Your Hidden Gems or under the radar - Wanted Signings

I think United should buy in January rather than in the summer. That way the players have plenty of time to get into the team before the new season. In United's upcoming season there will be more games than this year. If the purchases in January are not enough, we can buy again in the summer.

- Franculino from FCM is one of my two picks for a future star player in the making. He has everything a striker should have. He scores on everything. He is technically strong. He is fast. He has an overview. etc.

- Osorio from FCM is my second choice. Excellent winger/wingback. He is a strong dribbler. He has a great long-range shot. He is fast. He is creative. He reminds me a lot of Arjen Robben.
 
Doesn't seem to be a lot of comment on Oihan Sancet on here, but I am hearing his name mentioned quite a bit as a serious target for United.

Pretty sure this is nonsense in terms of a link, he signed some ridiculous 10 year contract or something. He made a big deal out of it if I remember right. Good player though.
 
Pretty sure this is nonsense in terms of a link, he signed some ridiculous 10 year contract or something. He made a big deal out of it if I remember right. Good player though.
Expires 2032.. jesus, do not understand the point of these superlong contracts, for any part really.
He has a buyout clause for 80m euros, a bit steep even if he looks class.
But probably not much more than what we gave Brentford for Mbeumo, come to think of it
 
Expires 2032.. jesus, do not understand the point of these superlong contracts, for any part really.
He has a buyout clause for 80m euros, a bit steep even if he looks class.
But probably not much more than what we gave Brentford for Mbeumo, come to think of it
I think Athletic club obviously like these sort of things as it is all part of the ethos/philosophy. It probably helps the narrative and encourages those to stick around.
 
I think United should buy in January rather than in the summer. That way the players have plenty of time to get into the team before the new season. In United's upcoming season there will be more games than this year. If the purchases in January are not enough, we can buy again in the summer.

- Franculino from FCM is one of my two picks for a future star player in the making. He has everything a striker should have. He scores on everything. He is technically strong. He is fast. He has an overview. etc.

- Osorio from FCM is my second choice. Excellent winger/wingback. He is a strong dribbler. He has a great long-range shot. He is fast. He is creative. He reminds me a lot of Arjen Robben.
Both good shouts. Would boost our squad and even if they dont succeed wont make a loss.
 


Since our LWB position is still open, Dorgu is decent but maybe not certain as a long term solution. Nathanial Brown is continuing to look impressive this season and a really good aggressive LWB. Can see another club go for him next season given his techincal ability.
 
Matthis Abline at Nantes is a very good prospect. Shades of Suarez when I watch him with as a livewire #9 who loves to run the channels and is very good in 1v1 and link up play.

When I think of the player profile Amorim wanted with Gyokeres/Delap/Rogers then this player would make sense to me with his direct running in behind and how good he is at attacking crosses in the penalty area.

Prob a better fit for Amorim than Zirkzee so if Zirkzee is moved on then Abline would be high on my list to come in.
 
Matthis Abline at Nantes is a very good prospect. Shades of Suarez when I watch him with as a livewire #9 who loves to run the channels and is very good in 1v1 and link up play.

When I think of the player profile Amorim wanted with Gyokeres/Delap/Rogers then this player would make sense to me with his direct running in behind and how good he is at attacking crosses in the penalty area.

Prob a better fit for Amorim than Zirkzee so if Zirkzee is moved on then Abline would be high on my list to come in.
I think the player of this profile that we missed a trick on this summer was Franjo Ivanovic who is now at Benfica. Not sure how he’s been doing there so far this season but he gave me Suarez-esque vibes from what I saw with his aggressive ball carrying style no. 9.
 
Not exactly hidden but a few Prem players I’ve liked the look of so far this season outside of the usual suspects:

Junior Kroupi - ST/SS at Bournemouth - young versatile forward with an eye for a goal.

Alex Scott - CM at Bournemouth - tenacious no.8 who puts himself about and can create with both passing and carries.

Iliman Ndiaye - RAM at Everton - high intensity attacker who everytime I watch he is the most dangerous player on the pitch. Would be a great option to rotate with Mbeumo/Cunha.

Malick Diouf - LWB at West Ham - seems to have been a rare shining light for them this season. Offers the physicality of Dorgu with a significantly better final ball.
Adding 20 y/o Noah Sadiki from Sunderland to the list, who they only signed in the summer.

Gives me Kante-lite vibes with his low centre of gravity, intense pressing and ball-winning ability and tidy passing. Passing range probably the only thing lacking a bit right now.
 
Ladislav Krejčí for Wolves could be good for the LCB role as a cheap option. I know they've been dreadful, but I think he would work very well within the system.
 
