. I would prefer to see a weak defence and great attack than vice versa.

Grealish - £80m - Just play two attacking midfielders. With him and Fernandes, there should be enough creativity to beat most teams.

Done.

With Sales
Pogba - £40m - I think we could get that.
Lingard - £15m
Martial - £25m

£80m Sales (Complete guess)

Haaland - £80m

We probably won't be able to get either for £80m, but it sounds good.

Rashford - Haaland - Amad

Grealish - Fernandes

We might not be able to defend, but look at how many goals we can score.

 

[Infra-red]

On a fixed budget and regardless of departures (meaning no matter if they have a part to play or not)

RB - Atal, 24 yo, contracted until 2023, market value 16m* - we could get him for, say, 20m
CDM - Zakaria, 24 yo, contracted until 2022, market value 40m - We could have him for less, say 30m
CB - David Carmo, 21 yo, contracted until 2025, market value 8.5 - probably 20m taking into account his contract
CB - Sergio Ramos, 34 yo, contract expires next summer, market value 14m - will get him for free

I'll leave the departures to another thread

*all market values taken from transfermarkt.de

Carmo looks a good prospect, but he's just broken his ankle.

 

[jem]

Maguire

Yeah but that was pre-Covid.

 

[jem]

The attack is a priority. I would prefer to see a weak defence and great attack than vice versa.

Grealish - £80m - Just play two attacking midfielders. With him and Fernandes, there should be enough creativity to beat most teams.

Done.

With Sales
Pogba - £40m - I think we could get that.
Lingard - £15m
Martial - £25m

£80m Sales (Complete guess)

Haaland - £80m

We probably won't be able to get either for £80m, but it sounds good.

Rashford - Haaland - Amad

Grealish - Fernandes

We might not be able to defend, but look at how many goals we can score.

Except Ole wouldn't play that formation if we didn't upgrade the defence. So instead you'd see McTominay and Fred occupying two of the midfield spots.

 

[Gehrman]

Well we cant get Haaland or Sancho for 80 mil, so Messi?

 

[dinostar77]

I ask for more money. I don't think you get one top class player for that.

Covid has hit football finances and Utd arent immune. Ole may face having to make decision with a budget similar to this or less? Also he might struggle to get people out of the door due to other clubs not being able to match their wages or woodwards unrealisitic transfer fee requests.

My exercise (this thread) was obviously created for fun but to also plant a seed to think about budget restrictions Ole might face. We all want Utd to sign the very best and talented. But sometimes the club has to compromise and covid will mean compromises.

 

[DannyCAFC]

Teun Koopmeiners, 20m, DM - Matic's replacement. Has flop potential, for sure, but I'm intrigued by his goalscoring output in a weaker league (ala Bruno) and his captain like mentality (ala... you guessed it, Bruno again)

What we need is the best DM money can buy for his defending. We wouldnt care if he scored 1 every 3 seasons if he is actually a top DM. If its his scoring that stands out then best to stay far away.

Definitely not his standout quality. 80% of his goals in the Eredivisie are penalties or direct free-kicks.

 

[jeff gurr]

I know Fofana has been good, but 80m?

Absolutely agree
Fofana has indeed been very good and while I think he has huge potential I don't think he is a 80 million pound player just yet.

 

[TheNewEra]

I'd honestly take Ramos on a free.

Ramos on a free and identify the other areas on the pitch would be a big coup.

 

[Jezpeza]

If only that budget, Milenkovic and Rice. West Ham need to sell to buy and we could sweeten the deal with lingardz milenkovic available for £30m or less according to papers

 

[The Corinthian]

Moving Martial and Pogba on not only theoretically raises around £70m+, but also frees up approximately £600k a week on the wage bill.

Personally, although Sancho looks a great talent, I think Pedro Neto would be the more savvy acquisition (I'm assuming we can nab him for something similar Jota went for, so £40m).

I also really like the look of Bissouma for DM and don't think he'd cost more than £25m.

For CB, I think Konate could be a great shout, although no idea what he'd move for price wise. I think something in the £35-40m range.