Jordan Bos now at Feyenoord looks like an excellent prospect for LB or LWB. Maybe gettable in January too.
 
Noah Sadiki. Highest take on success rate of all players to attempt 15+ this season and right up there for distance covered. Only 20 years old - big future ahead of him. Would love him in our midfield.
 
Noah Sadiki. Highest take on success rate of all players to attempt 15+ this season and right up there for distance covered. Only 20 years old - big future ahead of him. Would love him in our midfield.

I’ve not seen loads of him but from what I’ve seen Xhaka carries that Sunderland midfield.
 
Noah Sadiki. Highest take on success rate of all players to attempt 15+ this season and right up there for distance covered. Only 20 years old - big future ahead of him. Would love him in our midfield.
This is a very poor understanding of take on attempts.

Central midfielders who can dribble have a considerably higher take on success rate than wingers since there's far more space, 35 year old Modric had a take on success rate of almost 75% in 20/21 whereas Vinicius was around 55%.

Sadiki averages less than 1 take on per game which is decent for a CM but nothing special, Baleba was higher last season and Anderson has been considerably better too.
 
This is a very poor understanding of take on attempts.

Central midfielders who can dribble have a considerably higher take on success rate than wingers since there's far more space, 35 year old Modric had a take on success rate of almost 75% in 20/21 whereas Vinicius was around 55%.

Sadiki averages less than 1 take on per game which is decent for a CM but nothing special, Baleba was higher last season and Anderson has been considerably better too.
My take on your take on the take on is very good... good insight there!
 
This is a very poor understanding of take on attempts.

Central midfielders who can dribble have a considerably higher take on success rate than wingers since there's far more space, 35 year old Modric had a take on success rate of almost 75% in 20/21 whereas Vinicius was around 55%.

Sadiki averages less than 1 take on per game which is decent for a CM but nothing special, Baleba was higher last season and Anderson has been considerably better too.
Fair enough, makes sense. I just saw a Squawka stat yesterday, didn't put much thought into it to be honest. Still think he's class mind.
 
With the u17 world cup starting yesterday are there any standout talents to look out for?

I mentioned Henrry Diaz earlier in this thread and Venezuela beat England 3-0 earlier, he had a pretty subdued game overall but I'll probably keep an eye on him this tournament. Our new signing Orozco played in Colombia's 1-1 draw with Germany and I think the Senegalese midfielder Mouhamed Dabo whom we had on trial and were linked with in October came on in the second half of their game.
 
With the u17 world cup starting yesterday are there any standout talents to look out for?

I mentioned Henrry Diaz earlier in this thread and Venezuela beat England 3-0 earlier, he had a pretty subdued game overall but I'll probably keep an eye on him this tournament. Our new signing Orozco played in Colombia's 1-1 draw with Germany and I think the Senegalese midfielder Mouhamed Dabo whom we had on trial and were linked with in October came on in the second half of their game.

Ireland actually have a decent team at this. Very good forwards at least.

Jaden Umeh might be the most talented. He's with Benfica.
 
Left wingbacks under the radar we should be looking at:

Maximiliano Araújo (Sporting), Jordy Bos (Feyenoord), Diego Moreira (Strasbourg), Quentin Merlin (Rennes), David Raum (Leipzig)

There is Geny Catamo (Sporting) too, but he is primarily RW/RWB. I think he played LWB a bit under Amorim as well, and he is left footed, so I think he could be a good option too.
 
Keep an eye on Harrison Armstrong in the next few years. Young CM we have that's gone out on loan to Preston after a very good loan last season at Derby. Once again doing really well. Only 18. Also been captaining the England U19 side.
 

Mikel Gogorza is having a stormer against Celtic in the Europa League for FC midjylland​

 
Nico Paz looks to be the perfect replacement for Bruno if he leaves in the summer, still has some development to do but looks very good on the ball... Serie A mind you
 
Nico Paz looks to be the perfect replacement for Bruno if he leaves in the summer, still has some development to do but looks very good on the ball... Serie A mind you

Real Madrid still have a buy-back clause, which they seem likely to use in the summer.

Also, Paz is playing as a central 10 (where Bruno used to play, while United played 433). His defensive stats look good, but will he really want to play in a central midfield two? I'm not convinced. It seems a hypothetical anyway, as he seems likely to go back to Real.

Following on from another thread, Kees Smit does seem a hot prospect capable of turning in to a top player in the creative box-to-box midfield role which Bruno is now doing under Amorim. But he's also someone who will need some time before being able to do it at United (I'd buy him and loan him to Nice).
 
Real Madrid still have a buy-back clause, which they seem likely to use in the summer.

Also, Paz is playing as a central 10 (where Bruno used to play, while United played 433). His defensive stats look good, but will he really want to play in a central midfield two? I'm not convinced. It seems a hypothetical anyway, as he seems likely to go back to Real.

Following on from another thread, Kees Smit does seem a hot prospect capable of turning in to a top player in the creative box-to-box midfield role which Bruno is now doing under Amorim. But he's also someone who will need some time before being able to do it at United (I'd buy him and loan him to Nice).
This is more along the lines of my thinking, I was ignoring the Bruno #8 role that he is currently playing and Paz could be deployed on the left alternating with Cunha, hypothetically anyway as I didnt know about the buy back Real had which is a shame
 
Still think we should sign Eivind Helland from Brann - £7-8 million should do it - good future replacement for Maguire
 
I’ve seen a fair bit of Patrick Berg from Bodø Glimt recent and he’s a definite standout. Wonder if he would be a relatively cheap option to give us some energy in centre midfield. Good positioning, accurate passer, clever player and full of energy. Bit of a goal threat too. Probably get him around £10m
 
Abdul Fatawu is a really really interesting young player who I'd love to see us sign, his performance against us last season was the best performance of any away player at Old Trafford since Cunha. His season got ended due to injury but he's back for them now and easily the best player in the championship. He can play on either wing but I'd love to see us try him at LWB too.
 
Dunno if he qualifies as a “hidden gem” per se but Maza boasts noteworthy ball-carrying and ball-retention attributes and gave a good account of his abilities as a No. 8 vs. Heidelheim today (including 90-ish passes with 94% accuracy). One to keep an eye on, at the very least — as an alternative to more expensive (and admittedly more polished or experienced) midfield options.
Player of the Match: Ibrahim Maza

In a match full of outstanding performances, Maza stood head and shoulders above the rest. The talented 19-year-old scored twice with clinical finishes - once in first-half stoppage time and again eight minutes after the restart. Beyond his goals, Maza was a constant threat. His impressive stats tell the story: the starlet won a match-high 12 challenges despite being the most pressed player (19 times), and showed remarkable composure by escaping pressure 77% of the time. Maza's industry and creativity were at the heart of Leverkusen's dominant display, deservedly earning him the Player of the Match award.
Ibrahim Maza shines as Bayer Leverkusen run riot against Heidenheim

 
Givairo Read - Feyenoord, 19 yo, right-back. 13 games, 3 assists, 1 goal.



I know he's getting a lot of hype but this video makes him look like somebody fused Alexander-Arnold, Timber and Frimpong.

Links with Bayern and a host of Premier League clubs with a fee of £35m mooted.
 
Givairo Read - Feyenoord, 19 yo, right-back. 13 games, 3 assists, 1 goal.



I know he's getting a lot of hype but this video makes him look like somebody fused Alexander-Arnold, Timber and Frimpong.

Links with Bayern and a host of Premier League clubs with a fee of £35m mooted.

Givairo looks interesting and I would put him in a list alongside Vanderson and Kayode and RWB options for the summer, depending on what we want - young prospect? prem-proven? technical ability vs physical profile?

Like you say, maybe Givairo Read ticks all those boxes.
 
I’m not going pretend I’ve known this kid for longer than 10 minutes but blimey he looks good.

17 years old. 4 goals and 5 assists in 14 league games + 1 goal in 3 CL games this season.

Looks like a Bruno regen to me.

 
A friend of mine who works in recruitment for a brazilian team has been raving about Robert Renan claiming he's the best CB in the league. I hadn't heard of him before but apparently he was a big prospect a couple years ago and was snapped up by Zenit, didn't work out for some reason and he's back in Brazil.

Anyway I started paying closer attention to him and he's been incredibly impressive, take a look at these stats: https://ibb.co/XZRDmfh5

I've downloaded every Vasco game and will continue to do so as he looks as good in the eye test as he does in these metrics.

Just turned 22 but with performances like these it won't be long before wealthier clubs get involved.
 
I’m not going pretend I’ve known this kid for longer than 10 minutes but blimey he looks good.

17 years old. 4 goals and 5 assists in 14 league games + 1 goal in 3 CL games this season.

Looks like a Bruno regen to me.



He does seem very good. His passing range looks excellent. Good shooting technique. Good dribbling in tight spaces. Bruno seems a fair comparison stylistically.

The main question mark, which it's difficult to get a sense of from his highlights and limited stats availability, would be how he would cope defensively in a midfield two... like Bruno he might prefer to be the front of a midfield three.

Regardless, could be one worth signing and loaning to Nice.

(PS he has been playing and scored in the Europa League, not the CL)